"Brennisteinn" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
Single by Sigur Rós | ||||
from the album Kveikur | ||||
Released | March 25, 2013 | |||
Recorded | 2012 | |||
Studio | Sundlaugin Studio (Mosfellsbær, Iceland) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 7:56 | |||
Label | XL | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | ||||
Sigur Rós singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"Brennisteinn" on YouTube |
"Brennisteinn" (Icelandic for "Brimstone", pronounced /ˈprɛnːɪˌsteitn/) is a song written and recorded by Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós for their seventh studio album Kveikur . It appears as the opening track on the album. "Brennisteinn" was released as the lead single from the album on March 25, 2013, after the album's official unveiling three days earlier. [2]
"Brennisteinn" was released to overwhelmingly positive reception. Ian Cohen of Pitchfork compared the track to the sounds of the band's second and third studio albums Ágætis Byrjun and ( ) , stating that "Though their earliest work constitutes some of the most beautiful and ethereal music of the past two decades, Ágætis Byrjun and ( ), are heavy records with doom-friendly song lengths and tempos. "Brennisteinn", then, is a big payoff in that regard." He further calls the track a "heaven/hell juxtaposition" that "feels like the most logical step imaginable for Sigur Rós in light of last year's Valtari , a Calgon bath of a record that suggested that the band had run out of ideas." [3] Grayson Hale of Sputnikmusic stated "As just a small taste of what's to come, "Brennisteinn" certainly achieves its goal of whetting the appetite." While Hale also makes a comparison to 2002's ( ) , he writes "Although no two albums of theirs sound exactly alike, this is the first time we are really hearing something of a reinvention from the group." [4]
Jake Jenkins of the Sanctuary Review noted of the band's approach of a more "aggressive" sound, but in allusion to this he wrote that "aggressive is an understatement." He describes the track as "a menacing, lurching beast of a song that will rattle you to your core." He criticizes Jonsi's vocal performance by stating that "Jonsi's vocals typically stay in his lower register but they still sit high above the rest of the music throughout the track, though their atmospheric texture lends itself perfectly to the song, and when he does get into that upper register they don't sound out of place in the least bit." However, he goes on to give the overall song a positive review by writing "Over the course of the 7 minutes, Sigur Rós prove that they have not only stayed true to their word of exploring a more aggressive sound but proved that they could pull it off in ways that exceed all expectations. Considering they were recently reduced to a trio, the fact that they sound this huge is impressive. If the rest of Kveikur is along the same lines as "Brennisteinn", we may be getting the best Sigur Rós album since ( ). [5]
Joe Stadele of The Way That He Sings called the song "a mammoth". He described the track as "brutal, dark, and unsettling." He writes "Like an approaching torrential storm, the song reveals itself in waves. First the pitter-patter of rain, then a thunderous buzz saw drone followed by marching stomp percussion. Yet somewhere in the darkness, Sigur Rós sprinkle rays of light amongst the orchestral storm and the song is propelled to all new heights through the falsetto vocals of Jónsi Birgisson and accompanying strings. This is easily Sigur Ros’ heaviest track to date, nodding to the bleakness of ( ) , yet treading new territory for the real second coming of the newly downsized three-piece". He further complimented the band by saying "If this is any indication of the newly downsized three-piece’s new direction, Sigur Rós fans are in for a treat and true return to form." [6]
"Brennisteinn" was first performed live in November 2012, during the Iceland Airwaves 2012 music festival, where they were the headlining act. [7] It has also been an integral part of the band's Sigur Rós World Tour since the performance, usually appearing as the final song on the main set, before the encore performance. [8]
"Brennisteinn" was first used in commercial media in the E3 trailer for Ubisoft Montreal's critically acclaimed 2013 video game, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag .
On September 1, 2013, the track "Brennisteinn" was incorporated into the BBC's Original British Drama: 2013 special multi-series preview. The video, which aired on YouTube, included teasers from Sherlock , Ripper Street , The Escape Artist , and others.
The track was used in a commercial for Alien fragrance by French fashion brand Thierry Mugler which portrayed the awakening of Sun Goddess. The video starring Moldavian model Alexandra Tzurkan was released online internationally on 25 February 2014.
