MANES

Black Metal (early) / Avant-garde Electronic (later)

Trondheim, 🇳🇴Norway Formed in 1993

MANES formed in Trondheim in 1993 as a duo of Sargatanas and Cernunnus — Tor-Helge Skei — and spent its first years on raw, ambitious black metal across three demos and the acclaimed debut "Under ein Blodraud Maane" (1999). When Sargatanas left, Skei rebuilt the band with a full cast of musicians and steered it away from black metal entirely: "Vilosophe" (2003) and "How the World Came to an End" (2007) fused jazz, trip hop, electronica and metal with clean vocals and heavy progressive leanings. Skei has been the one constant member throughout, and the band has long favoured studio work over live performance. Later releases include "Be All End All" (2014), "Slow Motion Death Sequence" (2018) and the EP "Pathei Mathos" (2024). Skei also leads MANII, LETHE and HOLISSSTIK.