1993–1999: Formation and Burial

Extol was formed in Bekkestua, Norway by cousins drummer David Husvik and guitarist Christer Espevoll, who were both 16 at the time.^[3][4] The two had jammed together since fall 1993 and wanted to start a band. Christer's brother Peter, 14 was recruited for vocal duties.^[3][4] Bassist Eystein Holm joined on 17 May 1994 as the band was rehearsing for a show that day.^[3][4] In an interview, Peter explained the band's name: "Extol means to exalt, to lift up what you give glory to, and that's what's we're all about. We want to give God all the glory with our lives and with our music."^[5] Extol wanted to expand their musical style beyond regular heavy metal music—according to AllMusic writer Mike DaRonco, the band intended to show "more of a progressive side; rather than a typical run of the mill group of burnouts who focused more on their image."^[6] The style change necessitated another guitarist, a position Emil Nikolaisen of the band Royal filled in 1995.^[5]

The group soon garnered a reputation in the local scene. In January 1996, Extol made their first record appearance on a Norwegian metal compilation called Northern Lights. The album featured other local Christian artists Antestor, Schaliach, and Groms. Steve Rowe of Australian Christian metal band Mortification released the compilation on his record label, Rowe Productions. The band ventured to Stockholm, Sweden two months later for their first show outside their homeland. At the end of 1996, Nikolaisen departed so he could devote more time to Royal, and was replaced by Ole Børud of Schaliach and Arnold B Family.^[5]

In 1997, Extol released an independent three-song demo: Embraced. A studio album was recorded at the end of the year even though a record label had not signed them. Almost a year passed before Endtime Productions picked up the band. Their debut album, Burial, was released in December 1998. The album was licensed in the United States on Solid State Records, and in Japan on Avalon Records. Critical reception was very positive from Christian and secular publications. DaRonco commented that it was "a breath of fresh air among a genre that relies on satanic gimmicks."^[7]

Shortly after, the band played their first shows in the US at Cornerstone Festival and Texas Rockfest. Extol conducted a four-week tour with Swedish rock band Blindside in summer 1999. An EP, Mesmerized, was released in November. It featured three remixed tracks from Burial, which were reworked by Swedish industrial groups Raison d'être and Sanctum, and three other songs; a recently recorded one, an outtake, and a track from the Japanese release. The reception from fans was generally negative. Holm soon left the band and was replaced by Tor Magne Glidje, who played guitar in the Norwegian metal band Lengsel.^[8]

2000–2003: Undeceived and Synergy

Extol returned to the studio in December 1999 to record a follow-up album. In June 2000, their second studio album, Undeceived, was released. The release saw their music become "harder and darker" than their previous work, opting to move towards a death metal sound. The song "Ember" proved to be a popular song among their fans. Børud then left the band,^[9][10] so Glidje switched over to guitar, and John Robert Mjåland joined as bassist.^[8]

In 2001, another EP, Paralysis, was recorded; it was only released in Sweden. This EP featured a cover of "Shadow of Death" by the American thrash metal group Believer, whom the band considers to be a great influence. After Paralysis, Glidje left the band to focus on his other project, Ganglion, and Børud returned to the line-up.^[8][10] After Undeceived was released, Extol was no longer obligated to Endtime Productions, and they signed with Century Media in 2002.^[8] Their album, Synergy, released in 2003, showed an even greater appreciation of the band Believer and their style of thrash metal. Following the release, Extol toured Europe and US with the Swedish progressive death metal group Opeth.^[11]

2004–2008: The Blueprint Dives and hiatus

In June 2004, Børud and Christer Espevoll left Extol to "invest their time and energy elsewhere".^[12] Taking their place as permanent members in the band were Tor Magne Glidje and Ole Halvard Sveen, both from Ganglion,^[8] which merged with Extol when four out of five band members ended up playing in both bands.

In 2005, the band released what could be considered their most diverse album, The Blueprint Dives. A music video was shot for the song "Pearl". The album was nominated for the Norwegian Grammy, Spellemannprisen, for best Norwegian metal album in 2005. The album was voted among the top five metal albums of the year by readers of Norway's largest newspaper, Dagbladet. Afterwards, Extol toured Europe with Mastodon, God Forbid, and Opeth, and the US with Winter Solstice, Becoming the Archetype, and The Showdown. The album received rave reviews: Eduardo Rivadavia of Allmusic gave the album 4.5/5 and writes that "to Extol's greatest credit, offhand comparisons to other bands are almost impossible!" According to Glidje, a majority of the songs on The Blueprint Dives had previously been written as Ganglion songs.^[13]

On 9 August 2007 the band announced through their MySpace page that they were taking a hiatus. Glidje, Mjåland and Sveen went on to form Mantric, signed to Prosthetic Records. Husvik joined Dr. Midnight and the Mercy Cult, which includes members from Turbonegro, Apoptygma Berzerk and Satyricon.

2012–present: Documentary, Extol, hiatus and reunion

In 2012, Extol reformed as a trio consisting of Peter Espevoll, Husvik, and Børud, and announced that a documentary about the band, titled Extol: of Light and Shade, was being produced.^[14] On 23 April 2013, Extol announced that their fifth album, Extol, was to be released in June. Upon this announcement, the single "Open the Gates" was released for streaming on YouTube.^[15] Indie Recordings released the album on 21 June in Norway, Germany, and Austria, and on 24 June worldwide. Facedown Records released the album on 25 June for North America. The album debuted at No. 23 on the Billboard Top Christian Albums chart. In July 2014, the band performed their first live concert since 2006.^[16] On 17 July, they introduced the names of the additional two touring members: Marcus Bertilsson (Inevitable End, Miseration) on guitar and Ole Vistnes (Shining, Tristania, Fleshkiller) on bass.^[17] The documentary was later released.^[18] The band made it onto a list of the top 20 best Norwegian progressive metal bands in 2017.^[19] The band went on hiatus until 2023.^[1] During the hiatus, Espevoll quit the band due to other commitments, leaving Husvik and Børud as sole members.^[20] Husvik went on to play in a project called Azusa with Christer Espevoll, one of the original members, while Børud went on to perform in Fleshkiller.^[20]

On January 18, 2023, Extol announced a reunion for Furnace Fest of 2023, hosted in Alabama, alongside additional reunited acts A Plea for Purging, Training for Utopia, Haste the Day and Becoming the Archetype.^[2] Later it was announced Extol would also do a European reunion show for Brainstorm Festival on November 4, 2023, in Apeldoorn, The Netherlands, alongside acts like Xandria, Serenity, Temperance and In Vain. With the announcements, they released the band's lineup consisting of Husvik, Børud, Christer Espevoll, Tor Magne Glidje, and vocalist Elisha Mullins (A Hill to Die Upon, War of Ages, Fleshkiller). The band expressed their want for Peter to return but that he had other commitments. They also teased new music with Peter on August 10.^[21]