On July 25, 2014 the track was used for the Walking Dead season 5 comic-con trailer which debuted on October 12, 2014. [9]
The music video for "Brennisteinn" was released on March 22, 2013 to coincide with the official unveiling of Kveikur. Directed by Andrew Huang, who has also worked with Björk, the video lasts over eight minutes and features the band playing on an open stage, cutting back and forth between shots of the band and a narrative sequence which depicts the capture of a prisoner, his escape and chase. [10] [11] The entire music video is contrastless in Black-and-white photography, with a color splash effect that brings color only to patches of the video that are colored in shades of yellow and contrasting colors of yellow and green.
All tracks are written by Jón Þór Birgisson, Orri Páll Dýrason, Georg Hólm
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Brennisteinn" | 7:56 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Brennisteinn" | 7:56 |
2. | "Hryggjarsúla" ("Backbone") | 5:04 |
3. | "Ofbirta" ("Glow") | 4:12 |
Adapted from Kveikur liner notes. [14]
|
|
Chart (2013) | Peak position |
---|---|
Iceland (Tónlist) [15] | 14 |
Region | Date | Format | Label |
---|---|---|---|
Brennisteinn EP | |||
United States | March 23, 2013 | Digital download | XL Recordings |
"Brennisteinn" single | |||
Australia | March 25, 2013 | Digital download | XL Recordings |
Germany | |||
Iceland | |||
United Kingdom | |||
United States |
Sigur Rós is an Icelandic post-rock band that formed in 1994 in Reykjavík. It comprises lead vocalist and guitarist Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson, bassist Georg Hólm and keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson. Known for their ethereal sound, frontman Jónsi's falsetto vocals, and their use of bowed guitar, Sigur Rós incorporate classical and minimal aesthetic elements. Jónsi's vocals are sung in Icelandic and non-linguistic vocalisations the band terms Vonlenska. They have released eight studio albums, and attracted critical and commercial attention with their second album Ágætis byrjun.
( ) is the third studio album by Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós, released on 28 October 2002. It comprises eight untitled tracks, divided into two parts: the first four tracks are lighter and more optimistic, while the latter four are bleaker and more melancholic. The two-halves are divided by a 36-second silence, and the album opens and closes with a click of distortion. Lead singer Jón Þór Birgisson ("Jónsi") sang the album's lyrics entirely in "Hopelandic", a made-up language consisting of gibberish words. ( ) reached No. 51 on the Billboard 200 and received acclaim from music critics, although some reviewers found the album weaker than the band's previous album Ágætis byrjun.
Ágætis byrjun is the second studio album by Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós, released on 12 June 1999. The album was recorded between the summer of 1998 and the spring of 1999 with producer Ken Thomas. Ágætis byrjun represented a substantial departure from the band's previous album Von, with that album's extended ambient soundscapes replaced by Jónsi Birgisson's cello-bowed guitar work and orchestration, using a double string octet amongst other chamber elements.
"Svefn-g-englar" is a song by the Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós, from their second album, Ágætis byrjun.
Von is the debut studio album by Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós, released on 14 June 1997 by Smekkleysa Records. Production lasted over two years, and the result sounded significantly different from the original recordings. The band considered scrapping the final result, but decided not as it would have made the process too long. In exchange for recording time, Sigur Rós painted the studio they recorded in.
Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson is an Icelandic musician; he is the vocalist and multi-instrumentalist for the Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós. He is known for his use of a cello bow on guitar and his "angelic" falsetto or countertenor voice.
Orri Páll Dýrason is an Icelandic musician.
"Viðrar vel til loftárása" is a song written and recorded by Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós for their second studio album Ágætis byrjun. The song appears as the seventh track on the album. It was also released as the B-side of Sigur Rós' debut single "Svefn-g-englar".
"Ný batterí" is a song by Sigur Rós, released as the second single from their album Ágætis byrjun in May 2000. The first track is an extended brass intro for "Ný batterí", followed by the title track. "Bíum bíum bambaló" is a traditional Icelandic lullaby, while "Dánarfregnir og jarðarfarir" was a theme used in Iceland for death announcements on radio. The third and fourth tracks also appear on the Angels of the Universe soundtrack.
