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Drummers - Jan Axel
Blomberg
Jan Axel Blomberg born August 2, 1969,[1] is a two time
Norwegian Grammy award-winning[2] heavy metal drummer from Trysil,
Norway. He is most well known for his drumming with the band Mayhem,
with which he began his career. He is endorsed by Sabian Cymbals, Axis
Pedals and Pearl drums, though he has been known to use Yamaha drums as
well.
He joined Mayhem in 1988, following the departure of the drummer and
founding member Kjetil Manheim. In addition to Mayhem, one of his
long-standing bands was the avant-garde metal band Arcturus, which he
formed with Steinar Sverd Johnsen in 1987, originally under the name
Mortem, and broke up in April 2007. He has since joined and sessioned
for numerous bands.
Biography
As a child Jan's main interests were football (known in the U.S. as
soccer), wrestling and drums. He began learning to play drums by playing
along with albums he listened to. He was into heavy metal bands such as
Iron Maiden and Slayer, but also bands like Depeche Mode and Duran
Duran. He then found out about Venom and Celtic Frost, and eventually
jazz, due to influences from a past drum teacher. He began learning
drums on a four piece jazz kit.
His family was always very supportive. He could sit for hours and hours
practicing. His grandmother bought him his second and third drum kits.
His parents liked his music as well, and they supported him and
encouraged him in what he wanted to do.
Before joining Mayhem, Jan Axel played in various local bands, including
the progressive metal band Tritonus, where he met Carl August Tidemann,
the later to become Arcturus and Winds guitarist. He did some performing
live during this period as well. He then saw an ad in the newspaper
announcing that Mayhem was looking for a drummer. So he went down to
Oslo to meet the band and gave them his demo tape. They called him the
next day to let him know that he was now a member of the band. He then
took the pseudonym Hellhammer, which he borrowed from the pre-Celtic
Frost band with the same name, because he thought it was a shame that
such a good name would disappear, and, it was also a good name for a
drummer.
The first recordings he did with Mayhem were two songs for a compilation
album around 1989, with the songs “Carnage” and “The Freezing Moon”. The
first proper recording he did with Mayhem was “Live in Leipzig” in 1990.
After that album, Mayhem had some trouble with the line up due to the
suicide of the singer Dead and Necrobutcher's departure from the band.
During this time he founded the band Arcturus together with Sverd in
1991, out of the remains of the band Mortem. They released a 7" entitled
”My Angel“ in 1991 and later the mini album entitled “Constellation”.
In 1995 he joined Immortal as a session drummer during their tour that
year, he also agreed to play drums on their first official Video,
“Masters Of Nebulah Frost”. He also briefly played for Emperor during
this period. The recording and release of the Arcturus debut album
entitled “Aspera Hiems Symfonia” also happened this year.
In 1997 Jan Axel began working with Covenant, now known as The Kovenant,
for the recording of their second album entitled “Nexus Polaris”. That
album was released in 1998 with a following European tour. During 1997
Arcturus also released another album, “La Masquerade Infernale” which
became a landmark album in the history of avantgarde metal.
The next year another album from The Kovenant was released, namely the
ground breaking album “Animatronic” which led Jan Axel away from the
more traditional black metal drumming to a more beat oriented sound.
The year 2000 was another hectic year for Jan Axel due to the recording
and release of Mayhem's second full-length studio album “Grand
Declaration of War.”
During spring that year, Jan Axel toured the USA with The Kovenant,
during summer toured with Mayhem and toured Europe with The Kovenant in
autumn.
During the year 2000 he recorded a mini album with his new band Winds,
entitled “Of Entity And Mind”, which was released in May of 2001. Winds
also recorded a full-length album during spring 2001, entitled
“Reflections of the I”. The music of Winds takes Jan Axel's drumming
into yet a new direction, embarking on a progressive, symphonic and
classically oriented musical foundation while still retaining his roots
in metal.
Jan Axel is now a two-time Norwegian Grammy Awards winner, in 1998 for
The Kovenant with “Nexus Polaris” and in 1999 for The Kovenant with “Animatronic”.
