Jan Axel Blomberg

Jan Axel Blomberg
Helhammer live at Jalometalli 2008
Background information
Birth name	Jan Axel Blomberg
Also known as	Hellhammer, Hauptmann Hammer, Von Blomberg
Born	August 2, 1969 (1969-08-02) Trysil, Norway
Genres	Avant-garde metal, black metal, death metal, neo-classical metal, progressive metal, unblack metal
Occupations	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Drums, percussion, bass guitar,[citation needed] guitar[citation needed]
Years active	1987–present
Associated acts	Age of Silence, Antestor, Arcturus, Carnivora, Circle of Chaos, Dimmu Borgir, Emperor, Fleurety, Immortal, The Kovenant, Jørn Lande, Mayhem, Mezzerschmitt, Mortem, Mysticum, Nidingr, Shining, Thorns, Tritonus, Troll, Ulver, Umoral, Vidsyn, Winds
Notable instruments
Paiste cymbals Axis pedals Pearl drums Tama Drums Yamaha drums Vic Firth drumsticks

Jan Axel "Hellhammer" Blomberg (born August 2, 1969, in Trysil, Norway) is a three time Spellemannprisen award-winning heavy metal drummer. He is most well known for his drumming with the band Mayhem, with which he began his career. He is endorsed by Paiste, Axis Pedals and Pearl drums, though he has been known to use both Tama and Yamaha drums as well.

He joined Mayhem in 1988, following the departure of the drummer and founding member Kjetil Manheim. Aside Mayhem, in 1987 Blomberg formed the avant-garde black metal band Arcturus (under the name Mortem) with Steinar Sverd Johnsen, which would later break up in April 2007. When Arcturus reunited in 2011, Blomberg re-took his old position as drummer.

Biography

Early life

Hellhammer, 2008

As a child Jan's main interests were football (soccer) and wrestling. At first he had no interest in drums or drumming, but as music became more appealing to him he started to find the different instruments interesting, which eventually lead to an interest in drums.^{[citation needed]} His grandparents purchased him his first second and third drum-kit, With these he began learning to play drums by playing along with albums he listened to. He was into heavy metal bands such as Iron Maiden and Slayer, but also bands like Depeche Mode and Duran Duran. He then found out about Venom and Celtic Frost, and eventually jazz, due to influences from a past drum teacher. He began learning drums on his first drum-kit that was a four piece jazz kit.

Music career

Before joining Mayhem, Jan Axel played in various local bands, including the progressive metal band Tritonus, where he met Carl August Tidemann, the man who became the Arcturus and Winds guitarist. He did some performing live during this period as well. He then saw an ad in the newspaper announcing that Mayhem was looking for a drummer. So he went down to Oslo to meet the band and gave them his demo tape. They called him the next day to let him know that he was now a member of the band. He then took the pseudonym Hellhammer, which he borrowed from the pre-Celtic Frost band with the same name, because he thought it was a shame that such a good name in his opinion would disappear; he also thought that it was a nice moniker for a drummer.^{[citation needed]}

The first recordings he did with Mayhem were two songs for a compilation album around 1989, with the songs Carnage and The Freezing Moon. The first proper recording he did with Mayhem was Live in Leipzig in 1990. After that album, Mayhem had some trouble with the line up due to the suicide of the singer Dead and Necrobutcher's departure from the band. During this time he founded the band Arcturus together with Sverd in 1991, out of the remains of the band Mortem. They released the 7" My Angel in 1991 and later the mini album Constellation. In 1995 he joined Immortal as a session drummer during their tour that year, he also agreed to play drums on their first official Video, Grim and Frostbitten Kingdoms. He also briefly played for Emperor during this period. The recording and release of the Arcturus debut album Aspera Hiems Symfonia also happened this year.

In 1997 Jan Axel began working with Covenant, now known as The Kovenant, for the recording of their second album, Nexus Polaris. That album was released in 1998 with a following European tour. During 1997 Arcturus also released another album, La Masquerade Infernale, which became a landmark album in the history of avantgarde metal.^{[citation needed]}

The next year another album from The Kovenant was released, namely the ground breaking^{[citation needed]} album Animatronic, which led Jan Axel away from the more traditional black metal drumming to a more beat oriented sound.

The year 2000 was another hectic year for Blomberg^{[citation needed]} due to the recording and release of Mayhem's second full-length studio album Grand Declaration of War.

