Sognametal

''Sognametal'' was the perfect final farewell from Windir. Not only does it include the fantastic live show to honor Valfar, there’s also a bunch of behind the scenes footage, some old live shows with Valfar, and an interview with him.

The live show was, as I already stated, amazing. I can’t stress this enough; Valfar truly associated himself with some great musicians. Additionally, it’s so cool to see Valfar’s brother, who’s not even a vocalist, pull of such a great performance. One thing that has always annoyed me, is when live bands don’t do anything besides playing. Looking at a bunch of guys staring at their fretboards, feet or bandmates for an hour simply isn’t interesting, the live performance has to entertain the audience. Windir (or what’s left of it anyway) does a great job at keeping it entertaining; interacting with the audience, headbanging rather than just stand still, all whilst still managing to pull of an incredible performance. In between songs, there’s great communication between the crowd and Windir, and most of the members talk to the audience at least once.

The performance is, again, great, however it’s not so good that it’s suspicious. The occasional mistake, like missing a note, adds to the feeling of genuinity. It’s very clear that these guys are passionate about music, and they truly know how to make a show great, even without to many practical effects or the likes.

The setlist is good. If I were responsible for the setlist, it would be different, however you simply can’t please everyone. The setlist does seem quite logical, however, as it includes what many deem the peak of each album. It includes both a track from Valfar’s very first demo, as well as the very last song he wrote before he died, and it doesn’t really feel like any of Valfar’s legacy was dismissed or ignored. I am a little bit perplexed as to why they didn’t play ‘’Journey to the End’’, however the set was good nonetheless. And besides, they played both ‘’Arntor, ein Windir’’ and ‘’Svartesmeden og Lundamyrstrollet’’, and that’s good enough for me.

Both the sound and video quality is great. It sounds clear, well balanced, and overall nicely put together. You can clearly hear everything, and the guitar tone is great, distorted, though not so much that it’s inaudible. It’s pretty much what you’d expect from a live DVD. The video quality is good, it’s quite clear, however it is worth noting that it’s over 10 years old. It’s good, however it’s not crystal clear, but I find it very unlikely that metal fans would deem it bad. The cinematography is surprisingly good, there’s a large variety of angles, and both motion and zoom is used very well, it’s quite pleasant to look at, and the camera usage seems very logical and natural.

The old live clips are great, you get footage from as early as 1996, and both the sound and video quality is surprisingly good for the most part. It is really fun to see Valfar performing, especially since I never got the opportunity to do so myself. Most of the clips are fragmented, however, and you don’t really get the full songs. It doesn’t really bother me too much, however, as there’s not really anything the band could do about it. The performances were truly something special, and share the characteristics of the live show in honor of Valfar. He was very good live, his vocals are, at points, somewhat better than on studio albums. I do suspect that he might have been a bit intoxicated at some of the live shows, however he still manages to provide great vocals.

The backstage material is both entertaining and interesting. It’s quite nice to get an insight as to how Valfar was as a person, and the same can be said about the other members. They’re all quite funny guys, and display classic Norwegian humour. It’s not really too much to be about the backstage material, it’s mostly just the band fooling around, as well as some footage from recording ‘’Likferd’’, and some footage from in between live shows. It’s quite self explanatory, in all honesty.

The interview with NRK is quite interesting as well, and it’s quite formal, unlike the backstage footage, however this interview only lasts 3 minutes. It mainly consists of Valfar talking about what influenced his music, and just talking about his music in general. Though it is a bit scarce, it is a good interview. The photo gallery is, just as the backstage material, quite self explanatory, there’s various picture’s, mainly of Valfar, however some include the other band members as well. It’s about seven minutes long, and plays over the ending to ‘’Journey to the End’’.

This DVD was well worth the money, and I’d recommend it to any fan of Windir. And for those who don’t listen to Windir, I’d recommend they start listening to Windir, and then get this DVD. It’s such a shame that Windir, one of my all time favourite bands, had such a short life span.

When I bought this dvd at a record fair in Oslo for about one week ago, I never expected it to be this good. I thought it was just the rockefeller farewell show on this, but infact the bonus on this dvd is just as good as the main consert.

The main consert is the final farewell show from the remaining members of Windir, recorded live at Rockefeller in Oslo the 3rd September 2004. The setlist is only 10 songs long, but its still a great show. Only real problem is that they could have chosen another setlist, but most of the Windir songs are classics anyway so its not a big issue. The vocals are handled mostly by Windir rhythm guitarist Sture, and some vocals by Valfar`s big brother Vegard. I think Vegard is a body builder. Wouldn’t mess with him, that’s for sure, cause he is a big one. You can easily tell that he doesn’t have much live experience. But he does a good job. Most of the clean vocals are handled by Cosmotron(or something like that). Overall a good consert.

