Kvitravn — First Flight of the White Raven (ByNorse / Sony / Columbia Germany) is a special release for Norwegian dark folk outfit Wardruna; it follows in the footsteps of 2021’s studio release Kvitravn (“white raven”) and documents a live-streamed lockdown concert that took place in the same year. The live album’s setlist contains only four tracks from Kvitravn itself, with the remainder of the 74-minute record comprising pieces from Wardruna’s earlier output.Continue reading
Wardruna will release their new album Kvitravn on January 22nd, 2021 via ByNorse/Sony Music. Today the band has shared their new single-video ‘Lyfjaberg’ today; a non-album track to fill up the gap until the release of the new album. The clip for ‘Lyfjaberg’ was mainly filmed in the mountains at Tustna in Norway. The band shot the video in early May of this year when all of a sudden winter decided to return with full strength and they ended up wading in half a meter snow for three days and nights. Watch the video now!
Ivar Bjørnson (Enslaved) and Einar Selvik (Wardruna) are releasing their new collaboration album titled Hugsjá later this week on 20th April via By Norse Records. The piece will debut at this weeks’ Roadburn Festival. The duo have shared a new video discussing the project and the debut of the title track below. Continue reading
Though his musical output with Wardruna, his work on the score of History Channel’s hit show Vikings, his many collaborations with other bands and his solo work Einar “Kvitrafn” Selvik has helped keep traditional Norse music alive. With Wardruna’s “Rune Trilogy” and most recently through his solo EP release Snake Pit Poetry (By Norse), Selvik continues to explore these ancient themes, but still relevant to our modern world through lyrics and instrumentation. By keeping some piece of this art in both worlds, he is also creating something new and fresh in the world of heavy music. Ghost Cult’s Keefy caught up with Einar before Wardruna’s New York City début at the prestigious Town Hall venue. He spoke of Wardruna fans, touring with fickle centuries-old instruments, his solo music, creating music for and appearing on Vikings and the next Wardruna album! Thanks to Heather Wilkerson for her Vi
deography and live photos from the show. Continue reading
Blackened prog metallers Enslaved has begun touring in support of their killer release E (Nuclear Blast/ByNorse). The band has released a video of band leader Ivar Bjørnson discussing tour stories about Opeth and other lighter moments. Watch it below. Continue reading