It’s time to tick off country number 56 on the GigRadar map and probably the furthest north we’ve ever been as we head to the “small, gloomy and cold island” of Iceland. Reflecting that gloom in musical format is Myrmann, who’s crafted what he describes as “heavy music of the Occult” in the form of “heavy, melodic, gloomy, narrative stories.”
Myrmann is an Icelandic painter and musician, who draws on his homeland’s rich culture and history to craft his largely instrumental metal. He plays guitar, bass and, less frequently, keyboards with the occasional growled vocals thrown in for good measure. The drums are usually programmed but mixed by Myrmann, who’s also started recording, mixing and mastering his own music.
As he tells us: “I come from a small, gloomy and cold island in the North called Iceland. There is a long list of cultural traditions and folk traditionally make references to three major elements of the Icelandic nation: the landscape, the rich literature and the old sagas. All those elements have influenced my art.
“At a young age, I started to create, and I haven’t stopped really. In the beginning, it was drawings, then later I started painting and learning music. I bought my first guitar and amp at around 15 years old, but didn’t really start playing until I was 25. I practiced a lot… like five hours every day for two years. Not even kidding.
“But writing music somehow came easily to me, probably because I have a very creative mind and determination foremost. I recently have been getting more into recording, mixing, and mastering on my own. It is a big learning curve, but I am getting better every day, I hope. The sound world is big, but it is quite learnable progress.”
Myrmann has crafted an engaging but undoubtedly dark instrumental style. As he tells us: “I would describe my music as heavy, melodic, gloomy, narrative stories. My main influence is a variety of things, like romanticism, Alchemy, mysticism, my heritage and the Occult. To describe my music in few words, I probably would say it is heavy music of the occult.”
Our latest taste of the Myrmann sound is Stories Never Told, which was released last week. It opens up with a fun plodding guitar lick over big rolling drums, which extends into a delicious high-pitched guitar line. The pace drops with a stabbing bassline and meandering guitars before gradually building into a fun effects-ridden guitar solo. The original lick returns with heavy double bass drum accompaniment, which appears to be bringing the track to a dark and sombre conclusion. However, a surprise solo jumps in to provide a more upbeat ending.
On the track, Myrmann told us: “I just released new instrumental single Stories Never Told, following three EP albums. I’m just trying to figure out my sound, feel and atmosphere. Music is a living thing and how I approach it is a reaction to what is happening in the song and just play with my heart. I think it is the most important thing in music.” Check it out in the stream here:
As alluded to above, Stories Never Told follows on from two EPs released this year, Pagan Ritual in January and the equally intriguingly titled Seven Forbidden Books of Spells in April. The latter deviates from the instrumental focus with prolonged periods of surprisingly engaging growled vocal sections. We particularly enjoy Pope Honorius, which has a really cool rhythm section midway through, giving way to a funky guitar solo and a powerful outro. The EP also contains great tracks like Lemegeton and Key of Solomon before the dark and intense final track The Book of Moses.
With Myrmann being our first Icelandic artist, we got his insight into his country’s music scene. “The Icelandic rock and metal scene is quite big,” he told us. “A lot of underground bands are getting some recognition, and a few bands have gathered a lot of followers and world fame. We have so many talented people coming from the North, part of it is probably because of the isolation, the harsh history, and people surviving through the years.”
The Myrmann sound draws on a wide range of musical styles, from classic rock and heavy rock to classic metal and modern metal. His main influences include the likes of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Joe Satriani, Paco De Lucia, Carlos Santana and one of his all-time favourites Pink Floyd. As he explains: “My music is a strange mixture of all my influences, I think, I don’t know if it is a good or bad thing! It is what it is.”
You can follow Myrmann on Instagram, and check out his music on Spotify and YouTube.
GigRadar 