Heilung


Heilung is an experimental folk music band made up of members from Denmark, Norway, and Germany. Their music is based on texts and runic inscriptions from Germanic peoples of the Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Viking Age. Heilung describe their music as "amplified history from early medieval northern Europe". Their music is usually about Norse deities, jǫtnar, and valkyries. "Heilung" is a German word meaning "healing" in English.

History

Heilung was founded in 2014 by vocalist Kai Uwe Faust, Danish producer Christopher Juul and the Norwegian singer Maria Franz. In 2015, the band self-released their debut album, Ofnir.
The band's first performances in 2017 were at Castlefest and at the Midgardsblot Metalfestival. The performance was recorded and released with the title Lifa on YouTube – where it has gained as of 2019 over 6 million views – and as a live album. Their 2017 performance at Midgardsblot was listed as one of the ten best performances of 2017 by Metal Hammer. Later that year, the band signed a contract with the label Season of Mist.
On 20 April 2018, the two previously self-released albums Ofnir and Lifa were reissued on vinyl and CD.

Style

According to Faust, the name of the band "Heilung", healing in German, says something about the style of the band: "The listener is supposed to be left at ease and in a relaxed state after a magical musical journey that is at times turbulent". The recordings of the band are not limited to music, but also contain poems.
The references to the early ages of European Civilization are also made by using texts from historical artefacts or historical poems. The languages used are varied, with German, English, Gothic, Old High German, Icelandic, Old English, Proto-Norse, Proto-Germanic, and Viking age Old Norse being used.
As instruments, items are used that may have been already available to humans in the Iron Age, such as drums, bones or spears.
According to an August 2018 interview, the instruments they use consist of:
Faust's throat singing recalls the Tibetan or Mongolian style. Juul uses a chirping whisper as vocals.
Elaborately designed costumes are worn by the band members on stage. These are partly based on the "spiritual traditions of the Eurasian circumpolar peoples", or are historically correct reproductions of Nordic Bronze Age clothing.

Discography

Heilung was nominated in the Best Underground Band category for a Metal Hammer Golden Gods Award in 2018.