Skálmöld
| Skálmöld | |
|---|---|
 |
|
 Skálmöld at the Rockharz Open Air 2018. |
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| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Viking metal , folk metal |
| founding | August 2009 |
| Website | http://www.skalmold.is/ |
| Founding members | |
| Snæbjörn Ragnarsson | |
| Jón Geir Jóhannsson | |
| Þráinn Árni Baldvinsson | |
Electric guitar |
Baldur Ragnarsson |
Vocals , electric guitar |
Björgvin Sigurðsson |
| Current occupation | |
Electric bass |
Snæbjörn Ragnarsson |
Drums |
Jón Geir Jóhannsson |
Electric guitar |
Þráinn Árni Baldvinsson |
Electric guitar |
Baldur Ragnarsson |
Vocals, electric guitar |
Björgvin Sigurðsson |
Keyboard , oboe |
Gunnar Ben |
Skálmöld ( Icelandic 'lawlessness') is an Icelandic Viking Metal band from Reykjavík, founded in 2009 . The name of the band refers to the civil war-like situation of the Sturlung period in Iceland in the 13th century, during which the dominance of Iceland was fought for. The related name to Valkyrie Skálmöld is purely coincidental and has no relation to the band name, according to singer and guitarist Björgvin Sigurðsson.
history
In August 2009 the band Skálmöld was founded in Reykjavík, Iceland on the initiative of Snæbjörn Ragnarsson and Björgvin Sigurðsson. The aim was to use music to honor cultural heritage and the Icelandic language and history. All members of Skáldmöld were already active in the Icelandic music scene before that, although not all of them had played in a metal band before, but had also experimented with pop and rock music , among other things . Keyboardist Gunnar Ben joined the band at the end of 2009. Through his experience in classical music , the songwriting changed to bring more epic, folkloric and classical elements into the songs. In January 2010 the band recorded a demo tape with the songs Árás and Kvaðning and tried to find their style. Four months later, recording began in the Reflex studio in Reykjavík for her debut album Baldur , which tells the story of the fictional Icelandic Viking of the same name, Baldur. In the play Hefnd takes Sólstafir singer Aðalbjörn Tryggvason a short vocal part. In November 2010 the band managed to sign a contract with the Faroese label Tutl , which also markets the album, which was released on December 15th, worldwide. This has been well received in the scene and received good reviews.
On January 19, 2011, the band announced on their Facebook profile that the first edition of their debut album Baldur was already out of stock, with a second pressing in progress. Three days later, on January 22nd, the video for the song Kvaðning , shot at the end of December 2010, was released. On April 14, 2011, the band announced that they had signed a contract with Napalm Records , which Baldur released worldwide on July 27th.
On August 5th, 2011 the band performed at the Wacken Open Air , in September and October after that Skálmöld was part of the Heidenfest tour .
style
music
Skálmöld describe their style as powerful, melodic and epic Viking Metal mixed with "Icelandic darkness" and various folk influences. The band's compositions combine traditional Icelandic folk music with various metal influences. The musicians were mainly influenced by Metallica , Iron Maiden , Anthrax and Slayer , with Skálmöld's music also being influenced by bands such as Amon Amarth or Ensiferum . Another important influence was the Icelandic composer Jón Leifs .
.JPG)
The vocals are dominated by Sigurðsson's growling . This singing technique originally comes from Death Metal , but is also used by the majority of Viking Metal bands. In most of the songs, however, there are also clearly sung, mostly choral vocal parts. Playing the drums is very diverse. From slow basic rhythms such as in the songs Sorg and Valhöll to drum figures that are not typical for metal such as offbeat basic rhythms, to be found in Upprisa , which are reminiscent of punk or humppa , to fast, double-bass- dominated carrying rhythms (e.g. in Árás , Kvaðning and Valhöll ) there is a great variety. A special feature of Skálmöld's music is the use of three guitars. Singer and guitarist Sigurðsson justifies this with the sophisticated harmonies that would not be possible with just two guitars. The guitar playing is very varied. The songs mostly contain chord-based riffs with one or two-part melodies, but especially the solos like in the songs Árás , Kvaðning and Dauði stand out with their demanding sweepings , hammerings and tapings . The electric bass only has an accompanying function and mostly plays a harmony with the rhythmic guitar part. Just like the guitars, the keyboard is mostly the melody-leading instrument, but occasionally it just accompanies it, as in Valhöll . The keyboard game is varied and has influences from the most diverse genres such as classical music and various folk styles, as in Kvaðning .
