A Swedish heavy metal outfit that incorporates elements of folk, Viking, progressive, and black metal into their evocative sound, Vintersorg (Winter's Sorrow) was founded in 1994 under the moniker Vargatron (Wolfthrone). Formed in the coastal town of Skellefteå by core members Andreas Hedlund and Mattias Marklund -- the duo utilize a host of session musicians to flesh out their albums -- Vintersorg's early works were built on a foundation of black metal. The folk melodies that were interspersed between the harsh vocals and blastbeats eventually rose to the forefront on 1999's Ödemarkens Son, but by the time the group issued their fourth full-length outing, 2002's Visions from the Spiral Generator, they had adopted a more technical, progressive metal stance. In 2011 they released Jardpuls, the first of a planned four-part concept LP based on the elements. Orkan arrived the following year, with Naturbål dropping in 2014. In 2017 the band released Till Fjälls, Vol. 2, a sequel to their 1998 debut that marked a return to melodic, folk-inflected black metal. ~ James Christopher Monger