Faroese Jarls of Viking metal Týr have unveiled the video for The Lay Of Our Love, which features Liv Kristine of Leaves’ Eyes. The song is taken from Týr’s latest musical edda Valkyrja, which was released via Metal Blade Records and is the band’s follow-up to their 2011 release The Lay Of Thrym. The clip was produced by Stanimir Lukic, directed by Ivan Colic, and can be seen below.
Tyr online:
http://tyr.fo
http://facebook.com/tyrband
Perhaps one of the greatest folkish/Nordic/younameit line-ups aside from the European spectacle of Heidenfest graced The Garage this past Saturday evening: behemoths Finntroll were joined by Metal Blade’s Týr, who are touring their latest album, and were supported by Iceland’s Skálmöld for an evening of sweltering debauchery and a raucous good time.
A long time fan of Týr himself, Jon caught up with Týr before the gig as the crowds started to swell up Holloway Road.
Absent for most of Týr’s interview was lyrical mastermind and mythology nerd Heri Joensen, who popped in his head for a few questions before ducking out, but Jon sat down with bassist (and comedian) Gunnar Thomsen, lead guitarist Terji Skibenaes, and new recruit drummer Amon Djurhuus.
Jon: Ok, introductory question: tell us something interesting about yourself!
Gunnar: I’m a plumber?
Jon: Everyone knows you’re a plumber!
Gunnar: And a diver!
Terji: Only perverted things come into my mind… I hate driving cars!
Amon: I can actually play the harmonica!
Jon: Is the harmonica going to be on any Týr records then?
Amon: No way! Never ever!
Jon: Gunnar, I saw you wearing a Trollfest t-shirt the other day; they’ve covered Toxic by Britney Spears. Aside from the new covers of Iron Maiden and Pantera on Valkyrja, out of any genre, what would you cover?
Gunnar: I would probably cover a Deep Purple song – I would never go so low as to do Britney Spears!
Terji: Pop song? I thought about it the other day! Chicago, It’s Hard to Say I’m Sorry – it will just be me in a one man show.
Jon: You went for a quite a power metal vibe in Valkyrja; Liv Kristine, singer from Leaves’ Eyes, joined you in ballad Lay of Our Love – have you thought about collaborating with any other musicians?
Terji: No, I don’t think we’re going to do that.
Jon: I know you don’t align yourself with the folk metal scene, but a lot of bands use unconventional instruments- maybe not harmonicas, but accordions, violins…
Gunnar: Yeah, that’s never gonna happen – an orchestra, maybe… that could be something!
Terji: No violins though…
Jon: I know Valkyrja has just been released, but have you started doing work on the new album?
Terji: Only demos so far.
Gunnar: They sound amazing, absolutely brilliant!
Jon: Do you have a concept that it might focus on?
Terji: No, we don’t know yet…
Gunnar: We’ll do a cover track by The Bee Gees maybe… we’ll put a nail in our balls and- (quiet, high-pitched wails)
Jon: That could be your stage performance next tour… Now – you cover modern issues; for example, your anti-racism song Shadow of the Swastika. Do you think any cultural values from Norse mythology are still relevant today?
Gunnar: That’s what Heri does with lyrics – he takes old situations and compares them to new situations because they’re quite similar. So it kinda draws a line between the two.
Jon: Do you like singing about modern issues or would you prefer to stick to singing only about mythology?
Gunnar: If it was up to me, we’d sing songs about cars and planes!
Terji: Sex, drugs and rock and roll!
Jon: I think Shadow of the Swastika was a good response to the criticism you faced from people under the misconception you were a right-wing band.
Gunnar: Yeah, that whole thing came totally behind our backs.
Jon: So from the new album, what’s your personal favourite – you know my favourite is Lady of the Slain, which I believe you wrote, Terji!
Terji: Yes I did! Mine is Another Fallen Brother.
Gunnar: It’s difficult to say, Valkyrja is my favourite- maybe because I wrote that! No, it’s difficult to say. I like the whole album.
Terji: Mare of My Night!
Gunnar: Mare of My Night is my favourite, yeah!
Jon: That was so embarrassing to listen to… just listening to the lyrics…
Terji: Did you blush?
Jon: I did! Listening to it on my own I thought ‘you can’t say that, Heri!’
Gunnar: Good! I think that’s where we should go! Getting brutally honest!