They claimed the prize for best hard rock album both years. In addition
to these mentioned involvements, Jan Axel has also done numerous
appearances as a guest or session musician on other releases. Before his
current career as a full time drummer, Jan Axel used to work as a
nocturnal guard at a mental hospital. He doesn't smoke, drinks very
little alcohol, and he practices his drumming for 3 hours every day. [3]
In 2005, he was interviewed for the black metal mini-documentary that
was included with the 2-disc DVD edition of Metal: A Headbanger's
Journey, in addition to other Mayhem members Necrobutcher (Jørn
Stubberud) and Blasphemer (Rune Erickson).
He has courted controversy in the past by making numerous racial
statements. The satanic metal biography, Lords of Chaos, which has been
criticized for inaccurate information and statements, quotes him as
saying, "I'll put it this way, we don't like black people here. Black
metal is for white people. … I'm pretty convinced that there are
differences between races as well as everything else. I think that like
animals, some races are more…you know, like a cat is much more
intelligent than a bird or a cow, or even a dog, and I think that's also
the case with different races." Contradicting these racial statements,
Blomberg said in a 2004 interview, "I don’t give a crap if the fans are
white, black, green, yellow, or blue. For me music and politics don’t go
hand in hand."[4].
Discography
As a member
Age of Silence
* Acceleration (2004)
* Complications - Trilogy Of Intricacy (2005)
Arcturus
* Promo 90 (Demo) (1990)
* My Angel LP(1991)
* Constellation MCD/MLP (1994)
* Aspera Hiems Symfonia (1995)
* Constellation (1997)
* La Masquerade Infernale (1997)
* Disguised Masters (1999)
* Aspera Hiems Symfonia/Constellation/My Angel re-release (2001)
* The Sham Mirrors (2002)
* Sideshow Symphonies (2005)
* Shipwrecked In Oslo (2006)
Carnivora
* Re-Incarnal (2006)
Circle of Chaos[5]
Dimmu Borgir
* Stormblåst MMV (2005)
* In Sorte Diaboli (2007)
* The Serpentine Offering music video (2007)
* Live drummer (2005-present)
The Kovenant
* Nexus Polaris (1998)
* Animatronic (1999)
* S.E.T.I. (2003)
Mayhem
* Dawn of the Black Hearts (1991)
* Live in Leipzig (1993)
* De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas (1994)
* Out from the Dark (1996)
* Wolf's Lair Abyss (1997)
* Ancient Skin / Necrolust (1997)
* Mediolanum Capta Est (1999)
* Necrolust / Total Warfare (Split with Zyklon-B) (1999)
* Grand Declaration of War (2000)
* Live In Marseille 2000 (2001)
* European Legions (2001)
* U.S. Legions (2001)
* The Studio Experience (Box Set) (2002)
* Freezing Moon / Jihad (Split with Meads of Asphodel) (2002)
* Legions of War (2003)
* Chimera (2004)
* Ordo Ad Chao (2007)
Mezzerschmitt
* Weltherschaft (2002)
Mortem
* Slow Death (Demo) (1989)
* Slow Death EP (1990)
Mysticum
* Member after the release of In the Streams of Inferno, did not record
with the band
Shining
* Angst, Självdestruktivitetens Emissarie (2002)
* Dolorian/Shining (2004)
* Through Years of Oppression (2004)
* The Darkroom Sessions (2004)
* The Eerie Cold (2005)
Troll
* Trollstorm over Nidingjuv - (1995)
* Drep de kristne (1996)
* The Last Predators (2000)
* Universal (2001)
Winds
* Of Entity and Mind (2001)
* Reflections of the I (2001])
* The Imaginary Direction of Time (2004)
* Prominence and Demise (2007)
As a session musician
Antestor
* Det Tapte Liv (2004)
* The Forsaken (2004)
Emperor
* Live drummer (1992)
Immortal
* Live drummer, Battles in the North tour (1995)
* Grim and Frostbitten Kingdoms music video (1995)
Jørn
* Worldchanger (2001)
Thorns
* Thorns Vs. Emperor (1998)
* Thorns (2001)
Tritonus
* Live drummer[6]
Umoral
* Untitled 7" vinyl EP (2007)
Vidsyn
* On Frostbitten Path Beneath demo (2004)
* On Frostbitten Path Beneath (2004)
As a guest
Fleurety
* Department of Apocalyptic Affairs (Track 1, "Exterminators") (2000)
Ulver
* Souvenirs from Hell compilation (Track 1, "Synen") (1997)
From:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Axel_Blomberg
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