Wardruna is a Norwegian music group formed in 2003 by

Einar Selvik Einar Selvik (born 18 November 1979), also known by his stage name Kvitrafn ("white raven"), is a Norwegian musician known for being the drummer of black metal band Gorgoroth from 2000 to 2004, and for fronting the Nordic folk project Wardruna ...

along with

Gaahl Kristian Eivind Espedal (born 7 August 1975), better known by his stage name Gaahl, is a Norwegian vocalist. He is best known as the former frontman of Norwegian black metal band Gorgoroth. He is also the founder and lead vocalist of Trelldom an ...

and

Lindy-Fay Hella Lindy-Fay Hella (born in 1975) is a Norwegian singer, musician and composer, known as a member of Wardruna and Lindy-Fay Hella & Dei Farne. She played electronic music before becoming a founding member of Wardruna, which plays eclectic music influ ...

. They create musical renditions of Norse cultural and esoteric traditions and make significant use of Nordic historical and traditional instruments, including

deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...

-hide

frame drum A frame drum is a drum that has a drumhead width greater than its depth. It is one of the most ancient musical instruments, and perhaps the first drum to be invented. It has a single drumhead that is usually made of rawhide, but man-made mat ...

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

s, kraviklyra, mouth harp, goat horn, and lur. Non-traditional instruments, like the Finnish

jouhikko The ''jouhikko'' (Finnish: �jou̯hikːo is a traditional, two- or three-stringed bowed lyre, from Finland and Karelia. Its strings are traditionally of horsehair. The playing of this instrument died out in the early 20th century but has been ...

, and other sources of sound like trees, rocks, water, and torches are also used. The band have released six full-length albums, the first three based on Norse runes, the fourth based on the sayings of

Odin Odin (; from ) is a widely revered god in Norse mythology and Germanic paganism. Most surviving information on Odin comes from Norse mythology, but he figures prominently in the recorded history of Northern Europe. This includes the Roman Em ...

from the

Völuspá ''Völuspá'' (also ''Vǫluspá'', ''Vǫlospá'', or ''Vǫluspǫ́''; Old Norse: 'Prophecy of the völva, a seeress') is the best known poem of the ''Poetic Edda''. It dates back to the tenth century and tells the story from Norse Mythology of ...

and other old Norse sources. The name Wardruna means "the guardian of secrets" or "she who whispers".

History

Wardruna was formed in 2003. Selvik and Gaahl were both previously members of

Gorgoroth Gorgoroth is a Norwegian black metal band based in Bergen. It was formed in 1992 by guitarist Infernus, who is the sole original member remaining, and has released nine studio albums. Gorgoroth are a Satanism, Satanic band and have drawn contro ...

, appearing together on the album ''

Twilight of the Idols ''Twilight of the Idols, or, How to Philosophize with a Hammer'' () is a book by Friedrich Nietzsche, written in 1888, and published in 1889. Genesis ''Twilight of the Idols'' was written in just over a week, between 26 August and 3 September 18 ...

'' and the live DVD '' Black Mass Krakow 2004''.''Metal: The Definitive Guide'' by Garry Sharpe-Young (Jawbone Press, 2007) Selvik had also recorded with other projects including Det Hedenske Folk, Bak de Syv Fjell, Jotunspor,

Sahg Sahg is a three-piece Norway, Norwegian hard rock/doom metal band formed in Bergen in the summer of 2004, by key figures in the metal scene of their country: Tom Cato Visnes (King ov Hell), Einar Selvik (Kvitrafn), Olav Iversen and Thomas Toftha ...

, Dead to this World, Skuggsjá, and

Faun The faun (, ; , ) is a half-human and half-goat mythological creature appearing in Greek and Roman mythology. Originally fauns of Roman mythology were ghosts ( genii) of rustic places, lesser versions of their chief, the god Faunus. Before t ...

. Gaahl also recorded with

Trelldom Trelldom is a Norwegian black metal band, formed in 1992. Line-up *Gaahl - Vocals (also in Wardruna, Gaahlskagg, Sigfader, God Seed) *Sir - Bass (also in God Seed) *Valgard -Guitar Discography *1995 ''Til Evighet…'', Head Not Found *1998 ...

Gaahlskagg Gaahlskagg is a Norwegian black metal band from Sunnfjord, Norway. The band was founded as a side project in 1998 by Gaahl and Skagg. Gaahlskagg released one studio album before going on hiatus in 2001 due to Gaahl's commitment to Gorgoroth. H ...

