SKaLD

SKÁLD – Vikings Chant (2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 40:11 minutes | 440 MB | Genre: World, Nordic Folk
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Universal Music Division Decca Records France

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this album, I’m relatively familiar with Norse mythology and culture and have an ecletic taste in music so I thought it was worth a listen and I wasn’t disappointed. The album aims to transcribe ‘Viking’ poetry into music with an attempt at an authentic viking musical journey. What it does is conjure up a journey into the past. The vocals are atmospheric and driving, both haunting and powerful accompanied tribal percussion. Imagine the Uraki in Lord of the Rings doing Clannad; like Clannad did in Magical Ring and Legend, Skald paint a audio picture of a world gone by full of mystery and awe. This is something very different and I’m not sure if it should be filed under Metal (think Van Canto, Blind Guardian or Ne Obliviscaris) or classical. This is an album that I really can’t stop listening to – brilliant.

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Skáld – Vikings Memories (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 36:19 minutes | 400 MB | Genre: World
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Universal Music Division Decca Records France

The new album is about the importance of ancestral heritage. It is an invitation to listen to messages from the past to build the future. SKALD is inspired by the Doggerland, which is an island that disappeared 20,000 years ago following various natural disasters (tsunami, long winter…). The Vikings tell here the history of the people who preceded them and question the role of Man for saving the planet.

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SKÁLD – Vikings Chant (Alfar Fagrahvél Edition) (2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 01:01:47 minutes | 702 MB | Genre: World, Nordic Folk
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Universal Music Division Decca Records France

KÁLD is a unique project in music inspired by Nordic mythology. Developed over time by a group of enthusiasts, the project originated when producer-composer Christophe Voisin-Boisvinet encountered a trio of talented singers whose voices had atypical timbres. Together they decided to breathe new life into the poetry of the ancient skalds, whose ancient language – Old Norse – told stories of the Vikings and their gods.

In the early Middle Ages, the skalds of Scandinavian society were storytellers, poets and musicians. In the same way as the bards of the Celts, they sang the praises of their bloodlines, narrating the epic feats of heroes or the exploits of their Gods in times when the oral tradition was sovereign.

Blending chanted narratives with rhythmical song — in a combination carried by music that often led to a state of trance — the skalds captivated their listeners with the power of the images they evoked. Skaldic poetry is extremely strong, with a rich vocabulary and often complex verses that confer a mysterious aura on the meaning, conferring the status of an initiate on the author of such works. It can also be noted that this narrative role was not reserved for men alone, as the names of several female skalds are known to us.

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