Texts
The texts of Skálmöld are in traditional Dróttkvætt - strophic written. This old Icelandic court tone is more precisely determined by half-verses , bars, internal rhymes and kenningar . Its form is binding. Björgvin Sigurðsson, the band's lead singer, explained his motivations for using this strict rhyme form as follows: “It adds depth to the music and reinforces our intention to honor our legacy of the Viking Age. [In addition] the texts have a better flow and sound better. ” Almost without exception, the verses also have end rhymes , which is not absolutely necessary in the Dróttkvætt poetry. The following example from the song Dauði is intended to illustrate this strict form of poetry:
L igg ég, l eka min sár ,
l oppinn kólnar minn nár .
D auðinn d regur mig nær ,
d ettur yfir mig snær .
In terms of content, the texts are based on Nordic mythology and have a narrative character . The first album, Baldur, is a concept album so the lyrics create a cohesive story describing the life of the fictional Viking Baldur . According to Sigurðsson, the protagonist's family is killed and his property destroyed, whereupon he and friends take revenge, but in the end dies and moves to Valhalla .
Baldvinsson also describes the story and the family as important key points for the texts of Skálmöld:
Discography
Demos
- 2010: Skálmöld (CDR; self-distribution)
Studio albums
- 2010: Baldur (CD / CDR / 2x LP ; Tutl)
- 2012: Börn Loka (CD / 2xLP; Napalm Records )
- 2014: Með Vættum (CD / 2xLP; Napalm Records)
- 2016: Vögguvísur Yggdrasils (CD / LP / MC / MP3; Napalm Records)
- 2018: Sorgir (CD / 2xLP; Napalm Records)
Concert albums
- 2013: Skálmöld & Sinfóníuhljómsveit Íslands (CD + DVD / 3xLP; Sena, Napalm Record)
Splits
- 2016: Skálstorm (Drink - Kvaðning) with Alestorm ( 7 " ; Napalm Records)
- 2017: Höndin Sem Veggina Klórar / Blade Reflections with Omnium Gatherum (7 "; Napalm Records)
Music videos
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Official video clips
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Official lyric videos
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Individual evidence
- ↑ metalnews.de: CD review on Baldur
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Interview with Skáldmöld , metal.de, German, accessed on December 27, 2010
- ↑ Skálmöld's official Facebook profile , facebook.com, accessed on December 23, 2010
- ↑ a b c official Skálmöld Myspace profile , myspace.com, accessed on December 23, 2010
- ↑ a b Review of Baldur at metal.de , accessed on January 5, 2011
- ↑ Review of Baldur at stormbringer.at , accessed on July 27, 2011
- ↑ Review of Baldur at dark-festivals.de , accessed on July 27, 2011
- ↑ Baldur - Sold out! (January 19, 2011) , facebook.com, accessed January 26, 2011
- ↑ Kvaðning music video published , myspace.com, accessed January 26, 2011
- ↑ Skálmöld sign with NR (April 14, 2011) , facebook.com, accessed on April 22, 2011
- ↑ Billing Bands of the Wacken Open Air 2011 ( Memento of the original from October 17, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , wacken.com, accessed December 23, 2010
- ↑ Line-up of the Heidenfesttour 2011 ( Memento of the original from August 5, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , heidenfest.eu, accessed on April 21, 2011
- ↑ a b c official homepage of the band , skalmold.is, accessed on December 22, 2010
Web links
- official homepage
- Official MySpace profile
- Skálmöld at Discogs (English)