HRAFNABLÓT Unveils New Lineup Following Guðlaugar Saga Debut

Icelandic folk-metal band HRAFNABLÓT has introduced two new members as it prepares to bring debut album Guðlaugar Saga to the stage.

Guitarist Þorsteinn Steinberg Allansson and drummer Kristinn Bergsson have joined the band, replacing departing guitarist Mara Birna Jóhannsdóttir and drummer Andri Pétur Dalmar.

The changes follow the Sept. 11 release of Guðlaugar Saga, HRAFNABLÓT’s first full-length album and the culmination of a remarkably quick rise for a band formed in late 2024.

HRAFNABLÓT describes its sound as “sorcerous folk metal,” combining heavy riffs and folk instrumentation with clean and harsh vocals, Icelandic history, folklore and magick.

That combination drives Guðlaugar Saga, a concept album following a modern woman named Guðlaug who is suddenly transported into Iceland’s settlement age armed with little more than her clothes and a taser.

Across seven songs, an intro and a spoken-word interlude, Guðlaug encounters prophecy, battle, ritual, kidnapping, homesickness and dark magick while confronting the question of whether she can — or should — return to her own time.

“When writing the album, we knew right away we wanted to create a strong and cohesive narrative and to feature the stark contrasts present in Icelandic folklore and sagas,” HRAFNABLÓT said.

Musically, the story allows the band to move considerably beyond a single folk-metal formula. “Heljarhlíð” pushes toward melodic death metal, while “Fögnuður” takes a more celebratory folk-metal direction. “Nornarheimt” represents the album's harsher side, and “Svartigaldur” transforms an old Icelandic folk melody into a metallic sea shanty.

The story culminates with “Örlagavegur,” an approximately 11-minute piece built around shifting meters as Guðlaug faces her final choice.

“The sound can most aptly be described as sorcerous folk metal, drawing influence from the contrasting darkness and light of Icelandic folk culture as well as sonic influences from Nordic folk metal, NWOBHM, various gothic and miscellaneous extreme metal genres,” the band said.

Since forming, HRAFNABLÓT has performed at venues including Íslenski rokkbarinn, Lemmy and BIRD, along with the Icelandic Sorcery Festival.

The band's new lineup consists of lead vocalist Hugrún Hanna Stefánsdóttir, guitarists Allansson and Steingrímur Viðar Karlsson, bassist Þórgnýr Einar Albertsson, keyboardist and harsh vocalist Ólafur Daði Jónsson and drummer Bergsson.

Guðlaugar Saga is available now digitally and on CD and vinyl.