Album Review
Wardruna – ‘Birna’ [Album Review]
Authenticity and respect for tradition make ‘Birna’ a guaranteed hit with an audience that ranges from leftovers from Wardruna’s ‘metal’ days right through to cultural afficionados.

A phantasmagoria, despite its supernatural-sounding label (we’ve got Arthur Rimbaud and Edgar Allan Poe to thank for that misapprehension), is, technically speaking, a shadowplay, or immersive illusion. The Frankfurt School cultural critic Theodor W. Adorno [1] applied the term to Richard Wagner’s over-the-top, bombastic and showy operatic performances: the sum total of the sets, the dressing, costumes, artistic direction, music, songs and performance came together in what he termed a Gesamstkunstwerk, or ‘total artwork’ which combined these separate creative streams in a “perfection of the illusion that the work of art is reality sui generis.”
Modern shows by bands, collectives and outfits falling under the nebulous classification of ‘neo-folk’ tend to lean towards the phantasmagoric in their approaches to live performance: consider the crowded stages, fantastic outfits and choreographed shieldbearers that typify a Heilung show or the duality of armoured crusader and (barely) fur-clad, gyrating shamaness that is Eihwar’s stage persona, and you get the idea. Allan Averill, frontman of Ireland’s Primordial, pejoratively – but nevertheless accurately – dubs artists like these ‘cosplay bands,’ partially for their own video game aesthetic, but also for the medieval fair extras that flock to their shows in homespun fabrics, bone, feathers and facepaint.
“Lyfaberg” has been available to us all as a stand-alone single for about four years now, but finds its home on Birna.
Wardruna, on the other hand, need none of this pomp and pyromania to sell their own brand of atmospheric ancestral culture, despite being the arguable inspirational descendant for all these pretenders to the ancient skaldic throne. A simple stage, mostly unchanged in nearly a decade, where the music is the protagonist and the performers mere prostheses in its production, typifies the Wardruna experience, touching hearts, minds and souls without the need for distraction or exaggeration.
The title track, “Birna,” further explores the human-animal relationship in Norse culture that was set in progress on 2021’s Kvitravn album.
And that is precisely why reviewing a Wardruna record is a far easier task than that of any of the aforementioned: songs are the driving force of Einar Selvik’s creative outlet, songs for every stage of the human condition, for every moment and for every listener. And songs are far easier to focus on, to digest and revisit than immersive stage shows are. It is also impossible not to find some resonance when listening to a Wardruna record, and the latest in his ever-expanding discography of perennial favourites, Birna, is no exception.
In fact, all that has changed since the early Runaljod trilogy days is the density of the compositions, from a production point of view. Of course, in the early days, Wardruna was a much smaller outfit, comprising only the trio of Selvik, Lindy-Fae Hella and Kristian ‘Gaahl’ Espedal (who parted ways in 2015), as compared with the current stage lineup of double that many members. As such, it’s no surprise that the composition and recording process can take so many more ‘voices’ and instruments into account in developing the deeply textured, earthy rhythms and melodies Wardruna has become synonymous with.
The record kicks off with “Hertan,” a textbook example of Selvik’s musical storytelling abilities.
While every moment of Birna is transformational, evoking other times and realms, there are nevertheless some stand-out highlights worth taking note of. Lindy-Fae Hella’s vocal performance, for one: while her ethereal voice has always been a hallmark of Wardruna’s sound palette, continuing exploration of her talents through guest sessions with the likes of Kawir and My Dying Bride, as well as her newest side project, Whispering Void (which reunites her with ex-bandmate Gaahl) has lent weight and depth to what was a powerful presence to begin with. And the duality – a potent theme in nearly all pagan-inspired musical forays – showcased in the contrast with Selvik’s own performance is all the more pronounced, not to mention compelling, for it. “Ljos til Jord” stands as testament to this.
Selvik’s age shines through in the fifteen-minute “Dvaledraumar”: the engaging, meditative exploration in the vein of ancient epics is anything but music for the ADHD generation. Despite its evolving, beautiful themes, this is not something destined for radio singles – or even Spotify-algorithm engagement, for that matter. The beckoning darkness of the composition probably doesn’t help, either. Even though the ‘song for saying goodbye’ (as Selvik himself describes it during live shows), “Helvegen”, has become synonymous with the Vikings TV series he famously soundtracked, and a popular fringe entry in talent shows (such as this Voice of Finland example), the greater public still find emotional content that dares to go beyond the superficiality of money and sex intimidating.
The addition of the Koret Artemis choir makes “Himinndotter” an especially moving piece.
What really sets Birna – and Wardruna by extension – apart from any other act in the skaldic tradition is its authenticity. By setting stories to song, Selvik ensures that a wider audience can find something to appreciate, thematically or musically, in every subsequent recorded offering. Stories are, after all, the most fundamental form of human creativity, whether spoken, performed, sung or visualised. And this record, despite its highly conceptual approach structured around the nine-beats-per-minute heartbeat of a hibernating bear and the associated themes of the warden of the forest, is still a selection of stories at its heart. Stories about life, about nature, and about rebirth; long-forgotten rituals and cycles brought to miraculous life in the hands of an impassioned and considerate caretaker of ancient tradition. Wardruna’s inspiration may be embedded in history, but the concepts brought to light – of man’s precarious relationship with the natural world and its dwindling resources – is perhaps more important than ever.
The stripped-down approach taken on “Hibjørnen” recalls 2018’s acoustic album, Skald, and is easily my personal highlight on the record.
This review began by recalling Adorno’s consideration of Wagnerian opera, and to come full circle; perhaps it should end with Adorno, too: his praise for Wagner is less for his music than for his “flight from the banal … by which the composer hopes to escape the market requirements of the commodity” [2], as banality, especially within musicology, was the philosopher’s nemesis. Almost a century ago, Adorno was already noting the propensity for the meaningless, vulgar and – yes – banal within popular music. Wardruna requires none of the phantasmagoric padding and distraction of Wagner (or the other Nordic-inspired folk acts mentioned before), relying on authenticity and purity of expression to deliver their timeless, yet still timely, music to an audience that extends far beyond the metal and folk scenes that auto-exploitatively cater to a viewership – as opposed to listenership – of tourists and neo-hippies.
Notes
[1] Theodor W. Adorno, 1981. In Search of Wagner, p85. Translated by Rodney Livingstone. London: NLB.
[2] Theodor W. Adorno, 2002. Essays on Music, p. 534. Edited by R. Leppert. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Birna Track Listing:
1. Hertan
2. Birna
3. Ljos til Jord
4. Dvaledraumar
5. Jord til Ljos
6. Himinndotter
7. Hibjørnen
8. Skuggehesten
9. Tretale
10. Lyfjaberg
Run Time: 1:06:33
Release Date: January 24, 2025
Record Label: By Norse / Sony Music
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