FIMBULT?R is the second album from icelandic-norwegian norse-doom duo Golden Core. Hailing from the Oslo-suburb of Ammerud, the band consists of Simen Jakobsen Harstad (15) on guitars and amplifiers and Johannes Thor Sandal (17) on vocals and drums. Golden Core has been perfecting their musical skills in their basement since 2014 - now they are ready for the world! With Converge's Kurt Ballou on mixing and Blood Command's Yngve Andersen as producer, FIMBULT?R is a monument of the young band's dazzling ambition and artistic vision. Not afraid to merge their ancestral heritage of norse mythology with US-stoner rock and norwegian black metal, Golden Core has chiseled out an album of undeniable quality and originality. Though the band has made a solid impression on the metal scene in Norway, Denmark and Iceland for years, with appearances on most of the biggest festivals and support gigs for bands like Napalm Death and Bongzilla, FIMBULT?R could very well be a landmark in the band's career where they no longer look up to bands like Enslaved and High on Fire, but rather, like Sigur?r the dragon slayer, become one with the higher powers: Sigur?r the dragon slayer rides to the mountain Hindarfjall and wakes up the shieldmaiden Brynhildr, in the poem identified as the valkyrie Sigrdr?fa (driver to victory). Calling upon Sons of day and the night and her daughters Sigrdr?fa then gives Sigur?r ale that she has charmed with magical runes. After drinking the minnisveig, a ritual drinking dedicated to the remembrance of the gods; Sigur?r is now reviewing godlike wisdom, learning to use the runes and possessing magical powers. FIMBULT?R is a concept album, spinning around the Norse god ??inn, the mythology, rune magic, knowledge, curse, death and war. The album title is one of ??inn names. The lyrics are mostly processed from the Poetic Edda and Old Norse skaldic poetry. The lyrics in R?nir Skal Rista are taken from stanzas in Sigrdr?fum?l from the Poetic Edda. The stanzas are also known from the great saga of the V?lsungs. So, dear listener, whether you feel the call for eternal war in Valhalla or prefer staying at home, listening to metal with vision and grandeur, Golden Core is here to guide you.
