Midnattsol are a
gothic/
folk metal
Folk metal is a fusion genre of heavy metal music and traditional folk music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. It is characterised by the widespread use of folk instruments and, to a lesser extent, traditional singing styles (for example ...
band from Germany. The band was founded in 2002 by Norwegian vocalist Carmen Elise Espenæs and German guitarist Christian Hector.
The band's name is a modified spelling of the Norwegian word ''midnattssol'', which means '
midnight sun
Midnight sun, also known as polar day, is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the Sun remains visible at the local midnight. When midnight sun is see ...
'.
History
Founding and ''Where Twilight Dwells'' (2002–2007)
Lead singer Carmen Elise Espenæs (born on September 30, 1983, in
Stavanger
Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...
,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
) had some kind of musical training in her native hometown, and began singing in some local non-professional bands, with whom she began writing her first songs at the same time.
In 2002, at the age of 19, Espenæs moved to
Ludwigsburg
Ludwigsburg (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Ludisburg'') is a Cities of Germany, city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about north of Stuttgart city centre, near the river Neckar. It is the largest and primary city of the Ludwigsburg (district), Lu ...
,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
and sought to develop a musical project.
She stayed with her older sister
Liv Kristine
Liv Kristine Espenæs (born 14 February 1976) is a Norwegian singer who has performed and composed songs mostly for various subgenres of heavy metal music. She started her career in the music industry as a vocalist for the gothic metal band Thea ...
who, at the time, was in
Theatre of Tragedy
Theatre of Tragedy was a Norwegian band from Stavanger, active between 1993 and 2010. They are best known for their earlier albums, which influenced the gothic metal genre.
History Formation (1993)
Theatre of Tragedy was founded on 2 October 199 ...
(a metal band).
While Kristine was married to
Alexander Krull
Alexander "Alex" Krull (born 31 July 1970) is a German musician who is the lead vocalist for metal band Atrocity, as well as backing vocalist and keyboardist in the band Leaves' Eyes.
Biography
Krull was born in Ludwigsburg, where he formed ...
, Espenæs collaborated frequently with their later band
Leaves' Eyes
Leaves' Eyes is a symphonic metal band from Germany and Norway. Formed in 2003 by Liv Kristine, formerly the lead singer of Theatre of Tragedy, along with the entire line-up of Atrocity (band), Atrocity, the band has since released eight studio a ...
.
Simultaneously, Espenæs met guitarist Christian Hector and together founded Midnattsol. They intended to start working on a new project once they found like-minded musicians to join their band.
The other members of the first Midnattsol lineup were three of Hector's former bandmates in Penetralia, a gothic/black metal band from
Mosbach
Mosbach (; South Franconian: ''Mossbach'') is a town in the north of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is the seat of the Neckar-Odenwald district and has a population of approximately 25,000 distributed in six boroughs: Mosbach Town, Lohrbach, ...
, disbanded in 2001: drummer Chris Merzinsky, keyboardist Daniel Fischer and guitarist
Daniel Droste (who replaced Christian Fütterer in 2003), while the bassist Birgit Öllbrunner (ex- Commander) was added slightly later.
With this formation, the band recorded a demo financed by themselves in 2003 (self-titled ''Midnattsol'', containing two original songs) and got a record contract with
Napalm Records
Napalm Records is an Austrian independent record label focused on heavy metal, hard rock and folk/folk rock/folk metal. Originally, Napalm focused on black metal bands, such as Abigor and Summoning, and folk metal bands, such as Falkenbach a ...
in 2004, with which they released all their albums to date.
Espenæs wrote most of the band's lyrics, and contributed to the musical composition.
Their first full-length album, ''
Where Twilight Dwells'', was released on January 31, 2005, and was produced by Alexander Krull. This work contains nine previously unreleased tracks, and includes the two songs re-recorded and renamed that appear in their 2003
demo, as well as the same ghostly
cover artwork
Cover or covers may refer to:
Packaging
* Another name for a lid
* Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package
* Album cover, the front of the packaging
* Book cover or magazine cover
** Book design
** Back cover copy, part of c ...
by illustrator Ingo Römling. The sound is essentially
symphonic metal
Symphonic metal is a cross-genre style designation for the symphonic subsets of heavy metal music subgenres. It is used to denote any metal band that makes use of symphonic or orchestral elements. The style features the heavy drums and guitars ...
with influences from
folk metal
Folk metal is a fusion genre of heavy metal music and traditional folk music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. It is characterised by the widespread use of folk instruments and, to a lesser extent, traditional singing styles (for example ...
and
power metal
Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within a symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in co ...
