HEILUNG – Lifa Iotungard (Live At Red Rocks 2021)

Label: Season of Mist, Release: August 9, 2024

HEILUNG don’t play shows. They perform a ritual. Every performance begins with Kai Uwe Faust leading Christopher Juul, Maria Franz and the rest of the Nordic collective in an ancient prayer. Soon after, the audience is swept into rapture, swayed by incense and throat singing, primordial rhythms, subtle electronic textures, a mesmerizing light show, an army of warriors and bursts of fire.

Since they began in 2015, the Danish performers of Heilung have been paving melodic paths to the past with their unique and mystifying sound. Evading all conventional genre tags and the confines of any specific labels, the group aptly self-describes their sound as “amplified history,” emphasizing their ability to connect modern society with the rudiments of humanity’s beginnings through music.

“Our ancestral Nordic civilizations did not just pop up, exist and disappear in isolation”, says Faust, a throat singer and one of Heilung’s three composers. “With singing these primordial songs we want to give tribute to these cultures, reconnect to the beginnings and remember that we all, from East to West, from past to present, are connected through the exchange of ideas and inspiring each other”.

The question in the case of this release is therefore not whether it’s worth buying it – well, this should be obvious in the case of Heilung! – but rather whether the acoustic version works as well as attending one of their live performances. In my opinion, it does work: For all those who had the pleasure to experience their ritual, it awakens sweet memories. For all the others, I recommend candle light, a few incense sticks – and then you should be able to experience a trip into another archaic world, which is what Heilung is all about.

Top rating, no doubt.

PS: The good news – in case the acoustic experience on CD or vinyl of this performance at the historic Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado, USA, is not enough: IT will be released on Blu-Ray in 2024, along with another performance at the Apollo Theatre in Hammersmith, London; UK.

Tracklist:
1. Opening Ceremony (1:03)
2. In Maidjan (12:30)
3. Alfadhirhaiti (7:23)
4. Krigsgaldr (9:04)
5. Hakkerskaldyr (3:33)
6. Svanrand (3:31)
7. Norupo (5:42)
8. Othan (10:21)
9. Traust (9:41)
10. Elddansurin (7:25)
11. Hamrer Hippyer (13:32)
Total runtime: 83:50

Line-up:
Kai Uwe Faust
Christopher Juul
Maria Franz