Northorn

Manado and a one-person beginning

Northorn began in Indonesia in 2011, initially as a one-person doom/depressive black-metal project led by Baphomet Van Northorn.

Indonesian reporting identifies Northorn as a Manado project begun in 2011 by Stevan, also known as Baphomet, as a one-person band. Diabolica on guitar, Jai on bass and Riv on additional drums and visual work later expanded the formation. This regional source adds a concrete personnel history that international reviews largely omit.

Stevan Pontoh began Northorn in Manado, North Sulawesi, in 2011 under the name Baphomet Van Northorn. The first configuration was effectively one person: vocals, guitars, bass and programmed drums were credited to him. This origin distinguishes the project from later band-style photographs and from Pontoh’s parallel work. It also explains why early releases could appear in rapid succession without a stable rehearsal lineup.

A dense underground catalogue, 2012-2016

A dense sequence of demos, EPs and albums appeared from 2012 onward, including R.O.S, Engur, Fall, Hanging, Klur, Years Upon Oppression and Inhuman Reflection.

The public discography is unusually dense. Freezing Moon and the R.O.S EP appeared in 2012; Engur and Fall followed in 2013. The year 2014 includes Klur, Hanging, demos, compilations and several splits, before Years upon Oppression in 2015 and Inhuman Reflection in 2016. Database repetition and multiple formats mean this list needs edition-level cleanup, but it establishes a sustained recording practice long before Talheim Records.

From programmed isolation to a wider lineup

The project favours slow to mid-paced black metal, doom weight, raw production and recurring spoken-word or atmospheric elements. Later participation by additional musicians expanded the original solo format.

By the period documented around Inner Temple, Diabolica had joined on guitar, Jai on bass and Riv on additional drums and visual work. Older material was being reworked with thrash and doom characteristics added to the earlier gloomy, dirty sound. Pontoh named Shining, Nocturnal Depression, Austere, Trist, Gorgoroth and Dissection among influences. These are his stated reference points, while the degree audible in individual tracks remains interpretation.

The Art of Destruction

The Art Of Destruction reworked and expanded material associated with a 2017 release into a five-track 2020 edition lasting about twenty-four minutes.

The five-track EP lasts about twenty-four minutes, but published dates differ: digital services show 15 October, reviews and label material 31 October 2020, while one database records 28 May. The songs revisit older material while adding thrash and doom elements to an earlier gloomy, dirty sound. Reviews agree on the slow-to-mid-paced weight and raw production, although their evaluations range from atmospheric to overly one-dimensional.

The Art of Destruction builds its concept around self-harm as a connected field of lyrics, artwork, video and live performance. Pontoh described Inner Temple as addressing addiction to self-punishment and called that act a form of meditation within the stage presentation. This account is reported as an artistic statement and accompanied by editorial care: it should not be romanticised, generalised to the musicians’ current health, or detached from the source context.

From Indonesia to the Talheim catalogue

Talheim Records released the 2020 edition as TR056CD. Contemporary reviews call it an EP or mini-album, while some catalogue material uses album; the format discrepancy is retained for confirmation.

Reviews outside Indonesia noticed both the release’s remade older compositions and the difficulty of distributing this material from its home scene. The Talheim edition gave the project a European physical and editorial route. Sources differ on 2020 and 2021 dates; digital publication, label announcement and physical availability must therefore be stored separately rather than forced into one day.

Parallel projects and the current question

The current line-up and activity after the Talheim edition are not securely documented in the reviewed material.