ILDSKÆR - Den Rædsomste Nat LP
Danish Historical Black Metal band ILDSKÆR was founded in 2020 by Garðarsson (Í Myrkri, Taagebue) & Skóggangr (Genfærd, Tugt), to bring you tales of Danish conflicts and mournful losses throughout the times.
"Den Rædsomste Nat" (The Most Terrible Night) is about the British bombardment of Copenhagen in 1807, which was a British action to seize or destroy the Dano-Norwegian Fleet, in order to avoid its seizure by Napoleon's forces.
While Denmark-Norway was a neutral country in 1807, it was under heavy French and Russian pressure to pledge its fleet to Napoleon.
The Danish government however had no intentions of supporting Napoleon and maintained the stance that Dano-Norwegian ships had the right to trade freely with other nations, including France, which provoked Britain.
The British distrust of Denmark-Norway was fueled by incorrect intelligence that the Dano-Norwegian fleet was in the process of being equipped for war. During diplomatic negotiations, the Danish government was presented with a demand to pledge their fleet to Britain as long as the war with France lasted.
These demands were refused, which prompted Britain into action; even harsher demands were sent, while a British force was deployed to Danish waters. The Crown Prince of Denmark-Norway (Regent for his incapacitated father, King Christian VII) ordered the fleet to be sunken, but the order never arrived back in Copenhagen.
From August 1807, the Royal Navy of Britain surrounded Copenhagen with a massive fleet and ground troops. From September 2nd 1807 they bombarded the city for 3 nights, which resulted in a Danish capitulation and British takeover of the Danish fleet.
It is considered the world's first terror bombardment by a foreign power on a civilian target, which resulted in approximately 400 deaths including the destruction of 305 residences and 1.600 damaged buildings and structures such as churches, government buildings and houses.
After the British bombardment, Denmark-Norway left its neutrality and sided with France in the Napoleonic Wars, with drastic consequences.
The 1807 bombardment is one of the most important events of recorded history in Denmark. It left the Danes with a deep distrust of the British, which lasted well into the 20th century. The Danish fleet never recovered its former glory and with the loss of Norway in 1814, the need for it also diminished.
The album title is named after the painting, which is used as the album cover. The painting by C.A. Lorentzen "Den Rædsomste Nat" or "The Most Terrible Night" in English, was painted from 1807-1808 and depicts the bombardment of Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. It is one of the most famous Danish paintings of the Golden Age.
All lyrics of this album is written in the old Danish tongue, as it was written in the 19th Century.
Black vinyl
Wolfspell 2020
