ISVIDD Explores Nordic Folklore and the Darkness of Nature in 'By the Other Side of Midnight'
Stockholm-based atmospheric black metal project unveils a haunting lyric video as mastermind Björn discusses synesthesia, musical influences, and the forthcoming debut album Iron Nocturne.
By Seth Metoyer | Metal Crawlspace
The forests of Northern Europe have inspired generations of black metal musicians, providing fertile ground for music steeped in isolation, mythology, and the darker corners of the human experience. For Stockholm-based atmospheric black metal project ISVIDD, that connection runs considerably deeper. Nature serves as a creative laboratory where landscapes, colors, and ancient folklore find their way into musical compositions.
Created by multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Björn, ISVIDD draws inspiration from Nordic folklore, winter isolation, and the haunting beauty of Northern Europe's landscapes. The project's sound combines cold, desolate melodies with symphonic arrangements, aggressive black metal, and atmospheric passages that create a striking sense of space. Moments of ambient stillness drift through the heavier compositions, reflecting the tension between harshness and melancholy that defines ISVIDD's musical identity.
ISVIDD's latest lyric video, “By the Other Side of Midnight,” explores that relationship through an intriguing intersection of mythology and environmental awareness.
The song takes inspiration from an exhibition Björn encountered while visiting the Swedish island of Gotland. Created by Linnea Jägrud and Tore Hagman, the exhibition connected supernatural creatures from Swedish folklore with contemporary environmental concerns. Polluted waterways threatened mythical river maidens, while disappearing forests endangered the trolls said to inhabit them.
The experience inspired Björn to explore the mysterious creatures dwelling beneath the surface of the natural world. For the lyric video, he turned to the artwork of Swedish illustrator John Bauer, whose depictions of trolls, enchanted forests, and otherworldly figures helped shape the visual identity of Nordic fairy tales.
The result brings together the atmospheric intensity of ISVIDD's music and the haunting imagery of Scandinavian folklore, inviting listeners into a world where ancient mythology meets the consequences of humanity's relationship with nature.
Watch ISVIDD's “By the Other Side of Midnight” lyric video below:
Inside the World of ISVIDD: An Interview with Björn
With ISVIDD's debut full-length album, Iron Nocturne, already completed and gradually emerging through a series of singles, Metal Crawlspace caught up with Björn to discuss the project's origins, the inspiration behind the new video, his creative process, and what listeners can expect from the forthcoming release.
Metal Crawlspace: ISVIDD draws heavily from Nordic landscapes, folklore, and the isolation of winter. Living in Stockholm, how much does your environment influence your songwriting? Is that atmosphere something you deliberately set out to capture, or does it naturally find its way into your music?
Björn: My relationship with the Nordic region goes back quite a long way. Before moving to Stockholm, I used to spend all my holidays on the Kola Peninsula. When the opportunity came to move to Northern Europe, I jumped at it. I feel very much at home here, both in the landscape and among the people. A land of introverts with so much beautiful nature—it feels like the ideal place for my music.
Nature is my creative laboratory. I write music and lyrics while hiking or simply wandering through forests, beside lakes, or along the coast. So choosing this environment was very deliberate, but its influence on my music comes naturally.
I also have synesthesia: for me, colours can evoke sounds. Many of my chord progressions begin with nothing more than looking at the Nordic sky.
Metal Crawlspace: Let's talk about your latest lyric video, “By the Other Side of Midnight.” What's the story or meaning behind the song, and what inspired you to bring this particular track to life through a lyric video?
Björn: I travel a lot—it’s much more than a hobby for me. During a visit to Gotland, I came across an exhibition created by Linnea Jägrud and Tore Hagman. It connected creatures from Swedish folklore with environmental issues: polluted rivers threatened the river maidens, while the destruction of forests endangered the trolls. I thought it was a compelling way to address an important subject.
That idea inspired me to venture further into the other side of reality and write a song about chthonic creatures more broadly.
For the lyric video, I’m using artwork by my favourite Swedish artist, John Bauer. The idea is to make it feel like stepping into an illustrated book of fairy tales.
Metal Crawlspace: One thing that stands out about ISVIDD is the balance between atmospheric black metal, haunting melodies, and ambient passages. When you're writing, how do you approach that balance between aggression and melancholy? Are there particular bands, composers, or musical influences that have helped shape your sound?
Björn: My influences run into the hundreds of bands. At some point, listening to music becomes almost an addiction. So I would say I’ve been shaped more by entire subgenres than by individual bands. Since my youth, I’ve listened to Norwegian and Swedish black metal, SMDM, Finnish melodic death metal, and much more. I also love the Polish black metal scene.
