Midgardsblot – a Weekend with Metal and Vikings

Posted on August 22, 2016 by Per Ole Hagen

Skalmold © Per Ole Hagen Two years ago, Eidsivablot was held at Eidsvold, the same place where Norway’s constitution was made 200 years before. It is also one of the places where the vikings held their blot, a pagan party with eating drinking, games, and worshipping of their gods. Borre, south west of Oslo is another place where the vikings held blot, and they have built a museum and a house in the style of the vikings. This weekend the second edition of Midgardsblot was held there.

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Enslaved – 25 Year Anniversary Tour

Posted on February 26, 2016 by Per Ole Hagen

Enslaved © Per Ole Hagen Enslaved is one of the most long lived metal bands in Norway. This year they celebrate 25 years together as a band with concert dates in Norway and Europe. The band was formed by Ivar Bjørnson and Grutle Kjellson from Haugesund, and they are still with the band. So far Enslaved have won four Spellemann awards (Norwegian Grammy), with three more nominations. Last night they celebrated their first 25 years at Rockefeller in Oslo.

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The Oya Festival 2015 – Wednesday with Chic, The War On Drugs, Enslaved, At The Gates and many more

Posted on August 13, 2015 by Per Ole Hagen

The Oya festival 2015 has started, and the first day is over. The headliner on the big stage was Chic featuring Nile Rodgers, while In Flames closed in the tent stage, Sirkus. Before that, there was music on 6 stages for 9 hours, from 2 until 11 PM. Here are the bands I managed to see yesterday. (Photo above: Nile Rodgers from CHIC)

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Inferno 2015 – Friday

Posted on April 4, 2015 by Per Ole Hagen

Friday night at the Inferno festival had My Dying Bride from the UK and Enslaved fromNorway as their headliners. Before them we also got Egyptian, Finnish, Norwegian and American bands on the two stages, Rockefeller and John Dee. With the highly international audience, this made for a black multi cultural night. (Photo above: Ben Falgoust of Goatwhore) Continue reading →

My best concerts in 2014 Part 1

Posted on December 22, 2014 by Per Ole Hagen

This year I have seen all together a little more than 250 different concerts, and I have enjoyed most of them. Therefore the task of picking my best concerts of the year has been a hard one. I ended up with choosing 34 concerts, since it was too hard to cut down the list from there. And, anyway, this list is not a scientific project, just a list of what I enjoyed the most. Here are the concerts from #34 to #18. (Picture above: The audience to Bryan Ferry’s concert at Oya)

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Eidsivablot – Extreme Metal and Vikings

Posted on September 14, 2014 by Per Ole Hagen

The year 2014 marks the 200 year anniversary for the Norwegia constitution and our independence from more than 350 years under Denmark. There have been many celebrations during the year, and this weekend marked the end of the celebrations, with – among other activities, the festival Eidsivablót. A blót is a pagan ritual to the Norse gods and the spirits of the land, and was celebrated by the Norwegian Vikings 1000 years ago with sacrifices, food, drinks and a party. The 2014 version of the blót had viking games, food, drink, and party, and instead of sacrificing animals, we got concerts by Wardruna and Enslaved, plus Skuggsjaa.

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Some Of The Best Metal Albums from 2012

Posted on December 18, 2012 by Per Ole Hagen

Enslaved 27082011-03 It is the time for Christmas and the yearly lists of the best albums of the year. Different magazines and radio shows have their own lists, and the forums have eager discussions about these lists. One of the music styles that causes the most discussions, is metal rock. Here are a few of the candidates for this year’s best metal rock album, international and Norwegian that I have photographed this last year and before. (Picture above: Enslaved, from the last Hole In The Sky Festival in Bergen 2011)