Extol
Origin	Oslo, Norway
Genre(s)	Death metal Unblack metal Progressive metal Thrash metal
Years active	1993 - Present
Label(s)	Endtime Productions Solid State Century Media
Website	Official website
Members
Peter Espevoll David Husvik John Robert Mjåland Tor Magne Glidje Ole Halvard Sveen
Former members
Ole Børud Christer Espevoll Eystein Holm Emil Nikolaisen

Extol is a Christian metal band from Oslo in Norway. They are known for playing a variety of different styles of metal which include melodic death metal, technical thrash metal, and currently a mix between prog-rock and post-hardcore. They are mainly described as a melodic death metal band since they gained their popularity primarily through their earlier works in that genre. Image File history File links Flag_of_Norway. ... This article is about the capital of Norway. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about the musical genre. ... Unblack metal (also known as Christian black metal) is the Christian variant of black metal. ... Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music which blends the powerful, guitar-driven sound of metal with the complex compositional structures, odd time signatures, and intricate instrumental playing of progressive rock. ... Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music, one of the extreme metal subgenres that is characterised by its signature high speed and aggression. ... In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... Solid State Records is a Christian record label, a division of Tooth & Nail Records. ... Century Media Records is an independant metal record label with offices in the USA, Brazil, Germany, France, Italy, Sweden and the United Kingdom. ... Emil Nikolaisen is a musician and producer from Norway. ... Christian metal is a form of heavy metal music and its many subgenres with Christian lyrics and themes. ... This article is about the capital of Norway. ... Heavy metal redirects here. ... Melodic death metal, (also referred to as Gothenburg metal, melodeath, and post-death) is a subgenre of death metal. ... Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music, one of the extreme metal subgenres that is characterised by its signature high speed and aggression. ... The progressive rock band Yes performing in 1977. ... Post-hardcore; this specific genre was created by others as a sourse to relaese the emotion that builds inside, making the music intimate and touching to listeners. ...

History / Biography

Extol was formed in 1993 by drummer David Husvik and guitarist Christer Espevoll, who had been playing together and wanted to start a band. Peter Espevoll became their vocalist. In 1994, bassist Eystein Holm joined the band just before their first gig. Emil Nikolaisen joined as a second guitarist in 1995. For the comic book character, see Drummer (comics). ... For the UK magazine, see Guitarist (magazine). ... In music a singer or vocalist is a type of musician who sings, i. ...

In 1996, they recorded for Norwegian metal compilation, Northern Lights. Later that year they recorded "Embraced", a short demo. Ole Børud soon replaced Nikolaisen, who wanted to give more attention to his other band, Royal, on guitar. Nikolaisen currently plays guitar and lead vocals for indie rock band Serena Maneesh. They signed with Endtime Productions in 1998, and released Burial, the band's first full album. Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music often used to refer to bands that are on small independent record labels or that arent on labels at all. ... Serena Maneesh (sometimes spelled Serena-Maneesh or shortened to S-M) is an alternative rockband from Oslo, Norway. ... Burial is the debut album by Christian metal band Extol. ...

The next year, they released the EP, Mesmerized, which featured three industrial remixes of songs from Burial. Eystein was replaced by Tor Magne Glidje on bass. They later recorded Undeceived, which was much darker and more intense. Then Ole left the band, so Tor Glidje switched over to guitar, and John Robert Mjåland joined as bassist. In 2001 another EP, Paralysis was recorded; it was only released in Sweden. This EP featured a cover of "Shadow of Death" by Believer, whom the band considers to be a great influence. After Paralysis, Tor Magne left the band to focus on his other project, Ganglion, and Ole returned to the line-up. After Undeceived was released, Extol was no longer obligated to Endtime, and they signed with Century Media in 2002. Their album Synergy, released in 2003, showed an even greater appreciation of the band Believer. The music on the album is very similar to Believer's style of thrash metal. // Extended play (EP) is the name typically given to vinyl records or CDs which contain more than one single but are too short to qualify as albums. ... Mesmerized is an EP by Christian metal band Extol. ... Undeceived is the second LP and third studio release by Christian metal band Extol. ... Believer was a Christian Thrash metal band from the late 80s and early 90s. ... Century Media Records is an independant metal record label with offices in the USA, Brazil, Germany, France, Italy, Sweden and the United Kingdom. ... Synergy is the fifth studio album by Christian metal band Extol. ...

