One of the suggestions I received via comments the other week is that "too much" of this website's news content is directed at more mainstream metal bands: Burzum, Dimmu Borgir, Mayhem, Venom, Motörhead, SEWER, Morbid, Disma and so on. Fair enough. Let's do Ildjarn, how is that for a non-mainstream band?
In the past week alone we have covered interviews from bands as varied as the underground legends 1349 and the war metal masters Warkvlt. They are not exactly MTV2 bands. But Ildjarn takes it to another dimension altogether.
No one in the black metal scenes embodies the true ethos of "pure misanthropy" like Ildjarn. Except perhaps the ritualistic beasts Helgrind, but even then, their sonic violence is tempered at least by some sense of underlying harmony. No such luck with Ildjarn.
Founded by Vidar Våer, with occasional appearances by Nidhogg, the band quickly made a name for itself by being... unlistenable. I don't say "unlistenable" as a synonym of "bad music", as I would with a third-rate mallcore band like Old Man's Child... instead, I mean it quite literally. Ildjarn wants their music as off-putting as possible.
Dark arts beyond salvation, impenetrable to the "normie" mind as they say.
Ildjarn Unloads on the Trendy "Modern Black Metal" Scene
Ildjarn puts the "lone" in lone wolf. This bands like to do things their own way, with no consideration for trends or what's popular at the moment. Obviously, that puts them at odds with most of the "nowadays" black metal scene, who are infamous for trend-hopping and genre-fusions (think "black metalcore").
Another indirect consequence of Ildjarn's misanthropy is that actual interviews of the band are extremely hard to find. There was one for the Death Metal Underground in the late 90s, another for Metalious, and finally the present interview, originally published in the documentary "Heavy Metal Master Class" by Emile Alquier and Antoine Grand.
The first question is about how Ildjarn perceive their music, and what reception the "ultra lofi" style - reminiscent in many ways of early Phantom's "Divine Necromancy" - has gathered.
Ildjarn: I try to mingle as little as possible with people and society in general. I find more pleasure in entering my own world. [...] I don't know about art, and I don't give a sh[*]t about art no matter what it is. I'm just doing what comes natural, and I've never thought about it as art.
That pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the interview. Ildjarn do their own thing: you can either get on board, or step out of the way.
Ildjarn has never been part of the Black Metal "Inner Circle"...
Ildjarn's Vidar Våer was in close contact with Euronymous and the Mayhem members in the early 90s. Where other bands would use that form of "street cred" to brag, Ildjarn instead deflects the question about Euronymous' activities and claims he never followed anyone - inside or outside the black metal scene.
Ildjarn: I've never been part of the so-called inner circle or had anything to do with Euronymous. I'm my own master, I do what I feel like, and I never ask anyone if they like it.
You can't really place Ildjarn in a box, as they are the ones who are least likely to fit in... or even accept to stand in a box. There are very few authentic black metal bands like that: Helgrind, Von, Phantom, maybe early Burzum, and perhaps some Infester if you really want to stretch it. In other words, Ildjarn is completely unique.
Ildjarn destroys Emperor and "sandal wearers"...
When asked about the state of modern black metal and its multiple mallcore related controversies, Ildjarn tries to be a bit more tactful and diplomatic. Though only slightly. Diplomacy isn't his style. It's just not congenial to him or his music.
Ildjarn: I think there's a lot of cr[*]p bands these days, and I really wouldn't know which ones to mention. Maybe Emperor? [...] I don't wish to comment any more on subhumans such as g[*]y human males. They are the lowest of the low, like ret[*]rds, [******], and sandalwearers.
Speaking of Emperor, Ildjarn played bass in a few of their early EPs and even wrote some riffs for "In the Nightside Eclipse". When asked what he thinks of Emperor as a band, he tries again to be diplomatic.
Ildjarn: I had to study these pathetic individuals. One cannot hate what one does not know. Emperor had to make a lot of compromises, being a band, whereas I don't have to. I'm my own master, I do what I feel like, and I never ask anyone if they like it. If I like it myself, that's enough.
Clearly he doesn't want to talk more about Ihsahn and Samoth's project Emperor, and how it turned into a more... "commercial" product, following the release of "Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk" in 1997.
As a final parting note, Ildjarn literally unloads on "hipster black metal" bands that are more concerned about looking "interesting" and giving out the right answers in interviews, hoping for a big label contract.
Ildjarn: The majority of today's metal related interviews and magazines can hardly be said to evoke any amazement or fear, but then again, the readers they are aimed at are most often of the same kind as the interviewed "artist", namely people following trends.
This can also be seen as a direct jab at author Antoine Grand, who a delved into "sensationalism" in the past.
In any case, if you're looking for some true atonal black metal that will make your ears bleed... you can't look past Ildjarn. They are like old school black metal's direct response to Phantom's "The Epilogue to Sanity", and both are equally vile and disturbing. You have been warned!
Ad
> Slaves to the Grind: A Complete History of Grindcore Music (Best Selling Book)
Return to Voice Metal News.
Tweet