So here's some history of the band from wikipedia: Windir ("Warrior" in English) was a black metal band from Sogndal, Norway. The band was formed in 1994 by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Terje "Valfar" Bakken, and released its debut album Sóknardalr in 1997. Windir combined black metal with Scandinavian folk music, folklore and mythology, and many of the band's lyrics are written in Sognamål. Windir produced four albums in their almost ten years of existence. The band broke up in March 2004 after frontman Valfar died of hypothermia after becoming caught in a blizzard on his way to his family's cabin in Norway. Following his death, the remaining band members went on to form a number of new bands including Vreid, Mistur, and Cor Scorpii. Most of the band's early albums featured lyrics written in frontman Valfar's native dialect, Sognamal. The band had an "intense affinity for traditional music and Norwegian texts, drawing much of its lyrical content from local sagas, using traditional folk tunes in its music, and singing in an archaic rural dialect. "With the coining of the term, the genre "Sognametal" as established by Windir has inspired many bands from the small region of Sogn og Fjordane, most of whom are ex-members of Windir or friends of them. These bands include: Vreid, Cor Scorpii, Mistur, Sigtyr and Feigd. Valfar's death: On January 14, 2004, Terje "Valfar" Bakken went to his family's cabin at Fagereggi, Norway, by foot. On January 17, his body was found at Reppastølen in the Sogndal valley. He died from hypothermia after being surprised by sudden inclement weather en route. He was buried on January 27 at Stedje Church in Norway. In March 2004, Windir officially disbanded. A compilation album containing Windir outtakes and B-sides, Valfar, ein Windir, was released in 2004 as a tribute to Valfar. On September 3, 2004, in Oslo, Windir's remaining members performed their last concert to go back to their roots and keep base with what they thought was real. Enslaved, Finntroll, Notodden All Stars, Weh, E-Head and Mindgrinder were the guest bands. Hail Windir, RIP Valfar (1978-2004). Lyrics: [Fawning] You've experienced the land without a king The longing for free passage is great in such a war Hard times there have been for this country But still all remain like in old times It's the Devil Sverre believes in With his knowledge and dark arts But the Devil only supports you for a while In the end betrayal awaits Against Sverre Priest killings shall come The steel will not rest in its sheath Indifferent to what gets killed in front of us Let the people of Sogndal rule their own kingdom We promise the Gods to secure the victory I will not bear the king's name in such a land Where bastard sons can claim the crown with weapon in hand It's unusual to feed dogs and ravens Horrible actions torment his mind No horrible deed undone, it hurts Payback awaits your good health is the price Costly it is to ravage Christian lands with fire
@@CriticalReactions I was there for the memorial concert in 2004, very peculiar atmosphere. Valfar would borrow melody lines not only from folk tunes but also from old Norwegian church hymns sometimes. Good stuff.
What people don't know about his death, is that he disappeared with his car on a Saturday night, right after being out partying. The police were looking for him the same night, looking for skidmarks leading towards the fjord or anything at all which could tell them what had happened. He was found three days later, so it was not a planned trip at all, nobody knew where he was and nobody could imagine he would have started walking in the snow in the mountains in the middle of the night like that even if his uncle had a cabin up there. I lived in that very area at that time, and I can't remember the weather being bad that night. It was just darn cold and a lot of snow, and the middle of the night. I just think it's wrong how it has been portrayed, as "bad weather" or whatever, when the truth is we will never know why this really happened.
I've been to quite a few metal shows in my 38 years on this planet... but nothing compares to the atmosphere at the "Heidra Valfar" concert at Rockefeller in the fall of 2004. It's been almost 20 years and that memory can still make me tear up. Legendary band.
Didn't see this reaction untill now. Windir is one of the best bands ever if you look at what they did and when. The insperation can be seen in so many bands. To bad we don't get more music from Valfar... This is such a happy black metal if that exist :-D
This is someone else's translation of the lyrics: They have felt that the kingdom has no king The longing for mercy is great in a war like this Hard times is has been for the kingdom But soon all will be as it was It is the Devil he believes in, Sverre With his dark arts (*) But the Devil gives only for some time But in the end it’s always betrayal Against Sverre then Priest shall be killed The steel shall not rest in sheath Whatever is before us be killed Let Sognedøledn rule their own land (**) We promise the gods our victory I will not be called King in a kingdom like this Where an illegitimate child can claim the crown (***) with sword in hand It is unusual to change food at dog and raven (****) Shameful memories of deeds he has done torments his mind No harm undone that causes pain The price paid is happiness High-priced it is to lay waste Christian lands with fire. I frankly do not know what the word “meinrao” means, and I can’t find it in any of my dictionaries. ** The people of Sogn *** Sverre was said to be the illegitimate son of one of the Norwegian kings. He came from the Faroe Islands and claimed the throne from Magnus Erlingsson, and killed him in the battle of Fimreite in 1184. Sverre is one of the greatest and most disputed kings in the history of Norway. **** I don’t know what he means here. The translation is probably wrong as well, but this is what it says word by word.
