Skálmöld have been Iceland’s kings of viking metal for about 15 years now. Their talent wasn’t immediately recognized at home, however – no local labels showed interest in putting out their debut album, Baldur. Instead they had to look to an even smaller market to find a label, signing on with Tutl in the Faroe Islands. Baldur was well-enough received to get them onto Icelandic label Sena for their next two records before they took it another level higher, signing with Napalm Records for their last five releases. They’ve established a solid international following and in their home country are respected enough to have been able to record live with the national Iceland Symphony Orchestra for a live triple album (!) in 2013. We were lucky enough to see them live way back in 2012 at the Reykjavik rock club Gaukurinn and they absolutely killed it. I’ve been a fan ever since.
Upptaka Frá Bræðslunni 2022 is the third vinyl release in a series of live records of performances at the Bræðslunni Music Festival, which takes place in the east of Iceland during the summer. I believe the other two artists appearing in the series are Mugison and KK Band. Unfortunately I missed the first two records, so I’m going to have to try to rectify that situation.
This is actually Skálmöld’s third live album. The first was the previously-described 3xLP release Skálmöld & Sinfóníuhljómsveit Íslands, which was followed in 2020 by 10 Year Anniversary – Live In Reykjavík. Given their tremendous, high-energy live shows, I’m not surprised – this is a band best-heard live. The set/tracklist on Upptaka Frá Bræðslunni 2022 is diverse – the eight songs include tracks from each of their first four studio albums, with only Sorgir being notable for its absence, and I have to confess to being excited that my favorite Skálmöld number, “Gleipnir”, is the opener.
The quality of the recording is excellent, most notably for the clear vocals (and we can even hear the crowd in the background at a few points). The instruments are well separated and mixed – no muddiness or flatness here, just well-integrated sound. There is an interesting oddity included in the setlist – the song “Open Your Heart” is Skálmöld covering the 2003 Icelandic pop hit (which was also Iceland’s submission to Eurovision that year), and includes the original singer Brigitta joining the band on stage! I’m not sure what the story is behind this cover, but it’s a bit of fun.
If there’s a problem with Upptaka Frá Bræðslunni 2022 it’s that it’s difficult to find. I don’t see it available on Spotify, it’s not on the Skálmöld Bandcamp page, and it doesn’t appear the label has any kind of streaming either. The festival does have a shopping page that has this album along with the other two festival records, which can be found HERE, but that’s it as near as I can tell. It was limited to 300 numbered copies, and given the difficultly in obtaining it, you might be wise to grab yours while you can.