Of the Wand & the Moon

Larsen was originally a member of the gothic/doom metal band Saturnus,[1] but left due to personal disputes.[1][2] Following this, he began the neofolk project :Of the Wand & the Moon:, as he was a longtime fan of the genre.[2]

Larsen lists among his musical influences the neofolk artists Death in June, Blood Axis, Current 93, Sol Invictus, Fire and Ice, Der Blutharsch, and Nature and Organisation.[1] He credits Thunder Perfect Mind by Current 93 with making him want to be a neofolk artist, and calls Death in June's Rose Clouds of Holocaust the albums that "means the most" to him.[3] Thematically, he is influenced by runes, Aleister Crowley, Norse mythology, esoterica,[1] and paganism.[3] He once described his music as "loner folk".[4]

In 1999, the debut :Of the Wand & the Moon: album was released, titled Nighttime Nightrhymes.

2001 saw the release of a second :Of the Wand & the Moon: release titled :Emptiness:Emptiness:Emptiness:.

After the release of a split album with Sol Invictus and a few vinyl singles, a collection of b-sides, taken from the :Emptiness:Emptiness:Emptiness: sessions, titled Lucifer, was released in 2003.

A third album, Sonnenheim, was released in 2005. Here, the music bears a strong resemblance to that of neofolk pioneers Death in June.

After a 6-year silence, a fourth album, The Lone Descent, was released in 2011. It features more contemporary influences and a richer production. The album was received with great critical acclaim and is considered a neofolk masterpiece.[5]

10 years later, in 2021, a fifth album entitled Your Love Can't Hold This Wreath of Sorrow was released. It follows in a similar vein to that of The Lone Descent, but features even greater experimentation with other genres such as post-punk and electronica.