This sound..... It`s a big Love almost in last 10 years for me. Amazing band. Valfar was a combination between a usual boy from the farm and very clever and musical talanted creator who managed to do a lot!.. He was...... just alive very much.
Love Windir. The song "Journey to the End" is a favourite of mine, absolute epic. Also, the remaining members founded Cor Scorpii and released great albums as well
As you get older, some bands you listen to emerge as your real favourite because you go back to them every now and then and they still sound as amazing as you remember. For me Windir has been a constant since I have heard them the first time in 2007. My taste has diversified a lot but I still always like listening to Windir, I enjoy them on a different level than a lot of other music I listen to. It's hard to describe to people why I enjoy them so much so it's really interesting to listen to your anaysis of a piece I love and describe it so precisely. Thanks :)
Its also important to note that Valfar didn't really care for being labelled as black metal. They were and still are considered Sognametal, along with a handful of other bands that share similarities in sound. Mystur, Cor Scorpii, and Vreid are a few examples. This was the first album where it was a full band. Prior to this Valfar was the sole member and did all parts. To say the man was incredibly gifted is an understatement,. And for me personally, I think some of their best songs were on the albums before this, the production is not as good but some of the leads and melodies (particularly on Svartesmeden og Lundamyrstrollet) are just incredible. But what Likferd and 1184 give you are better production and just a better cohesion of the instruments. This is really a band to check out more of. I saw someone recommend Journey to the End. Which as a song is a whole other thing, completely unlike anything else they had done. The sound is an accordion. Valfar was a master at it, and according to some translated interviews would often begin composing with riffs on it.
When you're getting into modern interpertation of Norwegian folk with strong rock elements, I wonder what you would think of the band Gåte. They had a ten years brake and came back about five-six years ago, with a more prog-rock inspired sound. Right now they are going back to their acoustic roots. They got four full albums out, and some EP's. I guess your impression would differ from what period you checked out. You might not get the lyrics (close to medival Norwegian), but the song technique is regionally unique. The relatively new singles "Kom No Diskja" (an old herding song) and "Rideboll og Gullborg" (medival romance song) are worth a listen :) They have gotten better live now, by far (especially the singer). EDIT: Their first singles from the early 2000's "Bendik og Årolilja," and "Sjå Attende" are also a nice place to start (they were among the first modern bands to "pump up" Norwegian folk). Their latest single "Svik" is also interesting, but with fewer rock elements.
He was very proud of his home village Sogndal, mostly because this battle near Fimreite. This person Arntor was a local rebel, partisan against King Sverre, and at the same time Arntor was a local farmer. All this made me to read history..
Valfar re-defined the Black Art. One of the most important musicians. B/c of him great bands, such as Mistur, Feigd, Vreid, Cor Scorpii, and Vindland (just to name a few), emerged.
Hey, I think you should check out Imperial Circus Dead Decadence which is a melodic death metal band. Their song called "Cthulhu wedding" or "Fushiyoku ressentiment". They are both great. This band is insanely underrated.
I've heard of Windir before but never heard them. This wasn't a bad listen. I think I agree with your commentary about most black metal being too samey for too long, and the BM I'm drawn to is either the shorter stuff that focuses on riffs/hooks and its roots in punk and bands like Motorhead; or I go for the more symphonic, folky, or progressive BM that tends to at least add more variety in the textures and structure/riffs. I think this goes part way towards having that variety, but perhaps not quite enough for my taste, but I do like the more melodic and counterpoint sections.
