Zach Top SKALD (TRANSPARENT VOLUSPÁ RED + BLACK SMOKE) [VINYL]

For years now Wardruna founder Einar Selvik has done acoustic concerts and lectures, performing Wardruna songs on his own, as well as creations made for the TV-show “Vikings” in an acoustic format. Now parts of this material has finally been recorded “live in studio” in Solslottet Studio in Bergen (Norway), and was released through By Norse Music on November 23rd 2018. The exclusive 2024 edition features a brand new bonus track and comes as 2x12" Transparent Red & Black Smoke vinyls; with the original Gatefold artwork masterfully revisited by Polish vinyl artisan and designer Bartek Rogalewicz (Behemoth, Mayhem, etc.); and includes two exclusive bonus tracks never released on vinyl before. “Skald” takes the listener on a musical journey outside the massive soundscape that Wardruna is known for and into a simpler and more direct form, where voice, poetry and ancient instruments like Kravik-lyre, Taglharpa and Bukkehorn lead the way. Einar Selvik comments: “Skald” was recorded live in the studio with the intention of capturing the raw and uncompromising energy of a live performance rather than aiming for a flawless and polished expression. It sets out to give voice to the ancient craft that once lay at the heart of the Norse oral traditions, presented as it takes shape in the hands of a humble contemporary skald today. The album contains an extensive booklet with all lyrics translated as well as a solid introduction to the Skald and Old Norse poetry written by the acclaimed Icelandic author and Old Norse philologist Bergsveinn Birgisson.