Icelandic black metal formation AUÐN and Icelandic post rock titans SÓLSTAFIR have been nominated for the Icelandic Music Awards 2021.
AUÐN‘s latest record ‘Vökudraumsins fangi’ and SÓLSTAFIR‘s ‘Endless Twilight of Codependent Love’ have both been nominated in the category rock album of the year. AUÐN‘s track “Eldborg” has furthermore been nominated as rock song of the year. Listen to the track HERE.
The winners will be announced on April 14. For more information on the Icelandic Music Awards, visit the website here.
Icelandic black metal formation AUÐN are now premiering the third and final new single of their upcoming record ‘Vökudraumsins fangi’. The track “Verður von að bráð” is streaming here:
The video was created by Andri Björn Birgisson.
The band’s third full length will be released on October 30th. Pre-orders are still available in the Season of Mist shop HERE. AUÐN comment on the track: “We present to you the third single from our upcoming album ‘Vökudraumsins fangi’. In these premieres we wanted to showcase as many different elements as possible. This song in some ways treads uncharted territory for us as we welcome the more catchy driven aspects of heavy music into our world of melancholy and grief ridden soundscapes. ‘Verður von að bráð’ is an unforgiving journey into the vast frozen wastes of the unknown and the euphoric feeling when the cold takes a hold of you when you’ve reached the point of no return, when you forsake all logic and give into the welcoming embrace of death.”
The cover artwork of ‘Vökudraumsins fangi’ was created by Mýrmann and can be viewed below, together with the track list.
Tracklist 1. Einn um alla tíð (08:15) 2. Eldborg (04:08) 3. Birtan hugann brennir (05:33) 4. Verður von að bráð (05:50) 5. Drepsótt (03:16) 6. Næðir um (05:03) 7. Horfin mér (06:42) 8. Á himin stara (03:47) 9. Ljóstýra (05:54) 10. Vökudraumsins fangi (06:43)
As the country’s vibrant black metal scene has proven, Iceland can be a beautiful and sinister place where furious elements rage teaching fear but also inspiring human creativity. Emphasizing melodies rather than dissonance and approaching their music from a dramatic, classical black metal angle, AUÐN deliver another mesmerizing piece of art with ‘Vökudraumsins fangi’.
Hailing from the village of Hveragerði in the south of Iceland, AUÐN deliver haunting melodies and beautifully frozen atmospheres – as opposed to the jarring and caustic blunt force trauma that has brought this remote place in the Northern Atlantic to the black metal forefront.
Founded in 2010, AUÐN‘s talent was quick to be recognized. After the release of the self-titled debut, the band got invited to Iceland’s main metal event, the Eistnaflug Festival. They participated and won the local Wacken Metal Battle contest in 2016, while making it to the top three during the infamous Wacken Open Air festival itself. Shows at the prestigious Inferno and Roadburn festivals followed in 2017.
The second full-length, ‘Farvegir Fyrndar’ was released in November 2017, continuing the band’s fast ascent. Highly praised by the international metal press, the sophomore record reached back to a more classic second-generation black metal approach combined with a sense of elegance and melancholy that one can feel while dwelling among the bleak, extraordinary landscapes of the island.
The Icelanders embarked on European tours with label mates GAAHL’S WYRD in 2017 and THE GREAT OLD ONES (2017 and 2018) and captivated festival audiences at the biggest European fests, such as Copenhell, Summer Breeze Open Air, Eurosonic Noorderslag, Roskilde, Eindhoven Metal Meeting and more.
Returning with ‘Vökudraumsins fangi’, AUÐN explore new soundscapes and push their music to new heights, thereby setting themselves further apart from their Icelandic contemporaries. The six piece draws inspirations from their natural surroundings, but also chart the territory of the mind. The album title literally translates to ‘prisoner of the daydream’, but rather refers to a perpetual state of delusion of a life that never took place.
Join AUÐN while traversing the blurred lines between reality and the supernatural and the otherworldly sceneries of their native Iceland.
Recording studio: Sundlaugin Studio
Producer / sound engineer: Stephen Lockhart of Studio Emissary
Mixed and mastered: Jens Bogren at Fascination Street Studios
Recording line-up: Andri Björn Birgisson – Guitars Aðalsteinn Magnússon – Guitars and vocals Hjalti Sveinsson – Vocals Hjálmar Gylfason – Guitars Matthías Hlifar Mogensen – Bass and guitars Sigurður Kjartan Pálsson – Drums
Guest musicians: Arnaldur Ingi Jónsson – Hammond organ on “Næðir um “and “Horfin mér” Magnús Jóhann Ragnarsson – Grand piano & Mellotron on “Næðir um” and “Vökudraumsins fangi”
