Have you listened carefully to “Runaljod - Gap Var Ginnunga”? In the second part dedicated to Wardruna, we will mention two of their subsequent works, which, together with the first one, complete the trilogy devoted to the runes, an ancient alphabet dating back to the Bronze Age, used by Viking and Germanic populations.
While listening, you may have noticed some new, uncommon and interesting sounds… in fact, they come from handmade instruments crafted by the band members themselves, who have also demonstrated impressive craftsmanship. In many ways, Wardruna has become an extremely creative project.

In 2013, the long awaited second album was published. “Runaljod - Yggdrasil” is the title.
Wardruna never failed to authentically revive the spiritual echoes of a distant past.
The album provides slightly less mystical atmospheres compared to the previous work, due to a wider range of percussion instruments which leave room for more driving rhythms of a tribal nature; this is obvious by listening to the first track “Rotlaust Tre Fell”, very intense and loaded.
Even in the next one, called “Fehu”, the intensity continues and Lindy-Fay Hella’s voice stands out. Throughout the whole album, Gaahl played a more limited role compared to “Runaljod - Gap Var Ginnunga”. As usual, vocals alternate between singing, talking, whispering and solemn choirs that exalt the epic side of the music. The nature sounds are also featured in “Runaljod - Yggdrasil”.
All the songs are intriguing, yet “Solringen” deserves special attention, it is the 9th out of eleven tracks and the one that gets closer to the mood of the previous work with a dark, insightful but very beautiful chorus. The album ends with the impressive “Helvegen” which encloses whispers of ancient pagan rites echoing through the frozen forests of Norway, thanks to a great arrangement, a cadenced rhythm and a wonderful choir.
In this album, the tracks aren’t seamlessly linked, like in the first one, but the musical journey is still guaranteed.

The trilogy is totally completed with the album “Runaljod - Ragnarok”. It was released in 2016 and produced without Gaahl, which is the interesting detail.
We have not been listening to it much, perhaps due to a bold choice in the arrangements that prevent it from having great intensity or perhaps because, in our opinion, it is really hard to match the compositional heights reached with “Runaljod - Gap Var Ginnunga”… The fact is that it has not emotionally affected us as much as the previous two titles.
Anyway, Wardruna have succeeded in producing a good album, they are surely not common or repetitive, thanks to their bold choices. They have gained something on one hand but lost on the other; in fact, the magic, the atmosphere and the emotional depth that the Norwegian band has accustomed us to are lacking.
“UruR”, “Isa” and “Runaljod” are undoubtedly beautiful, powerful, imbued with Viking folk and pride; “Odal” offers an amazing chorus and “Raido”, in our opinion, is the most suggestive song, yet not a single moment elsewhere in the album comes close to reviving the great and dark charm of the first two works.

The trilogy has come to an end, but the journey is far from over. It will continue with three more albums, “Skald”, “Kvitravn” e “Birna”. Anyway, we are not going to discuss them in this article… Wardruna will certainly have room in our blog once again.