Svartsot /

Svartsot is a Danish folk metal band formed in 2005 in Randers. Svartsot blend death and black metal with contemporary metal-styles and Nordic folk music. On December 17, 2008, Michael Lundquist Andersen, Niels Thøgersen, Claus B. Gnudtzmann and Martin Kielland-Brandt announced they had left the band because of different opinions on how to run a band and how the music should sound. The band's whistler, Stewart Lewis, is currently on a hiatus due to the continuing state of his wife’s ill health. On February 22, 2009, Svartsot had announced their new band lineup is complete. Stewart Lewis was replaced for live shows, but is still considered a member of the band. In 2010, the band released a new album, Mulmets Viser, through Napalm Records. Despite Cristoffer J.S. Frederiksen being the only remaining member of the previous lineup, his position as the band's guitarist, composer and lyricist ensured that the band retained its musical identity. Mulmets Viser garnered a fairly positive critical response, although several critics pointed out that the band's strict adherence to their particular formula resulted in the album gradually losing listeners' attention as it progressed.