HEILUNG releases Læknisgaldr, a first single from the Sagas record

While getting ready to record their highly anticipated fourth album, ritual folk collective HEILUNG is about to release Sagas, a record made by the three core members (Kai Uwe Faust, Christopher Juul & Maria Franz) while working on a soundtrack for Hellblade II: Senua’s Saga video game. Læknisgaldr is the leading single released on October 13.

Released just hours ago, the music video for the single quickly went into six-digit views.

Press release states: After a restful hiatus, Heilung is waking up. This month, the world famous ritual collective is entering LAVA Studios to begin recording their highly-anticipated fourth full-length studio album.

While fans around the globe eagerly await their next album, today, Heilung is excited to share the first single from Sagas, a collection of recordings that core members Kai Uwe Faust, Maria Franz and Christopher Juul created in collaboration with Ninja Theory for the award-winning video game Hellblade II: Senua’s Saga. Unreleased until now, “Læknisgaldr” heals afflictions of the mind, body and soul through the simple act of ritual repetition.

“‘Læknisgaldr’ is the first song we are sharing from our in-between album release Sagas, which collects sounds from the time we traveled to the land of Hellblade II: Senua’s Saga”, Heilung says. ”We see Sagas as its own branch within Heilung’s musical universe. These recordings show a  cinematic, immersive and environmental side of what we do and were shaped very specifically by our work with Ninja Theory and the world of Hellblade.

“The first sound you hear on ‘Læknisgaldr’ was not made by anything from our reality. During the recording process, somehow, while playing with real human bones and breath, we managed to capture a ghost in the studio!” Heilung continues. “The video tells the second part of a greater story about trauma. Like Hellblade II: Senua’s Saga, it deals with what causes trauma to our minds and, most importantly, how to heal it”.

Sagas holds a special place in Heilung’s discography. While the recordings capture Senua’s epic journey through 9th century Iceland, they took on a life of their own after Franz, Faust and Juul returned home inspired from a 10-day trip across the country’s ice caves, rivers, waterfalls, beaches and volcanoes. These forces of nature inspired them to write far more material than could be used in the game, including the new single “Læknisgaldr”.

Heilung envisions “Læknisgaldr” as a song of healing. It is rooted in a belief from the early medieval period that language is connected to the condition of the human body. By naming an affliction, it becomes defined, contained and open to ritual healing. With each repetition of the song’s percussive beat, its affliction weakens, until it is guided toward dissolution by soothing tribal chants.

For those curious, here are the official lyrics:

Sárðvara, far þú nú!
Fundinn es-tú
Þórr vígi þik,
Viðr æðravari.
Sárrithu Flíu þú nú
Sóttarfar
Sóttarfa
Sóttarf
Sóttar
Sótta
Sótt
Sót
Só
S

Pre-order & pre-save Sagas: https://orcd.co/heilungsagas