HEILUNG – Drif
Release Date: 19th August 2022
Label: Season of Mist
Bandcamp
Genre: World Music, Experimental Folk, Neofolk.
FFO: Wardruna, Fever Ray, Daemonia Nymphe, Galdorcraeft.
Review By: Jason James
Heilung prepare to deliver their 3rd album, Drif. Kai Uwe Faust, Christopher Juul and Maria Franz have expanded their sound from their first 2 offerings, 2018’s Ofnir and 2019’s Futha.
You know you’re in for an experience when, along with the music files and album artwork, you also receive a PDF file explaining the inspiration and associated history of each song. Gathered here is a collection of healing spells, curses and blessings of love and fertility, set to a backdrop of battle cries and the chanting of children and music that is played on instruments as authentic as possible, from rattles and ritual bells to human bones and throat singing.
The stimulus for what becomes this sonic expedition expands out from Scandinavia, across Europe and ends up in Iraq and Syria as Heilung weaves tales of joy and pain, war and peace, life and death and everything in between, all in under an hour.
The lead single for the album, Anoana, is the easiest way into this album. It is a hauntingly beautiful song, but if I had to pick a favourite track, it would probably be track 6, Nesso. The music not only calls forth images of Medieval European settlers, but also for me, evokes portraits of Native American seers and medicine men and women on the rolling American plains providing aid and portents for their tribes.
Each track is an episode of its own, but this is also a cohesive album as a whole. This is a very tricky thing to do, but Drif does it beautifully. The sheer amount of work that must have gone into creating, shaping and forming this album is not to be underestimated. This is more than just an album. It’s a historical chronicle, a glimpse into some of the rituals and belief systems of the past. All set to music that stirs the soul and transports the listener to a time of ancient deities and a true respect and reverence of the power of nature.
From a group member going on a month-long isolation and meditation sabbatical in nature to perfect their contribution to track 1, Asja, to deciphering the 50 names of the subject of track 9, Marduk, this album is an undeniable piece of art. Tales of their shows have already passed into modern folklore, and I look forward to experiencing it for myself.
(4.5 / 5)