Amon: I think Mare of My Night is my favourite, too. I love playing it live- it’s a pretty cool live song.
Jon: (Mathias from Finntroll is lounging on the sofa in the background behind Terji) What’s your favourite song, Mathias
Mathias: What favourite? No, I do know the songs! I listen to it every day! Uh, probably Mare of My Night, too.
Jon: Are there any songs you recorded but couldn’t use for Valkyrja?
Gunnar: This was what we had. We never actually record more songs than needed.
Jon: So Amon, have you ever been on tour before?
Amon: Yep, I’ve been on tour with Týr two times before – this is my third – and with Heljareyga (Heri Joensen’s side-project) also. It’s going good.
Gunnar: We bully him a bit – we’ve tried to break him in (whip crack sound)
Terji: Gunnar thinks we bully him, but we actually bully Gunnar!
Gunnar: I’m used to it!
Jon: I know a lot of fans were upset Kári (Streymoy, previous drummer) left, but the fans that have met you have said you’re cool, Amon – you’ve got our support! Can you teach us to say something in Faroese?
Terji: Spina. Spin-hora. Sperm whore.
Jon: Would that help me to pick up a guy at a bar?
Gunnar: That would probably work on me!
Jon: Wow – next question! I’ve been listening to you since I was fifteen – so five years now. And I have to Admit that when I first started listening to you, I hated you!
Terji: Usually people do!
Jon: And now I run the UK fanpage on Facebook- funny how things change. When did you first realise you were getting noticed? I know Valkyrja is having great success in the charts and with critics alike.
Terji: Probably since after By the Light of the Northern Star was released.
Jon: I know a lot of places in South America are crazy about anything Nordic-themed, do you find you have a good reception there as well?
Terji: Yeah, a lot! (Gunnar says ‘No’) Gunnar’s never on Facebook; he doesn’t know!
(Heri Joensen wanders over from the corner)
Jon: Do you want to tell us about any lyrics you’re working on?
Heri: Uh, well Terji and I have talked about some stuff, and that’s all that’s happened so far. I don’t think we should mention it yet…
Terji: No, not yet.
Heri: Turn the microphone off!
Terji: Our manager will kill us…
Gunnar: No, it’s about big elephants in Africa, and the situation with the pelican that flies off and mates with the flamingos. It’s very disturbing.
Jon: I think you’re going to have to write that now! (Heri tries to run away; Jon pull him back) Stay here – there’s another one! I know a lot of my friends are starting to form bands and write lyrics about their English heritage. Do you encourage that, and how can people who are interested in that best go about interacting with, or writing about, something personal to them
Heri: I think that in the Faroes at least we have a very direct connection with our heritage, so when I started to write lyrics I didn’t have to dig very deep to find anything, and there was no artificial angle to it. I can imagine if you grew up in England that
Jon: It would be more about learning what you know from history lessons
Heri: Yeah exactly. You have to be into that sort of thing to know anything about it, but still I would encourage anyone to do it. I like it when music sounds like where it comes from and also has mythological subjects related to a band’s heritage, if you’re into that kind of thing. So when everything isn’t so internationalised.
Jon: I must say though I love the new African animal direction you’re taking, and Terji was also telling me about wanting to cover musical theatre…
Heri: I’m now officially out of the band!
Amon: Elephants in Chicago!
Terji: That’s the new album title!
Jon: Recently, fanclubs have grown amazingly for Týr. After your gig in York, I started the UK fanpage from a computer in my hostel. Now I’ve seen the Italian fanclub, the Polish fanclub, and of course the US fanclub getting lots of likes on their pages… What can fans do to help you guys?
Terji: I think talk to the local promoters… When they see more people asking for us, then it will most likely happen
Gunnar: And spread the word!
Terji: And hello to Týr Fans in the UK! Thank you for everything!
Gunnar: Rock on!
Amon: Thanks – come to our show!
Týr online:
http://www.tyr.fo
http://facebook.com/tyrband
Týr, Skálmöld and Finntroll
The Garage, London
6th October 2013
I first started listening to Finntroll when I was 15. My mum took me to a Heidenfest show for my 16th birthday, and I guess you can say that was my slow descent into the underworld of folk metal.
