Heilung

Last updated

Heilung
Roskilde Festival Heilung-4.jpg
Heilung performing at Roskilde Festival, 2018
Background information
Origin Germany, Denmark, and Norway [1]
Genres
Years active2014–2025
Labels Season of Mist
Members
  • Kai Uwe Faust
  • Christopher Juul
  • Maria Franz

Heilung is an experimental folk music band made up of members from Denmark, Norway, and Germany. [3] Their music is based on texts and runic inscriptions from Germanic peoples of the Iron Age and Viking Age. Heilung describe their music as "amplified history from early medieval northern Europe". Their music is usually about Germanic deities, the Jǫtnar, and valkyries. "Heilung" is a German noun meaning "healing" in English. [4] [5]

Contents

History

Heilung was founded in 2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark by vocalist Kai Uwe Faust (a German tattoo artist who specializes in Old Norse tattoos) and Danish producer Christopher Juul. [1] Juul, who had operated his own recording studio, Lava, in Copenhagen since 2003, admired Faust's visual work as a tattoo artist, so they struck a bargain: Faust offered Juul some free tattoos in exchange for help recording some poems. Thus Heilung was started.

Later in 2015, Maria Franz (Juul's longtime girlfriend and a singer in progressive rock/pop-rock band Euzen in which Juul also played piano and electronics) started to work with Heilung – originally as a session vocalist. In 2015, the band self-released their debut album, Ofnir, and soon after that Franz became the band's third official member.

The band's first performances in 2017 were at Castlefest and at the Midgardsblot Metalfestival. The Castlefest performance was recorded and released with the title Lifa on YouTube and as a live album. [6] Their 2017 performance at Midgardsblot was listed by Metal Hammer [7] as one of the ten best performances of 2017. Later that year, the band signed a contract with the label Season of Mist.

On 20 April 2018, the two previously self-released albums Ofnir and Lifa were reissued on vinyl and CD. [8] [3]

The band composed the soundtrack for Senua's Saga: Hellblade II . [9] Fragments of Heilung's music were used during season six of the popular television series Vikings . [10]

Heilung released their third studio album, Drif, on 19 August 2022 through Season of Mist. [11] The album peaked at No. 9 and No. 25 in the German and Austrian album charts respectively. [12] Heilung performed at Glastonbury Festival 2024. [13]

In November 2024, Heilung announced a European tour for 2025, with a final show on 17 August after which they plan to go on a hiatus. [14]

Style

According to Faust, the name of the band, "Heilung", which means "healing" in German, says something about the style of the band: "The listener is supposed to be left at ease and in a relaxed state after a magical musical journey that is at times turbulent". [4] The recordings of the band are not limited to music, but also contain poems and the spoken word.

The references to the early ages of European cultures are also made by using texts from historical artefacts or historical poems. The languages used are varied, with German, English, Gothic, Old High German, Icelandic, Latin, Old English, Proto-Norse, Proto-Germanic, and Viking age Old Norse being used.

As instruments, items are used that may have been already available to humans in the Iron Age, such as drums, bones or spears. According to an August 2018 interview, the instruments they use consist of: [15]

Faust's throat singing recalls the Tibetan or Mongolian style. Juul uses a chirping whisper as vocals.

Elaborately designed costumes are worn by the band members on stage. These are partly based on the "spiritual traditions of the Eurasian circumpolar peoples", or are historically correct reproductions of Nordic Bronze Age clothing.

Members

Current members

Session/touring musicians

Show group ("Heilung warriors Europe")

Show group ("Heilung warriors USA")

Timeline

Heilung

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Accolades

Heilung was nominated in the Best Underground Band category for a Metal Hammer Golden Gods Award in 2018. [16]

Heilung tied for the World Traditional Award in the 18th Independent Music Awards with the song Norupo. [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Misery Index (band)</span> American death metal band

Misery Index is an American death metal band formed in 2001 in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, by Jason Netherton, Mike Harrison, and Kevin Talley (drums). In 2003, the band opened for Dying Fetus and Skinless on their North American tour. From 2006–2010, its line-up consisted of Jason Netherton on bass and vocals, John Voyles on lead guitar, Mark Kloeppel on rhythm guitar and vocals, and Adam Jarvis on drums. In 2010, Voyles left the band and was replaced by Darrin Morris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amon Amarth</span> Swedish melodic death metal band

Amon Amarth are a Swedish melodic death metal band from Tumba, formed in 1992. The band take its name from the Sindarin name of Mount Doom, a volcano in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. Their lyrics mostly deal with Viking mythology and history, and so they have been sometimes erroneously labeled "Viking metal", although the band prefers the term melodic death metal.