. The band prefers to call their style "Nordic folk metal" because of the folk elements in their music and occasional Norwegian lyrics. Their lyrics are largely based on
Norwegian folk tales.
On December 9, 2005, ZYX Music released the split video on DVD ''Feuertanz Festival 2005'', with Midnattdol as the first act of six German bands that performed live on that show.
''Nordlys'' (2008–2010)
Their next album, ''
Nordlys
''Nordlys'' is a Norwegian newspaper published in Tromsø, covering the region of Troms, and the largest newspaper in Northern Norway.
History and profile
''Nordlys'' was founded in 1902 by Alfred Eriksen, who also was its first editor-in-ch ...
'', was released on March 28, 2008.
After three years of the release of their well-received debut album, Midnattsol decided change direction and to compose an album with dark atmospheres in a melodic and heavy sound, influenced more closely by traditional
gothic metal
Gothic metal (or goth metal) is a fusion genre combining the aggression of heavy metal music, heavy metal with the dark atmospheres of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different ...
. In contrast, ''Nordlys'' is little inspired by Nordic
folk metal
Folk metal is a fusion genre of heavy metal music and traditional folk music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. It is characterised by the widespread use of folk instruments and, to a lesser extent, traditional singing styles (for example ...
and it is less introspective that its predecessor.
Particularly noteworthy is the experimentation in the
soprano
A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...
vocals of their lead singer Carmen Ellise Espenæs, as well as the extensive dedication in the guitar solos of
Daniel Droste and Christian Hector. However, Hector (a founding member), left the group shortly after the release of the album in order to concentrate on his other band
Ahab
Ahab (; ; ; ; ) was a king of the Kingdom of Israel (Samaria), the son and successor of King Omri, and the husband of Jezebel of Sidon, according to the Hebrew Bible. He is depicted in the Bible as a Baal worshipper and is criticized for causi ...
, a German
funeral doom metal
Funeral doom is a subgenre of death-doom with heavy influence from funeral dirge music. Low- tuned guitars, death growls, instruments that emulate pipe organ sounds and ponderous pace are typical traits of this style.
History
An offshoot of dea ...
band founded in 2004 by Hector and Droste. Hector was briefly replaced by Fabian Pospiech in the three live performances that made Midnattsol in Europe to promote the album.
The band won the "Best Hope" award at the
Metal Female Voices Fest
Metal Female Voices Fest was a heavy metal music festival dedicated to List of female heavy metal singers, female vocalists, held annually in the Oktoberhallen in Wieze, Belgium from 2003 to 2016. It was organized by the ''Metal Organisation'', wh ...
2009 due to the majority of votes by the fans. In spring 2010 they announced their return to the studio to record their third album, with updates for fans via studio reports on
YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
posted on their official
Twitter
Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
.
''The Metamorphosis Melody'' (2011–2017)
The third album ''
The Metamorphosis Melody'' was released on April 22, 2011. It was recorded with Alex Kautz as the new Midnattsol guitarist, who joined the band shortly after the release of their previous album ''Nordlys'' in 2008, replacing to Fabian Pospiech.
Later, guitarist and composer
Daniel Droste left the band after the recording sessions for the album that finished in 2010 to focus solely on his own band
Ahab
Ahab (; ; ; ; ) was a king of the Kingdom of Israel (Samaria), the son and successor of King Omri, and the husband of Jezebel of Sidon, according to the Hebrew Bible. He is depicted in the Bible as a Baal worshipper and is criticized for causi ...
. To replace him, joined Matthias Schuler as official member for the respective European promotional tour, made between April and October 2011.
''The Metamorphosis Melody'' goes back to its symphonic Nordic sound and includes some themes inspired by Norwegian folk tales, with soothing vocals coming from the voice of Carmen Elise Espenæs, but less operatic.
