Sigur Rós Return With a Grim Vision of the Future on ‘Blóðberg’

Iceland’s art-rock heroes Sigur Rós are back with a new song, “Blóðberg,” which marks their first since reuniting with multi-instrumentalist Kjartan Sveinsson.

The sprawling orchestral piece was crafted with the London Contemporary Orchestra and conductor Robert Ames, with Paul Corley co-producing “Blóðberg” with Sigur Rós. “Blóðberg” also arrives with a music video directed by Johan Renck that pairs the unsettling, ethereal aura of the song with an eerie visual that appears to show piles of bodies strewn across an endless desert. 

“I feel as nihilistic as one could regarding the future,” Renck said in a statement. “We are powerless against our own stupidities. Some aspects of this came to merge with my impressions of the themes of ‘Blóðberg.’ The music becoming a score to my own miserable thoughts, giving them beauty as only music can.”

Sigur Rós announced the return of Sveinsson — and shared the news that they were working on a new album — last February. The multi-instrumentalist had left the band in 2012 while Sigur Rós was working on their 2013 album, Kveikur. While Sigur Rós haven’t released a new LP since then, they did drop a couple of singles and partner with fellow Icelandic artists Maria Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir, Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, and Steindór Andersen for the collaborative 2020 album Odin’s Raven Magic.

Sigur Rós have yet to share any other details about that new album, though they are set to kick off their summer tour this week with a run of shows in the U.K. and Europe. The band’s North American tour will launch on Aug. 14 in Toronto and wrap on Aug. 27 in Los Angeles.