The balance between aggression and melancholy comes from the way I see the world. There is so much beauty in it, yet I honestly feel that humanity, as a project, has failed.
That tension runs through my music, and it’s also why so many of my lyrics deal with war and its glorification.
I also use a lot of spoken-word passages rather than conventional singing. That comes from the influence of dark folk and ritual folk.
I’m drawn to music that belongs in a landscape. When I’m hiking or wandering, I like listening to something that seems to express the surroundings through sound. With that in mind, I could mention Windir, Moonsorrow, Falkenbach, Eldamar, Dödsrit, Mgła, Groza, Majdanek Waltz, Wardruna, Danheim, Summoning, and Alcest. But that list could easily go on for much longer!
Metal Crawlspace: You're the creative force behind ISVIDD, handling the songwriting and lyrics while bringing in guest musicians for the recordings. What led you to approach the project this way, and how much creative freedom do you give the musicians you collaborate with?
Björn: ISVIDD isn’t my first project. I’ve recorded five full-length metal albums with other bands and contributed to many other projects as a guest. I play keyboards, bass, and guitar, sing, and write parts for drums, strings, and flutes. With that background, finding collaborators with a comparable level of experience can be difficult, so working with professional session and guest musicians makes sense for me.
My main musical partner is Sascha Samayoa. He handles guitars, drums, recording, mixing, and mastering. He’s well known in Sweden for his work with a number of bands, and I would point to Crown of Decay as a great example of his abilities.
The guest vocalist handling the screams at the moment is Alonso Ramos from El Salvador. He’s a friend of Sascha’s, and when Sascha suggested we give him a try, I was open to it. I really like what his voice brings to the music.
As for future collaborations, I don’t have everything mapped out yet, but I can say that the second and third albums will feature guest female vocals on several songs.
At this stage of my life, given my experience and my other commitments, a studio project with guest musicians is the format that suits me best.
Metal Crawlspace: Your debut album, Iron Nocturne, is already complete, but you're introducing it through individual singles ahead of the full release. What inspired that approach? And with three ambient interludes and previously unreleased material still to come, what can listeners expect when they finally experience the album as a whole?
Björn: It’s a reflection of the times. If you want your music to be heard today, you have to understand how social media works. Releasing songs one by one gives you more opportunities to reach people and keep their attention.
I think of it like feeding a fire: you can throw all the logs on at once, or you can keep it burning longer by adding them one at a time.
The full album will include two previously unreleased metal tracks and three ambient compositions. But beyond the individual songs, it’s a record of my inner world during a particular period of my life. The tracks are connected through their themes and recurring harmonic ideas.
Heard separately, they’re like pages taken from a book: each might draw you in, but you need the whole thing to understand the context.
Iron Nocturne: A Complete Journey Through the Darkness
While ISVIDD continues introducing Iron Nocturne through individual releases, Björn's comments reveal a larger artistic vision behind the record.
The completed album will feature two previously unreleased metal tracks alongside three ambient compositions, with recurring musical themes connecting the material into a cohesive listening experience. Björn describes the album as a reflection of his inner world during a particular period of his life.
His approach also reflects the realities of releasing independent music in today's digital landscape. By introducing songs individually, ISVIDD can give each composition room to reach new listeners while gradually revealing the larger work.
Björn brings considerable experience to the project, having previously recorded five full-length metal albums with other bands. His primary collaborator, Sascha Samayoa, handles guitars, drums, recording, mixing, and mastering, while Salvadoran vocalist Alonso Ramos contributes the project's current harsh vocals.
And the creative machinery is apparently already turning beyond Iron Nocturne, with Björn revealing plans to incorporate guest female vocals on material intended for ISVIDD's second and third albums.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of ISVIDD is the relationship between Björn's creative influences and his worldview. His experiences in the Nordic wilderness, his synesthesia, his fascination with folklore, and his reflections on humanity all inform the project's identity.
With “By the Other Side of Midnight,” those influences converge in a song rooted in ancient mythology and the increasingly fragile relationship between humanity and the natural world. The supernatural creatures of Scandinavian folklore become part of a broader meditation on what disappears when the landscapes that inspired those stories begin to vanish.
For listeners drawn to the atmospheric landscapes of Ulver, Agalloch, and Mgła, ISVIDD offers an intriguing journey into the northern darkness.
Iron Nocturne is complete, with its official full-length release date still to be announced.
Watch “By the Other Side of Midnight” above and follow ISVIDD for more music and updates on the forthcoming album.
Artist: ISVIDDLocation: Stockholm, SwedenGenre: Atmospheric / Melodic Black MetalUpcoming
Album: Iron NocturneContact: isvidd.nord@gmail.com
