"Freya" is a song by American heavy metal band

The Sword The Sword was an American heavy metal band from Austin, Texas. Formed in 2003, the band was composed of vocalist and guitarist John D. Cronise, guitarist Kyle Shutt, bassist Bryan Richie and drummer Santiago "Jimmy" Vela III for most of its t ...

. Written by the band and produced by vocalist and guitarist John D. Cronise, it is featured on the band's 2006 debut studio album ''

Age of Winters ''Age of Winters'' is the debut album by American heavy metal band The Sword, released in the United States on February 14, 2006. The Japanese edition, released by record label Toy's Factory, contains three bonus tracks recorded live at the CBGB ...

''. In addition to being released as the only

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from the album on September 4, 2007, "Freya" was featured as a playable track on the video game ''

Guitar Hero II ''Guitar Hero II'' is a music rhythm video game developed by Harmonix and published by RedOctane for the PlayStation 2 and Activision for the Xbox 360. It is the second main installment in the ''Guitar Hero'' series and is the sequel to 2005's ...

'', released in November 2006. Due in part to its inclusion on ''Guitar Hero II'', as well as its release as the lead single from ''Age of Winters'', "Freya" is often cited as The Sword's

signature song A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...

. It has been performed at almost every one of the band's shows, and was praised by critics upon its release. The song was later included on the 2009 ''Guitar Hero'' expansion ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...

'', and also on the band's ''iTunes Festival: London 2010'' EP.

Origins and recording

"Freya" was originally recorded for The Sword's third

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

, released in 2005 and often referred to as "The ''Freya'' EP". The song's lyrics are said to be based on the themes of

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

and

legend A legend is a Folklore genre, genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human valu ...

, as well as those within

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 song is likely about the Norse goddess

Freyja In Norse paganism, Freyja (Old Norse "(the) Lady") is a goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, and seiðr (magic for seeing and influencing the future). Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a chario ...

, whose "dwelling",

Fólkvangr In Norse mythology, Fólkvangr (Old Norse: , "field of the host"Orchard (1997:45). or "people-field" or "army-field"Lindow (2001:118).) is a meadow or field ruled over by the goddess Freyja where half of those that die in combat go upon death, wh ...

, is also referenced by the name of the band's studio at which the track was recorded, Folkvang. The Sword guitarist Kyle Shutt has revealed that the band took inspiration from

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

for much of the material on ''

'', including "Freya". Speaking about the popularity of the song in a 2012 interview, he claimed that the band had performed it at "every single show" to date, explaining that they would "mix it up every once in a while ndthrow in some different parts" when playing it live. According to

set list A set list, or setlist, is typically a handwritten or printed document created as an ordered list of songs, jokes, stories and other elements an artist intends to present during a specific performance. A setlist can be made of nearly any materi ...

aggregation website setlist.fm, "Freya" is the most frequently performed song by The Sword.

Release and reception

Following its release on The Sword's debut album ''

'' in February 2006, a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of "Freya" was featured as a playable track in stage 5, "Return of the Shred", of the video game ''

'', released in November 2006. The version of the song included on the game was recorded by

WaveGroup Sound WaveGroup Sound is a music production company known for its creation of music for numerous video games. Since 2014, WaveGroup has been the official sound design team for Facebook. History WaveGroup Sound was originally co-founded by engineer Jame ...

and features an extra part at the end which was not present on The Sword's recording. The master recording was later included on the 2009 expansion ''

Guitar Hero Smash Hits ''Guitar Hero Smash Hits'' (titled ''Guitar Hero Greatest Hits'' in Europe and Australia) is a Music video game, music rhythm game and the fourth expansion pack, expansion game to the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar Hero'' series. The game features 48 so ...

'', as one of 19 tracks from ''Guitar Hero II''. Speaking about the band's inclusion on the ''Guitar Hero'' games (including later releases '' Guitar Hero: Metallica'' and ''

Guitar Hero 5 ''Guitar Hero 5'' (initially referred to as ''Guitar Hero V'') is a 2009 Music video game, music rhythm game, rhythm video game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It is the fifth main installment in the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar He ...

''),

Kemado Records Kemado Records is an American record label based in New York City founded in 2002 by Andrés Santo Domingo and Tom Clapp. In 2006 the label released the '' Invaders'' compilation, which featured many of the label's bands alongside other hard roc ...

marketing director and label manager Jeffrey Kaye simply revealed that the team at

Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one o ...

were fans of heavy metal and The Sword in particular, adding that "There was very little pitching necessary for them". "Freya" was later issued as the sole

from ''Age of Winters'' on September 4, 2007. Released to coincide with the band's UK tour with

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, the

7" vinyl In music, a single is a type of Art release#Music, release, typically a song Sound recording, recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for record sales, sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most ca ...

single was limited to 1,000 copies and backed with a live version of fellow album track "Iron Swan" recorded at the

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kri ...

venue in

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shortly before its closing. The song was later featured as the opening track on the band's ''iTunes Festival: London 2010''

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

, recorded on July 3, 2010 and released later that month. Reviewing ''Age of Winters'' for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, Eduardo Rivadavia selected "Freya" as the main highlight of the album. On the contrary,

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

writer Adrien Begrand claimed that "Freya" and following track "Winter's Wolves" "come close to sounding pedestrian", criticising the songs' "charmingly lunkheaded riffs" and Cronise's vocal delivery.

Virgin Media Virgin Media is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, Cable television, television and Internet access, internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, Berkshire, Reading, Engla ...

featured "Freya" in their feature "Guitar Hero: the unlikely fan favourites", detailing the "top 10 unfashionable tracks which have become classics for a new generation".

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "Freya", the second from ''Age of Winters'' after "Winter's Wolves", was directed by Barnaby Roper and filmed in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

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. It tells the story of a protagonist of the song's name who "appears on a battlefield after a battle and wanders through the corpses looking for warriors to take back to Folkvang".

Track listing

Personnel

References

{{authority control 2006 songs 2007 singles The Sword songs Freyja Norse mythology in music