The bonus is a about 20-30 minutes long collection of live clips from the period 1997-2003, a 5 min long interesting interview with Valfar (without subtitles), about 30 minutes with backstage material from around the world, and finally a slide show gallery with photos of Valfar and the rest of Windir too the sound of the last half of the song Journey to the end.

The live clips are really cool. Only problem is that many of the songs are incomplete for some weird reason, and many of the clips have poor quality. But the fact that you get to se parts of the very first Windir show from 1997, and also get to see clips from several different shows. And last but not least, you get to see Valfar performing Windir classics. The 5 min interview with Valfar is for Norwegians only, as there are no subtitles. I think it is a quite old interview from 1998-1999 or something. He tells abut folk music, and how he got inspiration from local west Norwegian books about history and myths. There is also quite a lot of backstage footage filmed at various locations around in Norway and during the US tour of 2003. Cool to see how they live, and you also get an impression of how the various members are as persons. And finally, there is a photo gallery slide show to the sound of the second half of the track Journey to the end.

All in all this is a great dvd, and a safe buy for all fans of Windir, and melodic folk music in general. Although it is a few things that should have had subtitles on, this is a safe buy for all foreigners too.

When a person dies, his significance, vitality and influence on others determine how long his reputation will stay in our memory. The sad moment after the death message will evolve into a proud memory of what the individual created, managed and did during its lifetime. However, someone disappears into oblivion while others remain in the heart and memory of the predecessors.
The last example is evidently the case with the norwegian hero, valfar. His music, knowledge and enthusiasm for black metal and national history will never be forgotten in the metal scene.

In memory of the brain behind their band, Windir played a concert in Oslo and this live performance was recorded and now finally released on a dvd. A crowded Rockefeller enjoys the band as they are making a magnificent summary of Windir's discography. The vocals are handled by the imminent creature of Valfars brother, Windirs guitarist and even Cosmocrator appears on a couple of songs. People are engaged and the concert in general is really good. Spewing forth songs from all the albums, this set is the ultimate Windir playlist (though they could have playd even more songs). It starts out with "Sognariket sine Krigarar" and when the classic masterpiece "On the mountain of goats" is played, Windir are their best. Despite the fact that it is pretty hard to select my definite favorite from the show, I have to conclude with the last song, "Arntor, ein Windir". The crowd is in awe and the song is a perfect example on Valfars ability to compose brilliant music. Its not pertinent to go in details on the show, as people reading this instead are recommended to go buying it them selves. Therefore, lets check the extra material:

In the history of Windir, the band has developed into a serious live act. Some of their old live efforts are shown on this dvd, and we all get confirmed how enormously enthusiastic Valfar was about his music. Though the clips suffers from decrepit quality, it gives you an interesting insight on the past of Windir.

For norwegian comprehending people, there is a NRK interview with Valfar where he proclaims his view on the black metal scene, his astonishing interest for national history and how he mixes black metal and norwegian folk music. A bit short, but absorbing and nice to hear.

After an aeon of marvellous music from one of black metals most creative people, we will all remember Valfar, the Windir and his fantasitic musical achievements. As he glances down on us from the battlefield of Valhalla, he is extremely proud and he certainly wants you to buy this awesome dvd. Heidra Valfar!

I bought the Windir DVD at Kaltenbach Open Air, and immediately after getting home I put it into my DVD player.
As a long time Windir fan my expectations were high, and they were exceeded.
The menu itself contains only two clickable options; whether to watch the Heidra Valfar concert, or to view the extras. But that's plenty of stuff, let me tell you!
The concert is nothing short of fabulous. It starts with two drummers drumming the tune from Arntor, positioned infront of a large screen displaying the Windir logo. The concert kicks off after this with Valfar's brother on the vocals. It continues until the end with an explosive pace (some of the vocals on certain songs are done by Cosmocrator, who really delivers a marvelous performance...you can see his feelings for Valfar clearly). The oncore consists of Byring (during which the Windir logo is replaced by photos of Valfar) and of course Arntor ein Windir, which has to be one of the most kickass live songs in metal.
The extra goodies consist of several live clips from different shows from the past (on one clip we actually see Valfar performing 1184 with his accordion!). There is also an extensive photo gallery, plus hilarious backstage footage of recording Likferd, travelling to the USA, drinking, etc.
And finally, there is an interview with Valfar for Norwegian Television, but sadly it has no english subtitles. And that is really the only thing I could possibly hold against this DVD.
Windir have found and brilliantly delivered the best possible way of saying goodbye.