Skálmöld () is a

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

folk metal Folk metal is a fusion genre of heavy metal music and traditional folk music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. It is characterised by the widespread use of folk instruments and, to a lesser extent, traditional singing styles (for exampl ...

band from

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...

, 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 The Age of the Sturlungs or the Sturlung Era ( is, Sturlungaöld ) was a 42–44 year period of violent internal strife in mid-13th century Iceland. It is documented in the Sturlunga saga. This period is marked by the conflicts of local chieftai ...

Icelandic history The recorded history of Iceland began with the settlement by Viking explorers and the people they enslaved from the east, particularly Norway and the British Isles, in the late ninth century. Iceland was still uninhabited long after the rest ...

, when a

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

broke out between the country's family

clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...

History

Snæbjörn Ragnarsson and Björgvin Sigurðsson, who have been friends since childhood and have played together in various collectives, including

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...

and

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

bands, decided to start a new metal band, Skálmöld, formed in August 2009 in Reykjavík. The other band members had also been active in the Icelandic music scene. Initially, the band was intended to be merely a hobby, but the members soon decided to record an album before they were "too old and tired". After contacting most of the Icelandic

labels A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed dir ...

—to no avail—the band was signed by the Faroese label

Tutl TUTL Records is a record label of the Faroe Islands that was founded in 1977 by Kristian Blak. The label is credited with giving many Faroese musicians their first break and "has played a major role in giving musicians a chance to record and pub ...

in November 2010, which released the band's debut album ''Baldur'' in Iceland and the Faroe Islands. In April 2011, the band signed a record deal with

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 ...

; ''Baldur'' was re-released worldwide the following August. The deal with Napalm gave Skálmöld a significant popularity boost. The band was invited to participate in the

Wacken Open Air Wacken Open Air (, abbreviated as W:O:A) is a rock music, rock music festival, held annually since 1990 on the first weekend of August in the village of Wacken, Schleswig-Holstein, Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Almost all styles and su ...

festival and the Heidenfest 2011 tour. On April 13, 2012, Skálmöld began recording its second album, ''

Börn Loka ''Börn Loka'' (''Children of Loki'' in Icelandic) is the second full-length album by the Icelandic Viking / folk metal band Skálmöld, released on October 26, 2012, via Napalm Records Napalm Records is an Austrian independent record label f ...

'', which was released in October the same year. In November, 2013, Skálmöld played a series of concerts with the

Iceland Symphony Orchestra Sinfóníuhljómsveit Íslands (Iceland Symphony Orchestra) (ISO) is an Icelandic orchestra based in Reykjavík, Iceland. Its primary concert venue is the Harpa Concert Hall. The Iceland Symphony is an autonomous public institution under the aus ...

at the

Harpa ''Harpa'', common name the "harp snails", is a genus of large predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Harpidae.Gofas, S.; Bouchet, P. (2015). Harpa Röding, 1798. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of ...

concert hall in

. A live album and accompanying video, ''

Skálmöld & Sinfóníuhljómsveit Íslands ''Skálmöld & Sinfóníuhljómsveit Íslands'' is a live album and concert video by the Icelandic heavy metal band Skálmöld and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, released on 18 December 2013. The song material is from Skálmöld's first two albu ...

'', was released on 18 December 2013. The next studio album was ''

Með vættum ''Með vættum'' (''"Among Vættir"'' in Icelandic) is the third full-length album by the Icelandic viking/folk metal band Skálmöld, released on 11 November 2014 via Napalm Records Napalm Records is an Austrian independent record label focus ...

'', released in 2014, which tells the story of a woman who encounters enemies in the north, east, south and west of Iceland, and is assisted by mythological beings. In 2016 Skálmöld released ''

Vögguvísur Yggdrasils ''Vögguvísur Yggdrasils'' (''"Yggdrasil's lullabies"'' in Icelandic) is the fourth full-length studio album by the Icelandic viking/folk metal band Skálmöld, released on September 30, 2016 via Napalm Records Napalm Records is an Austrian i ...

'', an album themed around the different worlds of

Norse cosmology Norse cosmology is the study of the cosmos (cosmology) as perceived by the ancient North Germanic peoples. The topic encompasses concepts from Norse mythology, such as notions of time and space, cosmogony, personifications, anthropogeny, and escha ...

. It was followed by ''

Sorgir ''Sorgir'' (''"Sorrows"'' or ''"Griefs"'' in Icelandic) is the fifth full-length album by the Icelandic viking/folk metal band Skálmöld, released on 12 October 2018 via Napalm Records. Concept and recording The album is divided into two parts. ...

'' in 2018, which tells four tragic stories, each from two different perspectives. After celebrating its ten-year anniversary with a live album in 2020, Skálmöld decided to take a pause. The band's official book, ''The Saga of Skálmöld'', was published in 2021. It was written by British author

Joel McIver Joel McIver (born 10 February 1971) is a British author. His best-known work is ''Justice for All: The Truth About Metallica'', first published in 2004 and appearing in nine languages since then. McIver's other works include biographies of Bl ...

and featured a foreword by

President of Iceland The president of Iceland ( is, Forseti Íslands) is the head of state of Iceland. The incumbent is Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson, who is now in his second term as president, elected in 2016 and re-elected in 2020. Vigdís Finnbogadóttir as ...

