1349, Origin, Abysmal Dawn, WOLVHAMMER

1349 rose from the ashes of Alvheim in 1997, counting Ravn (vocals & drums), Tjalve (guitars), Seidemann (bass) and Balfori (guitars). Balfori quit shortly after due to musical divergence. In early '99 the band found Archaon whose speed and technique took their music to a new level of intensity and brutality.

Come spring 2000, 1349 decided to record a new promo showcasing the new material, and Frost of Satyricon was asked to lay down the drum tracks to get the speed required. Holycaust Records offered them a deal and released the new promo as an eponymous MCD. By early 2001, the band felt they had enough killer songs for afull-length album – "Liberation". Hearing this material, Frost was so impressed that he asked to join and became a permanent member of the band. Recorded and mixed at Gordon Studios, Liberation blended old school soundscapes with warp-speed hysteria. 1349 signed with Candlelight Records in 2003 and released their debut full-length album in april 2003, then marched unstoppably forwards with the following releases "Beyond the Apocalypse" in 2004 and "Hellfire" in 2005.

In between recordings 1349 spent a lot of time on the road and have over the years toured with Celtic Frost, Gorgoroth and Carcass, to name a few, as well as performing at festivals like Wacken, Summer Breeze, Hellfest and SXSW. Guitarist and founding member Tjalve left in 2006 to focus his musical efforts on his band Pantheon I. Four years after the release of "Hellfire", 1349 decided to unleash a quite different monster upon the unsuspecting masses and "Revelations of the Black Flame" saw 1349 return to Studio Studio Nyhagen with Tom G. Warrior co-mixing the album along with Ravn. Released May 25th 2009 on Candlelight Records, Revelations... saw 1349 explore the slower, darker and more ambient side of black metal, while still retaining the spirit of aural hellfire. An even deeper darkness was added to the sphere of 1349...it became evident that from here, it was gonna get scary.

2010 was a year when 1349 really started to flex muscles. With new cooperation partner Indie Recordings as the chosen label, 1349 unleashed their latest aural assault DEMONOIR, filled to the brim with abyssic darkness and hellish energy. This release - by far their most brutal to this date - showed that the band had gotten capable at blending a deeper and more sinister darkness with extreme intensity and venomous aggression, another proof of the band's innovative take on Black Metal.

The year also saw 1349 playing some one-off European shows, coming to Finland for the first time, as well as touring the US with Cannibal Corpse and later co-headlining with Triptykon. Several high-profile festivals such as Wacken and Summer Breeze were once again given a lethal dose of Hellfire.

2011 started with a showcase at By:Larm and followed with festival appearances at Hellfest, Roskilde, Party-San, Brutal Assault and Bloodstock. The year was topped of with an infernal concert at Oslo's big rock stage, Rockefeller, and a UK and Ireland tour.

2012 brings 1349 to places dark and strange; be warned, and be ready...

On July 4th, 1997, Paul Ryan and Jeremy Turner, acquaintances through mutual friends, had a conversation that would change their lives. Shortly thereafter, the two guitarists/vocalists got together and started jamming with the intent to create a band embodying blistering speed, total brutality, technical proficiency, and the utmost in quality musicianship.

In October, 1997, they convinced long-time friend Clint Appelhanz to put down his guitar, pick up a bass and join them. Coincidentally, Paul was also good friends with vocalist Mark Manning, who possessed an unbelievably monstrous voice of unmatched ferocity. After hearing the damage the existing members had rendered, Mark aligned himself with the nascent group.

In January, 1998, the quartet found drummer George Fluke, who enabled the artists to push the boundaries of their music even further. Finally, after deciding on a moniker that best represented their vision, the unearthly entity known as ORIGIN was created. Four months after formation, ORIGIN landed a high-profile gig opening for SUFFOCATION, and unleashed on the unsuspecting crowd a torrent of unbelievably technical, pulverizing death metal. The band then entered the studio and recorded a four-song, self-financed and self-distributed demo entitled "A Coming Into Existence," which received rave reviews. During the summer Origin played a couple more shows with bands WORMWOOD, DISASSOCIATE, DOWN BY ANGER & THE HEAVILY CREATED.

