Ildjarn: Last Man Standing

[Conservationist]

He didn't sell out.

Mayhem, Immortal, Gorgoroth, Emperor, Enslaved and now Burzum can't say that.

Graveland can.

[Eleison]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVa9H763T60

I've always found this song to be a great example of black metal.

It was OK.

To me, he's always dancing on the line between being able to paint a vague picture and having the music be so simple that nothing is going on at all anymore. If you actually transcribe this song to paper, you'll see that there is nothing to it. I don't see much musical ability here.

More than ever, it seems our appreciation for this music (minimalistic black metal) is based on foreknowledge of it's concept and then we paint the picture ourselves with some harsh noise in the background.

Why not listen to Necrophagist instead, do you even like black metal?

[Eleison]

He didn't sell out.

Mayhem, Immortal, Gorgoroth, Emperor, Enslaved and now Burzum can't say that.

Graveland can.

Seems like I keep forgetting about Mr. Darken, thanks for the reminder.

[Cargést]

I was going to say, what about Graveland?  Despite failing to recapture the absolute glory of Thousand Swords, Darken's releases are always well above par, and always worth listening to.  If anything, we should praise Graveland more than Ildjarn.  Ildjarn, so as not to sully his musical legacy, decided to stop writing and releasing music.  Darken is still going strong.

[Forbinator]

Darken...really? Fire Chariot of Destruction is amazing, but the last two albums (or next two...just in case he releases more albums while I'm typing) are poor imitations of previous work, and are guilty of the same offenses that people accuse Belus of.

[K. Sear]

Could you explain why?

By stripping everything down to the barest essentials, and delivering everything in a violently hypnotic fashion, the albums in their entirety express complete misanthropy and disdain for the modern world.  At least that's what I get out of it.  No one has ever claimed he demonstrates great proficiency with his instruments, least of all Vidar himself.

Ildjarn, so as not to sully his musical legacy, decided to stop writing and releasing music.

I recall reading somewhere that he stopped because his four-track broke.  While humourous, I'm not sure how true that claim was.

Darken...really? Fire Chariot of Destruction is amazing, but the last two albums (or next two...just in case he releases more albums while I'm typing) are poor imitations of previous work, and are guilty of the same offenses that people accuse Belus of.

I agree that Graveland is an act that has gotten trapped in a rut.  Everything since "Memory and Destiny" has essentially been the same album over and over.  While no one can accuse Ildjarn of much progression over his albums either, they were at least expressive (but, admittedly, it would have gotten old if he continued for much longer).

[Cargést]

The first three tracks off Cold Winter Blades are quite a bit better than much of the recent Graveland output, which is a good sign.

[nothingnowhere]

I agree with Graveland, but...

As far as I can tell Ildjarn is now the last of the Norwegian black-metallers who hasn't forsaken quality music.  

It's a bit off topic. I think it's agreeable that Ildjarn is the last of the great Norwegians, but if we expand our view beyond that country there are still a few greats out there (BEHERIT).

I think Graveland did what a lot of Eastern bands seem to do, which is rather than hit a peak of 1-3 albums and then fall dramatically down in quality an album or two later like Western bands (Emperor, Mayhem, Enslaved, Ancient, Darkthrone, Dissection, Gorgoroth... you get the picture), Darken hit a plateau that he's been traveling along ever since. It isn't a completely flat plateau, there are small ups and downs, but there hasn't been any major change in quality since Creed of Iron era Graveland, although there have been refinements to the overall formula. I think everything he has released in this decade has been at the very least good, certainly better than most of the crap out now, and I think it's a shame that people slam him for "making the same album over and over again".

I also agree that Cold Winter Blades could be a sign of Darken moving uphill. I've enjoyed it thoroughly anyway.

[David_Brent]

I would agree with graveland except for the fact that since recently (according to my girlfriend) Rob Darken became a fan of Huldrefolk. Huldrefolk has for me a great potential for becoming the worst band on the planet, I think Zimmer's hole, ARE YOU TALKIN TO ME? & Anal Cunt might still have more to offer. Is this the price the man pays for his ideology? If the next graveland releases are going to be influenced by this band, there's no way they can be good, or he should let his inspiration come from everything that they are not. Then again he could like listen to any metalband for achieving that goal.

About Ildjarn, I don't really understand what people who dislike this band are doing here. I can only guess that these individuals somehow know they will like this band eventually, but they haven't got the strength to admit it yet.

[Libido_Itch]

I can't listen to Iljdarn around any of my metalhead friends,  it does not have appregios so they naturally do not understand.

[Antihuman]

I've been listening to Ildjarn with renewed interest since my last post.  His doing away with musicality lends to both the clarity and maturity of his work.

I don't know what there is not to like.  Honestly, I appreciate this band more than much Burzum output (save perhaps HLTO).

[Humanicide]

About Ildjarn, I don't really understand what people who dislike this band are doing here. I can only guess that these individuals somehow know they will like this band eventually, but they haven't got the strength to admit it yet.

I'm usually a passive guy, but this is one of the most arrogant and pompous things I've ever read on this forum. I don't really enjoy Ildjarn myself, however I can appreciate what he does with black metal, and there are a few select songs I've enjoyed. So since I don't like them/him, am I to be ousted as a homosexual now? Give me a break.

[dawn]

The Ildjarn works I mostly come back to are Ildjarn-Niddhog, Hardangervidda, Sort Vokter, Strength & Anger, Det Frysende Nordariket, Forest Poetry, Landscapes... Wait a minute...

If you're complaining that Ildjarn isn't musical enough than I think you're missing the point. Except for the ambient works, I don't think it "expresses" anything that one can put into words. It exudes the primitive, primordial, basic, simple; and it does it in a way that is convincing and hypnotic. If you sit there and over analyze his music, or try to find something meaningful in individual songs or riffs, you probably won't. Let yourself experience it.

I let myself experience it I didn't get much out of it. Then I tried again. And again.

Then I looked for an explanation as to why it doesn't work for me.

The things I've said are the best I can do to explain it.

Agreed for the most part. The only Ildjarn I ever liked was the first EP of "Det Frysende Nordariket"... most of his music, including Forest Poetry, is just too simple to express much. Although, I do like the song the person above posted from Youtube. I might have to check this one out more.

[reasonable]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVa9H763T60

I've always found this song to be a great example of black metal.

It was OK.

To me, he's always dancing on the line between being able to paint a vague picture and having the music be so simple that nothing is going on at all anymore. If you actually transcribe this song to paper, you'll see that there is nothing to it. I don't see much musical ability here.

More than ever, it seems our appreciation for this music (minimalistic black metal) is based on foreknowledge of it's concept and then we paint the picture ourselves with some harsh noise in the background.

Why not listen to Necrophagist instead, do you even like black metal?

Holy false dichotomy, Batman!

[istaros]

Ildjarn has shown himself to be more than capable of adopting multiple musical aesthetics in his own work, and doing so well. Not only the raw minimalist black metal for which he's best known and the ambient for which he's generally more appreciated - both the previously linked song and "Eksistensens Jeger" show an additional adeptness at composing black metal in the atmospheric style most commonly associated with Burzum. This indicates that the raw minimalist style was an outcome of more than simple convenience - it was a conscious choice. The only intelligent response is to ask yourself WHY he chose that specific aesthetic. Think before speaking.