Vengeance Burns Eternal

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Band Bio

Vengeance Burns Eternal is one of those rare "viking metal" bands that actually knows what they're talking about-- the entire band are native-born Scandinavians from Iceland, and they actively worship the pre-Christian Norse deities that comprised the religion of the island thousands of years before invading missionaries arrived on its shores.

VBE's first album was the ambitious, multi-part retelling of the epic Njal's Saga in music form. They followed it with the Eyjafjallajökull EP, a 40-minute metal interpretation of the infamous Icelandic volcanic eruption. Their second album focused on the Cod Wars, a series of Icelandic maritime skirmishes with the British navy. Their fourth release was a tribute to director Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal, which included an all-new alternate viking metal score to the film.

VBE have announced that their next album will focus on darker Norse themes and black metal technicality.

Band Members:

Magnús Odinsson - vocals
Dagur Odinsson - lead guitar
Hallbjörn Odinsson - rhythm guitar
Hjörtur Odinsson - bass
Snorri Odinsson - drums
Tryggvi Odinsson - keyboard

All members of VBE have taken Odinsson as their new patronymic name, claiming to be the true and direct sons of the god Odin. Magnús has a considerable vocal range, being able to slide from a gutteral growl to a piercing goblin shriek seemingly without effort. Dagur is quickly gaining a reputation as one of the fastest and more technical soloists in the metal game, while Hallbjörn, whose name means "rock bear" in old Norse, churns through riffs like a machine. Hjörtur and Snorri lock down the low end with impeccable timing-- the latter's name translates as "attack" or "onslaught," and after hearing his drumming on VBE's albums, it's obvious how he got that name. Tryggvi rounds out the lineup with minimal but eerily effective synth work that adds to the grim atmospheric gloom of the band's sound without muddying it or making it sound too digital.

Band Gear

Albums / EPs

Inverted Salvation Date Released: 3/27/2012   Tracks: 11 Sales: 7   Listens: 8 Inverted Salvation is the third release in a trilogy of albums that have shown Vengeance Burns Eternal returning to their harsh black metal roots. Blastbeats, blistering riffs, and demonic shrieks, this is not the lofty art-metal of VBE's past but is instead a furious, seething indictment of the Christian missionaries that invaded Iceland centuries ago and converted its people over from their native Norse religion. As harsh and unforgiving as an Icelandic winter, as molten and explosive as an Icelandic volcano, Inverted Salvation has arrived and is taking no prisoners. Kill 'em all and let the Valkyries sort 'em out!!

Feoh Date Released: 6/15/2011   Tracks: 9 Sales: 16   Listens: 22 "Feoh" is the name of the rune displayed on the front cover of VBE's new album-- there is no title for the record other than that symbol. Following the brutal black metal style re-established on "Meyla Krafla Mikli Thur Syr!!!", the previous Vengeance release widely reported to have been recorded to ease tensions within the band, "Feoh" finds the group even more comfortable with their decision and change of direction. The riffs are faster and more memorable, the vocals more tortured and raw, the blastbeats in overabundant supply. If "Meyla..." showed a band of bloodthirsty vikings sharpening their axes for battle, "Feoh" is a portrait of those same warriors plunged into full-on combat, splitting skulls in half and eviscerating their foes.

Meyla Krafla Mikli Thur Syr!!! Date Released: 3/1/2011   Tracks: 10 Sales: 10   Listens: 15 "Child Born of a Long-Dead Sow" is VBE's return to true Norse black metal of the grimmest variety. Fast, brutal & ugly, the songs are a drastic change for a band that most recently was heard playing traditional folk songs & scoring films. Allegedly made to appease VBE band members who thought the group was getting too soft, the material has a ferocity & urgency to it that has been missing from the group for some time... Extreme metal fans should take another look at this band.

JUL (The Yule EP) Date Released: 12/22/2010   Tracks: 1 Sales: 8   Listens: 9 Taking an unexpected turn from the heavy themes of war & retribution that mark their early CDs, VBE offer up their own version of a "holiday" EP in the form of JUL-- a bit of fun before their grueling 2011 tour. Icelandic folk melodies & native instruments mix with more typical metal elements in this half-hour meditation on tradition, brotherhood & the coming of a new year. Raise your glass and your voice above the crackling of flames, and bring in the new year with your own viking metal roar!

Sjöunda Innsiglið / Det Sjunde Inseglet Date Released: 12/13/2010   Tracks: 12 Sales: 10   Listens: 11 From the liner notes: "Ingmar Bergman is one of the most talented filmmakers of our time. The depiction of death & life hanging in the balance within his magnum opus The Seventh Seal is one of the greatest achievements in the history of cinema. We decided to re-create the score of the original film using modern instruments and technology, and then write and record a second set of all-new pieces in a viking metal style as our own alternate score for this epic film. All hail! --VBE"

Þorskastríðin / The Cod Wars Date Released: 11/5/2010   Tracks: 13 Sales: 9   Listens: 14 The new album by Vengeance Burns Eternal, Þorskastríðin is no less epic than their previous work. The album details key conflicts & heroes in what would come to be known as The Cod Wars, a series of increasingly violent skirmishes between Iceland and Britain over fishing territories between the 1950's and 1970's. Vocalist Magnús roars the details of the proud sea captains' struggles over crushing riffs & pounding drums as the album surges forth. Cod wars shipwreck photo by John Grey Turner.

Eyjafjallajökull EP Date Released: 10/5/2010   Tracks: 1 Sales: 12   Listens: 21 No less impressive than "Wergeld," their conceptual debut, Vengeance Burns Eternal offer up a challenging EP in the form of one forty-minute track built around the recent volcanic eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland. Suggesting that the awoken Norse Gods are behind it, this grim multi-part track rises slowly from a bed of feedback loops & low rumbles to roaring riffs, shrieks & blastbeats that build in intensity until they finally break, the cacophony dying out in a wash of reverb & delay...

Wergeld: At What Cost, The Souls of Kinsmen Slain? Date Released: 10/1/2010   Tracks: 15 Sales: 12   Listens: 22 The ambitious debut of VBE, a sprawling metal retelling of the epic Njal's Saga. Covering sixty years of Norse history, the songs tell of pre-Christian Icelandic times when a killed man's value was measured in gold-- but those riches were rarely enough to stop the cycle of bloodshed for generations to come. These driving, forceful tracks detail the betrayals, broken promises, and brothers killing brothers in the days of the Old Gods. The cover art features Norse symbols overlaid on vellum paper.