Epicland
| Epicland | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Torrance, California, USA |
| Genres | Symphonic Black metal, Folk Metal |
| Years active | 2008–present[1] |
| Labels | Unsigned |
| Associated acts | Idavoll |
| Website | http://www.epicland.org/ |
| Members | Einar Sveinsson |
Epicland is an American black metal band. They are known in part due to their heavy use of keyboards to create an overwhelming "Epic" sound mixed with black metal. They are also known for recording with Wes Johnson,[2][3] who is widely known for his voice work on The Elder Scrolls series of video games.
Biography
Epicland was formed in 2008 by Einar Sveinsson. Before creating Epicland, Einar Sveinsson was playing in bands Idavoll and Mithril hall.[4] Epicland's first album "A Madman and his Angel" was released in 2009.[5] Their second album, "Songs of Ancient Times", was released in 2011. This is an instrumental album with Celtic musical style influence.[6]
Epicland's sole musician Einar stated in an interview that "It may be a surprise, but I rarely play guitar or keyboards. I only play when I start to write and record a new album. I never took any lessons, studied music theory, or even was taught by anyone. I think this was important to develop my music style because since I was never taught anything, I have no rules to follow and I can write music purely based on what I feel sounds good." [7]
Epicland's 3rd album, "Bound for Greatness" was released in 2011 and features guest narrator Wes Johnson.[8] Epicland has gone on selling many albums through online distribution while maintaining its status as a band without a record label.
In August 2012, Epicland released the first ever black metal iPhone/iPad app on the Apple App Store. It contains black metal themed backing tracks and drum loops for guitar players [9]
Musical Characteristics
On their debut album "A Madman and his Angel", Epicland showed a mix of traditional folk music with heavy guitars and keyboards. Two years after this album, Epicland released "Songs of Ancient Times", an instrumental Celtic style album. On the album "Bound for Greatness", most of the songs have a more heavy orchestral presence than the previous albums. Male and female narration is also found on three songs.
Discography
Full Lengths
| Date of Release | Title |
| 2009 | A Madman and his Angel |
| 2011 | Songs of Ancient Times |
| 2011 | Bound for Greatness |
Line-up
- Einar Sveinsson: Composition, vocals, and all instruments.
Guest musicians
- Wes Johnson: Narration on Bound for Greatness
- Vivienne Pettitt: Narration on Bound for Greatness
References
- ↑ Epicland on Encyclopaedia Metallum
- ↑ "Bound for Greatness" on Encyclopaedia Metallum
- ↑ Interview on Middle-Earth Network
- ↑ Einar Sveinsson's discography list on Metal Archives
- ↑ Epicland's discography list on Spirit of Metal
- ↑ "Songs of Ancient Times" on Encyclopaedia Metallum
- ↑ Interview with Epicland on Middle-Earth network
- ↑ Epicland's website
- ↑ Epicland's Black Metal Backing Tracks and Drum Loops on the Apple App store