Wuthering Heights

Wuthering Heights is a Danish heavy metal band, with a somewhat eclectic musical style which falls in somewhere between progressive, folk, and power metal. The band is considered a Danish entity although a number of Swedish musicians are associated with it.

The group formed in 1989 under the name Angelica. They recorded nothing under this name, changing the name to Minas Tirith for the release of a demo cassette, entitled “Tales From the Woods” in late 1992. By the release of their second demo in 1995 the band had changed their name to Vergelmir. One track from this demo was included in 1996 on the Danish sampler Extremity Rising Vol.2 (on the Serious Entertainment label).

In 1997, the band recorded their first album for German label Prophecy Productions, but the deal fell through and this version of the album has never been officially released. The band re-recorded the entire album in 1998 for their new American label The Laser’s Edge/Sensory and as the debut album, “Within“, it was finally released in 1999. The band began a long lasting relationship with producer Tommy Hansen and his Jailhouse Studios for their follow-up album “To Travel For Evermore” in 2002. The band discovered then unknown singer Nils Patrik Johansson whose huge voice (somewhat reminiscent of Ronnie James Dio) boosted the band’s sound, and they released “Far From the Madding Crowd” in 2004, which has received some critical acclaim amid the underground power metal and folk metal communities.

In the summer of 2004 the band played outside Europe for the first time. The gig took place at the ProgPower festival in Atlanta, GA. The show was filmed and was supposed to feature as a bonus DVD on the fourth album, but it was later changed to a bonus audio recording on their fourth release, “The Shadow Cabinet” from 2006. The band released their fifth studio album, “Salt“, in 2010.

The band’s line-up has changed a great deal over the years, and Erik Ravn is the only founding member remaining in the group today. They are currently signed to independent Danish label Nagelfest Music. However, the band has been on hold since March 2011 due to Erik Ravn‘s serious back pain problems.

The most recent known members of the band include Morten Gade Sørensen (Pyramaze, Anubis Gate), Nils Patrik Johansson (Civil War, Astral Doors), Teddy Möller (Hexed, Loch Vostok), Andreas Lindahl, and Martin Arendal (Killing Ghandi, Maticora).

In November 2018, Erik Ravn announced he was working on a new project called Beltane Born. He describes the music as Celtic hard rock, but advises that the music is still very much in the demo stage and may not have found its final style yet. Also, it is uncertain who exactly is going to participate in the project.