Icelandic rock/metal duo KATLA, consisting of drummer Guðmundur Óli Pálmason (ex-Sólstafir) and singer/multi-instrumentalist Einar Thorberg Guðmundsson (Fortíð, Potentiam), are now streaming Nátthagi, a second song off their debut “Móðurástin” that showcases once more the emotional density of their elemental art: Móðurástin is to be released through Prophecy Productions on October, 27th. I knew before we started actual work on the album that I wanted to use some samples and the intro to the song was sounding a bit empty because of the long silence between the notes so it was a perfect part to fill in and it added a lot of atmosphere.” The final touches were put to the song by adding samples of old farmers talking about the almighty (or actually the lack of its presence) and the afterlife. Lyrically the song deals with insomnia and strange dreams, but also the promise brought by a new day peaking in through the window. A perfect way to end the album in my opinion. Halldór also made some brilliant orchestrations for the section leading up to the end, where the song dissolves into some kind of controlled chaos. But once the song started taking shape in the studio we felt we wanted to add a little outro, and Einar and our producer Halldór made this beautiful slowed down alternative version of the chorus. The song’s structure wasn’t completed though until we met in a garage in Reykjavík and just jammed the mid section. I had this idea for an opening riff and a vocal melody that I sent Einar and he promptly turned it into half a song by adding a verse and a mid section. Most of the songs were written by sending ideas over the internet as Einar was largely based in Norway at that time and I was in Iceland. “Dulsmál was the last song we wrote for the album. Here’s how Guðmundur ‘Gummi’ Pálmason feels about the inspiring, creative liaison with Einar, and the fruitful writing process for Dulsmál: They managed to narrow it down to two totally different songs but then decided to go with the closing song of the album, Dulsmál, that can now be streamed here: KATLA say they had a ‘huge luxury problem’ when choosing the 3rd and last song to preview from their upcoming album Móðurástin. Check out the sneak preview for their epic song “Dulsmál” from the upcoming album “Móðurástin”. KATLA are back once more with the third mighty eruption of their Icelandic metal volcano. The result proves the Icelanders right: “Allt þetta helvítis myrkur” is an emotional tour de force – cinematic, dark, heavily emotional, and utterly mesmerizing. “Everything is homemade yet up to our high standards.” This DIY-approach also applies to production as Einar was responsible for all recordings, mix, master, and cello-samples. “We like to keep things in the family”, Guðmundur Óli points out. Cover art, photography, and the handwritten booklet – everything about “Allt þetta helvítis myrkur” has either been created by the duo or by their relatives and close friends. KATLA take their art very personally even beyond musical aspects. “ KATLA are as much a product of our environment as derived from our state of mind.” “The outer landscapes are as important to us as the inner darkness”, tells Einar. The duo deliberately took their name from one of the most active and feared Icelandic volcanoes to manifest that the external part of their inspiration relates to the islands ever-changing landscapes and subpolar climate. KATLA are the conceptual and musical brainchild of vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Einar Thorberg Guðmundsson (FORTÍÐ, POTENTIAM) and former SÓLSTAFIR-drummer and visual artist Guðmundsson Óli Pálmason. The result is a cinematic musical stream of consciousness, in which many of the songs intertwine and flow into each other. Some of this album’s core composition reach back in time for more than a decade and were born out of spontaneous rehearsal room-sessions that were only now given final shape. The soul crushing heaviness fueling this record makes KATLA‘s melancholic debut album “Móðurástin” appear nearly light-hearted by comparison. An urgent sense of darkness and inner turmoil drives “Allt þetta helvítis myrkur” (“All this damn darkness”), the second full-length of the Icelandic duo. KATLA artistically translate this meteorological depression into dark doom-infused metal and deep musical emotion. The infamous Icelandic low is defined as a large and persistent atmospheric low-pressure centre that forms between Iceland and Greenland and is often the cause of strong winter winds over the North Atlantic.
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