Sólstafir is an Icelandic

post-metal Post-metal is a music genre rooted in heavy metal but exploring approaches beyond metal conventions. It emerged in the 1990s with bands such as Neurosis and Godflesh, who transformed metal texture through experimental composition. In a way si ...

band formed in 1995 and currently signed to

Season of Mist Season of Mist is an independent record label and record distributor with subsidiaries in France and the United States. The record label was founded in 1996 by Michael S. Berberian in Marseille, France. From the start releasing black metal, pa ...

. Originally a

black metal Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw (lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an em ...

band, they transitioned to a

-influenced style on their second album '' Masterpiece of Bitterness''.

History

Sólstafir was formed in 1995 by guitarist/singer Aðalbjörn Tryggvason, bassist Halldór Einarsson, and drummer Guðmundur Óli Pálmason. The band's name is the Icelandic word for sun beams (

crepuscular rays Crepuscular rays are sunbeams that originate when the Sun is just below the horizon, during the twilight period. Crepuscular rays are noticeable when the contrast between light and dark is most obvious. Crepuscular comes from the Latin word ...

). They soon recorded the demos ''Í Norðri'' and ''Til Valhallar''. Halldór then left the band, and Aðalbjörn and Guðmundur recorded a promo tape as a duo in 1997. During this period, Svavar Austmann joined as the new bassist and the band began recording their debut full-length album, '' Í Blóði og Anda''. The album was not released until 2002 due to various recording delays and label disputes. Shortly after that album was completed, second guitarist Sæþór Maríus Sæþórsson joined the band and made his debut on the 2002 demo ''Black Death''. After shopping around a three-track demo of new songs, Sólstafir signed with

Spinefarm Records Spinefarm Records is a Finnish independent record label focusing mainly on heavy metal artists. It is a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. History Spinefarm Records was originally founded in 1990 by Riku Pääkkönen as a mail-order distrib ...

in 2005. Their second album '' Masterpiece of Bitterness'' was released by Spinefarm later that year. The album received positive reviews, with ''

Metal Storm Metal Storm Limited was a research and development company based in Brisbane, Australia, that specialized in electronically initiated superposed load weapons technology and owned the proprietary rights to the electronic ballistics technology ...

'' stating "the perfect mix of non-Metal elements with metal ones makes it a necessary album for any Metalhead looking for something that breaks the mold of pre-established genres." Their third album '' Köld'' was recorded in Sweden and released in 2009. Reviewers compared the band's sound to Enslaved and

Neurosis Neurosis is a class of functional mental disorders involving chronic distress, but neither delusions nor hallucinations. The term is no longer used by the professional psychiatric community in the United States, having been eliminated from th ...

, among others, while noting their unique post-black metal sound. The album was also noted for its addition of atmospheric passages. Sólstafir began to tour Europe regularly in 2010 and made their first of many open-air appearances at the

Roskilde Festival The Roskilde Festival is a Danish music festival held annually south of Roskilde. It is one of the largest music festivals in Europe and the largest in the Nordic countries. It was created in 1971 by two high school students and a promoter. In 1 ...

that year. Sólstafir's fourth full-length album, '' Svartir Sandar'', was released by

in 2011. The song "Fjara" remained in the 2013 list of Iceland's top 100 songs of 20 years. This album signaled Sólstafir's retreat from black metal and move toward experimental atmospherics of the type practiced by fellow Icelanders

Sigur Rós Sigur Rós () is an Icelandic post-rock band from Reykjavík, active since 1994. The band comprises singer and guitarist Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson, bassist Georg Hólm, and keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson. Known for their ethereal sound, fr ...

. Their fifth album ''

Ótta ''Ótta '' (an old appellation for the time from 3 to 6 AM) is the fifth album by the Icelandic heavy metal band Sólstafir. It was released on August 29, 2014 through the record label Season of Mist. The tracks of the album represent the tradi ...

'' was released by Season of Mist in 2014, and was noted for its additional experimental elements like strings and piano. Three official music videos were released and the band performed Iceland's national television channel,

RÚV Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV) (pronounced or ) ( en, 'The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service') is Iceland's national public-service broadcasting organization. Operating from studios in the country's capital, Reykjavík, as well as regional ce ...

's ''Stúdio Á''. In January 2015, the band announced that longtime drummer Guðmundur Óli Pálmason had left the band for "personal reasons". Guðmundur replied immediately via the band's Twitter account, explaining that he had been "stonewalled by ex-bandmates" and forced out of the band by Aðalbjörn Tryggvason. Guðmundur was replaced by Hallgrímur Jón Hallgrímsson. After his departure from the band Guðmundur formed post metal band Katla. Sólstafir released their sixth full-length album, '' Berdreyminn'', in May 2017 on Season of Mist. Upon its release ''Berdreyminn'' entered international charts, mostly top 50, across Europe. On November 6th 2020, Sólstafir released their seventh studio album, '' Endless Twilight of Codependent Love''.

Members

Current

* Aðalbjörn "Addi" Tryggvason – guitar, vocals * Svavar "Svabbi" Austmann – bass * Sæþór Maríus "Pjúddi" Sæþórsson – guitar * Hallgrímur Jón "Grimsi" Hallgrímsson – drums

Former

* Halldór Einarsson – bass * Guðmundur Óli Pálmason – drums

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Í Blóði og Anda'', 2002 (Ars Metalli) * '' Masterpiece of Bitterness'', 2005 (

) * '' Köld'', 2009 (Spinefarm Records) * '' Svartir Sandar'', 2011 (

) * ''

'', 2014 (Season of Mist) * '' Berdreyminn'', 2017 (Season of Mist) * '' Endless Twilight of Codependent Love'', 2020 (Season of Mist)

EPs

* ''Til Valhallar'' (EP), 1996 * ''Black Death'' (EP), 2002 * ''Ótta (Radio Edit) + Til Valhallar'' (EP), 2014 * ''Ótta Sampler EP / Bonus: Live at Hellfest 2014'' (EP), 2014 * ''Tilberi'' (EP), 2016 * ''Silfur-Refur'' (EP), 2017

Demos

* ''Í Norðri'' (demo), 1995 * ''Promo Tape September 1997'' (demo), 1997 * ''Black Death'' (demo), 2001 * ''Promo 2004'' (demo), 2004

Singles

* 2011: "Fjara" * 2012: "Æra" * 2013: "Þín orð" * 2014: "Ótta"

Splits/compilations

* "Fire & Ice - An Icelandic Metal Compilation" (Compilation), 1997 * "Fjara/Runaway Train" (Split with Legend), 2014

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Solstafir Icelandic black metal musical groups Icelandic post-rock groups Musical groups established in 1994 Musical quartets Viking metal musical groups Post-metal musical groups Season of Mist artists