, and

God Seed God Seed was a Norwegian black metal band based in Bergen. Former Gorgoroth members Gaahl and King ov Hell adopted the name in March 2009 following the ending of the Gorgoroth name dispute. After performing a few gigs as God Seed, vocalist Gaahl ...

. The group's debut album, ''

Runaljod – Gap Var Ginnunga ''Runaljod – Gap var ginnunga'' (''Sound of Runes – The gap was vast'') is the first album by Norwegian Nordic folk group Wardruna. It was released 19 January 2009 by Indie Recordings/Fimbulljóð Productions. The album is the first chapte ...

'', was released on 19 January 2009 by Indie Recordings and followed by ''

Runaljod – Yggdrasil ''Runaljod – Yggdrasil'' (''The Sound of Runes - Yggdrasil'') is the second album by Norwegian Nordic folk musical project Wardruna, released 15 March 2013 by Indie Recordings/Fimbulljóð Productions. It is an interpretation of the Elder Fut ...

'' on 15 March 2013. In 2014, Selvik announced on the group's official Facebook page that they would take part in composing the score for season 2 of ''

Vikings Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

'' along with Trevor Morris. He later appeared as an actor on the show. In 2015, Gaahl left Wardruna on amicable terms. Wardruna's third album, '' Runaljod – Ragnarok'', was released on 21 October 2016. Thanks in part to the success of ''Vikings'', the album debuted at No. 1 on ''Billboards World Albums chart. In August 2017, Wardruna headlined the 20th

alternative music Alternative music may refer to the following types of music: *Independent music *Alternative rock *Alternative pop *Alternative R&B *Neo soul, sometimes known as alternative soul *Alternative reggaeton *Alternative hip hop *Alternative dance *Alter ...

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

, and

experimental music Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...

festival

Mėnuo Juodaragis Mėnuo Juodaragis ( or Moon of the Black Horn, sometimes abbreviated as BHM (''MJR'')) was an annual Baltic culture, alternative music, folk music and experimental music festival organized in Lithuania. It has been ran between 1995-2024 and was v ...

in Dūburys Lake,

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

. In early 2018, they embarked on their first tour of North America. The band's fourth album, the acoustic ''Skald'', was released on 23 November 2018. In October 2019, Wardruna announced they had signed to major labels

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

. The band released their fifth studio album in January 2021, named ''Kvitravn'', which means "white raven". This was followed by the live album ''Kvitravn – First Flight of the White Raven'' in early 2022. Wardruna's tours for 2020 and 2021 were cancelled due to the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

pandemic. The band returned to touring in 2022, with European and North American shows as well as a performance at Midgardsblot. The band launched their 2024/2025 world tour at

Red Rocks Amphitheatre Red Rocks Amphitheatre (also known colloquially as simply Red Rocks) is an open-air amphitheater in the Western United States, western United States near Morrison, Colorado, approximately southwest of Denver. It is owned and operated by the c ...

in Colorado, US. In September 2024, they announced their upcoming sixth studio album, titled ''Birna'', set to be released on 25 January 2025.

Reception

Jonathan Selzer of ''

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions published by different companies available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' featu ...

'' magazine described Wardruna's music as "a conjunction of the earthy, the organic and the ethereal" with "runic-based rites inhabiting a frequency that once heard have always seemed just adjacent to everyday consciousness". Hannah May Kilroy of ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British music webzine and quarterly magazine that primarily covers rock, punk and heavy metal music. Since 2017, the magazine has been published by Wasted Talent Ltd (the same company that owns electronic music publication ...

'' magazine wrote that "Wardruna may be at odds with the modern world, but, perhaps, they are exactly what the modern world needs."

Band members

Current * Einar "Kvitrafn" Selvik – vocals, all instruments, composer *

– vocals, flute * Arne Sandvoll – backing vocals, percussion * HC Dalgaard – backing vocals, percussion, drums * Eilif Gundersen – horns, flutes * John Stenersen –

moraharpa The moraharpa is a modern name for an early predecessor of the nyckelharpa keyed fiddle; the primary example instrument dated 1526, was found in Mora, Sweden. A number of modern reproductions of the original moraharpa have been made since the 198 ...

Past *

– vocals'' * Jørgen Nyrønning

Discography

* ''

'' (2009) * ''

'' (2013) * '' Runaljod – Ragnarok'' (2016) * ''Skald'' (2018) * '' Kvitravn'' (2021) * ''Kvitravn – First Flight of the White Raven'' (live, 2022) * ''Birna'' (2025)

References

External links