SOLEFALD: New Music Posted Online

Norwegian musician Cornelius Jakhelln (SOLEFALD, STURMGEIST) has issued the following update:

"It is a pleasure to write you on the eve of Borat's great movie film premiere — I for sure will not miss out on that one. I am now back in Berlin, where I try to recuperate after a long and sunny Norwegian summer (I know it sounds like a contradiction in terms, that a Norwegian summer could be long and sunny; global warning has finally come to Scandinavia, though. Check out the film 'An Inconvient Truth' for more infoganda: www.climatecrisis.net). Over to the music updates:

"On October 16th, STURMGEIST's new album 'Über' was released worldwide through Season of Mist. Metal Hammer (UK) magazine's Malcolm Dome gave the album the score 8/10, stating that 'STURMGEIST deliver a cohesive, cogent performance. One reason is that each track showcases almost the complete breadth of the project's inventive, splayed sense of adventure. At times it is like listening to LORDI interpreted by DIMMU BORGIR, with the depraved guidance of Al Jourgensen and FINNTROLL. And some of the choruses sound like old German drinking songs.' The German magazine Rock Hard awarded the album a lousy 3/10, claiming that this 'wenig bis gar nicht beseelten Scheibe' would only fit in on dancefloors in the countryside. Not too bad, after all, as being Jäger-drunk in Redneck County definitely matches the STURMGEIST definition of 'party.'

"I have edited a STURMGEISTprofile at MySpace, where you will find the songs 'Rock Me Amadeus', a cover of FALCO's classic from 1985, and 'Blood-Axe', along with 'Master Hunter' and 'Shock & Awe' from last year's 'Meister Mephisto' album.

"On November 13th, SOLEFALD's sixth studio album 'Black for Death: An Icelandic Odyssey Part 2' will see the light of day on Season of Mist. Concluding our Icelandic odyssey is something of a high for me, as we have been working on it since 2003. The album tells the story of an outlawed poet in medieval Iceland, Bragi, and how he strives for survival, revenge and sanity. More than being just plain Viking Metal, this album offers a psychological journey to the frontiers of life, told by Loki the Trickster:

"'Centuries have flowed down the cyclical drain of time since the events I am about to tell; kings born and queens gone, the chain of human lives grown in one end and withered away in the other. My skin is still tight like a drumskin, my mind unpredictable as ever, whereas all that remains of the protagonists you are about to know, is teeth and bones. Know me not by name, but by my colours: RED FOR FIRE + BLACK FOR DEATH. Sometimes I confess my evil actions, not because I really regret them, but because making a confession makes me feel good. Such is the case of the drama I once participated in, a fight for the QUEEN IN THE BAY OF SMOKE. I visited the hall of King Haukur, disguised as a warrior, and fell in love with his frost-white queen, Disa. I saw how little she loved her husband, and how fond she was of the king's poet, who was known sometimes as Bragi the Beautiful. The queen and the skald loved each other. I told Haukur about the unfaithfulness of his wife, and consequently, Bragi was outlawed at the Althing the following year. For seven years he strayed the land of ice, until he tried to jump into the fire of the volcano Hekla. Then, unexpectedly, the High One intervened, encouraging Bragi to live on and have justice done. When Bragi decided to return to Haukur's hall in Reykjavik, he was pulled into a stone and led to the SILVER DWARF, the king of the UNDERWORLD. The Silver Dwarf taught Bragi a lesson about pride and endurance, and thus fortified, the poet continued his NECRODYSSEY towards the Bay of Smoke. While walking he summoned his ancestors, the ALLFATHERS, resolved to fight for their legend and their honour. You can guess, mortal, that my fellow gods disapproved of my ploys, for while Bragi suffered in the cold, I went to the banquet in Ægir's hall, where the unforgettable LOKASENNA took place, the quarrel of the gods. LOKI TRICKSTER GOD was the cause of the fight, as he had had Bragi outlawed in Midgard. Loki's disrepute shall be SPOKEN TO THE END OF ALL. Now that you know my name, do not judge me too harshly; I still carry the scar that Bragi's sword left on my abdomen. When he came back to the hall of the king, Disa stood there waiting for him, with the thrall Jarður. As she embraced Bragi, and told him what had really happened, they were spotted by Haukur's guard. As soon as Haukur arrived, Bragi drove his sword into the king's right eye, in a fit of divine rage, then he buryed the same sword deeply into my stomach. Haukur died on the spot, Bragi was killed shortly after. Disa and Jarður managed to get away unnoticed, and escape with the ship they had waiting. They crossed the DARK WAVES DYING, fleeing from yet another LOKASENNA, finally landing on the shores of Norway. May you enjoy my story, and honour your SAGATELLER by living it, over and over again.'

"Talking of Loki the Trickster: The track 'Loki Trickster God' features a vocal guest appearance by ULVER's Trickster G., expressing the Norse jester's yearning for c.a.r.n.a.l. love.

"Today I completed a new SOLEFALDprofile at MySpace that contains two tracks from the new album. I am sure the entire album is floating around in bit torrent space already, but by visiting our MySpace page you can listen to parts of it while actually retaining your status as a lawful citizen.

"Next year I will publish my first book in English through my own piccolissimo publishing house, Propagenia Press. Put simply, the book will be a subjective biography about SOLEFALD, containing all published and some unpublished lyrics, band photographs, as well as a few funny anecdotes and controversial statements on the State of the Me(n)tal Nation. In 2007 it will be ten years since our debut album, 'The Linear Scaffold', first appeared, thus I find it appropriate to recapitulate our saga of mindcrime and madness, poverty and poetry, in the form of a book. Designers Trine Paulsen and Kim Sølve will take care of the design."