''Þagað í Hel'' is the first album released by

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

ic band

Þeyr Þeyr () was an Icelandic New wave music, new wave band from the early 1980s. Origins The origins of Þeyr date back to the late 1970s when singer Magnús Guðmundsson, bassist Hilmar Örn Agnarsson and Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson (drums and synthesiz ...

in December 1980 through label SG-hljómplötur. An album of pop, soft rock and disco compositions, It showcases the early musical style of the band before they became influenced by the burgeoning punk scene in Iceland, and is hardly representative of their trademark avant-garde and aggressive post-punk sound which quickly followed. By late 1979 Þeyr members contacted Svavar Gestsson, the owner of SG-Hljómplötur, and introduced him a few songs of

disco music Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightlife, particularly in African-American, Italian-American, Gay and Latino communities. Its sound features four-on-the-floor ...

. Svavar sent them to studio Tóntækni and the recording sessions began in January 1980 and were concluded in February when the band decided to take a break, which was extended until September, when the album was finished. Over the long break,

new wave music New wave is a music genre that encompasses pop music, pop-oriented styles from the 1970s through the 1980s. It is considered a lighter and more melodic "broadening of Punk subculture, punk culture". It was originally used as a catch-all fo ...

was hitting Iceland and Þeyr got heavily influenced by it. Therefore, part of the recorded album featured two different music styles. The album was titled ''Þagað í Hel'', which means ''Silenced to Death'' and it was introduced to Svavar, who felt reluctant to release it because he didn't like the music nor even the album design, but his wife, Elly Vilhjálms (a renowned singer from the 1960s and 1970s), did like it and persuaded him to release it. Thus, ''Þagað í Hel'' came out to the streets by December 1980, on limited edition because the vinyl printing was defected and only 500 low quality copies were released. After the release of ''Þagað í Hel'', Þeyr gained popularity in Iceland thanks to the critic reviews and the band underwent internal changes with the departure of guitarist

Jóhannes Helgason Jóhannes Helgason (born 16 June 1958) is an Icelandic guitar player known for his work in the band Þeyr. He currently works as a pilot for Icelandair. Early bands Jóhannes was born in Reykjavík. In the winter of 1972 he joined vocalist Guðmu ...

and vocalist Elín Reynisdóttir.
About a year later, Tóntækni studios were caught in a fire and the masters and all unpublished recordings of Þeyr up to that moment were lost forever.
The only song to survive was "En…", which was featured on '' Nælur'', a compilation released by label Spor in 1998. ''Þagað í Hel'' is currently out of availability and has become a collector’s item.

Track listing

Side 1

# "En…" (Music:

Magnús Guðmundsson Magnús Guðmundsson (6 February 1879 – 28 November 1937) was an Icelandic politician. He graduated in laws from the University of Copenhagen in 1907. Magnus was a member of Althingi for his constituency in North west Iceland from 1916 till ...

, Lyrics:

Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson (; born 23 April 1958), also known as HÖH, is a musician, an art director, and '' allsherjargoði'' (''chief goði'') of Ásatrúarfélagið ("the Ásatrú Association"). Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson was a pioneer in the use ...

) – 04:48 # "…Nema Jói" (Music: Hilmar Örn Agnarsson, Lyrics: Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson) – 03:20 # "Hringt" (Music: Sverrir Agnarsson, Lyrics: Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson) – 03:30 # "Heilarokk" (Music: Hilmar Örn Agnarsson, Lyrics: Guðni Rúnar Agnarsson) – 05:38

Side 2

# "Svið" (Music: Þeyr, Lyrics: Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson) – 04:48 # "Eftir Vígið" (Music: Hilmar Örn Agnarsson, Lyrics:

Jóhann Sigurjónsson Jóhann Sigurjónsson (June 19, 1880 – August 31, 1919) was an Icelandic playwright and poet. Atypically, Jóhann wrote plays and poetry in both his native Icelandic and in Danish. Biography Jóhann was the son of an Icelandic farmer and wa ...

and Skuggi Þýddi) – 04:26 # "Vítisdans" (Music: Sverrir Agnarsson, Lyrics: Skuggi Þýddi) – 03:40 # "555" (Music: Þeyr, Lyrics: Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson) – 04:00

Credits

Performers

Band members

– Vocals, guitar, keyboards and additional sounds. * Elín Reynisdóttir – Vocals, backing vocals and screams. * Hilmar Örn Agnarsson – Bass and keyboards. *

– Guitar. *

Sigtryggur Baldursson Sigtryggur Baldursson (born 2 October 1962) is an Icelandic drummer and singer. Sigtryggur was born in Norway to Icelandic parents. He was a founding member of the Sugarcubes and has been a longtime fixture on the Icelandic punk and alternat ...

– Drums and percussion.

Collaborators

Eiríkur Hauksson Eiríkur Hauksson (born 4 July 1959) is an Icelandic heavy metal vocalist. He represented Iceland at Eurovision in 1986 and in 2007. Career Eiríkur's career as a vocalist began in earnest when the song "Sekur" he wrote and performed with the ...

– Vocals (side 2, track 3) * Vilborg Reynisdóttir – Background vocals *

Þorsteinn Magnússon Þorsteinn is an Old Norse and Icelandic masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: *Þorsteinn Eiríksson (X century), the youngest son of Erik the Red *Þorsteinn Erlingsson (1858–1914), Icelandic poet *Þorsteinn Gylfason (194 ...

– Guitar (side 1, track 3 and side 2, tracks 2 and 4) * Sigurður Long and Daði Einarsson – Horns * Eiríkur Örn Pálsson – Horns and Horn arrangement

Production

* Sigurður Árnason – Recording * Hilmar Örn Agnarsson – Production *

Gunnar Vilhelmsson Gunnar is a male first name of Nordic origin (''Gunnarr'' in Old Norse). The name Gunnar means fighter, soldier, and attacker, but mostly is referred to by the Viking saying which means Brave and Bold warrior (''gunnr'' "war" and ''arr'' "warrior ...

– Photography * Kristján Einvarður Karlsson – Album design * Kristján Einvarður Karlsson – Acknowledgement for his inspiring ideas on the songs development

Notes

The track-listing translates to English as 1) But..., 2)...Except Joe, 3) Rung (or "Phoned"), 4) Brain-Rock, 5) Singed (sheep's head, an Icelandic delicacy), 6) After the Kill, 7) Hell-Dance, and 8) 555.

External links

Page about ÞeyrWeb site about the history and discography of ÞeyrPage about Þeyr at Tónlist.is (in Icelandic)
* ttp://www.myspace.com/steinimagg Page of Þorsteinn Magnússon at MySpace.combr>Official site of Sigtryggur Baldursson

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thagad I Hel 1980 debut albums Þeyr albums