Country : Iceland Label : Krunk Genres and styles : Folk / Neoclassical / Post-Rock / Scandinavian Year : 2020

Odin’s Raven Magic

· by Frédéric Cardin

A legendary rock band meets a legendary saga born in the cold and twilight of Iceland’s Far North, and the result is Odin’s Raven Magic, the first album of “new” material since Kveikur, released in 2013. I put “new” in quote marks because Odin’s Raven Magic is actually a work that was created in 2002 and has been feeding the interest of fans on just about every online forum since then. Well, almost 20 years after its premiere in Reykjavik, the complete post-rock-neoclassical Scandinavian folk oratorio is finally unveiled!

Odin’s Raven Magic is inspired by a passage from the Edda, the great Icelandic mythological saga written in the 13th century. The episode chosen is the one that shows Odin, the king of the Scandinavian gods, dispatching his ravens to bring him news of the world, which seems to be in a bad way. The conclusion is terrible: everything is ruined, which does not prevent the gods from indulging in a merry feast, since there is nothing to be done! Notice an allegory for our contemporary world there, and for certain extremely rich people, politicians and corporate bosses feasting on their profits while signals of catastrophe resound? You’re certainly not crazy! The link hasn’t gone unnoticed by the creators of the work. And, almost 20 years later, it is not much more pleasing. 

Having said that, the interest of this column is about music, and Odin’s Raven Magic’s is very beautiful. With the exception of a certain redundancy in the folk melodies used as the main material and the relative simplicity of the orchestral and choral accompaniments, it must be admitted that the entire work can be heard as a fantastic journey that is at once uplifting, emotionally powerful, and imbued with a grandiose aura of mythological mysticism. Odin’s Raven Magic is a sort of shamanic procession that guides us to the very edge of History and to a strange yet fascinating universe. 

Think of a happy marriage between Arvo Pärt, traditional songs from the mists of time, and a soundtrack by Zbigniew Preisner (the Three Colours trilogy, etc.)!

There’s even a stone marimba (!), an invention of the sculptor Páll Guðmundsson. The deeply mineral sound that comes out of it is in itself a guarantee of a very evocative change of scenery. I want one in our orchestras!

Latest 360 Content

ONJ, Miho Hazama and the Power of Women in New Jazz For Large Ensembles

ONJ, Miho Hazama and the Power of Women in New Jazz For Large Ensembles

Lucien Francoeur – Requiem For A Rocker.

Lucien Francoeur – Requiem For A Rocker.

Rick Baitz – River of January

Rick Baitz – River of January

Danilo Pérez & Bohuslän Big Band – Lumen

Danilo Pérez & Bohuslän Big Band – Lumen

Thelonius Garcia – Marche nocturne

Thelonius Garcia – Marche nocturne

Flûte Alors! – Scherzi forastieri

Flûte Alors! – Scherzi forastieri

Stefan Smulovitz – Bow & Brush: 12 Scores of Nadina Tandy

Stefan Smulovitz – Bow & Brush: 12 Scores of Nadina Tandy

Malasartes | RadioTango Concludes With a Gran Milonga Gran

Malasartes | RadioTango Concludes With a Gran Milonga Gran

Arion Orchestre Baroque | Leila Schayegh Plays and Conducts… a Swiss Army Knife for Baroque!

Arion Orchestre Baroque | Leila Schayegh Plays and Conducts… a Swiss Army Knife for Baroque!

ONJ | Miho Hazama, From Tokyo to NYC

ONJ | Miho Hazama, From Tokyo to NYC

Montreal Arab World Festival | Nesraf, a Dive Into Algerian Chaâbi Nights

Montreal Arab World Festival | Nesraf, a Dive Into Algerian Chaâbi Nights

37th Coup de cœur francophone | Noémie Laniel Explains the Program

37th Coup de cœur francophone | Noémie Laniel Explains the Program

Montreal Arab World Festival | Fairouz Oudjida Pays Tribute to Arab Divas

Montreal Arab World Festival | Fairouz Oudjida Pays Tribute to Arab Divas

Souldia – Nouvelle vie

Souldia – Nouvelle vie

Festival du Monde Arabe 2024 | Malika Zarra, ‘the Jewel of Moroccan jazz’, who also draws on châabi, gnawa and Berber traditions.

Festival du Monde Arabe 2024 | Malika Zarra, ‘the Jewel of Moroccan jazz’, who also draws on châabi, gnawa and Berber traditions.

Cordâme – Déesses mythiques

Cordâme – Déesses mythiques

Bruce Liu – Tchaïkovsky : The Seasons

Bruce Liu – Tchaïkovsky : The Seasons

Laila Biali – Wintersongs

Laila Biali – Wintersongs

OktoEcho – Saimaniq Sivumut

OktoEcho – Saimaniq Sivumut

No Codes – Usual Suspects

No Codes – Usual Suspects

Christopher Whitley – Almost as Soft as Silence

Christopher Whitley – Almost as Soft as Silence

Malasartes | Noubi and His Melting Pot of Sounds

Malasartes | Noubi and His Melting Pot of Sounds

Subscribe to our newsletter