Hypnotic Viking folk project Wardruna have announced their next album, Birna.
The news of the collective’s sixth album, which will be out in January and has a title meaning “she-bear” in Old Norse, is accompanied by the release of lead single Himinndotter (“sky-daughter”). Watch the video, directed by Tuukka Koski and filmed in Rondane National Park in Norway, below.
Himinndotter is the first taste of an LP themed around the bear, as musician and vocalist Einar Selvik explains. “Himinndotter is part of a six-song exploration of the bear on Wardruna’s upcoming album Birna,” he says. “The title plays on the globally common notion of the bear’s mythical origin as a celestial being. Himinndotter features a guest appearance of the Norwegian choir Koret Artemis.”
Selvik also says of Birna’s musical content: “Where the previous album Kvitravn was a step conceptually from the past to the present, Birna even more so seeks to address the here and now and the way forward.”
Selvik founded Wardruna with Gaahl (formerly of black metal band Gorgoroth) and Lindy-Fay Hella in 2003. Gaahl left the project before the making of their 2016 album Runaljod – Ragnarok.
Wardruna got a significant boost in popularity when they scored the second season of History Channel TV series Vikings in 2014. Off the back of their work on the show, Runaljod – Ragnarok debuted at number one on the Billboard World Albums chart.
Wardruna recently announced a USA and Latin America tour for October 2024, which will be followed by mainland European shows in November, Oceania shows in January, and further European shows from March to May. See the project’s upcoming dates below.
Wardruna 2024 and 2025 tour dates:
Oct 03: Morrison Red Rocks Amphitheatre, CO
Oct 06: Mexico City Auditorio BB, Mexico
Oct 09: Santiago Teatro Caupolican, Chile
Oct 12: São Paulo Terra SP, Brazil
Nov 07: Milan Teatro Degli Arcimboldi, Italy
Nov 08: Zurich The Hall, Switzerland
Nov 09: Paris Salle Pleyel, France
Nov 11: Hamburg Laeiszhalle, Germany
Nov 12: Berlin Tempodrom, Germany
Nov 14: Lyon Amphithéâtre 3000, France
Nov 15: Frankfurt am Main Jahrhunderthalle, Germany
Nov 16: Nürnberg, Germany Meistersingerhalle, Germany
Nov 17: Vienna Konzerthaus, Austria
Nov 19: Brussels Cirque Royal, Belgium
Nov 20: Halle Händelhalle, Germany
Nov 21: Prague Forum Karlin, Czech Republic
Nov 24: Utrecht Tivoli Vredenburg, Netherlands
Nov 26: Düsseldorf Tonhalle, Germany
Jan 23: Melbourne Palais Theatre, Australia
Jan 25: Sydney Enmore Theatre, Australia
Jan 27: Brisbane Fortitude Music Hall, Australia
Jan 30: Auckland Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, New Zealand
Mar 17: Liverpool Philharmonic, UK
Mar 18: Birmingham Symphony Hall, UK
Mar 19: London Royal Albert Hall, UK
Mar 21: Bristol Beacon, UK
Mar 22: York Barbican, UK
Mar 23: Dublin 3Olympia Theatre, UK
Mar 25: Glasgow SEC Armadillo, UK
Apr 26: Oslo Operaen, Norway
Apr 27: Oslo Operaen, Norway
Apr 29: Trondheim Olavshallen, Norway
May 02: Kristiansand Kilden, Norway
May 03: Stavanger Konserthuset, Norway
May 04: Bergen Grieghallen, Norway