Guðni Th. Jóhannesson Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson (; born 26 June 1968) is an Icelandic historian and politician serving as the sixth and current president of Iceland. He took office in 2016 after winning the most votes in the 2016 election, 71,356 (39.1%). He wa ...

. Returning from the pause after three years, Skálmöld's sixth studio album ''

Ýdalir In Norse mythology, Ýdalir (" yew- dales"Orchard (1997:185).) is a location containing a dwelling owned by the god Ullr. Ýdalir is solely attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources. Scholarly ...

'' is set to be released on 18 August 2023 through Napalm Records.

Musical style

From the beginning, Skálmöld's intention has been to combine the sounds of the traditional Icelandic music and metal. Initially, the band planned to use a lot of folk instruments, but soon decided to scale back and have three guitar players instead. The band's influences include such metal bands as

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

Anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium ''Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The sk ...

Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style ...

Amon Amarth Amon Amarth () is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Tumba, formed in 1992. The band takes its name from the Sindarin name of Mount Doom, a volcano in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. Their lyrics mostly deal with Viking mythology and hi ...

and

Ensiferum Ensiferum (Latin: , n adj., meaning "sword bearing") is a Finnish folk metal band from Helsinki. The members of the band label themselves as "melodic folk metal." History Formation, demos and ''Ensiferum'' (1995−2002) ''Ensiferum'' was founde ...

, as well as

Jón Leifs Jón Leifs (born Jón Þorleifsson on 1 May 1899 – 30 July 1968) was an Icelandic composer, pianist, and conductor. Life Jón Leifs was born ''Jón Þorleifsson,'' at the farm Sólheimar, then in the Húnavatnssýsla, northwestern Iceland. H ...

, the classical Icelandic composer. Skálmöld's lyrics, written by Snæbjörn entirely in Icelandic, are inspired by the

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 ...

and

Icelandic sagas The sagas of Icelanders ( is, Íslendingasögur, ), also known as family sagas, are one genre of Icelandic sagas. They are prose narratives mostly based on historical events that mostly took place in Iceland in the ninth, tenth, and early el ...

. Furthermore, the lyrics conform to some of the Old Norse poetic forms, including fornyrðislag and sléttubönd. All the band members are members of the

heathen __NOTOC__ Heathen or Heathens may refer to: Religion *Heathen, another name for a pagan *Heathen, an adherent of Heathenry Music *Band of Heathens, a North American rock and roll band *Heathen (band), a North American thrash metal band *The Hea ...

organisation

Ásatrúarfélagið Ásatrúarfélagið (, ''Ásatrú Fellowship'') is an Icelandic religious organisation of heathenry (in Iceland also called ', " ás faith"). It was founded on the first day of summer (Iceland) 1972, and granted recognition as a registered rel ...

. Jón Geir Jóhannsson explained the way they believe in the Norse gods: "You shouldn't personify them. It's not people, it's stories that represent human nature. So yes, the ethics are there, but we don't believe in them as 'persons'."

Discography

Studio albums

*2010: ''

Baldur Baldr (also Balder, Baldur) is a god in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, Baldr (Old Norse: ) is a son of the god Odin and the goddess Frigg, and has numerous brothers, such as Thor and Váli. In wider Germanic mythology, the god was k ...

'' *2012: ''

'' *2014: ''

'' *2016: ''

'' *2018: ''

'' *2023: ''

Live albums

*2013: ''

'' *2020: ''10 Year Anniversary: Live in Reykjavík''

Singles

*2013: "Innrás"

Members

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

Gallery

File:Skálmöld, Þráinn Árni Baldvinsson.jpg, Þráinn Árni Baldvinsson File:Skálmöld, Snæbjörn Ragnarsson.jpg, Snæbjörn Ragnarsson File:Skálmöld, Jón Geir Jóhannsson.jpg, Jón Geir Jóhannsson File:Skálmöld, Gunnar Ben.jpg, Gunnar Ben File:Skálmöld, Baldur Ragnarsson.jpg, Baldur Ragnarsson File:Skálmöld live in Bilston, Wolverhampton (04.10.2013).jpg, Skálmöld live at the Robin 2,

Bilston Bilston is a market town, ward, and civil parish located in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is close to the borders of Sandwell and Walsall. The nearest towns are Darlaston, Wednesbury, and Willenhall. Historically in Staffordshi ...

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...

in October 2013.

References

External links

Official web-siteOfficial MySpaceOfficial Facebook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skalmold Icelandic heavy metal musical groups Musical groups established in 2009 Viking metal musical groups Napalm Records artists 2009 establishments in Iceland Folk metal musical groups Modern pagan musical groups Modern paganism in Iceland Musical groups from Reykjavík