Kaizers Orchestra is a Norwegian rock band formed in 2000. The two leading members, vocalist Janove Ottesen and guitarist Geir Zahl, had known each other for years, and first played together in a band called Blod, Snått & Juling in 1991.

Kaizers Orchestra are notable for being among the first Norwegian bands or artists singing in their native language to become popular in non-Scandinavian Europe. To other Norwegians, the band is instantly recognizable both because of their unique style, and because of vocalist Ottesen's marked Bryne dialect.

Biography
In 1998, childhood friends Janove Ottesen and Geir Zahl released their only album by their band gnom called Mys. Of its 1000 copies, only 500 or so were sold the first year, and they were pretty much ignored. However, they were known well in the Stavanger area of Norway, having played as the local band Blod, Snått & Juling, and one of the songs they wrote after Mys called Bastard got good crowd response. A line from Bastard ("A certain Mr. Kaizer took me in/He is the proud owner of the world's heaviest siamese cat") inspired them to quit playing as gnom, and they started a new career as Kaizers Orchestra.

In 2000, Kaizers Orchestra recorded an EP containing four songs: Bastard, Bøn fra Helvete, Katastrofen and Dekk Bord. During by:Larm, a Norwegian festival focusing on the artists of tomorrow, the band's songs were played frequently on the radio. Kaizers Orchestra's special sound and creative use of instruments was noticed by the small, Scandinavian label Broiler Farm. Their first album, Ompa Til Du Dør (Ompa 'Til You Die), was released on this label in September 2001. It was critically acclaimed and became a success, first in Norway, later in Denmark and the Netherlands. The album won a Spellemannspris (Norwegian Grammy) for “best rock album”, as well as two Alarm-awards (underground version of Spellemannsprisen). “Ompa til du dør” also made Kaizers Orchestra the highest-selling rock debut to be released in the Norwegian language. The second album, Evig Pint (Eternally Tormented), was released in February 2003. The third album, Maestro was released on August 15, 2005 in Norway and Europe. They have made six music videos so far, for the songs Kontroll På Kontinentet, Mann Mot Mann, Evig Pint, Maestro, Knekker deg til sist and Blitzregn Baby (Live). In connection with the release of Maestro, Kaizers Orchestra signed an international record deal with Universal Germany.

Almost all members of the band are involved in side projects when they can find the time. Janove Ottesen released a solo album in 2004, Geir Zahl should have his own solo album by early 2007, and Terje Vinterstø is the frontman of the punk-band Skambankt. Øyvind Storesund is also a permanent member of the bands Wunderkammer and Cloroform.

Musically, Kaizers Orchestra mixes energetic gypsy rock with Eastern European ompa-music. They are regarded as one of the better live acts in Scandinavia. Any Kaizers show worthy of mention contains gas masks, oil barrels, crowbars, axe handles and the like. Geir Zahl sometimes has vocals on such songs as Dr. Mowinckel, Rullett, and Dekk Bord. The songs Kontroll På Kontinentet and Bøn fra Helvete are played some time in every concert. Kaizers are also famous for their Gypsy Finale, comprised of three songs; Sigøynerblod, Bak et Halleluja and Resistansen.

Their October 5th and 6th, 2005 performances at Vega, in Copenhagen, Denmark, were recorded for a live DVD, titled Viva La Vega, and double CD, Live at Vega. A book, written in nynorsk by Geir Zahl's older brother Jan, called "Kontroll på Kontinentet" will be released October 18, 2006. It will be close to 300 pages long and include almost 150 pictures. At the book signing in Oslo to promote it's release over 400 copies of the 3000 first edition of the book had been sold. The book will also be sold during their 2006 "Grand Finale Tour", a tour which will include the bassist, Øyvind, painting a picture through out the concert and selling it at the end. The Kaizers then plan on taking 2007 off and going back to the studio at the end of 2007 to record songs for a 2008 album release. Some songs titles include "9 mm", "Den Sjette Sansen", and "Du og Dine er Even", all are songs they will play during their "Grand Finale Tour 2006".

Kaizers Orchestra have created their own dark universe and their lyrics are often stories that tell of the Mafia, Russian roulette, "the revolution", "the resistance", war casualties, sailors and mental institutions.

Band Aliases
All members of the band have stage names ending with "Kaizer", similarly to the stage names of The Ramones.
Janove - Sjakalen (The Jackal) Kaizer
Geir - Hellraizer Kaizer
Terje - Killmaster Kaizer
Rune - Mink Kaizer
Helge - Omen Kaizer
Øyvind - Thunder Kaizer