Skálmöld - Skálmöld & Sinfóníuhljómsveit Íslands

120 days till W:O:A 2023.

After enjoying Ensiferum quite a bit, I decided to stay in the folk metal genre and moved on to Icelandic Viking Metal/Folk Metal band Skálmöld. Skálmöld was formed in 2009 by Snæbjörn Ragnarsson (bass, vocals) and Björgvin Sigurðsson (guitar, vocals). They were soon joined by the rest of line-up, all seasoned musician from the Icelandic music scene: Baldur Ragnarsson (guitar, vocals), Þráinn Árni Baldvinsson (guitar, vocals). Gunnar Ben (oboe, keyboard, vocals) and Jón Geir Jóhannsson (drums, vocals). Noticable is that all the band members provide their vocals (while the main gruff vocals are provided by Björgvin); they are playing with three guitars and instead of using many folk instruments the folk elements are only subtly presented by the use of the guitars and Gunnar Ben's oboe and keyboard. The line-up has not changed since 2009.

Musically, Skálmöld combines Icelandic folk music with metal. It is obvious in the music but also in their lyrics which revolve around Norse mythology and Icelandic sagas. Several things stood out with Skálmöld for me but most of all I was smitten by their attitude and stage presence. All six musicians have so much fun on stage and it is really rubbing off. Baldur Ragnarsson and Jón Geir Jóhannsson especially caught my attention throughout the concert and no, it had nothing to do with the fact that both of them had their shirts off. Þráinn Árni Baldvinsson is a guitar solo god and I was looking forward to his solos in each song. The three guitars manage to deliver a very powerful riff foundation that is perfectly accompanied by different melodies.

Each song tells a story and even if you cannot understand the lyrics, you can understand the storytelling structure. There is almost always some kind of build-up involved; there are long instrumental parts and the different characters in the songs are portrayed by differents vocalists and different vocal styles and I think my favourite song was Hel with guest vocalist Edda Tegeder as the goddess Hel herself. I got kind of lost in Google Translate for a bit and read up more about the Edda and Norse mythology than I intended. But who knows when this will come in handy! 

Björgvin Sigurðsson vocal style is pretty unique and it does tire me a bit if it goes on for too long. He is intense in everything he does. He stares, he glares, he grunts and when he breaks into a smile it is just as intense. Anyhow, Skálmöld songs tend to be versatile with regard to the vocals and Sigurðsson's grunts are accompanied by clean vocals, choirs, screams...

My favourite songs are Árás with the slow and epic build-up before the riffing starts. Skip to the end of the song at 6:42 to hear the guitars in perfection. This is so much fun. Kvaðning is another favourite. The intro melody is insanely catchy and I have been singing this song in my head for hours. It is very skippy and upbeat at first and then there is a long instrumental part in the middle where the song slows down and becomes very quiet at first only to return to some epicness that matches any Middle Earth battle. Skip to 4:52 to be swept away by the guitar assault, hard to stay seated by then I guess. The melody from the beginning returns at the end and brings the song to a wonderful conclusion. And then of course as mentioned above there is Hel with Edda Tegeder. Her vocal performance brings across desperation in perfection. Skip to 3:10 if you want to start with Edda directly.

I feel like Skálmöld are one of those folk metal bands that manage to incorporate the folk elements of their culture in a very authentic way. They are clearly all very good musicians and I am absolutely looking forward to hearing them play at Wacken this year.