Troldhaugen

Svarog - Bass Grädenøk - Drums Meldengar - Guitars Reventüsk - Vocals, Guitars (acoustic), Jew's harp   Combining Gypsy foot-stomping and Carnivale-esque quirkiness with Technical Progressive Metal (and a healthy dose of musical humour), TROLDHAUGEN's oddball antics have been turning heads and raising eyebrows since 2008.   Hailing from Wollongong, Australia, the quartet originally began as a duo, primarily focussing on blending traditional Scandinavian Folk music with Heavy Metal. It wasn't until 2010 that a band was formed and TROLDHAUGEN blasted onto the live scene.   2010 also saw TROLDHAUGEN's first official release – the “Troldhaugen EP”. Once released, the 7-Track EP garnered the attention and acclaim of the local scene as well as attracting a number of international fans and overseas sales.   The following 2 years saw a wider range of influences creep in from various sources. The opportunity to experiment with new elements in a live setting led to a notably drastic shift in style, ultimately punctuated in 2012 by TROLDHAUGEN's debut album “RAMSHACKLE”.   Since its beginnings, TROLDHAUGEN's style has morphed and shifted, though now typically employs rhythmically technical riffing, bombastic tuba lines, jangly mandolin, rapidly changing song-structures, character voices, wild swing moments, madcap vibraphone rattling, and down-tuned slap bass. These elements are used to draw from styles such as Thrash, Black, Death and Progressive Metal, as well as elements from the wider European folk music lexicon, and also Jazz, Latin and Experimental music - all thrown together with a touch of tongue-in-cheek wackiness and the best aspects of their high energy live shows.   Throughout the years, TROLDHAUGEN has played with many notable Australian and International bands. Such as ALESTORM (UK), KORPIKLAANI (FIN), LORD, BE'LAKOR, BLACK MAJESTY, VOYAGER, DAEMON FOETAL HARVEST, SHADY GLIMPSE (JPN), CLAIM THE THRONE and more.   TROLDHAUGEN are currently writing material for their 2nd album release.   "Think a resurrected Frank Zappa joining a reformed Mr. Bungle, then enlisting Devin Townsend and Shagrath to co-produce after bonding over a mutual adoration of swing records." - Drum Media   "Troldhaugen's rendition of folk is so different from all the others. They pretty much recreate a genre of their own." - Der Metal Krieger   "This is not plain old folk metal. This is spectacular performance music, which generates images of creatures of the night coming together to create a show that is horrific, fun, encapsulating and musically professional. 9/10" - LOUDmag.com.au   "I can image some people going completely out of their mind with this music. It’s very, very original and it grabs you from the beginning to the end. 9/10" - folk-metal.nl