Caermonia Memoriam Norway 2026

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2026 kicked off with a brutal and sinister start! My beloved husband, Chad, and I took Rock Oracle International for the Caermonia Memoriam 2026 in Trondheim, Norway. After driving 15 hours (19 total in the car) to Boston, MA to drop off our two German Shepherds with their grandpa, followed by a 10 hour flight across the pond, we landed in Norway for this divine experience of a lifetime. This was the Fourth Cycle of this Black Metal Festival in Trondheim, Norway. Hosted at the Byscenen in City Center.  This year the festival dedicated the music and the event to Steingrim Torson Brissach, aka Mehimolith, a historical vocalist and multi-talented musician (including guitar, bass & drums) within the community. An 
original creator behind this underground and revolutionary scene in Trondheim. His talent and artistic vision are experienced in bands such as Selvhat, Celestial Bloodshed, One Tail One Head, Grenjar, Castrumdoloris, Jammerskrik, Kaosritual and Unbeing. He was Born December 27th, 1983 (Capricorn Sun, Waning Crescent Libra Moon, Yule), and died tragically, and untimely, on April 30th, 2009(Taurus Sun, Waxing Crescent Cancer Moon, Beltane). It was an honor to witness such a memoriam, as well as, witness phenomenal performances from his fellow bandmates, friends, family and with his/their devotees(fans). The impact of an artist knows no bounds, and it is beautiful to see his life being honored through his death within his music and community. The world continues on, and so will the legacy of inspiration he carved into the flesh of this earth. 

Ceremony In Order of Performance:

Friday-January 16th 
The ceremony began with Umbra Conscientia, a Black Metal band forming in 2018 between Costa Rica and Germany. The band put forth a solid live performance and was a beautiful opener for such a ceremony. This band was a bit unfamiliar to me, as well, mildly known by Chad. They are worth the listen for your musical expansion. However, they are not for every Black Metal fan. Particularly any Metal Elitist. They are arguably comparable to Funeral Mist. Conducting aggressive and esoteric tunes, they have a powerful combination of swirling melodies and pyroclastic flow riffs. As with most True Occult Black Metal, their realm of spirituality cannot be ignored.

Following Luciferian, Apocalyptic and Nihilistic philosophies, you are in for a conscious treat of enlightenment that may threaten the foundations of your psyche. The emphasis on the occult gnosis of the soul, death and suffering is not for the weak of heart. However, a triumphant initiation to those who are open to such states of evolution and knowing of thyself.  Next up, we experienced a personal favorite of both mine and my beloved, Misotheist. A local band from Trondheim, Norway. Misotheist is truly a magnificent live band to witness. This is a rare band to catch live, as they have historically only played live a few times a year. Definitely a band you would want to orchestrate a trip around their touring schedule in order to see! When you understand how seldom they have played live, you are left in awe over the raw talent each member has within themselves, and together as a group. These musicians have an undeniable connection to their instruments and musical vision. The first Misotheist album is absolutely fucking brutal and they have continued to impress the Black Metal community as they have evolved as a band. There is a shift into their newer works that maintains a classic brutal expression, however it is apparent they are leaning more into a mature, precise and melodic sound and performance.  

Misotheist has been created through the lens of genuine men with passion towards their art and philosophy. Ensuring to leave any listener changed forever. Their sound and philosophy focuses on desolate, hopeless, cold, cavernous and majestic music. Intended for raw, personal gnosis and designed for the listener to feel the suffocation and a loss of life and hope within the darker, more shadow aspects of the human emotion and psyche. Following Misotheist, we have Celestial Bloodshed. A true staple in Black Metal and a group that has my husband’s heart seal of approval. The group hasn’t made music since 2013. Releasing a record with music previously recorded before the death of Steingrim. As a band that hasn’t made music in recent years, it was more than a privilege to see them perform at this event, with this music. It was an absolute right of passage. Celestial Bloodshed is horrifically dark, powerful, aggressive, wrathful, hateful music. A pure release of the chaos, nihilism and hatred within us all. Their music and lyrics emphasize Atheistic Satanism, Death Worship and Anticosmic Philosophy. Music that will force you to face the devil within you, and embrace him with irrevocable integration. Intended to invoke profound misanthropy, Celestial Bloodshed is a necessary ritualistic Nidrosian Black Metal group to have in your collection. A performance only a true initiate would be honored to witness. However, a performance that should be met with caution, for it will consume your soul. 