The line-up tonight is one I’ve been excited about for a long time, and one that personally I think fits very nicely together: Skálmöld from Iceland with their melodic, relentless chug you can bounce around to singing in ancient Icelandic poetic metre; Týr showcasing their new venture Valkyrja, an album-worth of fast, genre defying metal; and the legendary Finntroll, revered in folk metal circles from Mexico to Australia. Their new album Blodsvept was released in March this year, and it follows on from the dark-carnival Danny Elfman-cum-black metal Nifelvind. Blodsvept is no less eclectic: surprise kazoos and banjos mix in with brutal guitars and lead troll Vreth’s rich vocals. Always ready for a party when these guys are involved, I prepared myself for mayhem.
From seeing them again on this tour, Skálmöld, who open for us, receives a warm welcome from the audience. Despite only having 30 minutes, the band makes a distinct and explosive impression. Featuring mostly songs from their new album Börn Loka (Children of Loki), Skálmöld open with the grinding and dark Fenrisúlfur, before keyboard anthem Gleipnir thunders out to a rapturous reception. The much more synthetically folky song, Kvaðning, and the only song from 2011 debut album “Baldur”, ends their stay on stage- and the crowd are left gasping and chanting for more. [4/5]
“Are you ready for Týr?” Skálmöld lead singer Björgvin screams. ‘Ready’ is a brilliant understatement; Týr is arguably my favourite band of the evening, and since seeing them in York, I’ve waited for them to tour again anxiously. The lights dim after a few moments, and their set begins slowly, the red haze overhead throbbing until the clash of the mighty crowd-pleaser Hold the Heathen Hammer High leads to the band striding on stage. The setlist has changed very little over the tour; however, Heathen Hammer and scream-along Valkyrja single Blood of Heroes have remained constant, one after the other whipping up the crowd. I may have nudged lead singer Heri Joensen into performing my favourite track off the new album live, and being the gentleman he is, he doesn’t disappoint- and even manages to make Lady of the Slain better than it is on the album, galloping along with neck-breaking speed, and providing my favourite track that evening- even with the prog-metal magic of Sinklars Vísa. An acquired taste for some, Týr have been consistently good every time I’ve seen them, and with this performance at The Garage they cement themselves as a must-see. [5/5]
After a half-hour wait at the bar, pressed arse-to-chest with strangers like sardines in a net, I break free and run to the front as the Blodsvept starts, the crowd surging forward as the all-too familiar forms of Finntroll– steampunk-clad and pointy-eared- take the stage and bear down over us in glee. After a punchy start, dressed to impress and lapping up the energy, they begin Nifelvind opener Solsagan, evil to the core. The combination of songs from all of Finntroll’s manifestations smash the misconception that Finntroll is just a ‘fun’ gimmick band. They switch alternatively between crunching black metal dug up from the darkest depths of the earth and jumpy dance favourites like En Mäktig Här, famous for steel-pan snyths, and the jig-inducing Under Bergets Rot. Finntroll leave no room to catch a break, and a few songs in the room is stifling, with smiles plastered on drenched faces. Catching sight of flashes of bare chest, Vreth refers to those in the middle fondly as ‘those naked guys’, before calling for an even bigger moshpit. At their last UK gig, Finntroll made sure some oldies were on the list- and they seemed surprised at how much their back catalogue was appreciated. Knowing that we like them, Svartberg makes a comeback with much arm waving and swaying, and Jaktens Tid itself with its added joking is forever a firm favourite, starting snakes of conga lines around the venue.
Lest I die an early death from heat exhaustion, I leave before what I’m sure is Trollhammaren evidently shutting the place down. I consider myself now a Finntroll veteran, but this is a gig I will fondly remember as being one of their best. The crowd was ecstatic for all bands, and funnily enough for an easily-annoyed bastard, the pit was a fun, sweaty, elating experience. [4/5]
If you’re looking for a good time when this assortment of mythological creatures and long-departed warriors trample through the UK, you’d better go and see them. And if you’re staunchly ‘too cool’ for dress-ups, heroics or swords and sorcery, you’re missing out on an awesome time.
Jon Geirson
Liv Kristine is best known for her work as the vocalist for Leaves’ Eyes and former singer for Theatre of Tragedy. As well as fronting one of the most iconic symphonic metal bands on the scene, Liv is also a solo artist and has collaborated with a number of different bands including Cradle Of Filth, Atrocity, Delain and most recently she appeared on the track The Lay Of Our Love, which is featured on Tyr‘s new album Valkyrja.
