Red Harvest (band)
| Company type | Band |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1989 |
| Headquarters | Oslo , Norway |
| Products | Industrial metal music, albums, EPs, DVDs |
Red Harvest is an industrial metal group originating from Oslo, Norway. Their 2002 release, Sick Transit Gloria Mundi, earned them nominations for both the Norwegian Grammy (known as Spellemannprisen) and an alternative Grammy in the category of "Best Metal Album." Established in 1989, the band has produced eight full-length albums, two EPs, one live DVD, a collaborative split album with Zyklon, and a compilation album.
History
Initially formed in 1989 as a tribute to Slayer, Red Harvest debuted with the demo Ocultica that same year, followed by Psychotica. Their first official album, Nomindsland (1992), showcased strong thrash metal elements. By 1994, their style evolved into an experimental fusion encompassing progressive metal, gothic rock, industrial, and doom metal, as demonstrated on There's Beauty in the Purity of Sadness. The band gained visibility through MTV with their "Wounds" music video. Subsequent releases, The Maztürnation (1995) and HyBreed (1996), broadened their fan base and led to supporting American gothic metal band Type O Negative during their 1997 European tour.
The 1998 EP New Rage World Music was later reissued in 2001 under the title New World Rage Music, including additional tracks. Refining their progressive industrial approach, they unveiled Cold Dark Matter in 2000. This was followed by the critically praised Sick Transit Gloria Mundi in 2002. In 2004, Red Harvest released both the Harvest Bloody Harvest DVD and the album Internal Punishment Programs. Their eighth studio album, A Greater Darkness, arrived in early 2007, accompanied by the 2008 compilation The Redline Archives, which featured remixes and previously unreleased material.
Between the releases of New Rage World Music and Internal Punishment Programs, their sound integrated influences from industrial metal pioneers such as Godflesh and Ministry, experimental doom outfit Neurosis, progressive thrash inspirations from Voivod, Norwegian black metal groups Emperor and Darkthrone, as well as electronic genres like drum'n'bass and gabber. By 2007, they adopted a somewhat slower and more natural sound on tracks like "Hole in Me" from A Greater Darkness, while still preserving faster-paced elements.
Celebrating two decades of activity, Red Harvest performed a special concert on 24 October 2009 in Oslo. The band officially disbanded in May 2010 without providing specific reasons but later reunited in 2015 after a five-year hiatus.
Members
- Jimmy "Ofu Kahn" Ivan Bergsten – guitars, vocals
- Thomas Brandt – bass
- Kjetil "TurboNatas" Eggum – guitars
- Lars "LRZ" Sørensen – samples, programming, synthesizers
- Erik Wroldsen – drums
Former members
- Cato Bekkevold – drums (1989–1997)
- Jan Nygaard – guitars (1989–1994)
EPs and demos
- Ocultica (demo, 1989)
- Psychotica (demo, 1990)
- The Maztürnation (EP, 1995)
- New Rage World Music (EP, 1998)
Studio albums
- Nomindsland (1992)
- There's Beauty in the Purity of Sadness (1994)
- HyBreed (1996)
- Cold Dark Matter (2000)
- New World Rage Music (2001)
- Sick Transit Gloria Mundi (2002)
- Internal Punishment Programs (2004)
- A Greater Darkness (2007)
Compilations
- The Red Line Archives (released in 2008)
Splits
- Zyklon / Red Harvest (issued in 2003)
Videos
- Harvest Bloody Harvest (DVD format, 2006)