Andreas Hedlund
Encyclopedia
Andreas Hedlund also known as Vintersorg and Mr. V, is a Swedish vocalist and multi-instrumentalist who has played in several heavy metal
bands.
As the year 2000 arose, so did a new project for Hedlund. This new band, entitled Havayoth
, was a gothic metal
band formed by Marcus "Vargher" E. Norman from Ancient Wisdom, Bewitched, Naglfar
, and Throne of Ahaz and Morgan Hansson, also from Naglfar. Hedlund sang on the 2000 album, His Creation Reversed, but left the band a few years later before he participated with them on anything else. The band continues on today without Hedlund.
as vocalist, Borknagar
was in need of a new singer. Having been friends for some time, Øystein G. Brun asked Hedlund to take the reins for their forthcoming album, Empiricism
. Hedlund joined the band in 2001, and is still their vocalist to this day, having now recorded three albums on Century Media Records
, as well as their forthcoming album on Indie Recordings
and playing live on many occasions.
In 2002, Benny Hägglund, long time friend of Hedlund, and live drummer for Vintersorg
, began working on music for a project that would combine melody and aggression into energetic songs. He eventually felt compelled to ask Hedlund for support in this project, thus Fission
was born. With Benny playing drums, guitar, and bass, and Hedlund singing and adding his experimental edge to their melodic thrash metal
with his unique synths, the band recorded their first full-length, entitled Crater
, released in 2004 through Napalm Records
.
& symphonic rock
rather than any of the genres of metal
he had become known for. As he continued to write more, this project began to culminate into a full-fledged solo band, which he called Waterfield. Eventually Hedlund had enough material for a full-length album, which he released through Lion Music
on January 20, 2006 under the title The Astral Factor
, now with the band name Waterclime
.
Being long time friends, Øystein G. Brun and Hedlund eventually began to form a musical bond and found a mutual vision. They played with the idea of a band starting in 2000, but when Hedlund joined Borknagar
the idea was put on hold for some time. Starting in 2005, the project finally returned though, originally called Ion, and now called Cronian
, the band was their joint vision. Music that went beyond standard song structures to create a cinematic feel, while invoking images of grand and epic arctic landscapes was the goal, and the goal came into fruition on 27 March 2006 with the release of Terra, through Century Media Records
.
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
bands.
Biography
Hedlund's musical career came to be in 1994 when he and a few other musicians formed "Vargatron". The original style was meant to be rooted in black metal but using mostly clean vocals and only a few moments of the traditional grim screaming. After a few line-up changes, the group broke up in 1996, but Hedlund still wanted to work with the songs he wrote for Vargatron and decided to record them by himself. As a result, he revived the act as a solo project and changed its name to "Vintersorg", a project he continues to this day.As the year 2000 arose, so did a new project for Hedlund. This new band, entitled Havayoth
Havayoth
Havayoth is a gothic metal band formed in 2000, in Sweden. Their sound can be described as gothic metal, inspiring a relaxing but at the same time dark, majestic and grave atmosphere....
, was a gothic metal
Gothic metal
Gothic metal or goth metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that combines the aggression of doom metal with the dark melancholy of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy metal music...
band formed by Marcus "Vargher" E. Norman from Ancient Wisdom, Bewitched, Naglfar
Naglfar (band)
Naglfar is a Swedish melodic black metal band formed in 1992. The group was formed by Jens Rydén and Kristoffer Olivius, originally under the name Uninterred.-Biography:...
, and Throne of Ahaz and Morgan Hansson, also from Naglfar. Hedlund sang on the 2000 album, His Creation Reversed, but left the band a few years later before he participated with them on anything else. The band continues on today without Hedlund.
Old friends
Following the departure of ICS VortexICS Vortex
Simen Hestnæs , also known as I.C.S. Vortex, or just simply Vortex, is a Norwegian musician, best known as the current vocalist of the avant-garde metal band Arcturus, the current vocalist and bass guitarist to the progressive black metal band Borknagar, and the former bass guitarist and backing...
as vocalist, Borknagar
Borknagar
Borknagar is a progressive black metal band from Bergen, Norway, founded in 1995 by Øystein Garnes Brun. The band's style combines folk metal and black metal with progressive and melodic elements...
was in need of a new singer. Having been friends for some time, Øystein G. Brun asked Hedlund to take the reins for their forthcoming album, Empiricism
Empiricism (album)
Empiricism is the fifth studio album by Borknagar, and their first studio album to feature Vintersorg on vocals, along with the addition of Tyr on bass. This would mark the last album appearance of Jens F...
