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…
