Sólstafir Begin Recording New Album
Sólstafir are recording their seventh full-length for release later this year on Season of Mist, and I have to admit I’m curious to hear how it comes out. It seems like some of the fervor that surrounded 2014’s Ótta (review here) dimmed for 2017’s Berdreyminn (review here), even as the Icelandic outfit’s profile increased as a result of the release. Maybe that was my own impression of the record over the longer term, at least, but for as much as the band’s ongoing progression was evident, the tracks didn’t have the same memorable-regardless-of-language feel that Ótta captured with such majestic wintry melancholy. They’re saying the new one’s heavier and they’ve tweaked the writing process a bit, which, you know, is pretty much what bands say when they’re in the midst of making an album. How it’ll all sound when they’re done is what I’m more interested in.
As for live appearances, they’ll be at Fire in the Mountains in Wyoming as part of Ivar from Enslaved‘s curated event. The thought of seeing them in such a gorgeous natural setting is a fair enticement, but knowing they’ll have new material in tow only makes that truer. Guess I’m stuck waiting for the album, as I don’t think Ivar‘s gonna curate my ass to the Rocky Mountains to see the fest. So it goes.
From the PR wire:
Sólstafir Start Recording Seventh Full Length Album
Icelandic rock giants SÓLSTAFIR have now entered the studio to start the recording of their seventh full length, which will be released later this year via Season of Mist! The recordings take place at the mighty Sundlaugin Studio (Iceland), where ‘Svartir Sandar,’ ‘Ótta,’ and ‘Berdreyminn’ were also recorded by producer Birgir Jón Birgisson (Sigur Rós, Alcest, Damien Rice).
Vocalist Aðalbjörn Tryggvason comments on the recording: “This time around we wrote most of the songs on guitars instead of pianos and organs as we have done a lot in the past. Therefore some songs are pretty heavy, even some are fast, faster than we have been for years.”
Moreover, SÓLSTAFIR will be co-headlining Fire in the Mountains MMXX Festival 2020! The fest, which is presented by 2020’s featured curator Ivar Bjornson (ENSLAVED), will take place from July 10-12 at Heart Six Ranch in Teton Wilderness, WY. The full lineup, tickets, lodging, camping packages, and more can be found HERE.
Fire In The Mountains MMXX guest curator Ivar Bjornson’s (ENSLAVED) comments on having SÓLSTAFIR as this year’s “On Wings Over Utgard” showcase featured artist:
“Getting Solstafir to be part of this already magnificent and somewhat unreal line-up is a dream come true. I have followed them throughout the years and they are mind-bogglingly fantastic on record, but live… they surpass that intangible limit of what should be possible for four guys and their instruments. It becomes a ceremony, a gathering of energy and a collective trip into a wonderful unknown of light, darkness and the shadowed realms in between. All while grooving like a flock of wild bison thundering across the plains…”
https://www.facebook.com/solstafirice
https://www.instagram.com/solstafir_official/
https://solstafir.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/seasonofmistofficial/
http://www.season-of-mist.com/
