TÝR Make New Album ‘Hel’ Available For Streaming In Its Entirety
March 17th, 2019
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Faroese folk metal group Týr issued eighth full-length studio album Hel on March 8th, 2019 through Metal Blade Records.
Hel can be streamed in its entirety via YouTube below.
The six-year gap between Hel and previous release Valkyrja (2013) marks the longest gap between any two of Týr’s records. “We approached this one differently because I learned that if I continue doing albums in the way we had up to now, I would die from a heart attack before I’m 50,” revealed frontman Heri Joensen. “That’s one of the reasons we changed our method and took such a long time on this one.”
Hel additionally includes more songwriting contributions from bassist / backing vocalist Gunnar Thomsen and guitarist Terji Skibenæs than on previous releases. “Musically it leans a bit towards our album, Ragnarok (2005),” stated Thomsen. “It’s a bit more epic and also much better worked through than any of our previous albums.”
Hel also marks the recording debut of drummer Tadeusz Rieckmann, who has occupied the drum position since 2016. “We had some problems finding the right guy some years back, but Tadeusz is the man for the job,” said Joensen. “He’s a very technically able drummer, but at the same time, he has a very natural old-school heaviness to his style, and he plays with deep emotion, which is just what we need.”
Conceptually, the album is informed by a combination of mythology, personal experience and observations of current international events. “Hel is the realm of death in Norse mythology, the underworld where those who die a natural death, not in battle, go,” Joensen tells. “A bit confusingly, it is also the name of the goddess who rules over the same realm. She’s the daughter of Loki and a terrifying creature to look upon.”
Two of the songs – ‘Ragnars Kvæõi’ and ‘Álvur Kongur’ – are traditional Faroese ballads and are as such sung in Joensen’s native tongue. “If I have a good folky melody, I always have the thought that I should write the lyrics in Faroese, but I seldom have the time,” Joensen said. “The traditional songs come with lyrics, so it’s just about picking out the verses I want to use.” These tracks were in actuality selected even before the release of Valkyrja and have had a long gestation period, Joensen feeling that in adapting them they very much fit with the band’s signature sound.
“I am always trying out melodies and chose ‘Ragnars Kvæði’ first for the fascinating melody in the chorus, and secondly for the storyline,” he said. “The other ballad I picked first because of the lyrics, which refer to Odin extensively, and secondly for the melody and chorus. I was very satisfied with the harmonies and epic feel of the arrangements I’d come up with, and to tell you the truth, I wish there were more songs of this kind on the album.”
Hel was tracked entirely by Thomsen and Joensen, with sessions split between the latter’s studio in Søldarfjørður, drums laid down at Jacob Hansen’s studio in Denmark, Skibenæs working in his home studio, and some solos and bass details recorded while they were on the road in North America. “The sessions took us a long time because we did it all on our own. But we gathered a lot of knowhow while doing it, so it will be a good reference for the future,” stated Thomsen. Joensen concurred, adding, “It was a bit more relaxing than usual, which was good for me. It took some discipline, and creative people are not typically the most disciplined types. I am definitely not, so I guess it could have gone faster with someone else at the whip!”
The track listing is as follows;
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01. ‘Gates Of Hel’
02. ‘All Heroes Fall’
03. ‘Ragnars Kvæði’
04. ‘Garmr’
05. ‘Sunset Shore’
06. ‘Downhill Drunk’
07. ‘Empire Of The North’
08. ‘Far From The Worries Of The World’
09. ‘King Of Time’
10. ‘Fire And Flame’
11. ‘Against The Gods’
12. ‘Songs Of War’
13. ‘Álvur Kongur’
Týr’s line-up is as follows;
Heri Joensen (vocals and guitars)
Attila Vörös (guitars)
Gunnar H. Thomsen (bass)
Tadeusz Rieckmann (drums)
Music videos were filmed for the tracks ‘Sunset Shore’ and ‘Ragnars Kvæði’, which can be viewed below.
Seventh studio record Valkyrja was released in September 2013 via Metal Blade.
Promotional photograph by Tim Tronckoe.
