Sunday, November 26, 2017

"Krigsgald" by Heilung

How fascinating that there is a whole sub-genre of music dedicated to pre-Christian Northern European culture! Heilung are a band from Denmark who play a very specialized kind of music. Their official information says:

"Heilung is sounds from the Northern European Iron Age and Viking period. We used everything from running water, human bones, reconstructed swords and shields up to ancient frame drums and bronze rings in the songs.

The lyrics contain original texts from rune stones and preserved spear shafts, amulets and other artifacts. Furthermore poems, which either deal with historical events or are translations/ interpretations of the originals.

Every attempt to link the music to modern political or religious points are pointless, since Heilung tries to connect the listener to the time before Christianity and its political offsprings raped and burned itself into the Northern European mentality.

Heilung means healing in German and describes the core of the sound. It is supposed to leave the listener eased and relaxed after a sometimes turbulent musical journey."

I can see a wide audience for their music: people who listen to ethnic music or folk and neo-folk music, people who listen to spiritual music, people who listen to alternative music or even Goth music... I get a bit of a Dead Can Dance (previously here, here, and here) vibe too.

Fascinating.

Take a look at this video of the group singing "Krigsgald" live in concert. Believe it or not, this spectacle is their first live concert performance ever. Filmed at Castlefest, a medieval/fantasy festival in the Netherlands, the live recording album called "LIFA" is available.




https://www.facebook.com/amplifiedhistory/
https://heilung.bandcamp.com/

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