ABOUT
Formed in 2013, Vanvidd is a band from Southern Norway that plays folk metal inspired by 19th century Norwegian national-romanticism and folklore. The Vanvidd sound spans everything from cold, grim, and boggy riffage to progressive and orchestral cinematic musical landscapes. All of their lyrics are in Norwegian.
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Vanvidd played live for the first time on January 7th, 2014. Since then, they have played live with bands like Enslaved, Trollfest and In The Woods, performed on the main stage at the Midgardsblot festival, and even in the smoldering polish heat (sunglasses ist Krieg).They first released their self-titled album Vanvidd in 2016. Since then, they have released smaller singles and EPs leading up to their sophomore album, Under ei morken rot. Their deranged, beer-loving friends in Trollfest even make an appearance on the Song “Storm”
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After the plague has passed, Vanvidd will tour in Norway, and possibly around the world – Be ready.
MEMBERS
Kjetil Emil Lie
Kjetil Emil Lie, lead guitarist, is the founding father of Vanvidd. His vision was to create a band inspired by occult folk music and black metal, with lyrics about Norwegian folklore – with a pinch of irony.
Norwegian folklore and history is rooted deep in his soul. There is a reason why Emil has a bunch of old instruments laying around his house, like accordions, zithers, and fiddles. They connect him to a time in history that can only be relived through the magic of music.
Emil plays accordion on the songs “Storm” and “Fenalår”, and he plays mandolin on the album’s title-track “Under ei morken rot”.
Mathias Dahlsveen
Mathias Dahlsveen is Vanvidd's first and only lead-vocalist throughout the band’s existence. Mathias is a talented wordsmith and functions as Vanvidd’s main lyricist and editor. His vocals are inspired by Norwegian bands like Windir, Taake, Kvist, Ulver, and DHG, as well as some unexpected artists like Tom Waits and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins. In addition to handling vocal duties, Mathias plays acoustic guitar and mandolin at shows. If you’re lucky, he may pull out the banjo and shred some tasty riffage for the song “Nekroalkymi”.
Mathias joined Vanvidd on October 31st, 2013. As if that wasn’t ironic enough, he is generally laid-back, speaks in a low voice, and doesn’t draw attention to himself. An anti-frontman who, for some reason, just works in a live scenario. Mathias also plays several string instruments, piano (badly), and is the primus motor of his doom side project, Graatt. He is truly a jack of all trades.
Mathias Dahlsveen
Mathias Dahlsveen is Vanvidd's first and only lead-vocalist throughout the band’s existence. Mathias is a talented wordsmith and functions as Vanvidd’s main lyricist and editor. His vocals are inspired by Norwegian bands like Windir, Taake, Kvist, Ulver, and DHG, as well as some unexpected artists like Tom Waits and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins. In addition to handling vocal duties, Mathias plays acoustic guitar and mandolin at shows. If you’re lucky, he may pull out the banjo and shred some tasty riffage for the song “Nekroalkymi”.
Mathias joined Vanvidd on October 31st, 2013. As if that wasn’t ironic enough, he is generally laid-back, speaks in a low voice, and doesn’t draw attention to himself. An anti-frontman who, for some reason, just works in a live scenario. Mathias also plays several string instruments, piano (badly), and is the primus motor of his doom side project, Graatt. He is truly a jack of all trades.
Markus Lillegaard
Markus Lillegaard joined as Vanvidd's bassist in 2013. Live, he brings an energy that is unmatched by the others of the band. He is in many cases, the essence of Vanvidd's meaning - "Madness".
During the recording of Under ei morken rot, Markus joined in with a plethora of new instruments, such as the willow flute, jaw harp, and zither. While Markus mainly handles the low-end, he has composed a lot of guitar riffs and written a lot of song parts for the band.
Markus’ bass shredding is so sought after that he has appeared live with both our friends in Trollfest and Vorbid.
Sondre Kile Andersen
Sondre Kile Andersen started out as Vanvidd’s first drummer in 2013. But in the summer of 2014, he had to leave the band to study in Oslo. After a short break of three years, he rejoined Vanvidd in 2017, this time on keyboards. He has been playing keys ever since.
When Vanvidd composes new music, Sondre is behind the arrangements of full orchestras, choirs, and other instruments. Sondre has also been Vanvidd’s producer on the last three releases, Urkraft, Fødsel, and Under ei morken rot.
Sondre plays accordion on “Havtrollet” and “Orm”, sings backing vocals, and plays guitar on “Storm” and “Fenalår”. On the record he also plays acoustic guitar on “Blodsjord”, lead guitar at the end of “Havtrollet”, and percussion.
Sondre Kile Andersen
Sondre Kile Andersen started out as Vanvidd’s first drummer in 2013. But in the summer of 2014, he had to leave the band to study in Oslo. After a short break of three years, he rejoined Vanvidd in 2017, this time on keyboards. He has been playing keys ever since.
When Vanvidd composes new music, Sondre is behind the arrangements of full orchestras, choirs, and other instruments. Sondre has also been Vanvidd’s producer on the last three releases, Urkraft, Fødsel, and Under ei morken rot.
Sondre plays accordion on “Havtrollet” and “Orm”, sings backing vocals, and plays guitar on “Storm” and “Fenalår”. On the record he also plays acoustic guitar on “Blodsjord”, lead guitar at the end of “Havtrollet”, and percussion.
Marcus Gullovsen
Marcus Gullovsen joined Vanvidd as their drummer in 2014, after Sondre left. His drumming is great – his heart is greater.
From 2018 to 2020, Marcus left Vanvidd as a full time member in order to focus his talent on the progressive thrash band Vorbid, but stayed on as a session drummer for Vanvidd. This is why he can not be seen in the "Blodsjord" music video and is missing from some band-photos.
But, as Al Pacino famously stated: "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!" Marcus officially joined the band again in 2020 and is now kept on a strict diet of expensive cigars and TLC to ensure the band never has to try and find a replacement (an impossible task).
Marcus is also Vanvidd’s funniest member. His sense of humor is so refined and subtle that it only registers with the most passionate “skroters”.
Ole Markus Nordhagen
Ole Markus Nordhagen is Vanvidd’s rhythm guitarist and has been a part of the crew since 2017. With a background in the experimental, extreme, and psychedelic, his playing style is equally reminiscent of wounded wraiths as well as the weird and wonderful.
Charging the task of filling his predecessor, William Moltemyr’s shoes, he eagerly brought his own musical sensibilities to the table. This can be heard especially in the epos “Orm”, and in the doomier, psychedelic explorations of Vanvidd’s live performances.
Ole Markus has crossed paths with all of Vanvidd’s members in other musical contexts before and after. He initially played some jaw harp with the band during rehearsals, after making their acquaintance via other projects. He has also jammed out drunk with Emil in the forest, with what was then proto-Vanvidd.
Ole Markus Nordhagen
Ole Markus Nordhagen is Vanvidd’s rhythm guitarist and has been a part of the crew since 2017. With a background in the experimental, extreme, and psychedelic, his playing style is equally reminiscent of wounded wraiths as well as the weird and wonderful.
Charging the task of filling his predecessor, William Moltemyr’s shoes, he eagerly brought his own musical sensibilities to the table. This can be heard especially in the epos “Orm”, and in the doomier, psychedelic explorations of Vanvidd’s live performances.
Ole Markus has crossed paths with all of Vanvidd’s members in other musical contexts before and after. He initially played some jaw harp with the band during rehearsals, after making their acquaintance via other projects. He has also jammed out drunk with Emil in the forest, with what was then proto-Vanvidd.