Sigurður Opens Pre-Orders for "Niu lif Einars Hrafns" and Premieres New Song “Kólga”
Pre-orders are now open for Sigurður’s debut album, "Niu lif Einars Hrafns" (Nine Lives of Einarr the Raven), due for release on November 6.
"Niu lif Einars Hrafns" will be released as a gatefold 180g LP in two limited variants: "Volcanic Ash", limited to 100 copies, and Classic Black, also limited to 100 copies.
A CD edition is also available in a four-panel digipack with a 24-page booklet. Both the LP and CD editions include the album’s lyrics in Czech, Icelandic and English.
Pre-orders are available now:
Hypnotic Dirge Store:
[CD] https://tinyurl.com/sigurdur-cd
[LP] https://tinyurl.com/sigurdur-lp
Hypnotic Dirge Bandcamp: https://hypnoticdirgerecords.bandcamp.com/album/niu-lif-einars-hrafns
The track "Kólga" is also now streaming. It features Veronika Rovná of the Prague National Theatre on soprano vocals, alongside legendary guitarist Marek "Ashok" Šmerda (ex-Cradle of Filth, ex-Root, ex-Equirhodont, ex-Titanic), who contributes the opening guitar solo.
"Kólga" is available to stream on Bandcamp, Ampwall and YouTube.
The conceptual and epic black metal album "Nine Lives of Einarr the Raven" is the work of Czech-Icelandic solo project Sigurður, created by musician and musicologist Martin Sigurður Kajzar.
At its core, the album seeks to preserve and honour medieval melodic traditions while incorporating tonal structures characteristic of Northern European and Norse musical cultures.
The album has a distinctive harmonic design, with motivic development drawing on minimalism, at times approaching trance, alongside a wide range of modal modulations. Its compositional approach uses recurring motifs associated with particular characters and events, recalling the broader Wagnerian concept of the leitmotif. Tritones are used to signify elements of evil, while the Dorian mode evokes the spiritual realm, creating a close connection between the musical and lyrical dimensions of the album.
Drawing on tradition and cultural identity, the record also features a variation on an old Icelandic lullaby and a chorale using lyrics by Icelandic poet Hallgrímur Pétursson (1614–1674).
Thematically, "Nine Lives of Einarr the Raven" follows the life and posthumous journey of an Icelandic boy caught between the human world and a realm of supernatural entities. Along the way, he faces epic challenges and changing perspectives on mortality and the inevitability of death.
Sigurður draws from traditional mythological sources, particularly the Edda, while creating an entirely new and deeply personal narrative. The saga begins with the story of Einarr’s birth, "on the night when the raven awakens", foreshadowing an unusual destiny. His longing for adventure leads him to the mythical Erda, but his curiosity ultimately brings tragedy, culminating in the imprisonment of his soul within the body of a raven.
This posthuman existence becomes a cosmological metaphor as the raven moves through a sequence of stories, episodes and encounters connected by a search for knowledge and understanding. Dialogues built around sacred numbers, including three gods, nine lives and nine compositions, unfold between Einarr and major figures from Norse mythology such as the goddess Kólga, the wolf Fenrir and the serpent Miðgarðsormr.
"Nine Lives of Einarr the Raven" features special guest appearances from:
Marek "Ashok" Šmerda (ex-Root, ex-Cradle of Filth) – guest guitar
Veronika Rovná (Prague National Theatre) – soprano as Kólga
More guests will be revealed soon.
Links:
Official Site: https://www.sigurdurofficial.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sigurdur.official
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sigurdurofficial
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@sigurdurofficial