During spring that year, he toured the USA with The Kovenant; he did a summer tour with Mayhem; he toured again with The Kovenant, this time in Europe during the autumn.

During the year 2000 he recorded a mini album with his new band Winds, Of Entity And Mind, which was released in May 2001. Winds also recorded a full-length album during spring 2001, Reflections of the I. The music of Winds takes Jan Axel's drumming into yet a new direction, embarking on a progressive, symphonic and classically oriented musical foundation while still retaining his roots in metal.

Jan Axel is now a two-time Norwegian Grammy Awards winner, in 1998 for The Kovenant with Nexus Polaris and in 1999 for The Kovenant with Animatronic. They claimed the prize for best hard rock album both years. In addition to these mentioned involvements, Jan Axel has also done numerous appearances as a guest or session musician on other releases.

In 2005, he was interviewed for the black metal mini-documentary that was included with the 2-disc DVD edition of Metal: A Headbanger's Journey, in addition to other Mayhem members Necrobutcher (Jørn Stubberud) and Blasphemer (Rune Erickson).

Hellhammer sustained a serious neck injury in 2007. Dimmu Borgir issued the following statement:

“

Due to Hellhammer's injury (the x-ray report confirms a severe neck prolapse causing his right arm to numb out) he will be unable to play drums for Dimmu Borgir on the remaining festivals this summer and the upcoming European tour, also featuring Amon Amarth and Hatesphere. Hellhammer will go into treatment and a possible surgery for this shortly. Taking his place will be Tony Laureano (Nile, Angelcorpse, Aurora Borealis, Belphegor), who also played for Dimmu Borgir during Ozzfest 2004 and festivals in 2005.

”

In 2009, Hellhammer appeared on Eyes of Noctum's album Inceptum, where he played drums on six tracks. Eyes of Noctum are a black metal band from America featuring Weston Cage, son of Nicolas Cage as their lead singer.

According to Lex Icon's MyOpera blog, despite Hellhammer quitting The Kovenant in 2003, he has promised to do drums for upcoming The Kovenant album Aria Galactica, if needed. Hellhammer's participation has also been confirmed for an upcoming solo release by Winds keyboardist Andy Winter, where Hellhammer has recorded all the drums as he does in Winter's bands Age of Silence and Winds.

On July 30, 2010, Blomberg announced that he had become an endorser of Paiste Cymbals.

Also in 2010, Hellhammer featured in Nidingr's latest album after 5 years, Wolf-Father. The album consists of very dark and heavy sounds with Hellhammers simply brutal drums to even everything out. The band is a cross between Death & Black Metal.

In 2011 Blomberg re-took is position in band Arcturus who have now completely reformed and currently are working on a new album set to be released sometime in 2012.^{[citation needed]}

Controversy

He has courted controversy in the past by making numerous racist comments and advocating violence against homosexuals. The black metal biography, Lords of Chaos, which has been criticized by its subjects for inaccurate information, quotes him as saying, "I'll put it this way, we don't like black people here. Black metal is for white people. … I'm pretty convinced that there are differences between races as well as everything else. I think that like animals, some races are more…you know, like a cat is much more intelligent than a bird or a cow, or even a dog, and I think that's also the case with different races." Blomberg said in a 2004 interview, "I don’t give a crap if the fans are white, black, green, yellow, or blue. For me music and politics don’t go hand in hand."

Personal

Before his current career as a full time drummer, Jan Axel used to work as a night guard at a mental hospital. He does not smoke and drinks very little alcohol; he lifts weight's to keep fit and he practices his drumming for three hours every day.

Discography

As a member

Age of Silence

• Acceleration - (2004)
• Complications - Trilogy of Intricacy - (2005)

Arcturus

• Promo 90 (Demo) - (1990)
• My Angel LP- (1991)
• Constellation MCD/MLP - (1994)
• Aspera Hiems Symfonia - (1996)
• Constellation - (1997)
• La Masquerade Infernale - (1997)
• Disguised Masters - (1999)
• Aspera Hiems Symfonia/Constellation/My Angel re-release - (2001)
• The Sham Mirrors - (2002)
• Sideshow Symphonies - (2005)
• Shipwrecked In Oslo - (2006)

Carnivora

• Re-Incarnal - (2006)

Death of Desire

• ANTIhuman - (2012)