The discography of Sigur Rós, an Icelandic post-rock group, consists of eight studio albums, three remix album, five extended plays, one soundtrack album, sixteen singles, twenty-three music videos and two video albums. Sigur Rós was formed in 1994 in Reykjavík, Iceland, by singer and guitarist Jón Þór Birgisson, bassist Georg Hólm and drummer Ágúst Ævar Gunnarsson.
Alex Somers is an American visual artist and musician from Baltimore, Maryland, who attended Berklee College of Music and Listaháskóli Íslands. Somers lives and works in Los Angeles. Previously he ran a recording studio in downtown Reykjavík where he produced, engineered, and mixed since 2010.
Go is the debut studio album by Icelandic musician Jónsi, frontman of the post-rock band Sigur Rós. The album was released on 5 April 2010, through XL Recordings, as reported by a downloadable track from the official site. The fourth track of the album, "Boy Lilikoi", was released for free from Jónsi's website, available to those subscribing to the website's mailing list.
Valtari is the sixth studio album by Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós. It was released on 23 May 2012 by Parlophone. The album reached number eight on the UK Albums Chart and seven on the Billboard 200. The album was met with positive reviews as well with Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 74, based on 36 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Kveikur is the seventh studio album from Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós. It was released 12 June 2013 in Japan, on 17 June internationally, and on 18 June in the United States through XL Recordings. It is the only album to be fully released through XL after the band departed EMI and Parlophone during the label's acquisition by Universal Music Group in 2012. It is the only album since their debut, Von, not to feature Kjartan Sveinsson, following his departure in 2012, and the last to feature drummer Orri Páll Dýrason before his departure in 2018. The cover is a photo by the Brazilian artist Lygia Clark.
"Ísjaki" is a song written and recorded by Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós for their seventh studio album Kveikur. It appears as the third track on the album. "Ísjaki" was released to Icelandic contemporary hit radio as a promotional single from Kveikur on April 24, 2013. It was later released early on the Kveikur album listing on iTunes on April 25, 2013.
"Varúð" is a song written and recorded by Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós for their sixth studio album, Valtari. It appears as the third track on the album. The song was released as the second official single from the album on August 21, 2012 on a 10" gramophone record in support of their then-current Sigur Rós World Tour. It is also notably the first release by Sigur Rós under XL Recordings after the liquidation of EMI and the selling of its subsidiaries, including Sigur Rós' then-current label Parlophone. The song was used as a backing for an interpretive dance in the thirteenth season finale of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
"Kveikur" is a song written and recorded by Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós for their seventh studio album of the same name. It appears as the sixth track on the album. The song appeared on the Icelandic Tónlist chart in the week of the release of Kveikur, thanks to strong digital sales of the album, which debuted at No. 1 on the Tonlist album charts. The song peaked at No. 45.
"Rafstraumur" is a song written by Jón Þór Birgisson, Orri Páll Dýrason, Georg Hólm of Icelandic post rock band Sigur Rós. The song was originally recorded throughout 2012 and 2013 at the Sundlaugin Studio in Mosfellsbær, Iceland for inclusion on the band's seventh studio album, Kveikur. The record appears as the seventh track on the album. The record was released to radio on November 18, 2013 as a promotional single for Kveikur.
Kenneth Vaughan Thomas was an English record producer, recording engineer, and mixing engineer. As a record producer, he worked with artists such as the Bongos, Wire, Dave Gahan, Sigur Rós, and M83.
Átta is the eighth studio album by Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós, released through Von Dur and BMG Rights Management on 16 June 2023. It is their first studio album in 10 years, following Kveikur (2013), and is their first since 2012's Valtari to feature keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson, who rejoined the band in 2022. The seven-minute lead single "Blóðberg" was released on 12 June 2023 alongside its music video, directed by Johan Renck. Physical editions of the album were released on 1 September 2023. The band embarked on a tour from June to August 2023 backed by a 41-piece orchestra, during which they debuted songs from the album.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)