Shaking Off Winter’s Blues with Borknagar (2016)

Arhiv Arhiv Last updated 11 June 2026

Author: Primož Novak
Photos: Sebastijan Videc

Venue: Gala hala / Ljubljana / Slovenia
Concert date: 21.04.2016
Ticket price: 22€/25€

Norwegian outfit Borknagar have been gaining quite a bit of popularity in recent years, which has been especially noticeable since bassist/vocalist Vortex (ex-Dimmu Borgir) rejoined the band. Their last two albums, Urd and Winter Thrice, were well received. Over the course of their career, Borknagar have broadened their spectrum considerably. They started out as a black metal band, then began taking cues from viking and folk metal and repackaged it all so that their music sounds progressive and like something special. After 2014, when Borknagar last played in Slovenia as part of the Metaldays festival, it was time for the band to see how well they can fill clubs. They brought along renowned Norwegian black metallers Kampfar and Swedish death metallers Diabolical.

Diabolical kicked things off in front of an empty hall, trying to win people over with their vision of death metal, which is full of surprises. Diabolical lean heavily on atmosphere, which shows in the calmer stretches that follow the heavy, aggressive riffs. The focus was of course on their latest album Neogenesis, the band’s most polished and complex release. The band started moving around a bit more once the hall filled up. Diabolical warmed up the Gala Hala atmosphere solidly, even though their music doesn’t go straight to your ear. And there’s no sugarcoating to make it all appealing to a bigger crowd, either.

Norwegian Kampfar, winners of a Norwegian Grammy, were already backed by a bigger crowd, so the hall was nicely full. With their energetic performance, the band got even those who weren’t in the mood to move going. You could really tell the band has a ton of mileage behind them, so the tightness was more than up to par. As for the music itself, it was clear the band swears by simplicity, with songs built on a handful of chords, much like Taake, for instance. But by bringing in “melodic” vocals, Kampfar make it all even more interesting, and their music gains a bit of extra atmosphere and a touch of something special, even if there were no real standout moments. The fans undoubtedly got what they came for, and the packed hall confirmed that the band could come back to Gala Hala as headliners next time.

Every tour, Borknagar face a pretty tough task: convincing the crowd they’re worth seeing even without the legendary vocalist Vintersorg, who for unknown reasons doesn’t go on tour. Borknagar do try to win people over with Vortex, who undoubtedly stands out with his vocals, and even more with his nimble-fingered bass playing, which gives Borknagar their own stamp. Borknagar did a solid job presenting the new material, and older fans got their share too, as the band played Oceans Rise, The Eye of Oden, Icon Dreams, Ruins of the Future, Dauden, The Dawn of the End and Colossus. Sadly, they skipped material from the albums Epic and Empiricism, which makes sense given that Vintersorg really shines on those. Still, it was a good mix of old and new material. With the new stuff, it seemed like the band is writing more and more bouncy, cliché songs, mostly thanks to folk metal influence, but sadly it’s not original.

The band’s tightness is solid, the rhythm section is strong, and besides black metal-inspired riffs, the two guitarists offered some lovely melodic touches, harmonies and the odd undistorted passage. Borknagar’s music is undoubtedly varied, sometimes overloaded once the keyboards kick in. The most distracting factor was actually the vocals. Vintersorg’s vocal parts were taken over by vocalist Athera, who previously gathered experience in Susperia and Chrome Division. Screaming gave him no trouble, but his actual singing had quite a few off-key moments, which generally didn’t make the best impression. Athera wasn’t present throughout the whole show, though, since Vortex had the lead vocalist role. Regardless, Borknagar held their own. Not every expectation was met, but with the old songs they showed that their longtime fans mean a lot to them, which is respectable too.

All in all, Borknagar and Kampfar put black metal front and center, while Diabolical carried the death metal flag.