The line up continued with another mind-blowing performance from Kaosritual. Carrying on with the standard of aggression within Black Metal, Kaosritual presented a more haunting and atmospheric occult theme to the show. A band known for embodying the “stench of a rotting corpse,” their performance maintained such a reputation- despite the fact that the rotting animal corpses of their older events, were not present at this festival. Their goal is to embody Death, and energetically, that essence is well reserved through the frequency of their collaborated craft. Kaosritual emphasizes the theatrics of death, dark magick and Nidrosian Satanism. Creating a sound that is chaotic and majestically haunting. Perfect for meditative workings and tapping into an abyss-like state of consciousness for personal creative endeavors and gnosis. Their music is dedicated to Anti-Christianity Movements and Chaos Philosophy. Invoking the power of Chaos and the empowerment to wield such power for oneself. The band has recently reformed as Dark Sonority, a significant personal favorite of mine. Another band I will proudly recommend any atmospheric Black Metal fan to dive into. 

Moving along, we had the Norwegian, Black Majesty up next. From my understanding, this was their first time performing live in approximately 13 yrs. Another beautiful right of passage for the devoted black metal enthusiast and/or left hand path occultist. As well as a fun numerology game for those who collect synchronicities. Black Majesty (Norwegian) is a deeply ritualist and occult band with powerful, intentional invocations imbedded within their music. Their sound is icy, eerie, lo-fi, extreme and raw. Engaging with muses of this caliber require strength, conviction and certainty over oneself. Black Majesty evokes solitary, anti-christian, satanic, dark, rebellious and uncompromising paths and world views of extremism within their music and unto their listeners. 

Here we have the final performance of Day One. We ended our Friday Night with One Tail One Head.  Simultaneously biased and accurately the best performance of the festival. As a prominent band within the Black Metal community, they haven’t performed since December 1st, 2018. As Chad would gleefully express, “What has been laid to rest, as been awakened and reborn.” Fitting to the themes subliminally and consciously implanted within the art work of the band. One Tail One Head displays themes of Cosmic Duality, Phoenix-Essence, Primordial Life Death & Rebirth Cycles, as well as, Devotion to the Fierce and Fiery. This band is nefariously ritualistic and on the edge of madness. They provide insightful lyrical themes of paradox and contradictions of life and the human experience Questioning societal norms and vowing malicious rebellion to bestow sovereignty of the individual will. One Tail One Head unveils themes of Anti-Commercialism. Dying upon the hill that Authentic Art will always remain Priority over Commercial Success. Leading a path of self definition of success within art, the music industry, and life itself. There is a devout quintessence in embodying a dark and ironic humor within life and the truths of inevitable death. Their music is extreme, raw, aggressive and radiates intense energy. 

Saturday- January 17th 
We began Saturday, and the final day of the festival, with Black Curse. Chad would express Black Curse was the second best band of the festival. Coming in close to One Tail One Head as#1. Who could possibly compare such a magnificent and glorious line up? It is an understatement to say that every band had put forth their all into these performances. With that, you could say that Black Curse needed a smaller, more intimate venue. Their presence is deliberate. Their power is uncanny. To capture the depth and potency of the energy within the music, a true devotee would benefit from a more close knit environment. However, no need to fret, you could still see and feel the energy, the quiddity within their visceral agonizing vocals channeling of the Devil. Their sound was spectacularly chaotic and erratic. Perfect for anyone who enjoys high speed music. A necessity for anyone aligned with ritualistic and mystically undertone musings. Black Curse expresses concepts within the realms of Goetic, (Theurgy) Sadistic and Monolithic Visions within their lyrics and performance. They are heavily influenced by surrealism and the alchemical process of creating personal meaning/gnosis.  Following Black Curse was a newer Black Metal band, Dold Vorde Ens Navn. A band I did not have any prior knowledge of before they walked on stage. Their name translates to “Hidden Be Its Name,” referring to the shadowed, taboo, and unspoken aspects of the human experience. It is reported, and understood, that the band particularly focuses on the mental turmoil invoked by these experiences and societal conditions.