With the release of Symphonies Of The Night just around the corner and a UK tour confirmed for January 2014, Nico catches up Liv Kristine to discuss all things Leaves’ Eyes as well as popular TV series Game Of Thrones, her solo project and rumours about Leaves’ Eyes appearing at the next Dames of Darkness Festival…
Nico: Hi Liv, how are you doing?
Liv: I’m good thank you. It’s been a busy day, but in a positive way, you know. Lots of interviews and we’re rehearsing because we’ll be playing the Metal Female Voices Festival in Belgium in a couple of days. I’ll be there with my solo band on Friday and with Leaves’ Eyes on Saturday so yes, we’re busy!
Nico: Sounds like you’ll be having fun though. Is there a meaning behind the title of the new album Symphonies of the Night?
Liv: Um, a meaning or the concept in general?
Nico: A bit of both really.
Liv: Okay, well we came up with the title pretty late in the recording process. I actually had a song called Carmilla from Sheridan Le Fanu’s horror novel from 1871. So the song, which came to be titled Symphony of the Night, was originally titled Carmilla. But we were discussing the title within the band and we weren’t really sure. What happened was pure luck: I was typing an interview and the journalist was asking me about my influences and I mentioned Tchaikovsky, who wrote the Symphony of the Swan Lake and I thought that’s it! This is an album of eleven symphonies of the night, so there we go! So Carmilla is still the main character in the title song, but the title got changed. Things happen, we are a very creative band.
Nico: I was listening to the previews of Symphonies of the Night that Napalm uploaded to YouTube earlier. There is a definite evolution in the band’s sound, changing direction compared to previous Leaves’ Eyes albums. Is this what you were aiming for with this album, and will this be a future direction you will be taking for future releases?
Liv: Well, I’d rather put it this way: Leaves’ Eyes isn’t a planned thing when we start composing. We throw everything into pre-production and what was already there, were two songs: Eileens Ardency and Saint Cecilia. They just didn’t fit on the Meredead [released in 2011] album when it comes to atmosphere. So they weren’t leftovers but they were on no album after the release of Mededead, so we decided to start working on them. And then we realised that this was a good point to start from. You know, this year we have the anniversary of 10 years of Leaves’ Eyes so we have experienced a lot of being on the road, and all these albums we released and we’ve gathered a lot of experiences. For most of the band members Leaves’ Eyes is twenty, twenty five years of experience. Everything is there on this album, you won’t miss anything. It’s a very powerful album, I agree on that.
Nico: On previous Leaves’ Eyes albums the use of different languages made an appearance on the tracks. Will this be the same with Symphonies of the Night?
Liv: On Symphonies of the Night we’ll have modern English of course, Shakespearean English, some Norwegian, a little bit of French and a little bit of Irish. That’s five languages, I think on the Njord album we had eight languages and on Meredead six languages. I just love languages and I studied linguistics for years so it’s something I really like doing.
Nico: What would you say is the track that stands out on the new album?
Liv: Well that’s the most tricky question you could’ve asked me. Right, um.. This morning in my car I was listening to Ophelia, which is the final track of the album. Of course it’s Shakespeare’s Ophelia, the daughter of Polonius, in Hamlet. That’s my main character, and Ophelia is a quite straightforward and rocky song. It might sound like it doesn’t have a complicated structure like for example Saint Cecilia or Nightshade but Ophelia was the second to last song we recorded. We needed quite a lot of time for Ophelia to finish it in the way we wanted it. All of us: Alex, my husband, our producer, Thorsten my red-haired guitar player and myself are perfectionists. It’s great to have our own studio because then we can keep working until the three of us are satisfied. Ophelia was a tough one but I think it turned out great and at the moment it’s my favourite, if I’m allowed to have one.
Nico: You recently featured on The Lay of Our Love which is on Týr’s latest album Valkyrja. What was it like, recording that track with Týr?
Liv: Actually, I recorded my vocals here in our studio in Germany. But every time I think about doing a duet it’s always the music itself which decides. If I like the song I’ll do it. Heri from Týr helped me out in Wacken last year when Leaves’ Eyes headlined Wacken Open Air. He helped me out on Solemn Sea, one of our tracks. So when Heri asked me ‘Liv would you mind? I have a duet and you would fit very well on it’. I just loved the song and I have good news because we’ll be shooting a video clip for that track in a month! I’m really looking forward to that, it will be in Belgrade.
