''Mjötviður Mær'', released in 1981, is the second album 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 new wave/

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

group

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 ...

. It was edited through Eskvímó in 12” vinyl. ''Mjötviður Mær'' was Þeyr's most important work, according to the media. Formed by 12 songs, "Iss", "Þeir" and "2999" could be deemed as attempts to create a futuristic pop style thanks to voice distortions, keyboards and additional rhythm. “Úlfur” is a track that outstands due to its angry mood and thus became into one of the most famous.
Also important are, “Mjötviður”, an instrumental track and “Rúdolf”, a song loaded with rock anger and constitute an

antifascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

lampoon of

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

. This record was never reissued. However, some of its recordings appeared in '' Mjötviður til Fóta'' (2001), a special release to commemorate the 20 anniversary of Þeyr's reincarnation. This CD also featured recordings from the single '' Iður til Fóta'' (1981).

Cover design and inserts

This album and their second work, '' As Above...'' had both exactly the same front covers, the only difference was the title. The image cover depicted a

pentagram A pentagram (sometimes known as a pentalpha, pentangle, or star pentagon) is a regular five-pointed star polygon, formed from the diagonal line segments of a convex (or simple, or non-self-intersecting) regular pentagon. Drawing a circle around ...

with the naked drummer inside it. It is a symbol that represents the interest in

magic Magic or magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces ** ''Magick'' (with ''-ck'') can specifically refer to ceremonial magic * Magic (illusion), also known as sta ...

that their members had, and it is also a representation of the five-member band, and the perfect proportions of the human being, as defined by

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested o ...

's ''

Vitruvian Man The ''Vitruvian Man'' (; ) is a drawing by the Italian Renaissance artist and scientist Leonardo da Vinci, dated to . Inspired by the writings of the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius, the drawing depicts a nude man in two superimposed positions ...

''.
The background photograph portrayed Keilir, a cone-shaped

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

located at the outskirts of

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

and which is believed to have magic powers. The road shown on the image is Suðurgata.
This image is accompanied by runic writings which were taken from

Völuspá ''Völuspá'' (also ''Vǫluspá'', ''Vǫlospá'', or ''Vǫluspǫ́''; Old Norse: 'Prophecy of the völva, a seeress') is the best known poem of the ''Poetic Edda''. It dates back to the tenth century and tells the story from Norse Mythology of ...

. The title refers to

Scandinavian 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 as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...

, where the word ''Mjötviður'', also known as

Yggdrasil Yggdrasil () is an immense and central sacred tree in Norse cosmology. Around it exists all else, including the Nine Worlds. Yggdrasil is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'' compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and in t ...

, means The Tree of Destiny, whose roots penetrate the three Underworld wells, and whose branches and foliage stretch throughout the whole Universe. The word ''Mær'' means ''Fair'' or ''Good''. The inserts of this album contain the lyrics to the songs and also feature several images related to magic and

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

. Drawings of

Pythagoras Pythagoras of Samos (; BC) was an ancient Ionian Greek philosopher, polymath, and the eponymous founder of Pythagoreanism. His political and religious teachings were well known in Magna Graecia and influenced the philosophies of P ...

taken from '' Theorica Musica'', by F. Gaffurio, represent the discovery of numeric relationships between harmonic sounds, known as

Pythagorean tuning Pythagorean tuning is a system of musical tuning in which the frequency ratios of all intervals are determined by choosing a sequence of fifthsBruce Benward and Marilyn Nadine Saker (2003). ''Music: In Theory and Practice'', seventh editi ...

(se
drawings
. This is also complemented by other illustrations such as fragments of music writings from

Alexander Scriabin Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin, scientific transliteration: ''Aleksandr Nikolaevič Skrjabin''; also transliterated variously as Skriabin, Skryabin, and (in French) Scriabine. The composer himselused the French spelling "Scriabine" which was a ...

’s ''Piano Sonata No. 3 in F sharp minor, Op. 23'', engravings by

Theodor de Bry Theodor de Bry (also Theodorus de Bry) (152827 March 1598) was an engraver, goldsmith, Editing, editor and publisher, famous for his depictions of early European colonization of the Americas, European expeditions to the Americas. The Spanish In ...

from

Robert Fludd Robert Fludd, also known as Robertus de Fluctibus (17 January 1574 – 8 September 1637), was a prominent English Paracelsian physician with both scientific and occult interests. He is remembered as an astrologer, mathematician, cosmol ...

's '' Utriusque Cosmi'', and several pentagram illustrations, including

Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim (; ; 14 September 1486 – 18 February 1535) was a German Renaissance polymath, physician, legal scholar, soldier, knight, theologian, and occult writer. Agrippa's ''Three Books of Occult Philosophy'' pub ...

's pentagram taken from ''

Three Books of Occult Philosophy ''Three Books of Occult Philosophy'' (''De Occulta Philosophia libri III'') is Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa's study of occult philosophy, acknowledged as a significant contribution to the Renaissance philosophical discussion concerning the powe ...

'' which represents the golden symmetry of the human body. Other symbols featured are images of the Yggdrasil, drawings from

Ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

, and satanic symbols, among others.

Track listing

Track notes

*”2999” is the same as “Technologos” in '' As Above...'' (1982). * The tracks translate to English as 1. Wolf, 2. Duh! 3. Current, 4. 2999, 5. World Tree, 6. The Shout, 7. They, 8. Rudolf, 9. Never Suck, 10. That is Enough, 11. Hva-Than, 12. Unnamed.

Credits

*Vocalist:

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 ...

. *Guitars:

Guðlaugur Kristinn Óttarsson Guðlaugur Kristinn Óttarsson (born 11 December 1954) is an Icelandic musician. Music career Early bands Steinblóm (Stone Flowers) (1969) was his first group. It was a trio formed by Guðlaugur (electric and acoustic guitars), Haraldur Joha ...

and Þorsteinn Magnússon. *Bass: Hilmar Örn Agnarsson. *Drums:

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 ...

. Tracks:
1: Music: Þeyr. Lyrics: Magnús Guðmundsson.
2: Music: Hilmar Örn Agnarsson. 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 ...

.
3: Music: Hilmar Örn Agnarsson. Lyrics: Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson.
4: Music and lyrics: Þorsteinn Magnússon.
5: Music: Þeyr.
6: Music and lyrics: Þorsteinn Magnússon. 7: Music: Hilmar Örn Agnarsson. Lyrics: Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson.
8: Music: Magnús Guðmundsson. Lyrics: Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson.
9: Music: Þeyr.
10: Music: Hilmar Örn Agnarsson. Lyrics: Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson.
11: Music and lyrics: Þorsteinn Magnússon.
12: Music and lyrics: Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson. Characters on the record label: Sigga Vala.
Album, design and the wolf logo featured on the record label: Robert Guillemette.
Photographs: Gunnar Vilhelmsson. Acknowledgement: Eyjólfur and Jóhannes Vestdal.

References

External links

Page about ÞeyrWebsite about the history and discography of ÞeyrTónlist.is
- Page about Þeyr. It features mp3 samples (in Icelandic).

- Page about Icelandic music. It includes a section for Þeyr.
Official site of Guðlaugur Kristinn ÓttarssonPage of G. K. Óttarsson at MySpace.comPage of Þorsteinn Magnússon at MySpace.comOfficial site of Sigtryggur Baldursson
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