I think it may be hard to understand the lyrics of The struggle if you haven't experienced american cultural imperialism. The way i interpet the song is that he's relating the forced christianization and loss of culture in norway a century ago, to the cultural imperialism "loss of culture" that is happening in western countries and other places. It happens everywhere, but i'm using western countries as an example here. I think at least here in Norway, there is a genuine fear that regional culture, dialects and customs are fading away. Which they are, there is no hiding that. Most people are moving into big cities, and there's a lot of anti-regional politics going on. Hospitals are being shut down in more rural areas because they aren't as "profitable" etc. Norway is very "americanized" these days, both in the good and bad ways. I think this song is primarily about the frustration of being part of a culture that is dying or trampled on
Valfar was such great musician this was his band the vocalist/guitar, he died similar to Bathory singer. In Swedish it’s not pronounced like deer the IR is like in Her so Windir. I love ever album by them such loss. By the way Valfar didn’t call it black metal he wasn’t a fan of the 90’s black metal scene he considered it more Folk metal then any thing else
I think these are more 2-chords-picked tremolo riffs, more like in the standard black metal style. Folk (-lore) is more present in the lyrics than in the music. They were considered more viking metal (kinda what Enslaved ...were doing at some point, black metal with lyrics focused more on their history/mythology) than black metal. To me, folk metal is more like what Korpiklaani does, where the melodies are developed more from folk music than from metal. It's kinda hard to pinpoint the genres... if you start to analyze music. Finntroll, for example, has more metal than Korpiklaani, but more folk than Windir, and they're regarded as folk metal (their first 2 albums have some black-ish moments)... There's also another band, Trollfest (dam' Trolls! :D... haven't listened to them for years) which had a "harsher", more crude music in their first albums, but the folk elements were more present and they were considered folk metal... So, yeah... going down the rabbit hole. If you wanna make it even more complicated add Bathory to the equation. After the early passing of Valfar, a few bands came out from it, trying to develop a kind of a "new" genre, starting from Windir's style. So, if you enjoyed it you might wanna look for sogna metal bands like Sigtyr, Mistur, or Cor Scorpii... and I think there are a few more, that I don't remember now.
One of the other bands that spun out of Windir is Vreid. I have only listened to Vreid and Cor Scorpii of those bands, but they are not as much folk based as Windir and I would consider them either Black Metal or maybe Melodic Black Metal. Vreid's first couple of albums have some punk influences as well. Although I haven't listened to their newer albums to be honest, so I don't know if they changed styles. For Cor Scorpii I have only listened to their 2008 album Monument (and the demo before that), I own that album and I liked it quite a bit back in the day. For Vreid I listened to the first 3, mostly to I Krig since I own that one. Also a little bit to their 2015 album, which I also own, but I never really listened to it that much. I do agree that pinpointing genres with bands like these who incorporate multiple genres can be very hard.
@@MaartenT Yes, Vreid is one of the other ones... and imo, the one with fewer elements from Windir's style. I actually don't like that band much. If you can, try to get Sigtyr's demos, they are pretty good. Mistur had some recognition, at some point. They have 2 albums and the band is still active according to MA, so who knows, but still, the demo is a bit better, imo. It is hard to put them strictly in some genre because we're talking about artists/musicians that bring something to the table... bring their own ideas, surpassing musical styles, limits... which is how it should be if you love doing what you're doing. But it's also fun... to some extent, at least to me.
So here's some history of the band from wikipedia: Windir ("Warrior" in English) was a black metal band from Sogndal, Norway. The band was formed in 1994 by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Terje "Valfar" Bakken, and released its debut album Sóknardalr in 1997. Windir combined black metal with Scandinavian folk music, folklore and mythology, and many of the band's lyrics are written in Sognamål. Windir produced four albums in their almost ten years of existence. The band broke up in March 2004 after frontman Valfar died of hypothermia after becoming caught in a blizzard on his way to his family's cabin in Norway. Following his death, the remaining band members went on to form a number of new bands including Vreid, Mistur, and Cor Scorpii.
Most of the band's early albums featured lyrics written in frontman Valfar's native dialect, Sognamal. The band had an "intense affinity for traditional music and Norwegian texts, drawing much of its lyrical content from local sagas, using traditional folk tunes in its music, and singing in an archaic rural dialect. "With the coining of the term, the genre "Sognametal" as established by Windir has inspired many bands from the small region of Sogn og Fjordane, most of whom are ex-members of Windir or friends of them. These bands include: Vreid, Cor Scorpii, Mistur, Sigtyr and Feigd.
