Reykjavík Grapevine - 06.12.2019, Síða 17

On the ed!e of a break, Skálmöld !uitarist "ráinn reflects on an eventful decade
That’s really cool if you look at how
tales are supposed to be evolving,”
"ráinn explains. However, the
meaning often exceeds the realms
of story-telling. “When my moth-
er died, Snæbjörn honoured her
by using her name for one of the
characters in ‘Börn Loka’,” "ráinn
looks at his big hands and then
shakes his head in a laugh. “The
character was then, of course, bru-
tally killed. It’s a piece of art that’s
very well presented and respect-
fully done.”
Genre nonsense
Though strictly dedicated to Norse
mythology, Skálmöld, since its in-
ception, refused to be reduced to
a “Viking Metal” band. The label
has a kitschy connotation in the
metal community. “We never tried
to categories ourselves as such. I
hate it when people say: ‘I don’t
like Viking Metal, so I’m not going
to check out this band,’” "ráinn ex-
plains. “But I’m guilty of it as well.
A couple of years ago I said: ‘I don’t
listen to jazz.’”
For the same reason, you will
never see Skálmöld wearing Viking
costumes—one of the defining at-
tributes of a Viking Metal band.
“I remember when we made the
first album, the record company
said we would have to wear fur and
swords and shit. But we said no.
No dead animals around our neck.
Ironically, we have always been
touring with bands wearing such
costumes,” he says. Their good
friends Finntroll, who will be play-
ing at their shows in December,
are a good example of this. The
band always clads themselves in
mystical troll-
ish outfits with
fake ears and
makeup.
T h e m e t -
al scene has
changed since
Skálmöld first
took the stage.
“I think that
many bands are
i n c r e a s i n g l y
aiming for the
general public,
which is great.” Skálmöld is, how-
ever, unaffected by the trend. “We
have always just done what inter-
ests us most. We are six individu-
als that all have big egos. We all
think that we know what is best for
ourselves and the band. Somehow
that energy has just moved and
found its path.”
A strong bond
Skálmöld has come a long way but
they always stayed true to them-
selves. “We decided even before
the first tour, that there would be
nothing that would destroy what
we had; friendship would always
come first.”
Playing on the international
stage comes at a price, however,
and the band has had to carefully
assess how much they are willing
to pay for fame.
“I love touring. But doing four
tours a year was getting to be too
much. I have two daughters and
it was difficult to be away from
t h e m . M o s t
of t h e b a n d
members were
on the same
page and we
decided to go
on a break for
at least a year,
maybe two. It’s
important for
us to gain some
perspective and
be appreciative
of what we have
done so far,” "ráinn summarises.
“You know, we have played in
Paris eight times but I’ve never
seen the Eiffel Tower,” "ráinn la-
ments. “I will probably go there
during the break and actually see
something.” He also plans to do
some solo projects. “I don’t know if
I dare to say but I’ve been studying
a bit of jazz music.” He pauses and
sighs. “Now the boys will kill me.”
"ráinn emphasises that the
forthcoming break is temporary.
“We’re not breaking up. There will
be more Skálmöld albums. Also, a
lot of things are going to happen
while we are taking a break. Our
live albums will be released and a
book about the band is being writ-
ten by Joel McIver.”
Stay tuned and fear not, Rag-
narök isn’t here yet.
17The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 21— 2019
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Ra#narök Isn’t Here Yet
“When we made
the first album, the
record company
said we would have
to wear fur and
swords and shit.
But we said ‘no.’”