Dold Vorde Ens Navn was intentionally avoidant of rehashing old sounds for the sake of nostalgia. The band took inspiration from their roots to explore the complexities of modern interpretations of consciousness, overall existence and the subconscious/unconscious factors in our being. You could speculate that this is more of an emotional and introspective group. Their music was presented to be deeply atmospheric and theatrical. An expression that was there, but not quite. Something was missing from the performance and the music. I would suggest that Dold Vorde Ens Navn could benefit from refining their theatrics or their vision to increase crowd pleasure. This was a difficult performance to connect with. The spectators around me were equally disconnected and displeased. A few bundles of folks around the venue seemed to be finding joy within the music. However, I cannot say there was the same amount of energy as the entirety of Friday, nor the frequency Black Curse had concluded us with. The 
group created a different vibe that could be perceived as uncomfortable, or in extremes “distasteful” to the traditional black metal fan. Or the expectation of a beholder of this festival. This band felt out of place. Which created a space and/or disruption of flow. A wedge within the festival. Making it quite difficult to assess the band, their music and their performance objectively. Their sound ranges from high-speed, tremolo-picked black metal to moody folk-infused passages.

Some onlookers expressed that it was the “Dad-Rock” or “Stock Broker Rock” of Black Metal. Particularly for (Black) Metal Purists and/or Elitists. I would argue that they are worth the listen for those with a more open mindedapproach to their music spectrum or tastes. Other criticisms from the crowd were equivalent to how Chad and I felt. Stating that it was not quite a “fitting” band for the overall festival line-up. Some crowd members would agree that they felt it was a lazy performance and a lull in the rhythm of the event. You could judge it to be a lack of passion. Some younglings shared that they were “old timers” who stood too still and bored them with simplified instrumentals. The critique is rough, but genuine in report. Nonetheless, these gentlemen did more than most folks. They came together in brotherhood and friendship. They put their soul on the line, their heart on their sleeve and they created something for this world from themselves. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea. And the Black Metal community is not known for being overly forgiving. As a band that was honored to be invited and placed within this line-up, I am sure there is a significance to their performance that is unknown to me, my beloved, nor the crowd. Besides, I am just some bitch with an experience, an opinion, and a computer. 

To conclude the evening and the festival, multi band members came on and conducted vocals to Steingim’s music. In Memoiram, Vemod opened the ceremony. Another phenomenal group of creatives from Trondheim. They are known for their philosophical and spiritual introspective approach to black metal. Correlating the reality of nature, mysticism and the melancholy that bleeds from it all. A beautiful essence to begin the honoring of a man, a friend and a fellow muse. There is much to say about the performance, and yet, there is not much to say at all. It was emotional. It was vulnerable.

It was the most loving display of Death, I have been honored to witness. A multitude variation of band members, interchanging roles at various moments recreated, shared and displayed the art of their beloved fallen bandmate. The musicians performed songs Steingrim co-created with Selvhat, Castrum Doloris and Grenjar. It was nothing short of a raw display of camaraderie and love. A sensational tribute for a fallen brother. As an outsider looking in, as an outsider who was welcomed to experience this ceremony, I would presume nothing short of pride beaming from the soul of Steingrim. To all the talented artists who came together for this Divine and Unholy Rite, you would’ve made Steingrim proud knowing that his name and legacy, to this day, has carried on through the dedication of his friends, fellow artists/musicians and fans/ devotees. It was a true infernal blessing to assemble in unity in the Underworld with you all. It was a pleasure to celebrate the life’s work of your friend, SteingrimTorson Brissach. May his next journey be as powerful and fulfilling as this lifetime must have been. 

At the end of the Ceremony, I would say I felt changed to some degree. Not only for the love, harmony and peace felt within the community for my husband and I. But from the force of MUSIC. Music that brings us all together. Even the darkest of us. Music is a foundation of home within us all. If you cannot relate to someone who is different than you, I dare you to connectto them through music and art. We can bridge our division through the deep inner networkings of the muse within us all. Because at the end of the day, we are all people grieving the loss of something or someone we love. We are all people fighting to find joy in creative endeavors. We are all souls living in a sea of chaos. We release the horrors through the rite of creation and we unify within community. May we all continue to create. For we never know the significance of what we shall leave behind. And it will always be worth it. Whether it is a billion beings, or one lost soul. The inspiration you leave behind is your magick mark upon this realm. 

Melinoe Macaria Mourningstar is a contributing writer from Wyrd Curations. 

Wyrd Curations are an eclectic collection of magically cultivated talismans, poems and philosophies from a variety of crafts, cultures, and traditions to provide a well rounded experience for all who wander into this realm. The focus on each item is to be designed as uniquely, individually and as environmentally friendly as can be reached and/or allowed. Materials are scavenged, traded or purchased from aligned sources. 

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