Mundanus Imperium  initially started out in Hamar, Norway in late 1994, when Lars "Grond" Wiik (drums, bass, guitars and vocals) and Bent "Draug Hate" Holm, created the band Nattefall. In 1996 they recorded their first and only demo tape 'Ode To The Nightsky" at X-Ray Studios. The demo received great response around the world and sold about 300 copies in the first months. During this period a record company called Velvet Music showed great interest in the band, and wanted to put the demo tape on CD. The band agreed to that knowing that this was a good opportunity to promote their new band name Mundanus Imperium to the world. In May 1997 the mini CD with three songs, was released. Mundanus Imperium then signed a contract with the Italian label Avantgarde Music for the release of their debut album, 'The Spectral Spheres Coronation'. They now needed to expand their line-up, so they hired Jørn Lande (Vagabond, Masterplan, ARK etc.) on vocals and Petter J. Thuve on guitar. 'The Spectral Spheres Coronation' was released in 1998. They were now signed to the major label Nuclear Blast.

THE SPECTRAL SPHERES CORONATION (1998) NUCLEAR BLAST

  1. Distant Conglomeration
  2. The Life Of What You Seek
  3. Beyond The Earthly - instrumental
  4. Starwars
  5. Predominate
  6. Stargazer
  7. The Unborn Breathes In Silence
  8. If The Universe Transformed

Line-up:

Jørn Lande - Vocals

Petter J Thuve - Guitars

Bent E. Holm - Keyboards

Lars Wiik - Drums and Bass Guitar

 

This is an odd band indeed. They play a form of progressive, emotional and symphonic metal. The strange thing is that the music gets my thoughts leaning towards the black metal genre, and bands like Covenant (now The Kovenant) on their 'Nexus Polaris' album. But as you may know, Jørn Lande is a vocalist of the clean sort, bringing in one of his most diverse song deliveries ever. This combination makes the band pretty unique. And when it works, it sounds great. Unfortunately not all the tracks do work. So I have sort of an ambivalent feeling for this album. It's not a frequent player, but essential because of he who sings on it. "Stargazer" is a Rainbow cover, which the band massacres, but Jørn of course does justice. 'The Spectral Spheres Coronation' was Mundanus Imperium's one and only release (not counting the demo).

Killer tracks: The Life Of What You Seek, Starwars, The Unborn Breathes In Silence

Jørn Lande guest appearances:

Avantasia - 'Lost In Space Part 1'

Avantasia - 'Lost In Space Part 2'

Avantasia - 'The Scarecrow'

Avantasia - 'The Wicked Symphony'

Avantasia - 'Angel of Babylon'

 

Related artists:

Jorn, Masterplan, ARK, Vagabond, Millenium, Yngwie Malmsteen