The band is from the Faroe islands. The language is only spoken by 80 000 people and is derived from Old Norse. (Translation for the song at end of post.) I usually don't like live performances on screen, but this song really depicts their stage presence. You commented on their outfits, and I can testify to that they always dress like funeral directors. I find it especially suiting (no pun intended) for this church setting. The theme of non-English vocals is thrilling, in my opinion, because listening to vocals in your non-native language tends to push you out of your comfort zone quite a bit. My native language is Swedish, but I have no problem with English whatsoever. The Faroese language, however, is a whole other matter. The language is "similar" to Swedish in grammar, and as with Icelandic, I recognize some word bases. The singer's (Jón Aldará) expressive range, technique and emotional presence is mesmerizing to me. I just don't want it to end. The fact that I don't understand the lyrics is liberating, somehow, but it also brings the importance of the music itself to the front. As for the vocals, Vràin does not come close to illustrating the singer's voice range. Some songs gives me full-body chills _every_ time. The powerful voice, accompanied by the minimalistic, slow, dark instrument arrangement, makes for a beautiful (and somewhat haunting) experience. The Prison Ravens Eagles Stalk me Out from the edge
The beast Lying in wait Locks me In here
Sorrow Death Weeping Loss No one knows Wake me Lead me Home to you
So bound Fed by stones in this prison Where the darkness flows To and fro
Guarded Pressured
You look but you don't know how to find And I wallow more With every breath I draw
Sorrow Death Weeping Loss No one knows Wake me Lead me Home to you
Here, in chains The links, each stronger than the other Why can't I break just one I don't see the links I see the birds
Ravens Eagles Tear me up Steal my soul
I beg you Wake me up Lead me now Home to you lyricstranslate.com/sv/vr%C3%A1in-prison.html (Original lyrics: genius.com/Hamfer-vrain-lyrics )
Fun fact: me, my husband (Cynips), and a friend went for a road trip to see them in Roskilde, Denmark (about 500 miles!). I found myself commenting throughout the concert: "oh, this one is a great song!". Still remember it fondly.
Hope I don’t come off as pompous or anything for correcting you, it’s just that I’m from Faroe Islands and I never see someone outside of the Faroes talk about us so naturally I may be a bit passionate about whatever is being talked about “Vráin” does not mean “The Prison” “Vráin” has two definitions: the corner of a room or a crowded room, so it would look something like “The Corner” or “The Crowded Room” “The Prison” in Faroese would be “Fongslið”, “Fangahúsið” or “Geglið” 1. Incorrect: Ravens Eagles Stalk me Out from the edge Correct: Ravens Eagles Chase me From above 2. Incorrect: The beast Lying in wait Locks me In here Correct: The beast Stalking Locking me In here 3. Incorrect: Sorrow Death Weeping Loss No one knows Wake me Lead me Home to you Correct: Sorrow Death Weeping Loss No one can Wake me Lead me Home to you 4. Incorrect: So bound Fed by stones in this prison Where the darkness flows To and from Correct: So bound Set in stone in this corner Where the darkness floods To and from 5. Incorrect: Guarded Pressured Correct: Guarded Safe 6. Incorrect: You look But you don’t know how to find And I wallow more With every breath I draw Correct: You look (Painful scorching wound) But it cannot be found (And years gone) And I fade further (So distant) With each breath (That tear) 7. An exact repeat of 3. 8. Incorrect: Here, in chains The links, each stronger than the other Why can't I break just one I don't see the links I see the birds Correct: Here, in chains The links, each stronger than the other Why can’t I break just one? But I don’t see the links I only see the birds 9. Incorrect: Ravens Eagles Tear me up Steal my soul Correct: Ravens Eagles Tear me up Swallow my soul 10. No mistakes:) I did it
@@Nathan-dn4zl Many thanks! It"s not my translation, but even if it was, it's awesome to get some native feedback! In all honesty I made a serious attempt to do it myself, but it was waaaay too hard. It's a beautiful language to my ears.