ORIGIN delivered a sonic barrage of inhuman proportions with their next album. Introducing two new members James Lee on vocals (ILL-OMEN) & Mike Flores (ONCE LIVING) on bass, the mind-eroding "Informis Infinitas Inhumanitas." was faster, darker, and more complex than anything the death genre has issued to date. "Informis Infinitas Inhumanitas" showcased ORIGIN's otherworldly musicianship while delivering heinous amounts of the band's unique "aggro-tech" extremity. Immediately following the release of "Informis Infinitas Inhumanitas," ORIGIN hit the road as part of the largest metal tour of the summer; with NILE, ARCH ENEMY and HATE ETERNAL. Following the tour Jeremy Turner resigned from the band and Clint Appelhanz returned to do a tour with IMMOLATION, VADER & the BERZERKER followed by another tour with ALL THAT REMAINS, SCAR CULTURE, and CREMATORIUM. Unforeseen problems forced ORIGIN to cancel the tour with NUCLEAR ASSAULT in January 2003 and shortly thereafter John Longstreth resigned from the band. The search was on for a new drummer and luckily enough James King (UNMERCIFUL) was the man to fill the spot.

In June 2007, Jeremy Turner rejoined ORIGIN, thus re-forming the "Informis Infinitas Inhumanitas" line-up, which is widely considered to be the band's strongest line-up. The band began writing and recording for a new full-length for the remainder of 2007. The resulting brand new album, "Antithesis", was engineered by Rob Rebeck at Chapman Studios and mastered by Scott Hull at Visceral Sound.

"Antithesis" is marked for an April 2008 release date and explodes out of the box at breakneck speed, with guitars and bass shredding wildly behind a beastly 3-vocal attack, slowing only for the virtuosic soloing of emerging guitar heroes Paul Ryan and Jeremy Turner. Faster, heavier, and decidedly more advanced than anyone could have ever envisioned the genre becoming, "Antithesis" is a modern day death metal classic, which proves ORIGIN stand head and shoulders above their peers.


ORIGIN is:

Paul Ryan – guitars / vocals
Jeremy Turner – guitars / vocals
James Lee – vocals
Mike Flores – bass / vocals
John Longstreth – drums

ABYSMAL DAWN plays aggressive modern death that combines some of the best elements of both black and thrash metal. The band seamlessly blends the catchiness and technicality of early 90's American death, with ample doses of atmosphere, melody and the brutality of their contemporaries. Pain ridden death growls, complex drumming and soaring leads all help make From Ashes one of the strongest debuts within the extreme music genre in a long time! Hailing from Los Angeles CA, ABYSMAL DAWN was formed in late-2003 after Charles Elliotts (guitars/vocals) departure from the long running local blackened/death act Rise. Soon after, Elliott sought to start an entirely new project with his former Inhuman Visions band mate, Jamie Boulanger (guitars). The pair recruited Terry Barajas (drums) and frantically began writing material that would soon invoke mass hysteria throughout the metal community. The bands first three song demo was unleashed upon mankind in October of 2004. It garnered the band critical praise within the underground metal press circuit, as well as earning them some high profile gigs. 2005 saw the band playing alongside some of metals most elite acts such as Exodus, 3 Inches of Blood, Krisiun, Incantation, Hate Eternal, Into Eternity, Exhumed, Aborted, Disgorge, Impaled, Crisis and Decrepit Birth, to name a few. Metal audiences clamored to see the bands energetic stage shows, and demand for a proper recording soon became overwhelming. In November of 2005, ABYSAML DAWN entered Shiva Industries in Santa Ana to start work on their debut release entitled From Ashes. For the recording, the band enlisted the help of longtime friend and live bassist, Mike Bear (Ex-Prototype, Artisan) to fill in the bottom end. The result is nine songs that pay special attention to not only brutality, but song craft as well. Engineered by John Haddad (Eyes of Fire, Phobia) and graced with the stunning artwork of Par Olofsson (Deeds of Flesh, Psycroptic), From Ashes assaults your senses and tears at the very fabric of your soul. Make no mistake, ABYSMAL DAWN is soon to be a household name among the metal community. Surely a force to be reckoned with, ABYSMAL DAWN have risen From Ashes only to conquer us all.

Minneapolis's Wolvhammer can't decide what they are, and that's the best part. Black Metal? Post-metal? Crust? Sludge-doom? ...