Borknagar - The Black Canvas

Borknagar was founded in 1995 by guitarist Oystein Brun, who, fresh from his stint in a previous band called Molested, decided to form a new black metal project, enlisting several major players in the scene. The band forgoes the simplistic blastbeats and shrieking typical of the early black metal bands, instead opting for a more majestic black metal sound ("epic metal" as Brun himself has described the style). Despite frequent lineup changes, Borknagar's music remains of high quality -- this is one of the better modern post-black metal bands in the scene today. The arrival of new vocalist Vintersorg has added a new dimension to their sound, and they have improved with each successive album. Their most recent release, Origin, is an all-acoustic affair.