Season of Mist is an independent record label and record distributor with subsidiaries in France and the United States. The record label was founded in 1996 by Michael S. Berberian in Marseille, France. From the start releasing black metal, pagan metal, and death metal records, the label moved on to releasing albums of avant-garde metal, gothic metal and punk bands as well. The label has two offices, one in Marseille, France and one in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Deathspell Omega is a French black metal band formed in 1998 in Poitiers. The group is an anonymous collective that has never confirmed the identity of any of its members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Týr (band)</span> Faroese folk metal band

Týr is a Faroese folk metal band. They have been characterised as one of "the islands' two most successful metal bands". Their subject matter revolves almost entirely around Viking lore, mythology, and history, taking their name from Týr, the god of war in Norse religion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drudkh</span> Ukrainian black metal band

Drudkh is a Ukrainian black metal band. It currently consists of Roman Saenko, Thurios, Krechet, and Vlad. All four also were members of Blood of Kingu until it was disbanded. Their lyrics and artistic themes embrace Slavic mythology and Ukrainian nationalism. Many of the band's lyrics are derived from the works of nineteenth and twentieth-century Ukrainian poets and especially Taras Shevchenko.

Ninja Theory Limited is a first-party British video game developer for Xbox Game Studios based in Cambridge, England. Notable games it has developed include Kung Fu Chaos, Heavenly Sword, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, DmC: Devil May Cry,Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, and Senua's Saga: Hellblade II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crippled Black Phoenix</span> English rock band

Crippled Black Phoenix are an English dark rock band, founded by Justin Greaves in 2004. They have released 12 main studio efforts, various Ep's and special albums and toured internationally. Besides Greaves, several musicians have contributed to Crippled Black Phoenix's discography and played with them during their live shows.

In Danish folklore, a valravn is a supernatural raven. Those ravens appear in traditional Danish folksongs, where they are described as originating from ravens who consume the bodies of the dead on the battlefield, as capable of turning into the form of a knight after consuming the heart of a child, and, alternately, as half-wolf and half-raven creatures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wardruna</span> Norwegian folk music group

Wardruna is a Norwegian music group formed in 2003 by Einar Selvik along with Gaahl and Lindy-Fay Hella. They are dedicated to creating musical renditions of Norse cultural and esoteric traditions, and make significant use of Nordic historical and traditional instruments including deer-hide frame drums, flutes, kraviklyra, tagelharpe, mouth harp, goat horn, and lur. Non-traditional instruments and other sources of sound like trees, rocks, water, and torches are also used.

Tombs is an American heavy metal band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2007. Thus far, the group has released five full-length records: Winter Hours, Path of Totality, Savage Gold, The Grand Annihilation, and Under Sullen Skies.

<i>Hellblade: Senuas Sacrifice</i> 2017 video game

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is a 2017 action-adventure game developed and published by Ninja Theory. It was released for PlayStation 4 and Windows in August 2017, Xbox One in April 2018, Nintendo Switch in April 2019, and Xbox Series X/S in August 2021. Hellblade features support for virtual reality, which was added in a 2018 update.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ne Obliviscaris (band)</span> Australian progressive metal band

Ne Obliviscaris is a six-piece Australian progressive metal band from Melbourne. Formed initially as a four-piece in April 2003, the group was founded by Marc "Xenoyr" Campbell and Adam Cooper. The current line-up comprises vocalist Xenoyr, violinist and clean vocalist Tim Charles, guitarists Matt Klavins and Benjamin Baret, bassist Martino Garattoni and drummer Dan Presland. To date, the band has released a demo, two extended plays and four studio albums. Their most recent album, Exul, was released on 24 March 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gaahls Wyrd</span> Norwegian black metal band

Gaahls Wyrd is a Norwegian black metal band based in Bergen, formed in 2015 by former Gorgoroth and God Seed vocalist Gaahl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archspire</span> Canadian technical death metal band

