Wardruna

Prepare for something new and very intense. Very Nordic and rooted in pagan past of Norway. This, my friends, is what pagan is all about. Wardruna had managed to created a unique atmosphere, a unique take on this music, wrapped into a dark ambient neo-folk candy-wrap.

This one-of-a-kind meditation music was made possible by an ex-member of a satanism worshiping (in a sense of an opposition to Christianity, and belief in a god within everything) Norwegian black metal band, Gorgoroth, - Kvitrafn. He then gathered a few other musicians together, like Ghaal and gorgeous Lindy Fay on vocals and Hallvard Kleiveland on Norwegian Fiddle. They have released 2 albums out of the planned runaljod trilogy. Though the second album I like kind of less, it really takes much more getting into to understand. But there are tracks like "Rotlaust tre fell" or "Solringen" which are still more accessible in that matter. The first album though is a masterpiece, and by listening all through it in one go, you induce a very calm medititive state.

And oh, did this music make my recent trip to Norway. It's a whole different experience to see those mountains, to hike through the forests, where at points you get balls-deep in snow, to whitness the landscape of the fyords. The boat on the picture is the boat from the Viking museum, and I must say - this is the most interesting part of Oslo museums. It has couple of original Viking boats in pretty much perfect condition, excavated from clay, and a lot of other things like tools, weapons, even decoration pieces they've made ages ago. It all blends with the music and creates this deep feeling, this sense of the cold violent world where only the strong ones survive... Not like Norway today is anything like that.

An interview with Ghaal, where he explains his views on the world is here. Too bad that interviewers didn't understand shit of what he was saying. And videos regarding Wardruna are below, as usual:

http://www.wardruna.com/
http://www.facebook.com/Wardruna
http://www.myspace.com/wardruna
http://www.last.fm/music/Wardruna