''Börn Loka'' (''Children of

Loki Loki is a Æsir, god in Norse mythology. He is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mythology), Laufey (a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to the goddess Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi (son of Lo ...

'' in Icelandic) is the second full-length

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by the

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 ...

Viking Vikings were 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 settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

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 example ...

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 October 26, 2012, via

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

Music

Like their debut album, Baldur, Börn Loka ("The Children of Loki") is a concept album firmly grounded in Norse mythology. Börn Loka is ostensibly about Viking outcast Hilmar Baldursson and his sister Brynhildur, and follows Hilmar's quest to provide for his sister by fighting Loki's three famous children, but it's really about Loki taking out his revenge on Baldur's children. A little more knowledge of the Eddas (particularly who Narfi and Váli are, and what happened to them) is needed to really understand Loki's motivation or Brynhildur's fate. The ten songs depict five encounters, with a setup song and a payoff song for each. The album begins and ends with the same motif, kicking off the action, and revealing the awful truth in the end. The three eponymous monsters are each sung in a different vocal style: the wolf Fenris Úlfur screams a black metal scream, the Miðgarð Serpent Jörmundgandur is sung in a traditional Icelandic rimur style, and Hel, the goddess of death, is sung with a second death metal growl from guest vocalist Edda Tegeder of Angist. Frontman Björgvin Sigurðsson narrates Hilmar's story and provides the voice of the god. The main character, Hilmar, was named after the son of the band's lead singer and guitarist Björgvin Sigurðsson, while his sister Brynhildur is named after Guitarist Þráinn Árni Baldvinsson's mother. Songwriter Snæbjörn likes to use names for the characters which are familiar to him and to which he has some connection.

Track listing

Credits

* Björgvin Sigurðsson – vocals, guitar * Baldur Ragnarsson – guitar, backing vocals * Snæbjörn Ragnarsson – bass * Þráinn Árni Baldvinsson – guitar * Gunnar Ben – keyboards, oboe * Jón Geir Jóhannsson – drums * Edda Tegeder Óskarsdóttir ( Angist) – guest vocals on "Hel"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Born Loka 2012 albums Skálmöld albums Napalm Records albums