@@pallassallad No worries! I absolutely love seeing people interested in our culture or anything else from us for that matter. Seeing Faroe Islands get exposure from foreign media is a rare sight to behold
They are from Føryar. 🇫🇴 My grand cuz is the bass player, the nice'est guys, had an hoddog with the singer at Viking festival with my son in law. And he was BLOWN away how easy it was to talk to them. ❤️🇫🇴
Great analysis Bryan! Love to hear you talk about the various aspects of this performance, and I'm happy you like the song. I can't understand why this band isn't more well known. Not the least with Jón Aldará's vocals. Even his growls carry so much emotion with them. And all instruments seem to contribute to the atmosphere and greater whole here. They are from the small Faroe Islands and sing in Faroese, which is close to Icelandic. I understand that the song title means prison. Their suits are what you wear at a funeral, but I'm so used to seeing them like that by now that it's just the way it's supposed to be. Blessed to have seen them live a couple of times - and it's just as good as what we saw here in this video. Hope you don't mind that I already shared it with the wife since she's also a huge Hamferð fan. Think she even tracked down a translation of the lyrics.
It seems to be a Scandinavian/Lutheran cultural thing. Hamferd give me huge Griftegard vibes (another incredibly underrated Doom band), especially on this rendition. I use to say they are recreating the feel of Bergman movies.
Oh man, that atmosphere. These guys certainly know how to build a mood. The vocalist steals the show for me, though. His delivery is so dramatic, even when growling. And I definitely get that Bowie-like quality that ProgPer mentions from his cleans (and semi-cleans). So theatrical!
Love this band. Found them some time ago during the Pandemic just browsing UA-cam and they're phenomenal! If I might suggest another Doom metal band I love, Daylight Dies are phenomenal. Daylight Dies - A Life Less Lived was the first song of theirs I heard and it remains a favorite almost 15 years later.
The vocalist is also in the prog metal band Barren Earth, hopefully you get around to them at some point. I think you'd find them very interesting and fun. Anyway, thanks for the vid, great analysis as usual :)
This was really good. I'm not the biggest doom metal fan in the world, but I can enjoy/appreciate it when it's done well. This was done really well. Much like post-metal, doom metal is largely about generating atmosphere and this has atmosphere in spades, but it also has a surprising amount of emotion, almost melodramatically so. Except for Candlemass I can't think of many doom metal bands that have this same combination of crushing heaviness with such a theatrical and emotional vocal delivery. That's awesome considering Candlemass are one of the few doom metal bands that are among my favorite metal bands period. Of course, Candlemass don't have the growls, and they aren't quite this slow/heavy, so there's perhaps even more dynamics here. About my only complaint is that I wish the riffs were more memorable. Sometimes Doom seems to fall into the trap of replacing riffs with just walls of sustained, distorted chords and that can get kinda boring. Still, this has enough other elements to make up for that. Definitely a band I'll be checking out more from. Can I also mention how weird it is to see guys dressed in suits performing in what looks like a church while playing doom metal? O~o
A really good and thorough review/analysis Bryan. Glad you're able to digest the growls sometimes - when you enjoy the whole of the song and it "needs" them(?)
Jon Aldara (the vocalist) as of Today also participating in the Iotunn band with super tripping cleans and contrasting darkest growls. Please listen to the Tower of Cosmic Nihility, or to the Journey of Garganey, or to anything from their 3021 LP :)
Also, the whole austere suit and tie look while in a similarly spartan, austere looking Lutheran church is something that always kinda struck me as a bit inherently scandinavian, culturally. I usually associate it to the film work of Ingmar Bergman. It's also very present in another doom band from scandinavia, Griftegard, who also blend the same musical claustrophobia with a heavy dose of religious iconography. They also have a stellar singer, both in range and emotiveness. His vocals in "Wedded to Grief" will make you want to hug him and ask if everything's alright. The Mire is another pretty crushing song The whole suit and tie shtick was kinda formed by Akercocke, though. They had a "sophisticated satanist" thing going on for a while, which, if we're being honest, was actually a bit camp and more than a bit mysoginist, with them seeing playing chess and drinking wine while girls in latex would serve them, in more ways than one... but still, it was kinda novel at the time, and their music was pretty good. Hamferd's singer is called Jon Aldara, and he lends his talents to a few other projects, of which I would particlarly recommend you Iotunn. It's proggy atmospheric metal with a bit of a cosmic concept and he provides both growling and singing to that album. Not as emotive as this Hamferd track, but a good showcase of his range.
