Iceland’s Katla have released (via Metal Hammer) their new single “Sálarsvefn” in music video form — check it out below. The fresh track appears on the band’s second full-length, ‘Allt þetta helvítis myrkur,’ which they plan to drop on November 13, 2020 (pre-order).
Here’s more info via a press release:
With the clip ‘Sálarsvefn’, KATLA have managed the unlikely feat of turning their sinister album “Allt þetta helvítis myrkur” even darker. The clip shows a modern rendering of an ancient Norse curse named in Old Icelandic “níðstöng” (English: “nithing pole”), which is described in the 13th century saga of Egill Skallagrímsson. “Egills saga” describes how the celebtrated poet (skald) and ruthless Viking erects a pole with the severed head of a horse on top and curses king Erik Haraldsson called “Bloodaxe” as well as his queen. Players of the popular video game “The Witcher 3” might have encountered this ritual in a side quest entitled “The Nithing”.
Singer/multi-instrumentalist Einar Thorberg Guðmundsson comments:
The title ‘Sálarsvefn’ translates as ‘Sleep of the Soul’ and my lyrics venture into the darkest corners of the mind of an anonymous human being. This song is about pure hate and loathing. Whoever shows such a person any sign of sympathy or compassion will certainly be dragged into this creature’s insane world of misery. ‘Sálarsvefn’ was originally the third segment of a long track in three parts. Its first part was ‘Villuljós’, which we have presented already. Yet as recording progressed, I ended up tying 5 songs together into one hell of a complicated mix, in which ‘Sálarsvefn’ is now the 4th stage of this journey into dark soundscapes.
Drummer and “Sálarsvefn” video creator Guðmundsson Óli Pálmason humorously adds:
We have created this video with a tremendous effort in both cost and labour. We had to buy four footlong sandwiches for our crew and I finished the rough editing on the same night that we filmed the clip.
Stream:
Tracklist
1. Ást orðum ofar
2. Villuljós
3. Líkfundur á Sólheimasandi
4. Sálarsvefn
5. Vergangur
6. Hvítamyrkur
7. Húsavíkur-Jón
8. Allt þetta helvítis myrkur
9. Svartnætti