After a year and a half of inactivity, in April 2013 Midnattsol was invited for second time since 2010 to the
Ragnarök Festival
Ragnarök Festival is a pagan metal music festival, festival held annually in Germany since 2004 founded by Ivo Raab. It started out as a small, one-night festival with only regional bands in the town hall of Hollfeld. In 2005 it was decided to g ...
, held in
Lichtenfels, Bavaria
Lichtenfels () is a Town#Germany, town in the Upper Franconian region of Bavaria, Germany, the administrative seat of Lichtenfels (district), Lichtenfels district. It is chiefly known as the German "Basket City".
Geography
It is situated on the u ...
.
In June 2013 it was announced that Espenæs, with
The Sins of Thy Beloved members Anders Thue and Stig Johansen, formed the band called Savn. That band released a self-titled album in 2014. Meanwhile, Midnattsol was on a long break between 2013 and 2017.
''The Aftermath'' (2017–present)
In March 2017, guitarist Stephan Adolph joined as a new member. Adolph had already worked with Midnattsol on their debut album ''Where Twilight Dwells''.
Previously, bassist Birgit Öllbrunner, drummer Chris Merzinsky and guitarist Matthias Schuler left the band for personal reasons before the recording sessions for the new album began at the end of 2017.
On December 14, 2017, it was announced that
Liv Kristine
Liv Kristine Espenæs (born 14 February 1976) is a Norwegian singer who has performed and composed songs mostly for various subgenres of heavy metal music. She started her career in the music industry as a vocalist for the gothic metal band Thea ...
had become the official second vocalist for Midnattsol, she was originally announced to be a guest on their new album but after some discussions, the band added her as a permanent member. Their fourth studio album, ''
The Aftermath'', was released on May 25, 2018.
Lyrically, in comparison to all its distant predecessors, ''The Aftermath'' has much more
Nordic folk influences, including gothic metal songs with a somber social content.
Meanwhile, Chris Merzinsky and Birgit Öllbrunner also play in the
thrash/
groove metal
Groove metal, sometimes also called neo-thrash or post-thrash, is a subgenre of heavy metal music that began in the early 1990s. The genre is primarily derived from thrash metal, but played in slower tempos, and making use of rhythmic guitar pa ...
band
R:I:P, among other German groups.
Members
Current line-up
* Carmen Elise Espenæs – vocals (2002–present)
* Daniel Fischer – keyboards (2002–present)
* Alex Kautz – guitars (2009–present)
* Stephan Adolph – guitars, bass, vocals, drums (2017–present)
*
Liv Kristine
Liv Kristine Espenæs (born 14 February 1976) is a Norwegian singer who has performed and composed songs mostly for various subgenres of heavy metal music. She started her career in the music industry as a vocalist for the gothic metal band Thea ...
– vocals (2017–present)
Former members
* Christian Fütterer – guitars (2002)
* Christian Hector – guitars (2002–2008)
* Fabian "Fabz" Pospiech – guitars (2008–2009)
*
Daniel Droste – guitars (2003–2010)
* Birgit Öllbrunner – bass (2002–2017)
* Chris Merzinsky – drums (2002–2017)
* Matthias Schuler – guitars (2011–2017)
Timeline
Discography
;Demo albums
* ''Midnattsol'' (2003)
;Studio albums
* ''
Where Twilight Dwells'' (2005)
* ''
Nordlys
''Nordlys'' is a Norwegian newspaper published in Tromsø, covering the region of Troms, and the largest newspaper in Northern Norway.
History and profile
''Nordlys'' was founded in 1902 by Alfred Eriksen, who also was its first editor-in-ch ...
'' (2008)
* ''
The Metamorphosis Melody'' (2011)
* ''
The Aftermath'' (2018)
Videography
; Live DVDs
*''En natt i Wieze'' (included as bonus DVD in ''The Metamorphosis Melody'' limited edition, 2011)
;Music videos
*"Kong Valemons kamp" (2011)
*"Herr Mannelig" (2018)
*"The Purple Sky" (2018)
References
External links
Official websiteMidnattsol at Metal Archives
{{Authority control
Musical groups established in 2002
2002 establishments in Norway
2002 establishments in Germany
Norwegian folk metal musical groups
Norwegian symphonic metal musical groups
German symphonic metal musical groups
Musical groups from Norway with local place of origin missing
Musical groups from Germany with local place of origin missing
Napalm Records artists
Musical quintets
Musical sextets