Heh, this is the song that should have kicked off your Doom Metal journey. Most of the songs you covered in the genre have been oddly unrepresentative for some reason. Mostly the right bands, mind, but few of the songs truly represent the genre. What you said at the start of the analysis would be a very good overall description of the genre at its best. Gonna fly the flag for Evoken again. "Antithesis of Light" is pretty much the most apply titled song of all time.
![Iotunn - Mistland [Reaction/Review]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Di3zPb0OD44/mqdefault.jpg)
![Iotunn - Mistland [Reaction/Review]](/img/tr.png)
The band is from the Faroe islands. The language is only spoken by 80 000 people and is derived from Old Norse. (Translation for the song at end of post.)
I usually don't like live performances on screen, but this song really depicts their stage presence. You commented on their outfits, and I can testify to that they always dress like funeral directors. I find it especially suiting (no pun intended) for this church setting.
The theme of non-English vocals is thrilling, in my opinion, because listening to vocals in your non-native language tends to push you out of your comfort zone quite a bit. My native language is Swedish, but I have no problem with English whatsoever. The Faroese language, however, is a whole other matter. The language is "similar" to Swedish in grammar, and as with Icelandic, I recognize some word bases. The singer's (Jón Aldará) expressive range, technique and emotional presence is mesmerizing to me. I just don't want it to end. The fact that I don't understand the lyrics is liberating, somehow, but it also brings the importance of the music itself to the front.
As for the vocals, Vràin does not come close to illustrating the singer's voice range. Some songs gives me full-body chills _every_ time. The powerful voice, accompanied by the minimalistic, slow, dark instrument arrangement, makes for a beautiful (and somewhat haunting) experience.
The Prison
Ravens
Eagles
Stalk me
Out from the edge
The beast
Lying in wait
Locks me
In here
Sorrow
Death
Weeping
Loss
No one knows
Wake me
Lead me
Home to you
So bound
Fed by stones in this prison
Where the darkness flows
To and fro
Guarded
Pressured
You look
but you don't know how to find
And I wallow more
With every breath I draw
Sorrow
Death
Weeping
Loss
No one knows
Wake me
Lead me
Home to you
Here, in chains
The links, each stronger than the other
Why can't I break just one
I don't see the links
I see the birds
Ravens
Eagles
Tear me up
Steal my soul
I beg you
Wake me up
Lead me now
Home to you
lyricstranslate.com/sv/vr%C3%A1in-prison.html
(Original lyrics: genius.com/Hamfer-vrain-lyrics )
Fun fact: me, my husband (Cynips), and a friend went for a road trip to see them in Roskilde, Denmark (about 500 miles!). I found myself commenting throughout the concert: "oh, this one is a great song!". Still remember it fondly.
Hope I don’t come off as pompous or anything for correcting you, it’s just that I’m from Faroe Islands and I never see someone outside of the Faroes talk about us so naturally I may be a bit passionate about whatever is being talked about
“Vráin” does not mean “The Prison”
“Vráin” has two definitions: the corner of a room or a crowded room, so it would look something like “The Corner” or “The Crowded Room”
“The Prison” in Faroese would be “Fongslið”, “Fangahúsið” or “Geglið”
1.
