''Ýdalir'' is the sixth studio album by the Icelandic heavy metal band

Skálmöld Skálmöld () is a Viking / folk metal band from Reykjavík, Iceland, formed in August 2009. The band's name is literally translated as ''Age of Swords'' and also means "lawlessness", referring to the Age of the Sturlungs of Icelandic history, w ...

, released on 18 August 2023 through

Napalm Records Napalm Records is an Austrian independent record label focused on heavy metal and hard rock. Originally, Napalm focused on black metal bands, such as Abigor and Summoning, and folk metal bands, such as Falkenbach and Vintersorg. The label later ...

Background

The Icelandic heavy metal Skálmöld formed in 2009 and released five studio albums before announcing a hiatus in 2020. ''Ýdalir'' marked the band's return after three years and was its first studio album in five years. The production of ''Ýdalir'' received a grant of 700,000

Icelandic krónur Icelandic refers to anything of, from, or related to Iceland and may refer to: *Icelandic people *Icelandic language *Icelandic alphabet *Icelandic cuisine See also * Icelander (disambiguation) * Icelandic Airlines, a predecessor of Icelandair * ...

from the Music Recording Fund ( is, Hljóðritasjóður) of Iceland's Ministry of Education, Science and Culture.

Music and lyrics

Like Skálmöld's other albums, the lyrics are themed around

Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period ...

. The songs on ''Ýdalir'' are especially indebted to the poem '' Grímnismál'' from the '' Poetic Edda''.

Release

The first album single "Ratatoskur" was released with a lyric video on 20 June 2023. The second single "Verðandi" was released with a music video on 18 July 2023. "Ýdalir" was released as a single with a video of Skálmöld performing the song on 15 August 2023. ''Ýdalir'' was released by

on 18 August 2023. Starting with two concerts in Iceland on 15 and 16 September 2023, Skálmöld plan to go on a European tour where they perform the album as one cohesive show, followed by some of their older material after an intermission.

Reception

Louisa Esch of ''

Metal.de Metal.de is a German-language online magazine launched in 1996. The magazine focuses on the subgenres of heavy metal and hard rock, but also reports on similar styles. ''Metal.de'' foundation in 1996 makes it one of the longest-running heavy me ...

'' wrote that ''Ýdalir'' places emphasis on narrative, atmosphere and melodic guitar

riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accompani ...

s, and diverges from previous Skálmöld albums by including spoken parts, comparing this to

Wardruna Wardruna is a Norwegian music group formed in 2003 by Einar Selvik along with Gaahl and Lindy Fay Hella. They are dedicated to creating musical renditions of Norse cultural and esoteric traditions, and make significant use of Nordic historical a ...

's recitations of poetry. Esch wrote that Skálmöld here appears "more serious and mystical than ever" and although it is far from the band's best album, it shows that Skálmöld still can surprise listeners.

Track listing

The track listing is adapted from

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

Personnel

Skálmöld * Baldur Ragnarsson – guitar, vocals * Björgvin Sigurðsson – lead vocals, guitar * Gunnar Ben – keyboard, vocals, oboe * Jón Geir Jóhannsson – drums, vocals * Snæbjörn Ragnarsson – bass, vocals * Þráinn Árni Baldvinsson – lead guitar, vocals