Valfar's death:
On January 14, 2004, Terje "Valfar" Bakken went to his family's cabin at Fagereggi, Norway, by foot. On January 17, his body was found at Reppastølen in the Sogndal valley. He died from hypothermia after being surprised by sudden inclement weather en route. He was buried on January 27 at Stedje Church in Norway. In March 2004, Windir officially disbanded.
A compilation album containing Windir outtakes and B-sides, Valfar, ein Windir, was released in 2004 as a tribute to Valfar. On September 3, 2004, in Oslo, Windir's remaining members performed their last concert to go back to their roots and keep base with what they thought was real. Enslaved, Finntroll, Notodden All Stars, Weh, E-Head and Mindgrinder were the guest bands.
Hail Windir, RIP Valfar (1978-2004).
Lyrics:
[Fawning]
You've experienced the land without a king
The longing for free passage is great in such a war
Hard times there have been for this country
But still all remain like in old times
It's the Devil Sverre believes in
With his knowledge and dark arts
But the Devil only supports you for a while
In the end betrayal awaits
Against Sverre Priest killings shall come
The steel will not rest in its sheath
Indifferent to what gets killed in front of us
Let the people of Sogndal rule their own kingdom
We promise the Gods to secure the victory
I will not bear the king's name in such a land
Where bastard sons can claim the crown with weapon in hand
It's unusual to feed dogs and ravens
Horrible actions torment his mind
No horrible deed undone, it hurts
Payback awaits your good health is the price
Costly it is to ravage Christian lands with fire
Thanks so much for this! So much good info here.
@@CriticalReactions I was there for the memorial concert in 2004, very peculiar atmosphere.
Valfar would borrow melody lines not only from folk tunes but also from old Norwegian church hymns sometimes. Good stuff.
What people don't know about his death, is that he disappeared with his car on a Saturday night, right after being out partying. The police were looking for him the same night, looking for skidmarks leading towards the fjord or anything at all which could tell them what had happened. He was found three days later, so it was not a planned trip at all, nobody knew where he was and nobody could imagine he would have started walking in the snow in the mountains in the middle of the night like that even if his uncle had a cabin up there. I lived in that very area at that time, and I can't remember the weather being bad that night. It was just darn cold and a lot of snow, and the middle of the night. I just think it's wrong how it has been portrayed, as "bad weather" or whatever, when the truth is we will never know why this really happened.
@@coldwhitespring5004 So he wasn't caught in a snowstorm... was he drunk or something?
@@annodomini1991 I didn't see him that night, so I don't know. But usually he would be drunk at parties.
One of my favourite bands ever. Absolutely fantastic songwriting and atmosphere.
Windir is a gem, really unique sound and getting better each record, its such a shame their journey was cut short
One could say it was a journey to the end.
I've been to quite a few metal shows in my 38 years on this planet... but nothing compares to the atmosphere at the "Heidra Valfar" concert at Rockefeller in the fall of 2004. It's been almost 20 years and that memory can still make me tear up. Legendary band.
I was there too, it was really indescribable.
i sometimes forget to breathe while listening to windir
You know you’re listening to Windir when you have to change to manual breathing
Aw man I remember when Valfar died. I was so sad. He was going to be the future of black metal -- his songwriting was great and he was still so young.
Didn't see this reaction untill now. Windir is one of the best bands ever if you look at what they did and when. The insperation can be seen in so many bands. To bad we don't get more music from Valfar... This is such a happy black metal if that exist :-D
most underrated black metal band, hands down!
I knew Windir would tickle your composer mind, but didn't think it'd be at this level. Love your analyses, thank you!
no matter how good i believe i know a song you always know something new to tell us
This is someone else's translation of the lyrics:
They have felt that the kingdom has no king
The longing for mercy is great in a war like this
Hard times is has been for the kingdom
But soon all will be as it was
It is the Devil he believes in, Sverre
With his dark arts (*)
But the Devil gives only for some time
But in the end it’s always betrayal
Against Sverre then Priest shall be killed
The steel shall not rest in sheath
Whatever is before us be killed
Let Sognedøledn rule their own land (**)
We promise the gods our victory
I will not be called King in a kingdom like this
Where an illegitimate child can claim the crown (***)
with sword in hand
It is unusual to change food at dog and raven (****)
Shameful memories of deeds he has done torments his mind
No harm undone that causes pain
The price paid is happiness
High-priced it is to lay waste Christian lands with fire.
