New signing; for fans of Ihsahn, Ivar Bjørnson & Einar Selvik
Blending Nordic heritage, black metal and using the Hardanger Fiddle to create soundscapes, Afargang are now releasing a brand new song “Leva og døy”. The project, the brainchild of Olav L. Mjelva who is known as Norway’s most renowded fiddler, recently signed to By Norse.
Listen to the song here // Watch the video.
The song is taken of the upcoming album ‘Andvake’, set for worldwide release on June 13. Pre-orders are available in the By Norse store here.
Olav L. Mjelva elaborates about the song: “To live and to die. This one is the only song on the album inspired by Norse mythology. The humans want the God Frøy to come to earth. Frøy was the one that judged people who lied (amongst other things. He also had a boat that could float overland; Skibladner). When Frøy sees how the earthlings behave, lie and deceive, he gets really mad, which you can hear in the last part of the song.”
Tracklist:
1. Mot Verda (06:00)
2. Kvile (05:24)
3. Andvake (06:14)
4. Leika (07:17)
5. Vêrfolne (02:03)
6. Sjå det blånar (05:00)
7. Leva og døy (06:14)
8. I di eining (05:21)
9. Kom ned (06:11)
Total: 49:48
If darkness is the canvas upon which the boldest visions are painted, then Andvake—meaning “Awakened Soul” in Old Norse—marks Afargang’s arrival with a vivid and unrelenting creation. An album born from the restless churn of Nordic heritage and modern extremity, it pulses with the tension of contrasts: light against dark, the ancient against the new, the ethereal against the unyielding weight of distortion. This is more than an album—it is an invocation, a soundscape ofmelancholy, resilience, and reckoning.
At the heart of Afargang is Olav Luksengård Mjelva, the band’s architect and guiding force. A musician whose soul resonates with the echoes of Norway’s past, his mastery of folk music and particularly the Hardanger fiddle, injects a spectral quality into the band’s sonic framework. But Afargang is no exercise in nostalgia. Instead, it is a collision of forces—where the weight of tradition meets the unbridled power of black metal. Mjelva’s voice, raw and commanding, channels something ancient and untamed.
Olav explains, “As a folk musician, I feel that Norway’s ancient music and culture are a part of my heritage. I use the fiddle to create soundscapes, rather than as the leading melody. There are a lot of folk metal bands that really don’t really understand folk music. They write melodies that sound folkish, played with heavy guitars, but I don’t think that works very well. I wanted to use the Nordic elements as a soundscape to go along with the very heavy music.”
Olav and co-producer Stian Kårstad share guitar duties, their riffing spread across the stereo field, forging a dynamic interplay between them. Olav’s kaleidoscopic leads shine brightly throughout Stian’s sharp, atmospheric layering, adding both edge and depth to the compositions, while ensuring that the band’s sound is both unified and expansive. Beneath them, Sindre Bråthen Tjørswaag’s bass work anchors the sound with an earth-rumbling presence, while Jon Even Schärer’s percussive assault is both intricate and primal, forging rhythms that shift like tectonic plates.
“In my mind, this album is a journey that leads the listener through different worlds. I wanted to write some very dark music, but of course the whole album can’t be that dark, so the songs offersome variation in tone, with different signatures and tempos,” Olav explains. The result is a visceral blend of aggression and sadness. It is an exploration of melancholy, unrest, and the liminal spaces between struggle and surrender.
Each track on Andvake navigates this inner voyage, weaving together a sonic and thematic narrative. Mot Verda (“Against The World”) opens with the ghostly wail of the Hardanger fiddle before surging into a defiant black metal assault. Kvile (“Rest”) blends simmering mid-tempo intensity with luminous, folk-infused guitar work.
The title track, Andvake (“Awakened Soul”), moves with a slow-burning force, shifting between ethereal harmonies and raw, blackened aggression, capturing the torment of a soul in transition. Leika (“Play”) offers a rare moment of light, its folk-pop melodies juxtaposed with deeply melancholic lyrics. Vêrfolne serves as a brief interlude, featuring archival recordings of legendary Norwegian fiddler Olav Sataslåtten, providing a moment of respite before the twilight-inspired Sjå Det Blånar (“It’s Getting Blue”) hurtles into ablend of razorwire metal and spoken-word passages. Leva Og Døy (“Live and Die”) reaches a peak of raw intensity, incorporating Norse mythology into its brutal and beautiful structure, while I Di Eining (“In Your Circle”) is a weighty, harmony-driven lament, drenched in doom-laden atmospherics. Closing track Kom Ned (“Come Down”) is a solemn, transcendental piece that invites the listener to search for meaning and peace in a tumultuous world.
This is not folk metal as the world has known it, nor is it a simple modernization of ancient sounds. It is a force unto itself, reaching into the marrow of Nordic tradition and twisting it into something new, something untamed.
The recording process itself mirrored this dynamic tension. Captured in a setting that embraced both the organic and the otherworldly, the album breathes with the rawness of live instrumentation while maintaining an almost cinematic depth. The interplay between human hands and ancient instruments, between distortion and melody, between control and abandon, is what gives Andvake its undeniable presence. Every note, every layer of sound, is imbued with intention, demanding not just to be heard but to be felt.
Ultimately, these songs are meticulously calibrated to transmit a unique, consciousness-shifting experience to the listener. Experiences that, Olav hopes, are unique to each person. “The idea of the ‘Awakened Soul,’ is something that I’d prefer not to describe too explicitly—I’d like to leave that to the listener. And honestly, there are ideas in these lyrics that I’m still learning myself, which is a good thing.”
Afargang stands at the vanguard of something both deeply familiar and thrillingly unknown. With Andvake, they have not simply created an album—they have unearthed a force, a movement, a sound that bridges centuries and defies boundaries. This is music that refuses to fade into the background. It demands sleepless nights. It demands reckoning. It demands to be met head-on.
Credits:
Olav L Mjelva – vocals, guitar, hardangerfiddle, mora harp
Stian Kårstad – guitar (bass on two tracks) (Trelldom, Djerv)
Jon Even Schärer – drums
Sindre Bråthen Tjørswaag- bass
Haldor Bromstad – guest growler
Producers: Olav L Mjelva, Stian Kårstad,Hans Andreas Horntveth Jahnsen
Recording and mix: Hans Andreas Horntveth Jahnsen. Muchoniceness music, Sandefjord, Norway
Master: Morgan Nicolaysen