The 10 Best Icelandic Metal Bands, According to the Country’s Own Folk-Metal Act Hrafnablót (Exclusive)
As The Bad Penny tours the world, asking musicians in every country we “visit” to name their top 10 bands – usually of the heavy-music variety – we are consistently surprised by the selflessness and passion with which said musicians vouch for their fellow citizens. Thus far, the most striking example of this reassuring phenomenon – a poignant reminder of the positivity of patriotism versus the nastiness of nationalism – comes in the form of Hrafnablót, a brand-new, self-described “sorcerous” folk‑metal band hailing from Iceland.
Pity the fool who thinks of Iceland as a barren country with a frozen music landscape. Much to the contrary, Iceland has a red-hot metal scene, which most of us in other parts of the world are ignorant about only due to geographical location and a lack of sufficient curiosity about countries other than the one in which they reside. Enlighten yourself with this stunning list of bands masterfully compiled by Þórgnýr Einar Albertsson, bassist and backing vocalist for Hrafnablót.
But before you do, check out Hrafnablót’s recently released video for “Heljarhlíð,” the latest single from their debut album, Guðlaugar Saga, due September 11. Pre-order the tantalizing album on their Bandcamp page … you may very well agree with us that Hrafnablót deserve placement on the very list that Þórgnýr so graciously made for us.
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Iceland’s heavy music scene is relatively small and tight-knit, but pretty varied. The bands below range from early death metal to atmospheric black metal, folk metal and shamelessly colourful power metal. What connects them is that each developed a real identity rather than sounding like a smaller Icelandic version of somebody else.
Sólstafir
Sólstafir’s journey from raw black metal into post-metal and beyond is one of the clearest success stories in Icelandic metal. Records such as Köld, Svartir Sandar and Ótta gave them a sound that became internationally recognizable while being unmistakably Icelandic. Bands from here are constantly described through weather and landscape clichés. With Sólstafir, that language actually makes sense.
Skálmöld
If you’re even a little bit interested in Vikings and Norse culture, Skálmöld are exactly what you’re looking for. They’re a remarkably tight and talented band with three guitars, layered voices and terrific choruses. Their performances with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra were something to remember. For a band like Hrafnablót, Skálmöld’s influence on the local metal scene is impossible to ignore.
HAM
If there is such a thing as an Icelandic heavy-music institution, it is HAM. They’re hard to pin down to a single genre label: part heavy metal, part gothic, part doom, part rock and roll, and part absurd. The riffs are primitive in the best possible way, and the dual vocals are amazing. Their Icelandic lyrics can be funny and weighty at the same time. Most importantly, HAM showed that a heavy band from here did not have to imitate an international scene to matter. HAM sounds like HAM.
Auðn
Auðn are Iceland’s atmospheric black metal powerhouse. Their music is bleak, yet beautiful with a strong melodic shape. Many of Iceland’s most notable black metal exports are known for chaos and dissonance. Auðn, however, often sound mournful, patient and beautiful without sacrificing riffs. Vökudraumsins fangi is not to be missed.
Dynfari
Dynfari is a somewhat lesser-known personal favorite of mine. They’ve taken atmospheric black metal somewhere more inward and vulnerable, dealing lyrically and musically with grief, mortality, hope and pain. The Four Doors of the Mind is a great example and worth checking out.
Power Paladin
In a local scene mostly dominated by black and death metal, Power Paladin definitely stand out. They’ve garnered international acclaim for their fast, melodic power metal, huge choruses, guitar brilliance and all sorts of fun things. Playing in a more melodic, theatrical band like Hrafnablót, in a scene that oftentimes is very dark and extreme, we have tremendous respect for what they’ve brought to the scene as a whole.
Potentiam
Potentiam are one of the cornerstones of Icelandic black metal. Their 1999 debut, Bálsýn, is an essential early Icelandic black metal record, full of melancholy, roughness and weight. I have great appreciation for Potentiam, who didn’t resign themselves to copying the Norwegian scene. Potentiam deserve far more attention outside Iceland than they have received.
Fortíð
Speaking of Potentiam… Their frontman Eldur (Einar Thorberg Guðmundsson) went on to found Fortíð, a folk-tinged Viking black metal band that turned the epic poem Völuspá into a trilogy of great albums. Fortíð have carried the torch of Viking black metal in Iceland for over two decades now, delivering some amazing material with a great heft to it. We in Hrafnablót are great fans, being ourselves very invested in bringing Icelandic folklore and Sagas to life in musical form.
Sororicide
Long before the domination of black metal in Iceland, Sororicide released The Entity in 1991. An uncompromising death metal album, by young musicians (kids really) in a tiny scene when access to equipment, records and international exposure was nothing like it is today. It remains a filthy, unsettling death metal record in its own right.
Misþyrming
The most recent Icelandic metal success story is that of Misþyrming. When Söngvar elds og óreiðu dropped in 2015, Misþyrming drew a huge spotlight to Iceland’s black metal underground. Hugely influential both at home and abroad, Misþyrming are without a doubt Iceland’s most influential extreme metal band in recent times.
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Massive thanks to Þórgnýr of Hrafnablót for putting together the above list.
For more authoritative lists of the best bands from non-U.S. countries, as picked by bands that hail from those places, check out:
• The 10 Best Chilean Bands, According to Guitarist for Santiago-Based Noisy Punk-Rock Squad Niño Nuclear (Exclusive)
• The 10 Best Venezuelan Heavy Bands, According to the Country’s Most Badass Garage-Rock Guitarist
• The 10 Best Italian Metal Bands, According to the Country’s New Post-Metal Phenoms Orbita (Exclusive)
• The 10 Best Belgian Metal Bands of All Time, According to Gnarly Native Sons 30,000 Monkies (Exclusive)
• The 20 Best Scandinavian Melodic Death Metal Bands Ever
• Edge of Sanity Frontman Dan Swanö Reveals 10 Swedish Bands That Made Their Way Into His Musical DNA
• The 10 Best Swedish Heavy Bands Ever, According to Native Sons Prime Creation
• The 10 Best Portuguese Heavy Bands Ever, According to Portugal’s Own Fernando Ribeiro of Moonspell
• Germany’s Top 10 Best Metal Bands Ever, Per the Country’s Native Death-Metal Sons Fleshcrawl
• The 20 Best ’90s American Grunge Bands of All Time
• The 20 Best Protest/Activist Musicians, From Marvin Gaye to Billie Eilish
• The 10 Best Finnish Melodeth Bands Ever: Amorphis, Children of Bodom, Kalmah, Insomnium, Circle, Mors Principium Est
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