I frankly do not know what the word “meinrao” means, and I can’t find it in any of my dictionaries.
** The people of Sogn
*** Sverre was said to be the illegitimate son of one of the Norwegian kings. He came from the Faroe Islands and claimed the throne from Magnus Erlingsson, and killed him in the battle of Fimreite in 1184. Sverre is one of the greatest and most disputed kings in the history of Norway.
**** I don’t know what he means here. The translation is probably wrong as well, but this is what it says word by word.
When Valfar passed away, we all lost parts of ourselves. Terje, I miss you.
This sound..... It`s a big Love almost in last 10 years for me. Amazing band. Valfar was a combination between a usual boy from the farm and very clever and musical talanted creator who managed to do a lot!.. He was...... just alive very much.
Windir is my fav BM Band, and this is specifically my fav track. The Layers and atmosphere of their music is exquisite. Love em
Love Windir. The song "Journey to the End" is a favourite of mine, absolute epic. Also, the remaining members founded Cor Scorpii and released great albums as well
As you get older, some bands you listen to emerge as your real favourite because you go back to them every now and then and they still sound as amazing as you remember. For me Windir has been a constant since I have heard them the first time in 2007. My taste has diversified a lot but I still always like listening to Windir, I enjoy them on a different level than a lot of other music I listen to. It's hard to describe to people why I enjoy them so much so it's really interesting to listen to your anaysis of a piece I love and describe it so precisely. Thanks :)
the drummer doesnt sleep for a second
"fun black metal" my new favorite term lol
Ah, this song. The finest part of a flawless discography!
Its also important to note that Valfar didn't really care for being labelled as black metal. They were and still are considered Sognametal, along with a handful of other bands that share similarities in sound. Mystur, Cor Scorpii, and Vreid are a few examples. This was the first album where it was a full band. Prior to this Valfar was the sole member and did all parts. To say the man was incredibly gifted is an understatement,. And for me personally, I think some of their best songs were on the albums before this, the production is not as good but some of the leads and melodies (particularly on Svartesmeden og Lundamyrstrollet) are just incredible. But what Likferd and 1184 give you are better production and just a better cohesion of the instruments. This is really a band to check out more of. I saw someone recommend Journey to the End. Which as a song is a whole other thing, completely unlike anything else they had done.
The sound is an accordion. Valfar was a master at it, and according to some translated interviews would often begin composing with riffs on it.
While black metal vocals are sometimes hard to descipher, in Windir you can clearly hear that they're from Sogn if you know Norwegian
When you're getting into modern interpertation of Norwegian folk with strong rock elements, I wonder what you would think of the band Gåte. They had a ten years brake and came back about five-six years ago, with a more prog-rock inspired sound. Right now they are going back to their acoustic roots. They got four full albums out, and some EP's. I guess your impression would differ from what period you checked out. You might not get the lyrics (close to medival Norwegian), but the song technique is regionally unique. The relatively new singles "Kom No Diskja" (an old herding song) and "Rideboll og Gullborg" (medival romance song) are worth a listen :) They have gotten better live now, by far (especially the singer).
EDIT: Their first singles from the early 2000's "Bendik og Årolilja," and "Sjå Attende" are also a nice place to start (they were among the first modern bands to "pump up" Norwegian folk). Their latest single "Svik" is also interesting, but with fewer rock elements.
He was very proud of his home village Sogndal, mostly because this battle near Fimreite. This person Arntor was a local rebel, partisan against King Sverre, and at the same time Arntor was a local farmer. All this made me to read history..
You should react to their song "journey to the end"
Valfar re-defined the Black Art. One of the most important musicians. B/c of him great bands, such as Mistur, Feigd, Vreid, Cor Scorpii, and Vindland (just to name a few), emerged.
You should listen to 'Likbør' off of the debut. It's the closing track.
Hey, I think you should check out Imperial Circus Dead Decadence which is a melodic death metal band. Their song called "Cthulhu wedding" or "Fushiyoku ressentiment". They are both great. This band is insanely underrated.
He has looked at "uta" before
This was nice. I really liked it on a first listen. Was definitely fun for black metal. Lots of variation. Very interesting.