Dimmu Borgir

• Stormblåst MMV - (2005)
• In Sorte Diaboli - (2007)

The Kovenant

• Nexus Polaris - (1998)
• Animatronic - (1999)
• SETI - (2003)

Mayhem

• Live in Leipzig - (1993)
• De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas - (1994)
• Out from the Dark - (1996)
• Wolf's Lair Abyss - (1997)
• Ancient Skin / Necrolust - (1997)
• Mediolanum Capta Est - (1999)
• Necrolust / Total Warfare (Split with Zyklon-B) - (1999)
• Grand Declaration of War - (2000)
• Live in Marseille 2000 - (2001)
• European Legions - (2001)
• U.S. Legions - (2001)
• The Studio Experience (Box Set) - (2002)
• Freezing Moon/Jihad (Split with Meads of Asphodel) - (2002)
• Legions of War - (2003)
• Chimera - (2004)
• Ordo Ad Chao - (2007)
• Life Eternal - (2009)

Mezzerschmitt

• Weltherrschaft - (2002)

Mortem

• Slow Death (Demo) - (1989)
• Slow Death EP - (1990)

Nidingr

• Wolf-Father - (2010)

Shining

• Angst, Självdestruktivitetens Emissarie - (2002)
• Dolorian/Shining - (2004)
• Through Years of Oppression - (2004)
• The Darkroom Sessions - (2004)
• The Eerie Cold - (2005)

Troll

• The Last Predators - (2000)
• Universal - (2001)

Umoral

• 7" Umoral EP - (2007)

Winds

• Of Entity and Mind - (2001)
• Reflections of the I - (2001)
• The Imaginary Direction of Time - (2004)
• Prominence and Demise - (2007)

As a session musician

Antestor

• Det Tapte Liv - (2004)
• The Forsaken - (2005)

Emperor

• Live drummer - (1992)^{[citation needed]}
• Moon over Kara-Shehr - on the compilation Nordic Metal: A Tribute to Euronymous - (1995)

Immortal

• Live drummer, Sons of Northern Darkness Tour Part II - (1995)
• Grim and Frostbitten Kingdoms music video - on the Masters of Nebulah Frost video cassette - (1995)

Jørn

• Worldchanger - (2001)
• The Gathering - (2007)

Thorns

• Thorns - (2001)

Tritonus

• Live drummer

Vidsyn

• On Frostbitten Path Beneath demo - (2004)
• On Frostbitten Path Beneath - (2004)

As a guest

Eyes of Noctum

• Inceptum (tracks 2, 3, 4, 8, 10, 11) - (2009)

Fleurety

• Department of Apocalyptic Affairs (track 1) - (2000)

Lord Impaler

• Admire the Cosmos Black (all tracks) - (2011)

Ulver

• Souvenirs from Hell compilation (track 1) - (1997)

External links

• Hellhammer's official website
• Jan Axel Blomberg's official forum on Extremedrumming.net
• Official Pearl drums artist page
• Official Axis Percussion artist page
• (Italian) Interview with Hellhammer

Preceded by Manheim	Drummer for Mayhem since 1988	Incumbent
New title	Drummer for Arcturus 1987–2007, 2011-present	Incumbent
Preceded by Samoth	Drummer for Emperor Touring 1992	Succeeded by Faust
Preceded by Grim	Drummer for Immortal Touring 1995–1996	Succeeded by Horgh
Preceded by Faust	Drummer for Thorns Session 1998–2000	Succeeded by Kenneth Kapstad
New title	Drummer for Winds since 1998	Incumbent
Preceded by Nagash	Drummer for The Kovenant 1998–2003	Succeeded by Küth
	Drummer for Troll 2000–2001	Succeeded by Ygg
New title	Drummer for Mezzerschmitt since 2000	Incumbent
Preceded by John Macaluso	Drummer for Jørn Session 2001	Succeeded by Stian Kristoffersen
Preceded by Impaler	Drummer for Shining 2001–2004	Succeeded by Ludvig Witt
Preceded by Armoth	Drummer for Antestor Session 2004–2005	Vacant
New title	Drummer for Age of Silence since 2004	Incumbent
Preceded by Tony Laureano	Drummer for Dimmu Borgir 2005–2007	Succeeded by Tony Laureano
New title	Drummer for Death of Desire since 2008	Incumbent