Hard rock and heavy metal have long had a love affair with the Vikings. Led Zeppelin arguably kicked the whole thing off with Immigrant Song in 1970, singer Robert Plant memorably wailing, ‘Valhalla, I am coming!’ after the band found themselves invited to Iceland on a cultural mission.
Since then, metal acts of all sizes and subgenres have imagined life on a longboat hundreds of years ago. Iron Maiden sang about Invaders on The Number Of The Beast. Motörhead grunted about marauders charging into battle during Deaf Forever, and Black Sabbath explored Norse mythology on the fiercely underrated Tyr record.