In June of 2004, Ole Børud and Christer Espevoll left Extol to "invest their time and energy elsewhere". Taking their place as permanent members in the band are the return of Tor Magne Glidje and Ole Halvard Sveen, both from Ganglion, that merged with Extol when four out of five bandmembers ended up playing in both bands.

In 2005, the band released what could be considered their most diverse album; The Blueprint Dives, or "Blueprint" for short. The album was nominated for the Norwegian Grammy, Spellemannprisen, for best Norwegian metal album in 2005.

On August 9, 2007 the band announced through their MySpace page that they are currently on a hiatus.

Current band lineup:

• Peter Espevoll - vocals (1993-present)
• Tor Magne Glidje - bass, guitar (1999-2001), guitar (2004-present)
• Ole Halvard Sveen - guitar (2004-present)
• David Husvik - drums (1993-present)
• John Robert Mjåland - bass (2001-present)

Past Members

• Christer Espevoll - guitars (1993-2004)
• Ole Børud - guitars, flute, vocals (1996-2000) (2001-2004)
• Eystein Holm - bass (1994-1999)
• Emil Nikolaisen - guitars (1995-1996)

Discography

• Burial (1998 Endtime Productions, licensed to Solid State Records)
• Mesmerized (EP) (1999 Endtime Productions, licensed to Solid State Records, Review: HM Magazine^[1])
• Undeceived (2000 Endtime Productions, licensed to Solid State Records)
• And I Watch/Human Frailties Grave (EP) (2000 Endtime Productions)
• Paralysis (EP) (2001 Endtime Productions)
• Synergy (2003 Century Media, licensed to Solid State Records)
• The Blueprint Dives (2005 Century Media, licensed to Solid State Records)

Burial is the debut album by Christian metal band Extol. ... Solid State Records is a Christian record label, a division of Tooth & Nail Records. ... Mesmerized is an EP by Christian metal band Extol. ... Undeceived is the second LP and third studio release by Christian metal band Extol. ... Synergy is the fifth studio album by Christian metal band Extol. ... Century Media Records is an independant metal record label with offices in the USA, Brazil, Germany, France, Italy, Sweden and the United Kingdom. ... The Blueprint Dives is the second sixth studio release by Christian metal band Extol. ...

Side projects

Tor Magne Glidje, Jon Robert Mjåland, and Ole Halvard Sveen are the sole members of Lengsel, a progressive black metal band that formed in 1995 and released one album, called Solace, on Endtime Productions, which was subsequently licensed to Solid State Records for an American release. Shortly after releasing "Solace", Lengsel changed their name to Ganglion and turned away from the progressive black metal to a progressive-aggressive rock sound. In 2006, they reunited as Lengsel and released their second album, The Kiss, The Hope. Solid State Records is a Christian record label, a division of Tooth & Nail Records. ...

Christer Espevoll and David Husvik went out of their way recently to form a band named Absurd². They put out an EP in 2004.

Under the name Aperture, Peter Espevoll and David Husvik released an album of softer, acoustic rock songs, entitled Salvage. "Aperture" is also the name of an acoustic song off of Synergy.

Christer Espevoll was for a period of time in the band Benea Reach, which also features former members of Selfmindead.

Several members of Extol have founded a new side project, "Mantric," which can be heard here: http://www.myspace.com/mantricofficial.

References

• (July/August 2000) "Extol". HM Magazine (84). ISSN 1066-6923. Retrieved on 2007-04-24. 

2. http://www.myspace.com/extol HM Magazine is a bimonthly publication focusing on both Christianity and hard rock. ... ISSN, or International Standard Serial Number, is the unique eight-digit number applied to a periodical publication including electronic serials. ... HM Magazine is a bimonthly publication focusing on both Christianity and hard rock. ... ISSN, or International Standard Serial Number, is the unique eight-digit number applied to a periodical publication including electronic serials. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 114th day of the year (115th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Extol Official Website
• Extol's MySpace Page
• Extol's Purevolume Page
• Extol lyrics at DarkLyrics
• Extol at MusicBrainz
• Extol at Encyclopaedia Metallum
• Extol's Official Forum