Nico: Ooh, excellent! I’m looking forward to that. With the recent collarboration with Týr, do you think it will help expose Leaves’ Eyes to Týr fans and Týr fans to Leaves’ Eyes?
Liv: I hope so, I really hope so! If Heri wouldn’t mind, we should tour together some day cause I think we have a potential common fanbase. The thing is, Leaves’ Eyes hasn’t toured a lot in Scandinavia. We should to that very soon, especially in my homeland. Týr is very well known in Scandinavia so that would be an absolutely amazing package.
Nico: I completely agree. A Leaves’ Eyes/Tyr tour would be amazing.
Liv: Thank you. We now have told the universe.
Nico: Speaking of touring, Leaves’ Eyes is scheduled to return to the UK next year in January with Atrocity and Pythia. Are you looking forward to the tour? Which cities are you excited about?
Liv: Absolutely! We toured the UK and Northern Ireland last year with Firewind and that was absolutely amazing. We played at places where Leaves’ Eyes had never played before and for Firewind as well it was absolutely amazing. I remember Cardiff very well because I spent a couple of months there when I was an exchange student. So Cardiff is pretty well-known to me. But of course Manchester is always packed, London is always packed. We will play in some of the venues we played with Firewind as well. We’re building up a fanbase in those places so I’m really looking forward to be back over there in the UK. We have an amazing fanbase in the UK and Northern Ireland. I was really surprised to see that there are so many fans who know about our music in the UK, and many journalists as well. I’ve had quite a few UK interviews this week so that’s good.
Nico: Last time I interviewed you, which was in Manchester last year, when Leaves’ Eyes was there with Firewind, you mentioned that you were a fan of Game of Thrones. So, if you could be any character from the Game of Thrones universe, who would you be and why?
Liv: That’s an even trickier question than the one you asked me before! Oh dear, oh dear… I’m not really sure. It must be Daenerys. Well okay, she’s blonde so it should be her.
Nico: She’s a good, strong character.
Liv: She’s great, she’s amazing yes.
Nico: Going back to touring, are there any future plans for you to tour your solo project around the UK?
Liv: I hope and pray that there will be next year because it’s certainly time to play some solo shows in the UK as well. The only shows I have this year for Liv Kristine, for my solo project, is Nagold in Germany and Pratteln in Switzerland. So those are the two gigs, but they are exclusive gigs. Leaves’ Eyes and Atrocity will be touring most of the rest of the year so we will be very busy. China, Taiwan, Thailand, Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, Germany, Belgium. Lot of things happening! The end of December is the right time for exclusive solo shows but the UK, 2014..let’s cross our fingers.
Nico: That’s what I’m hoping for.
Liv: Me too.
Nico: Speaking of shows. I’ve heard a few whipserings around the internet from associates of mine that Leaves’ Eyes might be playing the Dames of Darkness festival in the UK next year. I was wondering if there is any truth to this?
Liv: Wauw, I mean that would be absolutely killer! It would be fantastic. Well you know, bookers know things before the rest of the band does so..let’s make it happen.
Nico: I hope it does happen because Dames of Darkness this year was phenomenal and it would be so much better if Leaves’ Eyes was playing it.
Liv: Thank you, thank you very much! I’d love to be there.
Nico: Last question. This is a fan question, asked by April Mccaffrey: if you could have a superpower, which one would it be and why?
Liv: A superpower… Okay, you took me by surprise there! When I was a kid I always thought it would be fantastic to be able to look into the future, to know what is going to happen. But I’m not sure if I need that anymore. It’s a very good question actually. Sometimes I wish I could change things for the better of it. Sometimes, especially when it comes to children and children suffering on this planet, it feels like we are just sitting here being comfortable and warm while on the other side of the planet children are dying because of hunger. That’s when I think I would just like to be able to beam myself to that place and do something. Maybe that’s a project for the future. If I ever get tired of playing gigs and singing that would be something I would like to do, to be part of helping projects concerning children who are suffering on the other side of the world.
Nico: I wasn’t expecting that answer. You’re certainly a kind and caring individual. Thank you for your time Liv, I hope you have a good night.
Liv: Thank you very much, it was a pleasure talking to you again. Take good care and hope to see you in Manchester in January.