. Hedlund joined the band in 2001, and is still their vocalist to this day, having now recorded three albums on Century Media Records
Century Media Records
Century Media Records is an Independent record label with offices in the United States, Germany, Australia, France, Italy, Sweden, Finland, and the United Kingdom.- Background :...
, as well as their forthcoming album on Indie Recordings
Indie Recordings
Indie Recordings is a Norwegian independent record label specialising in heavy metal. The label was founded in 2006 by brothers Espen and Erik Solheim Røhne, who previously founded Tabu Recordings. Indie Recordings has its headquarters in Oslo, Norway...
and playing live on many occasions.
In 2002, Benny Hägglund, long time friend of Hedlund, and live drummer for Vintersorg
Vintersorg
Vintersorg is a Swedish band from Skellefteå, formed in 1994 under the name Vargatron . Musically, Vintersorg has covered a wide number of heavy metal genres; while the band is mostly rooted in extreme metal styles, particularly black metal and Viking/folk metal, it has also expanded into...
, began working on music for a project that would combine melody and aggression into energetic songs. He eventually felt compelled to ask Hedlund for support in this project, thus Fission
Fission (band)
Fission is a Swedish melodic death metal band formed in 2002. The band began as Benny Hägglund's personal project, with the hopes of fusing melody and aggression into his music. After writing some material, he decided to seek aid from Andreas Hedlund of Vintersorg, the band in which Hägglund plays...
was born. With Benny playing drums, guitar, and bass, and Hedlund singing and adding his experimental edge to their melodic thrash metal
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
with his unique synths, the band recorded their first full-length, entitled Crater
Crater (album)
Crater is the debut album from the Swedish melodic death/thrash metal band, Fission.-Track listing:#"Mechanism" – 0:43#"Crater" – 4:44#"Accelerator" – 5:02#"Empty Nimbus" – 3:16#"Magnetism" – 5:55#"Catastrophe Consumer" – 3:49...
, released in 2004 through Napalm Records
Napalm Records
Napalm Records is an Austrian independent record label focused on heavy metal and hard rock.Originally, Napalm Records focused mainly on black metal acts such as Abigor and Summoning and folk metal bands such as Falkenbach and Vintersorg....
.
Present Day
In the autumn of 2004, Hedlund began writing music in his spare time. The difference though was this music was a reflection of a more personal, emotional side of his mind, and it came out in the form of progressive rockProgressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
& symphonic rock
Symphonic rock
Symphonic rock is a sub-genre of progressive rock. Since early in progressive rock's history, the term has been used sometimes to distinguish more classically influenced progressive rock from the more psychedelic and experimental forms of progressive rock....
rather than any of the genres of metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
he had become known for. As he continued to write more, this project began to culminate into a full-fledged solo band, which he called Waterfield. Eventually Hedlund had enough material for a full-length album, which he released through Lion Music
Lion Music
Lion Music is a production company and record label founded in 1989 by composer and artist Lars Eric Mattsson.-History:Lion Music was founded in 1989 by Lars Eric Mattsson as a production company to handle production and licensing for his records in Europe, the United States, and Asia, where a...
on January 20, 2006 under the title The Astral Factor
The Astral Factor
The Astral Factor is the first full-length album by Swedish progressive rock band Waterclime. It was released on 20 June 2006.-Track listing:#"Mountains" – 5:41#"Floating" – 4:09#"The Astral Factor" – 5:38#"Diamond Moon" – 4:09...
, now with the band name Waterclime
Waterclime
Waterclime is a project of Andreas Hedlund aka Vintersorg, of the band of the eponymous name, as well as Borknagar, Otyg, Cronian, Fission, and Havayoth. Unlike Vintersorg's other bands, Waterclime is in no way metal, but rather a unique blend of progressive rock and jazz with melody and atmosphere...
.
Being long time friends, Øystein G. Brun and Hedlund eventually began to form a musical bond and found a mutual vision. They played with the idea of a band starting in 2000, but when Hedlund joined Borknagar
Borknagar
Borknagar is a progressive black metal band from Bergen, Norway, founded in 1995 by Øystein Garnes Brun. The band's style combines folk metal and black metal with progressive and melodic elements...
the idea was put on hold for some time. Starting in 2005, the project finally returned though, originally called Ion, and now called Cronian
Cronian
Cronian is a progressive/avant-garde metal band from Norway and Sweden founded in 2004 by Øystein Brun and Andreas Hedlund, also known as Vintersorg...