I've heard of Windir before but never heard them. This wasn't a bad listen. I think I agree with your commentary about most black metal being too samey for too long, and the BM I'm drawn to is either the shorter stuff that focuses on riffs/hooks and its roots in punk and bands like Motorhead; or I go for the more symphonic, folky, or progressive BM that tends to at least add more variety in the textures and structure/riffs. I think this goes part way towards having that variety, but perhaps not quite enough for my taste, but I do like the more melodic and counterpoint sections.
awesome reaction! Windir is my favorite band of all time, along with Dissection
Journey to the end is my personal fave....this song is up there with the Longing also.
I think it may be hard to understand the lyrics of The struggle if you haven't experienced american cultural imperialism.
The way i interpet the song is that he's relating the forced christianization and loss of culture in norway a century ago, to the cultural imperialism "loss of culture" that is happening in western countries and other places. It happens everywhere, but i'm using western countries as an example here. I think at least here in Norway, there is a genuine fear that regional culture, dialects and customs are fading away. Which they are, there is no hiding that. Most people are moving into big cities, and there's a lot of anti-regional politics going on. Hospitals are being shut down in more rural areas because they aren't as "profitable" etc.
Norway is very "americanized" these days, both in the good and bad ways.
I think this song is primarily about the frustration of being part of a culture that is dying or trampled on
Windir legendary, one of the first bands that got me into Black Metal.
Windir is all about the melody.
Windir kicks ass, and also Vreid who were Valfar's backing band.
The Best Metal Band! Sognametal Forever!R.I.P.Great Valfar
HAIL VALFAR!
Valfar was such great musician this was his band the vocalist/guitar, he died similar to Bathory singer. In Swedish it’s not pronounced like deer the IR is like in Her so Windir. I love ever album by them such loss. By the way Valfar didn’t call it black metal he wasn’t a fan of the 90’s black metal scene he considered it more Folk metal then any thing else
Equilibrium Sagas Full Album
i just got antor on vynal im gitting this one next
RIP
I think these are more 2-chords-picked tremolo riffs, more like in the standard black metal style. Folk (-lore) is more present in the lyrics than in the music. They were considered more viking metal (kinda what Enslaved ...were doing at some point, black metal with lyrics focused more on their history/mythology) than black metal. To me, folk metal is more like what Korpiklaani does, where the melodies are developed more from folk music than from metal. It's kinda hard to pinpoint the genres... if you start to analyze music. Finntroll, for example, has more metal than Korpiklaani, but more folk than Windir, and they're regarded as folk metal (their first 2 albums have some black-ish moments)... There's also another band, Trollfest (dam' Trolls! :D... haven't listened to them for years) which had a "harsher", more crude music in their first albums, but the folk elements were more present and they were considered folk metal... So, yeah... going down the rabbit hole. If you wanna make it even more complicated add Bathory to the equation. After the early passing of Valfar, a few bands came out from it, trying to develop a kind of a "new" genre, starting from Windir's style. So, if you enjoyed it you might wanna look for sogna metal bands like Sigtyr, Mistur, or Cor Scorpii... and I think there are a few more, that I don't remember now.
One of the other bands that spun out of Windir is Vreid. I have only listened to Vreid and Cor Scorpii of those bands, but they are not as much folk based as Windir and I would consider them either Black Metal or maybe Melodic Black Metal.
Vreid's first couple of albums have some punk influences as well. Although I haven't listened to their newer albums to be honest, so I don't know if they changed styles. For Cor Scorpii I have only listened to their 2008 album Monument (and the demo before that), I own that album and I liked it quite a bit back in the day. For Vreid I listened to the first 3, mostly to I Krig since I own that one. Also a little bit to their 2015 album, which I also own, but I never really listened to it that much.
I do agree that pinpointing genres with bands like these who incorporate multiple genres can be very hard.
@@MaartenT Yes, Vreid is one of the other ones... and imo, the one with fewer elements from Windir's style. I actually don't like that band much. If you can, try to get Sigtyr's demos, they are pretty good. Mistur had some recognition, at some point. They have 2 albums and the band is still active according to MA, so who knows, but still, the demo is a bit better, imo. It is hard to put them strictly in some genre because we're talking about artists/musicians that bring something to the table... bring their own ideas, surpassing musical styles, limits... which is how it should be if you love doing what you're doing. But it's also fun... to some extent, at least to me.
And just by that reason I wrote folk/black metal
It's not exactly folk metal but neither black metal so it's a mix of those two
my least fave windir album -should play 1184