METALLIAN - Koldborn

First Enslavement - 2002 - Diehard
The Uncanny Valley - 2006 - Listenable

Members

Vocals

Sadogoat, Saturation, Vinter Morke, Solens, Strychnos>>Martin Leth Andersen>>Strychnos, The Cleansing, Cerekloth, Symposion, Undergang, Procession Of Headless Angels - Deadly Sins>>LARS BJøRN-HANSEN

Guitar

Icon Of Sin, Defacement, Furious Trauma, Hatesphere>>HENRIK JACOBSEN>>Furious Trauma, Hatesphere, Bloodgutter - Mareridt, Ad Noctum, Vrael, Pogrom, Tronraner, Horned Almighty, Hellsermon>>Bjørn Bihlet>>Horned Almighty, Hell's Domain, Glorior Belli, Wulfaz - Dawn Of Demise, HateSphere>>JAKOB NYHOLM>>Dawn Of Demise, HateSphere

Bass

12 Gauge, Frozen Sun, Control Patrol, Horned Almighty>>Kim Nielsen>>Horned Almighty, Exmortem - Decrial, Autumn Leaves, The Arcane Order, Slugs, Submission, Scavenger>>BORIS TANDRUP>>The Arcane Order, Slugs, Submission

Drum

Defacement, Pitstop, Icon Of Sin, Denial Of God>>Rasmus Salskov>>Denial Of God, Strychnos - The Arcane Order, Slugs, Panzerchrist, Submission>>Morten Løwe Sørensen>>The Arcane Order, Slugs, Submission, Strangler, Mercenary, Indrama, Avalanche, Icon In Me, Indrama, Disavowed, Transparent, Dragonland, Triphon, Amaranthe, The Dark Side Of The Moon, Icarus 7

History & Biography

The Danish death/thrash band Koldborn was born from the ashes of Icon Of Sin by drummer Salskov and guitarist Henrik Jacobsen on a cold night in 1997. The group issued a demo called Blessed By Beyond in 1999 before signing to the tattoo label Diehard. The debut was re-recorded when the band found the first attempt dissatisfactory. First Enslavement’s working title was The Embrace Of Thanatos. The group switched to singer Thomas Villa in 2003 before finding Lars Bjørn-Hansen. With the first label going the way of the American car, the Danes issued an EP through Ancient Darkness Productions called The Devil Of All Deals in 2005 before landing with Listenable Records of France. A second album appeared in 2006. Bassist Mikael Ehlert Hansen of Hatesphere joined Koldborn in the winter of 2008.

There are more side-projects and ex-members in Koldborn than a Swedish musician can shake a stick at. Koldborn recruited guitarist Martin “O” Olsen of As We Fight and drummer Kim Jensen of Dawn Of Demise in the summer of 2009. Still, the end came in 2010.

Reviews

KOLDBORN - FIRST ENSLAVEMENT - DIEHARD
Denmark's Koldborn was signed to homegrown label Diehard over two years ago and one can only imagine the band's frustration to have a record deal and not an album for that length of time. First Enslavement is an odd name for a debut. One would think the first album would rather be viewed as an opportunity or a beginning and less as an 'enslavement.' The band does explain the title as referring to the mastering and subjugating of music.
Being Danish there is much on First Enslavement that is influenced by their compatriots, most notably Illdisposed. There is the locomotive drumming and the riff-orientation, although the vocals are guttural and not ultra-low. Koldborn - powerful moniker - has a habit of repeating riffs within the songs though. The riff-based composition and sparse soloing is certainly a prominent feature of the quartet. That is best exemplified on album opener Of Sins Sublime which also has a catchy vocal phrasing. The alliterative Blessed By Beyond establishes an At The Gates influence as well. On the down side are the female vocals on In Breathless Sighs and Sunbroken - again reminiscent of Illdisposed and more specifically their Return From Tomorrow EP - where for no apparent reason in the midst of a barrage of otherwise respectable metal a female moaner does her best to ruin things for all concerned. Why would any band employ a whining and anti-climatic female singer aside from its trendiness is beyond the knights of Metallian Towers. Suffice to say that her appearance on Sunbroken is reminiscent of Notre Dame. One of the better songs is Vague Cries (Of Unborn Lives) which has a cool faster segment and features a genial lead part thus proving how the band would have benefited from more of these. The lyrics are either short and to-the-point or trivial depending on your perspective.

KOLDBORN - THE UNCANNY VALLEY - LISTENABLE
<self-important nightly news anchor>... In other news heavy metal band Koldborn has jumped on this season’s hottest tour alongside Winter, Celtic Frost, Khold and Cold and promises a blast of chilling metal for the fans. Rumour has it that the line-up might include Swallow The Sun as openers...
Over four years after the release of its debut, entitled First Enslavement, on the defunct Diehard label, Danish death metal band Koldborn has reappeared and delivered another uninhibited and brutal album. The band does bear some resemblance to its compatriots Illdisposed and early Konkhra with the guttural vocals, grinding death metal, interchange of fast and slower songs and chunky riff-o-rama, but there is also a hint of Darkane within songs like A Destiny Predicted, Lords Of Stupidity, Neural Bound and the closing cut, Relativity. The singer Lars Bjørn-Hansen sounds like he has just swallowed a toad - a monster toad! The only thing that could obviously have been better is the bland cover of the album.
The album kicks off with a message about impending doom and annihilation in 28 odd days - more like 36 minutes! - Ali “The Metallian”

Interviews

Koldborn