Danish ritual collective HEILUNG have released a music video for "Seidh", the second single from Sagas, a collection of recordings that core members Kai Uwe Faust, Maria Franz and Christopher Juul made in collaboration with Ninja Theory for the award-winning video game Hellblade II: Senua's Saga. Sagas comes out December 11 via Season of Mist.
First performed live at The Game Awards in 2023, "Seidh" draws on the Norse mythology that guides Senua through 9th-century Iceland. At its center stands the völva, the seeress who, through chant, rhythm and altered states, opens a door through which the unseen begins to speak.
The clip was directed by Gornoss and shot in a forest in the Netherlands, with additional footage from Iceland and Denmark. It is part of a trilogy of videos from Sagas dealing with the trauma of war. According to Maria Franz, the story grew too big for a single video while the team was filming "Læknisgaldr" in Norway and Iceland, and "Seidh" needed the dancing of the band's Haarii warriors, familiar from their live shows. "In part two, 'Læknisgaldr', you participated in the healing. In part three, 'Seidh', we give you the vision," Franz explains. Part one, "Slagt", is still to be released.
Sagas collects 11 tracks, many of which never made it into the game. The deluxe CD and vinyl editions add Ambient, eight extra soundscapes built to pull listeners deeper into the world of Hellblade II. The material was recorded, mixed and mastered by Juul at LAVA Studio. Faust says the music took on a life of its own after a formative 10-day journey through Iceland, and that the band is grateful to finally share it almost eight years after it was created.
As we reported in September, HEILUNG have ended their hiatus and returned to the studio to record their fourth full-length album, the follow-up to 2022's Drif. More news on that record is promised soon.
Sagas tracklist:
- Geiteseidh
- Slagt
- Læknisgaldr
- Orrustumaul
- Seidh
- Jøtnarhaiti
- Sverdhasøngurin
- Spjoutsyla
- Sonatorrek
- Opnun
- Dauðimessa
Order & Stream "Sagas": Pre-order · Stream "Seidh"