Before Heilung, God Of War, and the endless onslaught of Viking TV shows, Wardruna were the force reviving Nordic traditions for the modern age. Headed by Einar Selvik, the band adapt ancient themes and instruments for contemporary times, relaying lessons from history and championing nature.
With new album Birna emerging from the ethereal mists, Einar tells Hammer what he’s learned during a career that’s included soundtracking mainstream franchises and collaborating with the Norwegian government.
ABSENCE MAKES THE HEART GROW FONDER
“I presume that growing up in Osterøy is a big part of why I love nature and Norse history. It was a postcard Norwegian landscape, a picturesque place. But also, when you grow up in that kind of environment, it’s just something that’s naturally there. It’s not something you reflect much upon until you have the absence of nature. You’re never as close to home as you are when you’re far from it, touring the world.”
TRY TO DEVELOP A BROAD MUSICAL PALATE
“I grew up with siblings who were very much into metal, so that’s something I’ve had in me since I could walk, or perhaps before. But I had this exposure to other musical genres as well, like classical and traditional [Nordic] music. I enjoyed it all, and I can clearly see now how it influenced my vision for Wardruna.”
BLACK METAL’S CHURCH BURNINGS WERE HORRIBLE YET IMPORTANT
“I was aware of what Norwegian black metal did in the early 90s… everyone in Norway was. I think the ‘Satanic’ part was a media-created thing. It was more a resistance towards the state church and that kind of oppression.
It’s hard to defend a lot of the stuff that happened in that period but, in retrospect, it moved some boundaries that needed to be moved, in terms of artistic and religious freedom. I think that was beneficial for more than just the people in the black metal scene.”
KNOW WHEN TO QUIT
“I started to think about Wardruna when I was 16 or 17. After playing a lot in the metal scene since my early teens, I was kind of done with it. I needed to do something more in line with my personal passions. That need became stronger and stronger until, in the early 2000s, I started materialising this vision I’d had for years.”
METAL HAS ITS LIMITS
“When I’ve said something, I don’t like to repeat myself. The need to speak in that way with metal sort of passed. I suck when there isn’t any energy supporting what I’m doing. That’s what I was feeling with metal. It became a professional thing, a bit mechanical. It wasn’t personal anymore, and it didn’t feel right.”
TEAMWORK REALLY DOES MAKE THE DREAM WORK
“Gaahl and I resonated very well and became very close friends. I think it was because of our shared passion for esoteric traditions, for history, for nature. We had a lot of common ground, and it’s also just a chemistry thing.
He was an important part of that period where I was shaping what became Wardruna. He was a consultant – a person I could throw my ideas and thoughts at. He was quite a central figure in the beginning.”
HUMANS ARE A PART OF NATURE, NOT IN CONTROL OF IT
“I’m tired of the fetishism of human centrality. We’re not the centre of the universe, and that is something I’m not a big fan of from Christianity. I’m very much opposed to this human ‘we are above the animals and the rulers of nature’ kind of thought.”
THERE’S A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ATTITUDES AND BELIEFS
“Animism can be many, many things. For me, it’s not a belief system at all. I can’t stand dogmas, and I’m not a big fan of putting labels on what I believe and don’t believe, but animism is what comes closest to how I live my life. It’s the idea that nature is sacred and that everything has life in it. Everyone agrees that trees have life, of course, but I view them as beings, as fellow earthlings. I would say it’s more of an attitude than a belief system.”
TECHNOLOGY ISN’T EVIL, BUT IT NEEDS TO BE UNDERSTOOD
“I think, in the not-too-distant future, we’re going to look back on what’s happening now with a lot of head-shaking. Technology developed a little bit too fast for us. Now, the hard facts are coming out, even though we’ve known for a long time that staying in front of screens isn’t good for us, isn’t good for our children. I’m very happy that I experienced something else growing up. I have kids myself and they say, on some levels, they wish they had the same things we had growing up. But I think things will change. They have to.”
NORSE HISTORY IS MORE THAN JUST VIKINGS…
“A lot of people think I’m into the Viking Age and that Wardruna is connected to the Viking Age, which it’s not. I never use that word. I think it misrepresents Norse history. You’re defining a whole culture using a word that describes what a small amount of people did for a very short amount of time.”
…AND VIKINGS AREN’T THAT INTERESTING TO ME
“The reason why the Viking Age doesn’t fascinate me that much is that it was a time of great change. It was the time where the deities that were connected to the earth became traded with ones that you could bring onto your warships. It was more about ego. It was more about war and expansion. It was a giant migration period where people were losing their ways. It was about money, power, trade. A very non-wholesome thing.”
Wardruna – Birna (Official Music Video) – YouTube 
TV DOESN’T DO HISTORY RIGHT
“The TV show Vikings, like many other films and TV shows of that era, is entertainment. It’s not meant to please people like me, so watching things like that is quite painful, because of all the inaccuracies and simplification. Although the show mended some stereotypes, it created quite a few new ones. When I got involved in it [making the soundtrack for season two], it was a good opportunity to contribute to tipping the scale. Perhaps I could add things that were actually authentic.”
VIDEOGAMES CAN TEACH YOU THINGS
“Assassin’s Creed is a mix of fantasy and historical accuracy as well. What tipped the scale for me to be part of that project was having meetings with them, hearing their vision of what my part would be in that soundtrack. They wanted to give voice to something that I feel is always lacking. Whenever there is a TV show or a movie about the Viking Age, the oral tradition of the skalds [Scandinavian poets who wrote about kings and heroes] is never present, and the Assassin’s Creed team, that’s basically what they wanted.”
HAVING VIKINGS IN THE MAINSTREAM IS BOTH GOOD AND BAD
“All these Viking films and shows and games, they come with positives and negatives. Of course, there will be a lot of bullshit that has nothing to do with the tradition. There will be a lot of people jumping on the hype train, trying to make money. But I think there are positives because, after World War II and the Nazi misuse of ancient Nordic imagery, it was problematic. One of the positives is this new wave of healthy interest and pride in our culture. It’s been a huge part in reclaiming our history.”
FREE SPEECH MATTERS
“My initial reaction to being asked to do Skuggsjá [a musical piece commissioned by Norway’s government, celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Norwegian Constitution] was, ‘I’m not sure.’ I said yes, but only if I could criticise the Constitution.
It has parts that, in my opinion, are quite problematic, especially the religious part. It’s really cool that the reaction was, ‘You should criticise the Constitution!’ Writing that piece in the name of freedom of speech is something I’m proud of.”
WARDRUNA ISN’T A ‘HISTORY’ PROJECT
“In Wardruna, we use something old to create something new. That’s the focus. We use instruments from the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, the migration period, the Viking Age and mediaeval times in a modern soundscape. It’s always been about giving voice to parts of history that still carry relevance. Learning from our past, rather than copying it.”
Birna is out now via Music For Nations/Sony.