Týr – “Blood of Heroes” [YouTube Song Stream]

The Skinny: Valkyrja, the 7th full-length album from the Faroe Islands natives Týr, will be released on September 17th in North America, and September 13th/16th in Europe/UK. Týr once again collaborated with Jacob Hansen at Hansen Studios in Ribe, Denmark. Along with Hansen, the band recruited acclaimed drummer George Kollias to act as studio drummer and Leaves’ Eyes vocalist Liv Kristine joined vocalist/guitarist Heri Joensen for a vocal duet on “The Lay of Our Love.” The opening track to the album, “Blood of Heroes,” is streaming now just below.

Valkyrja is a concept album with a story line based loosely around an anonymous Viking age warrior who leaves his woman and goes off to impress the Valkyrie on the battlefield so that she may bring him to Valhalla, or to Fólkvangr, the home of Freyja – the goddess associated with love, sexuality, beauty, fertility, gold, sorcery, war, and death. One can say the album is also indirectly about women and how they affect men and what men will do to impress and obtain women. Front man and founder Heri Joensen goes on to explain; “the woman that the warrior leaves may represent the earthly women. Freyja, The Lady Of The Slain, may represent the perfection of Women, and the Valkyrie is the link between the two, taking men from earthly to godly women.”