Nico: You too, Liv! Have a good night!
Leaves’ Eyes online:
http://leaveseyes.com
http://facebook.com/leaveseyesofficial
After such an intense worldwide tour in support of their “Serpent Sermon” album, Marduk aren’t ready to leave the stage yet. They intend to march over Europe and play “Panzer Division Marduk” in full. Also, as “Those Of The Unlight” celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, Marduk have decided to play that entire album as well..
They invited Grave, Valkyrja and Death Wolf to storm the following cities in this back-to-the-past ride:
28.11.2013 (GER) Erfurt / Club From Hell
29.11.2013 (GER) Berlin / K17
30.11.2013 (GER) Bad Oeynhausen / Druckerei
01.12.2013 (DEN) Copenhagen / Pumpehuset
02.12.2013 (DEN) Aarhus / Voxhall
04.12.2013 (HOL) Utrecht / Tivoli De Helling
05.12.2013 (UK) London / Underworld
06.12.2013 (BEL) Leffinge / Devil’s Corner
07.12.2013 (GER) Essen / Turock
08.12.2013 (GER) Darmstadt / Steinbruch Theater
09.12.2013 (FR) Paris / Nouveau Casino
10.12.2013 (FR) Lyon / CCO
11.12.2013 (ITA) Turin / United
12.12.2013 (CH) Yverdon / L’Amalgame
13.12.2013 (CH) Dietikon / Stadthalle
14.12.2013 (ITA) Brescia / Circolo Colony
15.12.2013 (ITA) Bologna / Zona Roveri
16.12.2013 (SLO) Ljubljana / Gala Hala
17.12.2013 (A) Vienna / Escape Metalcorner
18.12.2013 (POL) Katowice / Mega Club
19.12.2013 (POL) Wrocław / Firlej
20.12.2013 (POL) Gdynia / Ucho
21.12.2013 (POL) Warszawa / Progresja
Marduk online:
www.marduk.nu
www.facebook.com/mardukofficial
Grave online:
www.grave.se
http://www.facebook.com/GraveOfficial
Death Wolf online:
www.deathwolf.net
http://www.facebook.com/deathwolfcult
Valkyrja online:
https://www.facebook.com/valkyrjaswe
Týr
Valkyrja
Released 17th September
Viking Metal
Released via Metal Blade
Hailing from the Faroes come Týr, one of the the biggest and most influential Viking metal bands of today. Following their jump from Napalm Records to Metal Blade, the four piece soon would finish Valkyrja, the band’s seventh full-length studio album. The album’s main concept is the story of an unnamed warrior who leaves his wife in order to impress a Valkyrie so that he can gain entry to either Folkvang or Valhalla.
Blood Of Heroes opens up the album in a truly powerful manner. The opening passage signals a change of sound in Týr‘s music whereas the chorus is typically catchy, something that has become a trait in Tyr‘s music over the last couple of releases. Mare Of My Night follows, which Heri describes as being the song that he has ever written the most sexually explicit lyrics for. The song focuses on a strong driving sound with an equal measure of melody to accompany the propulsive riffs. Hel Hath No Fury, which is a brilliant play on words regarding the supposed Nordic goddess of death Hel, has a cold and furious streak woven into the guitars and a hook in the chorus.
The Lay Of Our Love begins with the typical elements of a ballad, something which is enforced by both Heri‘s and Liv Kristine‘s vocals. The guitars paint a near-romantic image with different shades of emotion contrasting with the vocals where as Nation is the complete opposite, charging in for a frontal assault of melodious passages and aggressive vocals with reinforcements from a heavy bombardment of drums. Another Fallen Brother focuses on a more thrash-like use of guitars, with near-power metalesque vocals and a cumbersome use of bass and drums.
Grindavísan starts with a folk-like choir before the majestic riffs domineer the song. As the song becomes heavier, so do Heri‘s vocals while the folk choir make an appearance for the chorus, adding a new spin on the song and keeping it traditionally Týr sounding. Into The Sky makes for a somber metallic dirge before leading into the highly melodic and medieval sounding Fánar Burtur Brandaljóð, which is sung in a Nordic language, presumably Faroese. Lady Of The Slain, which is one of the names given to the deity Freya, comes racing in like a horde of warriors drunk on blood and glory. The guitars cut through the track like a knife through butter, allowing for the bass and drums to leave their own path of devastation.
