Lucifer Was

In 1969 - 1970, Kai Frilseth, Tor Langbråten and Arild Larsen started "Empty Coffin/Autumn Serenade", from Klemetsrud outside Oslo, Norway. During high school, Arild Larsen and a former member named Knut Engan,who knew Thore Engen and Einar Bruu, decided to have a talk with them. They then got together (Thore, Einar, Kai, Tor, Knut, Arild) and formed the first version of Lucifer Was, then called "Ezra West". But the young musicians had a problem: Both Arild and Einar were bass guitar players(!). After sharing the bass duties a while, Arild began playing some rhythm instruments. This did not work as they had planed, so Arild, drawing the shortest straw, left the band. He continued as a light man a while, in an attempt to make their concerts look cooler. In the meantime, both Knut and Tor left. This was in 1972. The group had a few vocal try outs before flutist Anders Sevaldson and singer/flutist Dag Stenseng joined together with Jan Ødegård on organ. Now a complete band again, they were still called "Ezra West", a name just like Jethro Tull and Uriah Heep, taken from the English literature. But, the name proved to be to messy, an people thought they called themselves "Rett Vest" (Which means something like "Strait West"). Therefore, the band called themselves "Lucifer", a easier name. But, in that time period, several bands from Germany and the USA called themselves "Lucifer", and then you had "Lucifer's Friend". They had been given some jobs as "Lucifer", and choose to just call it "Lucifer Was". It was Lucifer, nothing else. The band played together as Lucifer Was from around 1970 to the end of 1974. In 1973 they took part in a competition called Ragnarock. They had to share their first price victory with three other bands (!?). So they didn't get to play at the real Ragnarock festival, but later played at one in Oslo, being held in different clubs. The bands sound was heavy and around this period, people started dancing. The band then played a bunch of rock'n'roll medleys, just to be able to play in different places. They used to open their sets with "Detroit City" and Bobby Bare's "A Hundred Miles Away From Home", just to get people to show up. Then, when people came, they would changed to heavier sound. They played allot, almost more than they could take, Jon Ødegård left the band and than in 1974, the whole band split up. What was even worst? They never had the opportunity to record an album! They attempted to get Lucifer Was going again until 1977, but it didn't happen. But, in 1995, Einar Bruu found a recording done at Osloungdommens Motorsenter in 1974. It sounded better than they had feared and inspired them to get together again. All the guys from the original Lucifer Was lineup was in on it, except for Jan Ødegård. When celebrating their 20th anniversary, after intense rehearsing and reconstruction of their songs, they played at a local pub called Funkis (1996). They found out they still sounded strong and got positive response, and decided to record their old material. The tracks on their debut "Underground and Beyond" was written back in the early 70's but their recordings were in such bad shape so the band jumped into a studio in 1997 to re-record the old stuff with the same gear and equipment. It was a self produced album, costing about 25.000 Norwegian kroner, and with a hand full of riffs, mystic lyrics and five egar musicians, the band proved that they still could deliver their "lost" little hard prog album. The album was released both on cd and picture disc (lp venyl). Their sound on the album could be best described as a cross between Black Sabbath & Jethro Tull. Sabbath because of the riffs and loudness, and Tull because of the flutes. Their first album sold fair and gave the members the courage and ability to make one more. At the time, Lucifer Was had also appeared on a couple of concerts, like the progressive rock festival in Sweden in 1997 and 1998. But a new album was under the wings, so the band started working on it. An old friend, Rolf Kjernet wanted to produce the album this time. The members wanted to make another album in the same style as "Underground and Beyond", but Kjernet wanted something different. The band returned to the studio in 1999 and started the recording of what was to become a masterpiece, "In Anadi's Bower". Three years after their debut was released, their album "In Anadi's Bower" gave Lucifer Was more recognition in the international music press. In Norway how ever, the band was still only known by a small amount of people...Why? Their debut master tapes had been sent to different music companies to increase the chance that one of the companies would sign them to their label. All of the companies was interested, but swedish Record Heaven had the best offer because they where involved more in the international progressive rock marked, which was more like the band's style. Therefore, the band's fame in Norway where almost close to unknown, having signed with a swedish company. But this made them bigger outside the halls of Valhalla... "In Anadi's Bower" was a strong progressive follow-up to their debut, the tracks where longer, the band used mellotrons, and the whole album was just; well done! This because of a long studio process that took over 400 hours to complete. Recording this album required keyboards, and the band used two studio musicians, mellotron players, Knut Johannessen and Jon-Willy Rydningen to created an even more incredible sound. On top of it all, they brought in a new vocalist, named Jon Ruder, who's voice was loud and clear. When the band where finished with the recording of the album in december of 1999, they where minus one member; Anders Sevaldson. Sevaldson had left the band during the recording, and the band had to do their release party for the new album with only one flutist. The release party was held in Oslo, at Chatau Neuf's lillesal, the 17 of March 2000... Following, at the end of the summer that year, the band appeared on an outdoor concert in Slottskogen in Gøteborg, Sweden. At this concert, they where boosting up the sales for both their albums, and played a long set of songs. During the concert they also announced that a third album was on it's way. The band was now finally establishing it seemed, but there where more suprices to come... In March, 2001, Lucifer Was' where doing a gig in Oslo. Their flutist Dag Stenseng was not present, but a new flutist named Morten Seyfarth was playing that evening. This left one question...where was Stenseng? Where both him and Seyfarth now going to play flutes, like the time Sevaldson was in the band? After some months of back and forward, Stenseng left Lucifer Was to start a new business firm. The band then recruited Seyfarth as the only constant flute member. The work on their third album was almost finished at the time, and the band was yet again going to perform on a gig, the biggest in their career...