Posts Tagged ‘Vestindien’

With the release the  of the single  “Meldrøye”, taken from VESTINDIEN’s debut full-length album “Null” , Dark Essence Records have revealed another tantalising glimpse into what fans can expect to hear from a band whose initial brief foray into the music scene generated a considerable amount of interest thanks to their frenetic live shows, and enthusiastically received 2011 EP “We are the Lords of Hellfire”.

“Meldrøye”, about which VESTINDIEN say “Exploring and expanding one’s mind is crucial to help us understand that we are not placed above nature. We are nature”, can be streamed or downloaded from various services at https://darkessencerecords.fanlink.to/Vestindien_Meldroye

Despite having garnered a substantial following for themselves, VESTINDIEN called it a day seven years ago, and, for reasons known only to themselves, had remained silent.  Until now, that is, with the band’s original lineup of Torjus Slettsnok on vocals, Simon Skøien on guitars, Karl Johan Johannessen on drums and Pål Eirik Veseth on bass, storming back, having replaced their classic 90’s hardcore sound, with its heavy metal twist, with one that embodies the essence of Black Metal, Punk and Old School rock’n’roll.

The result of this new direction is a more introverted and less aggressive approach to music, resulting in “Null”, an album which still subtly hints at VESTINDIEN’s hardcore roots, but  whose songs are dark, desperate and desolate, with some hard-hitting punches of energy and groove.

Set for release on Dark Essence Records on the 12th February 2021, tracklisting for “Null” is as follows:

1. Mot Dag
2. Berenberg
3. Meldrøye
4. Null
5. Ormegard
6. Ned
7. Øst for Sol

“Null” will appear in CD, DIgital and Black/Gold Vinyl formats, and can be pre-ordered from the following:

Webshop: https://darkessencerecords.no/shop/
Bandcamp: https://vestindien.bandcamp.com/album/null
US Webshop: https://darkessence.aisamerch.com/ 

Named after the last surviving brothel in Bergen (now a museum),  more information about VESTINDIEN can be found on the band’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Vestindien/

Additional Information
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Vestindien/
Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/vestindien/
Band contact and booking:  book.vestindien@gmail.com
Dark Essence contact: post@karismarecords.no 
Dark Essence Records: www.darkessencerecords.no
Dark Essence on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/darkessencerecords
Dark Essence Records Bandcamp:  http://karismarecords.bandcamp.com/
Dark Essence Records YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/DarkEssenceRecords
Dark Essence Records Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darkessencerecords/
Dark Essence Records Twitter: https://twitter.com/DarkEssenceRec
Dark Essence SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/dark-essence-records
Dark Essence Records Webshop: https://www.darkessencerecords.no
Dark Essence Records North American Webshop:  http://darkessence.aisamerch.com/
Dark Essence Records Australian Webshop:  https://www.heavymetalmerchant.com/bands/d/dark-essence-records/

Having created a substantial following for themselves, due in part to the release of the 2011 EP “We are the Lords of Hellfire”, and in part to the band’s frenetic live shows and the notoriety of having named themselves after the last surviving brothel in Bergen (now a museum) VESTINDIEN, for reasons unknown, decided to call it a day.

But, seven years later, some of the original members got together and decided that the time was right to start making music again.  Gone was VESTINDIEN’s classic 90’s hardcore sound, with its heavy metal twist, to be replaced by one that embodies the essence of Black Metal, Punk and Old School rock’n’roll. 

It was a sound that intrigued Dark Essence Records enough to sign VESTINDIEN, and plan the release of the band’s debut full-length album “Null”. An album in which hints of the band’s hardcore roots are still subtly present, but  whose songs are dark, desperate and desolate, and which also include hard-hitting punches of energy and groove.

And now, fans who have been wondering what to expect from VESTINDIEN can find out, because Dark Essence Records have released the title track from the album, and it can be streamed or downloaded at https://darkessencerecords.fanlink.to/Vestindien_Null

About the single, and their more introverted and less aggressive approach to music,  VESTINDIEN’s lineup of of Torjus Slettsnok on vocals, Simon Skøien on guitars, Karl Johan Johannessen on drums and Pål Eirik Veseth on bass,  had this to say:

NULL is about not feeling comfortable in, or being able to understand a fake neon world.
NULL is about destroying norms and rules embedded in us through endless years of lies.
NULL is about taking a stance on how, and why to live.