Archspire is a Canadian technical death metal band from Vancouver. They have released four studio albums and are currently signed to Season of Mist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beyond Creation</span> Canadian technical death metal band

Beyond Creation is a Canadian technical death metal band from Montreal, Quebec. They are currently signed to Season of Mist records. The group has released three studio albums to date: The Aura (2011), Earthborn Evolution (2014), and Algorythm (2018). They have toured extensively in Europe, the United States and Japan, supporting bands such as Obscura and Dying Fetus, while headlining tours alongside acts such as Revocation, Psycroptic and Virvum. The band's 2018 release Algorythm received a 2019 Juno Awards nomination for "Metal/Hard Music Album of the Year."

Chrysilia is a symphonic metal band formed in Athens, Greece in 2016.

Reidar Schæfer Olsen, known professionally as Danheim, is a Danish ambient and Nordic folk musician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midgardsblot</span>

Midgardsblot is an annual extreme metal and folk music festival in Borre, Norway. The festival has been organised since 2015 and takes place at Midgard Viking Centre, museum in a former Viking settlement and largest burial mound site in Northern Europe. The programme of Midgardsblot includes tours of the area, battle reenactments, documentary screenings, lectures and panel discussions, as well as a Viking village, a Viking market and a games arena for archery, axe-throwing, and other activities.

<i>Förbundet</i> 2020 studio album by Garmarna

Förbundet is the seventh studio album by the Swedish folk rock band Garmarna. Released in 2020, it is their first album on the Season of Mist label. Unlike the previous album 6 and similar to albums before that, Förbundet is again dominated by traditional instruments, melodies and lyrics, although there are still numerous electronic influences. These were added in cooperation with Christopher Juul of Heilung who also produced the album. Most tracks tell sinister folklore stories but the album includes two original titles written entirely by Garmarna. Anders Norudde of Hedningarna, Maria Franz of Heilung and Swedish folk singer Ulf Gruvberg appear as guest musicians.

References

  1. 1 2 Reed, Ryan (15 February 2018). "How Denmark's Heilung Are Creating "Amplified History" With Human Bones, Throat Singing". Revolver . Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  2. ↑ Chapstick, Kelsey (16 December 2019). "Heilung to Soundtrack New 'Hellblade' Video Game: See Brutal, NSFW Trailer". Revolver . Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  3. 1 2 "Heilung (Amplified History / Neofolk)". Season of Mist. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  4. 1 2 Thorley, Andy (4 December 2017). "Featured Band: Heilung". Maximum Volume Music. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  5. ↑ West-Knights, Imogen (2 September 2022). "The Sound of the Vikings, With a Heavy Metal Twist". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 4 September 2022.
  6. ↑ Heilung (1 November 2017). "LIFA – Full Show" . Retrieved 20 December 2019– via YouTube.
  7. ↑ "The 10 best gigs of 2017". Metal Hammer . 13 December 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  8. ↑ Malt, Andy (5 February 2018). "One Liners: Justin Timberlake, Albert Hammond Jr, Queen and Adam Lambert, more". Complete Music Update. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  9. ↑ Watson, Chris (16 December 2019). "The Heilung group will make the soundtrack of Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2". Free Game Tips.
  10. ↑ Reeder (30 June 2020). "HEILUNG Music Used in Popular 'Vikings' Series". metaladdicts.com. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  11. ↑ "Heilung - Drif". Album of The Year. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  12. ↑ "Drif by Heilung - Music Charts". acharts.co. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  13. ↑ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben; Snapes, Laura; Hunt, Elle; Mumford, Gwilym (29 June 2024). "Glastonbury live: Friday with Dua Lipa, LCD Soundsystem, Idles and more – as it happened". the Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  14. ↑ Haela Huntress. "Heilung Are Going on a Hiatus Next Year, Announce New Batch of Tour Dates". metalsucks.net. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  15. ↑ Zorzi, Marika (4 August 2018). "The Grand Fashion of Heilung & Their Iconic Sound". New Noise. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  16. ↑ "The Golden Gods Awards 2018 nominations are live – vote now". Metal Hammer. 29 March 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  17. ↑ "The 18th Independent Music Awards Winners". Independent Music Awards. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.