The title track, Valkyrja, has one of the most solemn introductions on the whole album, allowing varying levels of emotion to ring out through each note. Where the faster paced aspects of the track bring a vast amount of power with them, allowing the snarling use of riffs to roar fiercely throughout the song. The album ends with two covers: Where Eagles Dare (Iron Maiden) and Cemetery Gates (Pantera) – Both of which are performed superbly with Týr‘s own unique twist on them.
Valkyrja is a change in direction for Týr, stepping forward with their sound but allowing for some room for certain sound sand elements from previous albums, making for a fusion of old Týr and new Týr. Valkyrja is probably the best album they’ve released thus far and definitely shows how much their sound has evolved since How Far To Asgaard.
5/5
Nico Davidson
Týr online:
Týr hail from the ancient Faroe Islands, which are steeped in Viking mythology and history – The kind of stuff that makes up the lyrical basis for Týr‘s music. With the release of the band’s seventh studio album, Valkyrja just around the corner, Nico has a chat with Týr bassist Gunnar Thomsen.
Nico: Valkyrja is Týr‘s seventh studio album. How will it differ from previous releases?
Gunnar: It’s not that different from the others. Just much better, and more up beat tempo and dedicated to women.
Nico: The concept of Valkyrja is loosely based around an unnamed warrior attempting to impress a Valkyrie so he gain entry to either Folkvang (Freya‘s hall) or Valhalla (Odin‘s hall). What inspired you to write the story around this?
Gunnar: Usually whatever is on Heri‘s mind at the time, so in this case, life and women. He has had this concept for sometime now.
Nico: Obviously the Valkyries will be playing a role in the story concept that will be running through Valkyrja, will any other figures from Norse mythology be making an appearance in the lyrics/story line?
Gunnar: Heri always likes to put the Norse mythology into the lyrics, so there is other figures to in the story line. He also likes to use mythology with current themes today, as in the case of the previous album, The Lay of Thrym. This time it is about woman.
Nico: Aside from the aforementioned story concept, are there any other lyrical themes that will be appearing throughout the new album?
Gunnar: No themes as such but every song on the album has its own tale to present.
Nico: You collaborated with Leaves’ Eyes vocalist Liv Kristine on the track The Lay Of Our Love. How did this collaboration come about and do you feel it will open up Týr‘s music to fans of Leaves’ Eyes who may have not listened to Týr yet?
Gunnar: Heri suggested the idea to present her on one of the songs, course she has a wonderful voice and originally we intended to have more guest appearance on the album, but we decided that one was enough. Of course we hope to get more listeners, for Týr, but this is not why we asked Liv Kristine. Mainly just admiration for music.
Nico: Describe the new album in five words or less.
Gunnar: Fucking awesome!
Nico: Kári left Týr before the recording process for Valkyrja began. How has this affected Týr‘s overall sound and the sound of the new album?
Gunnar: Of course this affected the drum sound a lot but it also created a new and interesting atmosphere in the music. We will always miss Kári, and best wishes for his health.
Nico: Speaking of the recording process for Valkyrja, you enlisted George Kollias as drummer for the recording process. What was it like to work with one of metal’s most accomplished drummers?
Gunnar: He was absolutely astonishing to work with and he has a exceptional ear for music, and a lot of great ideas for how to put it together. He has a great personality.
Nico: Týr are set to return to the UK in October as support to Finntroll. Will this run of UK dates be in support of the new album or will you be returning to the UK later to support the new album?
Gunnar: This will be to support the new album but we hope to get more tours in England and plans are already being discussed for 2014.
Nico: While we’re on the topic of touring, following Týr‘s sold-out headline show in York last year at the Jorvik Viking Festival, are looking forward to playing the UK again?
Gunnar: YES! We are always looking forward to play in UK. We don’t do it as often as we would like and we love you Brits.
Nico: If could you meet any figure from the Viking Age, who would it be and why?
Gunnar: Of course Týr, the god of war. “Who else”?
Nico: If you were trapped on an island and could only listen to only one album until you were rescued, which one would it be and why?
Gunnar: Peace of Mind by Iron Maiden. And why? its the best album in this world.
Nico: Do you have anything you’d like to say to our readers?
Gunnar: Looking forward to see you all on the UK dates. We are looking forward to present the new album. Thank you for your support. we hail you Brits. Hail to the hammer!
