In a career that was all too brief, a young Norwegian man named Terje Bakken, now known as Valfar to the metal masses, took black metal to a new level of refinement that bands like Emperor and Satyricon had only hinted at before. Valfar’s vision was a unique one that melded the grandeur and mood of Viking-era Bathory with the intensity of the first wave of Norwegian black metal and the folky touches of bands like Borknagar and Falkenbach. In honor of this brilliant artist, here’s a rundown of his full-length output from worst (or least good, rather) to best.
4. 1184 (2001)
On 1184, we hear plenty of the blasting black metal savagery and occasional folky indulgences one would expect. Unlike on Windir’s previous releases, though, bandleader Valfar depended heavily on tricks taken from electronic music. This is most obvious in album closer ‘Journey to the End,’ the second half of which is a lengthy stream of mysterious, not-quite-danceable synthesizer music. Fortunately, Valfar never lost track of Windir’s mission amid this album’s experimentation. Despite its electronic ingredients, 1184 still very much sounds like a Windir album, replete with thoughtful ambience and folky flavorings frequently augmenting the more traditional black metal elements. It was a slight departure for Windir, but one Valfar was more than capable of handling.
Best track: ‘Dance of the Mortal Lust’ – This is a bit truer to Windir’s original vision than the rest of the album, though it also stands above the others in terms of catchiness.
3. Likferd (2003)
The final album Valfar recorded before dying the most Norwegian death possible (that is to say, ‘of hypothermia after getting trapped in a blizzard’), Likferd is a fitting swan song that truly speaks to the ambition of its creator. Each song is a sweeping epic that sees Valfar taking everything that had previously made Windir great and reaching farther with them than ever before. The electronic stuff from 1184 is still around, adding some serene atmosphere and a few extra layers of complexity, the tremolo lines are about as majestic as they can get, the vocals (particularly those deep-voiced cleans) are more emotionally rich than ever, and each segment builds on the one that came before it until each song is a monolith of black metal songcraft. Though in terms of pure atmospheric bliss and fury, it can’t quite top either of Windir’s first two albums, there’s no denying that Likferd was a hell of a final chapter to Valfar’s career.
Best track: ‘Despot’ – This is probably the album’s best showcase of Valfar’s ability to write soaring leads, complex tremolos, resonant interludes, and epic keyboard accompaniment, though it’s hard to choose just one.
2. Sóknardalr (1997)
Windir’s debut found the band in fine form. Despite the production being a little too weak and muddy, Sóknardalr is the perfect compromise between pure Norwegian black metal and Falkenbach’s brand of Viking metal. The album’s traditional tremolos and blast beats pair well with hypnotic ambiance stitched together from subtle guitar leads and layers of keys. The songs manage to avoid the homogeneity that often plagues extreme metal, with the folky, high-speed riff that arises from out of nowhere on ‘Sognariket sine krigarar’ and the mournful, ghostly choruses of ‘Mørket sin fyrste’ proving to be especially memorable. Remarkably sophisticated for a debut, Sóknardalr boasts a strong emotional resonance and all the aggressive flair that characterizes pagan-minded black metal at its finest.
Best track: ‘Mørket sin fyrste’ – This one boasts the album’s most haunting vocal lines in its choruses and weaves an irresistable spell as it blends the most intense and introspective qualities of Scandinavian pagan metal.
1. Arntor (1999)
Black metal can be a tough genre to get into. Arntor is the album I needed to experience to finally understand the beauty of the art form. Once I heard the anthemic mid-paced march and emotive chorus of ‘Kampen,’ I at long last knew what I was missing. From the album’s beginning to its end, the melancholy coldness and isolation of a Norwegian winter were there in Valfar’s majestic tremolos, emotive keyboard accompaniment, anguished harsh vocals, and sonorous cleans. The beauty of Scandinavia’s musical heritage inundates Arntor, particularly in the epic, mood-setting accordion piece that starts the album and the sparse, waltzing midsection of the title track. The black metal foundation, meanwhile, communicates ageless fury, sorrow, and longing. Arntor is a gorgeous tapestry of somber folk, furious metal, and Wagner-inspired ambiance that carries the spirit of Norway’s pagan past. Arntor is Valfar’s masterpiece, a work that affirms the richness and sophistication black metal can have and forever raises the bar for future songwriters working in more atmospheric, ambitious strains of the genre.
Best track: Arntor Ein Windir – This album’s title track boasts an irresistible waltzing midsection and somber clear vocals makes this one truly special, but it’s the main tremolo line–one of the most memorable in all of black metal–that makes this one truly special.