Incorrect:
Ravens
Eagles
Stalk me
Out from the edge
Correct:
Ravens
Eagles
Chase me
From above
2.
Incorrect:
The beast
Lying in wait
Locks me
In here
Correct:
The beast
Stalking
Locking me
In here
3.
Incorrect:
Sorrow
Death
Weeping
Loss
No one knows
Wake me
Lead me
Home to you
Correct:
Sorrow
Death
Weeping
Loss
No one can
Wake me
Lead me
Home to you
4.
Incorrect:
So bound
Fed by stones in this prison
Where the darkness flows
To and from
Correct:
So bound
Set in stone in this corner
Where the darkness floods
To and from
5.
Incorrect:
Guarded
Pressured
Correct:
Guarded
Safe
6.
Incorrect:
You look
But you don’t know how to find
And I wallow more
With every breath I draw
Correct:
You look (Painful scorching wound)
But it cannot be found (And years gone)
And I fade further (So distant)
With each breath (That tear)
7.
An exact repeat of 3.
8.
Incorrect:
Here, in chains
The links, each stronger than the other
Why can't I break just one
I don't see the links
I see the birds
Correct:
Here, in chains
The links, each stronger than the other
Why can’t I break just one?
But I don’t see the links
I only see the birds
9.
Incorrect:
Ravens
Eagles
Tear me up
Steal my soul
Correct:
Ravens
Eagles
Tear me up
Swallow my soul
10.
No mistakes:)
I did it
@@Nathan-dn4zl Many thanks! It"s not my translation, but even if it was, it's awesome to get some native feedback! In all honesty I made a serious attempt to do it myself, but it was waaaay too hard. It's a beautiful language to my ears.
@@pallassallad No worries! I absolutely love seeing people interested in our culture or anything else from us for that matter. Seeing Faroe Islands get exposure from foreign media is a rare sight to behold
Hamferd's Támsins likam was one of the best metal albums of 2018. Awesome record.
I agree. Exceptionally good album. One of the few albums I listen to in its entirety over, and over, and over again.
They are from Føryar. 🇫🇴
My grand cuz is the bass player, the nice'est guys, had an hoddog with the singer at Viking festival with my son in law. And he was BLOWN away how easy it was to talk to them. ❤️🇫🇴
Great analysis Bryan! Love to hear you talk about the various aspects of this performance, and I'm happy you like the song. I can't understand why this band isn't more well known. Not the least with Jón Aldará's vocals. Even his growls carry so much emotion with them. And all instruments seem to contribute to the atmosphere and greater whole here.
They are from the small Faroe Islands and sing in Faroese, which is close to Icelandic. I understand that the song title means prison. Their suits are what you wear at a funeral, but I'm so used to seeing them like that by now that it's just the way it's supposed to be. Blessed to have seen them live a couple of times - and it's just as good as what we saw here in this video.
Hope you don't mind that I already shared it with the wife since she's also a huge Hamferð fan. Think she even tracked down a translation of the lyrics.
I agree, this band is greatly underappreciated.
It seems to be a Scandinavian/Lutheran cultural thing. Hamferd give me huge Griftegard vibes (another incredibly underrated Doom band), especially on this rendition. I use to say they are recreating the feel of Bergman movies.
Oh man, that atmosphere. These guys certainly know how to build a mood. The vocalist steals the show for me, though. His delivery is so dramatic, even when growling. And I definitely get that Bowie-like quality that ProgPer mentions from his cleans (and semi-cleans). So theatrical!
Do not hesitate to check out more from them. Start with Evst and then do Stygd and Deyðir varðar. :)
He also sings in Barren Earth
Saw them a couple time in Reykjavik. Their live performance really as that clean. It's mind-blowing.
Enjoy this more with every listen.
His vocals are (imo) very Bowie-like at times.
I've seen their name around, but never heard this before. Good stuff.