, the band was their joint vision. Music that went beyond standard song structures to create a cinematic feel, while invoking images of grand and epic arctic landscapes was the goal, and the goal came into fruition on 27 March 2006 with the release of Terra, through Century Media Records
Century Media Records
Century Media Records is an Independent record label with offices in the United States, Germany, Australia, France, Italy, Sweden, Finland, and the United Kingdom.- Background :...
.
With Vintersorg
- HedniskhjärtadHedniskhjärtadHedniskhjärtad is the first released recording by Swedish folk metal band Vintersorg. It was released on 6 July 1998.-Background on the album:The story as to the creation of the album is as follows, taken from the back of the album's booklet:...
(EP) (1998) - Till FjällsTill FjällsTill Fjälls is the first full-length album by Swedish folk metal band Vintersorg. Stylistically this continued in the same musical vein as the previous album, Hedniskhjärtad, with black metal-style riffs, harsh vocals and blast beats interspersed with folk-ish melodies, acoustics, and...
(1998) - Ödemarkens SonÖdemarkens SonÖdemarkens son is the second full-length album by Swedish progressive/folk metal band Vintersorg. It was released on 16 November 1999. It builds on the folk metal of the previous album.-Track listing:-Credits:*Mr...
(1999) - Cosmic GenesisCosmic GenesisCosmic Genesis is the third full-length album by Swedish progressive/folk metal band Vintersorg. It was released on November 3, 2000. The album signaled a move away from the folk metal of the previous two albums to progressive, as well as lyrical themes, now mostly written in English, moving...
(2000) - Visions From The Spiral GeneratorVisions from the Spiral GeneratorVisions from the Spiral Generator is the fourth full-length album by Swedish progressive/folk metal band Vintersorg. It was released on June 24, 2002. This album saw a drastic shift in style in the band that was foreshadowed on the band's prior album, Cosmic Genesis...
(2002) - The Focusing BlurThe Focusing BlurThe Focusing Blur is the fifth full-length album by Swedish progressive/folk metal band Vintersorg. It was released on February 16, 2004. This album was the most progressive album to date, with many experimental and avant-garde elements and the lyrics were now all written and sung in English.-Track...
(2004) - Solens RötterSolens RötterSolens rötter is the sixth full-length album by Swedish folk metal band Vintersorg. The album re-introduced Andreas Hedlund's use of all Swedish lyrics, something Vintersorg has not had since their 1999 full-length, Ödemarkens son...
(2007) - JordpulsJordpulsJordpuls is the seventh full-length album by Swedish folk metal band Vintersorg. As with the previous album Solens Rötter, the lyrics are all in Swedish.-Track listing:...
(2011)
With Borknagar
- EmpiricismEmpiricism (album)Empiricism is the fifth studio album by Borknagar, and their first studio album to feature Vintersorg on vocals, along with the addition of Tyr on bass. This would mark the last album appearance of Jens F...
(2001) - Epic (2004)
- OriginOrigin (Borknagar album)Origin is Borknagar's seventh studio album, and is primarily an acoustic effort. Origin explores the band's more progressive and traditional elements....
(2006) - UniversalUniversal (Borknagar album)Universal is the eighth full-length album by the Norwegian metal band Borknagar. It marks the return of guitarist Jens F. Ryland. The band's former vocalist ICS Vortex performed vocals on the track My Domain. The album was intended to be released in the fall of 2009, but the release date was...
(2010)
With Waterclime
- The Astral FactorThe Astral FactorThe Astral Factor is the first full-length album by Swedish progressive rock band Waterclime. It was released on 20 June 2006.-Track listing:#"Mountains" – 5:41#"Floating" – 4:09#"The Astral Factor" – 5:38#"Diamond Moon" – 4:09...
(2006) - ImaginativeImaginative (album)Imaginative is the second full-length album by Swedish progressive rock band Waterclime. It was released on October 19, 2007 and produced, mixed and mastered by Mr V at Waves Studios in 2007.-Track listing:#"Vision or Void" – 6:16#"Flashes" – 4:22...
(2007)