Týr online:
Faroese Viking metallers Týr have been working hard on their seventh studio album, Valkyrja, which is due for release in the UK on 16th September via Metal Blade. Fans can now get a small glimpse of the creative process that is driving Valkyrja towards completion while Týr have been recording at Hansen Studios in Ribe, Denmark. You can watch the video below.
The opening track, Blood Of Heroes, is streaming at this location where the album is also available for pre-order. The limited edition pre-order bundles include Týr pendants, t-shirts, vinyl LP and the CD.
Týr are also pleased to announced that Amon Ellingsgaard will be drumming for Týr on their European tour with Finntroll later this month. Amon is the current drummer for Heri‘s side project: Heljareyga. Many fans will most likely be familiar with Amon, as he is also the nephew of former Týr Kari.
Tyr online:
Valkyrja; the seventh studio album from Faroese Viking metal legends Týr will be released next month (16th September – UK release date). Having already released the album’s opening track, Týr have released their second single from the album; Mare Of My Night. The song is being streamed exclusively via MetalInsider.net. Frontman, guitarist and vocalist, Heri Joesen, had the following to say about Mare Of My Night:
Mare Of My Night was by far the most difficult song on the album to write, music wise. What I usually do is work on a basic idea, a melody with a chord progression. I make variations over the basic idea and then I pick out the best variations for the respective parts of the song, verse, chorus etc. For this one I had more variations than ever before and I made more versions of this song that I’ve ever done before, so it was very difficult to choose. I’m still not sure I made the best possible song, which is not a satisfying feeling at all. But there you have it.
As for the text, once I went to work on it, it was written in a day or two, in the evenings during studio time. I had the title and the story line long in advance. It’s based on the mare from folklore, the human-like creature that lies on top of you, riding you, causing bad dreams. As in nightmare, riding like a mare etc. Our anonymous viking, the protagonist of the story, finds in this song that his earthly woman has gone from being a goddess to being nightmare. It is also the most sexually explicit piece of lyric I have written so far.
Valkyrja is a concept album with a story line based loosely around an anonymous Viking age warrior who leaves his woman and goes off to impress the Valkyrie on the battlefield so that she may bring him to Valhalla, or to Fólkvangr, the home of Freyja—the goddess associated with love, sexuality, beauty, fertility, gold, sorcery, war, and death. One can say the album is also indirectly about women and how they affect men and what men will do to impress and obtain women. Front man and founder Heri Joensen goes on to explain:
The woman that the warrior leaves may represent the earthly women. Freyja, The Lady Of The Slain, may represent the perfection of Women, and the Valkyrie is the link between the two, taking men from earthly to godly women.
Tyr online:
http://www.tyr.fo/
http://www.facebook.com/tyrband
Farosese Viking metal overlords Týr recently announce Valkyrja as the title of their 7th full-length album which will be released via Metal Blade Records in the UK on 16th September. Týr once again collaborated with Jacob Hansen at Hansen Studios in Ribe, Denmark. Along with Hansen, the band recruited acclaimed drummer George Kollias to act as studio drummer and Leaves’ Eyes vocalist Liv Kristine joined vocalist and guitarist Heri Joensen for a vocal duet on The Lay of Our Love.
Blood Of Heroes, the opening track for the album, is currently streaming on the band’s MetalBlade.com landing page at this location, where Valkyrja is also available to be pre-ordered. Limited edition pre-order bundles are available that include Týr rune pendants, t-shirt, vinyl LP, and the CD.
The concept of Valkyrja is a storyline loosely based on an anonymous Viking age warrior who leaves his wife and home to impress a Valkyrie in order to be chosen for either Valhalla or Folkvang – The latter of which is the abode of the goddess Freya, who had the first pick of any slain warriors that the Valkyries brought from the battlefield. Freya is commonly regarded as the goddess of love, beauty, death, war, magic and sex. One can say the album is also indirectly about women and how they affect men and what men will do to impress and obtain women. Front man and founder Heri Joensen goes on to explain
The woman that the warrior leaves may represent the earthly women. Freya, The Lady Of The Slain, may represent the perfection of Women, and the Valkyrie is the link between the two, taking men from earthly to godly women.
Týr online:
http://www.tyr.fo/
https://www.facebook.com/tyrband
Valkyrian Music 