Love this band. Found them some time ago during the Pandemic just browsing UA-cam and they're phenomenal! If I might suggest another Doom metal band I love, Daylight Dies are phenomenal. Daylight Dies - A Life Less Lived was the first song of theirs I heard and it remains a favorite almost 15 years later.
The vocalist is also in the prog metal band Barren Earth, hopefully you get around to them at some point. I think you'd find them very interesting and fun. Anyway, thanks for the vid, great analysis as usual :)
This was really good. I'm not the biggest doom metal fan in the world, but I can enjoy/appreciate it when it's done well. This was done really well. Much like post-metal, doom metal is largely about generating atmosphere and this has atmosphere in spades, but it also has a surprising amount of emotion, almost melodramatically so. Except for Candlemass I can't think of many doom metal bands that have this same combination of crushing heaviness with such a theatrical and emotional vocal delivery. That's awesome considering Candlemass are one of the few doom metal bands that are among my favorite metal bands period. Of course, Candlemass don't have the growls, and they aren't quite this slow/heavy, so there's perhaps even more dynamics here. About my only complaint is that I wish the riffs were more memorable. Sometimes Doom seems to fall into the trap of replacing riffs with just walls of sustained, distorted chords and that can get kinda boring. Still, this has enough other elements to make up for that. Definitely a band I'll be checking out more from.
Can I also mention how weird it is to see guys dressed in suits performing in what looks like a church while playing doom metal? O~o
A really good and thorough review/analysis Bryan. Glad you're able to digest the growls sometimes - when you enjoy the whole of the song and it "needs" them(?)
Jon Aldara (the vocalist) as of Today also participating in the Iotunn band with super tripping cleans and contrasting darkest growls. Please listen to the Tower of Cosmic Nihility, or to the Journey of Garganey, or to anything from their 3021 LP :)
Also, the whole austere suit and tie look while in a similarly spartan, austere looking Lutheran church is something that always kinda struck me as a bit inherently scandinavian, culturally. I usually associate it to the film work of Ingmar Bergman. It's also very present in another doom band from scandinavia, Griftegard, who also blend the same musical claustrophobia with a heavy dose of religious iconography. They also have a stellar singer, both in range and emotiveness. His vocals in "Wedded to Grief" will make you want to hug him and ask if everything's alright. The Mire is another pretty crushing song
The whole suit and tie shtick was kinda formed by Akercocke, though. They had a "sophisticated satanist" thing going on for a while, which, if we're being honest, was actually a bit camp and more than a bit mysoginist, with them seeing playing chess and drinking wine while girls in latex would serve them, in more ways than one... but still, it was kinda novel at the time, and their music was pretty good.
Hamferd's singer is called Jon Aldara, and he lends his talents to a few other projects, of which I would particlarly recommend you Iotunn. It's proggy atmospheric metal with a bit of a cosmic concept and he provides both growling and singing to that album. Not as emotive as this Hamferd track, but a good showcase of his range.
Can be good to know that the Faroese are an unusually religious people.
Maybe check out Barren Earth same vocalist (Jón Aldará) but completely differente genre. Maybe Further Down or The Living Fortress?
"Withdrawal" is definitely my favorite song from them. That is a must listen for Bryan IMO.
@@FromTheInternets Indeed, there isn't a song not worth checking out in their whole catalog, IMO
@@Themonist Forgot a "not" maybe? :D
@@Cynips Sure, haha. Thanks!
Heh, this is the song that should have kicked off your Doom Metal journey. Most of the songs you covered in the genre have been oddly unrepresentative for some reason. Mostly the right bands, mind, but few of the songs truly represent the genre. What you said at the start of the analysis would be a very good overall description of the genre at its best.
Gonna fly the flag for Evoken again. "Antithesis of Light" is pretty much the most apply titled song of all time.
Hey, it's Tiagop! :)
Faroe Island, not Iceland :-)
Hamferð - Deyðir varðar next! Personally, I prefer their official live during solar eclipse video version.
Faroese band, not icelandic 🤘
Islandic 🙄