Sigur Rós have announced a new album called Odin’s Raven Magic. The project, an orchestral work the band premiered at the Reykjavik Arts Festival in 2002, arrives December 4 via Krunk/Warner Classics. Below, listen to the first single ‘Dvergmál’, and scroll down for the LP’s tracklist.
The album, which follows 2013’s Kveikur, finds the band collaborating with Icelandic music composer Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, an ordained pagan leader, and previous collaborator Steindór Andersen. Speaking about the inspiration behind the project, Hilmarsson wrote:
Hrafnagaldur Óðins [Odin’s Raven Magic] has lots of interpretation and implications that fire up the imagination… It’s a very visual poem, with images all about falling down, and a world freezing from north to south. It was an apocalyptic warning. Perhaps the people of the time felt it in their skins. Today, of course, Iceland is involved in environmental issues surrounding hydro-electric power and the destruction of the highlands. We are being warned again.
Since their last album, the band has been involved in various projects, including an art installation and music for soundbaths. Earlier this month, singer Jónsi released his first solo album in a decade, titled Shiver.
Odin’s Raven Magic Tracklist:
1. Prologus
2. Alföður orkar
3. Dvergmál
4. Stendur æva
5. Áss hinn hvíti
6. Hvert stefnir
7. Spár eða spakmál
8. Dagrenning