When we talked to Skálmöld in Glasgow a few months ago, they were frustratingly tight-lipped about the new album they had just finished recording. No new tracks were being premiered on the tour due to the band being complete perfectionists and not risking it until they could actually play them properly. So we just had to wait.
We got the album through for review some time ago, but the release date caught me on the hop mainly due to Bloodstock overload. It’s out tomorrow morning at the time of writing, but at least I’ve listened to it a lot in the intervening weeks! And, in brief, it’s epic. Because of course it is. It’s Skálmöld.
I’m going to focus on the music as the lyrics are, as ever and correctly so, in Icelandic. I have no translation and I did my own research on the song titles, so I have some idea of the threads running through the album but I don’t want to get anything wrong. Hopefully the band will drop some further information with the release. Suffice to say there’s a big tree, a squirrel, an eagle, a serpent, and a god’s house in there somewhere. That’s all you need to know. Of course, if you happen to speak Icelandic then that’s a bonus!
For the rest of us it’s all about the guitars, drums and so forth. Which I’m fine with as it’s as well put together as anything the band have released before. It’s a little more stripped back in terms of sound, less complex at first listen, to earlier works. However, I have a feeling this is deceptive. The vocals in particular shine through with the usual harmonies contrasting with the harsh leads. The eleven-minute final track “Ullur” is the best example of this and particularly vocal-led.
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But the riffs, the leads, the rhythms… this is a work of beauty. I don’t know the stories, but I feel the emotions that I’m sure are imparted in the lyrics. A Skálmöld album is like a musical. You can tell the sad bits and the angry bits and the creepy bits because they use the music to great effect. On a simpler level, just listen to that guitar solo at the end of “Skuld” and tell me you don’t want to rip out the old air guitar and fingertap along.
For those familiar with Skálmöld, Ýdalir perhaps doesn’t offer anything new. It’s another superb release, but from a band that doesn’t exactly have a huge catalogue so anything new is waited upon with bated breath. Here’s hoping they’re back on the road again soon to promote it. I know I’ll be right there basking in the glory of Icelandic metal!
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Ýdalir is out now (or probably is by the time you read this)
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Header image by Íris Dögg Einarsdóttir
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