Silje Wergeland

Silje Wergeland
Silje Wergeland in Budapest, 2010
Background information
Birth name	Silje Wergeland
Born	(1974-11-09) 9 November 1974 (age 50) Bergen, Hordaland, Norway
Occupation(s)	Vocalist, singer-songwriter, lyricist
Instrument(s)	Vocals, piano, keyboards
Years active	2000–present

Silje Wergeland (born 9 November 1974) is a Norwegian singer, songwriter and pianist. She is best known as the current lead vocalist of the Dutch progressive/alternative rock band The Gathering (since 2009).^[1] She was also the frontwoman of Norwegian doom/gothic metal band Octavia Sperati.

Musical career

Silje Wergeland was a founding member of the female group of gothic / doom metal Octavia Sperati in 2000, where she remained as vocalist and one of the main songwriters along with Gyri Losnegaard and Bodil Myklebust, until 2008.^[2] In an interview with Paul Stenning, Wergeland described the band as “Extravagant, dramatic doom with a rock n’ roll heart.” She also said her influences were “Black Sabbath, Slayer, Clutch, Pantera, Type O Negative, Pink Floyd among others, and also some Norwegian folk music influences due to our musical inheritance.”^[3]

On 10 March 2009, it was announced that singer Wergeland joined the Dutch rock band The Gathering, replacing singer Anneke van Giersbergen, who left to form her band Agua de Annique.^[4]

Her first studio album with The Gathering, The West Pole was released in May 2009.^[5]

Personal life

Wergeland was born in Bergen, where she still regularly lives. Her partner is Mads Lilletvedt, drummer of the death / thrash metal local band Hellish Outcast and Sahg. They are the parents of two girls: Marie, born in August 2012 and Louise, born in February 2016.

Discography

With Octavia Sperati

• Guilty (demo, (2002)
• Winter Enclosure (2005)
• ...and Then the World Froze (single, 2007)
• Grace Submerged (2007)

With The Gathering

• The West Pole (2009)
• City from Above (EP, 2009)
• Heroes for Ghosts (Single, 2011)
• Meltdown (Single, 2012)
• Disclosure (2012)
• Afterlights (EP, 2012)
• Echoes Keep Growing (Single, 2013)
• Afterwords (2013)
• Beautiful Distortion (2022)

References

1. "The Gathering in writing mode". Blabbermouth. 7 June 2010. Archived from the original on 10 June 2010. Retrieved 12 June 2010.
2. Octavia Sperati 'Taking A Break'
3. Big Cheese magazine, July 2007
4. Silje Wergeland (The Gathering) interviewed
5. Hellbound.ca

External links

• The Gathering's official website
• Silje Wergeland at Discogs
• Silje Wergeland at Metallum Archives