Tracklisting for  VESTINDIEN’s debut full-length album “Null” is as follows:

1. Mot Dag
2. Berenberg
3. Meldrøye
4. Null
5. Ormegard
6. Ned
7. Øst for Sol

“Null” will be released on the 12th February 2021 in CD, DIgital and Black/Gold Vinyl formats, and is now available to pre-order from:

Webshop: https://darkessencerecords.no/shop/
Bandcamp: https://vestindien.bandcamp.com/album/null
US Webshop: https://darkessence.aisamerch.com/ 

More information about VESTINDIEN can be found on the band’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Vestindien/

Additional Information
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Vestindien/
Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/vestindien/
Band contact and booking:  book.vestindien@gmail.com
Dark Essence contact: post@karismarecords.no 
Dark Essence Records: www.darkessencerecords.no
Dark Essence on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/darkessencerecords
Dark Essence Records Bandcamp:  http://karismarecords.bandcamp.com/
Dark Essence Records YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/DarkEssenceRecords
Dark Essence Records Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darkessencerecords/
Dark Essence Records Twitter: https://twitter.com/DarkEssenceRec
Dark Essence SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/dark-essence-records
Dark Essence Records Webshop: https://www.darkessencerecords.no
Dark Essence Records North American Webshop:  http://darkessence.aisamerch.com/
Dark Essence Records Australian Webshop:  https://www.heavymetalmerchant.com/bands/d/dark-essence-records/

Vestindien Logo PR

VESTINDIEN  might not be a band that is immediately recognisable to most music fans, but that’s about to change, because the Bergen-based  band has just been snapped up by Dark Essence Records.

Formed in 2009, VESTINDIEN’s first, and up to now, only, release, was 2011’s debut EP “We are the Lords of Hellfire”, which delivered classic 90’s hardcore, with a heavy metal twist.  But only one year after its release, and despite having built up a solid following eager to experience the band’s  frenetic live shows, VESTINDIEN called it a day.

Absolute silence followed for the next seven years, until, in 2019, some of the band members got together and decided that VESTINDIEN needed to make music again.  And make music is exactly what the band’s current lineup of Torjus Slettnosk on vocals, Simon Skøien on guitars, Karl Johan Johannessen on drums and Pål Eirik Veseth on bass did, demonstrating a more introverted and less aggressive approach to their art.

Vestindien Stephan Vågenes Gaassand PR2

Photo by Stephan Vågenes Gaassand

It was at this point that  Dark Essence entered the picture, as Slettsnok explains:

Dark Essence was the only label we contacted when the album was finished. It was important to us that the label be based in Bergen, with people we trust. The only other option would have been to do it ourselves.

We were of course very happy when they felt the same way as we do about our music and we are looking forward to collaboration with the very good people of Dark Essence.

Vestindien Stephan Vågenes Gaassand PR1

Photo by Stephan Vågenes Gaassand

More information about VESTINDIEN can be found on the band’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Vestindien/

Additional Information
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Vestindien/
Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/vestindien/
Band contact and booking:  book.vestindien@gmail.com
Dark Essence contact: post@karismarecords.no
Dark Essence Records: www.darkessencerecords.no
Dark Essence on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/darkessencerecords
Dark Essence Records Bandcamp:  http://karismarecords.bandcamp.com/
Dark Essence Records YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/DarkEssenceRecords
Dark Essence Records Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darkessencerecords/
Dark Essence Records Twitter: https://twitter.com/DarkEssenceRec
Dark Essence SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/dark-essence-records
Dark Essence Records Webshop: https://www.darkessencerecords.no
Dark Essence Records North American Webshop:  http://darkessence.aisamerch.com/
Dark Essence Records Australian Webshop:  https://www.heavymetalmerchant.com/bands/d/dark-essence-records/