Icelandic metal trio FORTÍÐ reveal the video single ‘Þúsund þjáninga smiður’ (‘A Man of a Thousand Sufferings’), which is taken from the forthcoming full-length Narkissos. Narkissos is slated for release on October 13, 2023.
The video ‘Þúsund þjáninga smiður’ depicts the endless cycle of bloody feuding that lies at the core of most Icelandic sagas and continues with usually less physical violence until today.
Watch it here:
Parallel to Narkissos, a 3CD artbook entitled Völuspá, which is featuring all three albums of the original trilogy will also be released. Each album comes with three bonus tracks and the book includes among other items introductions by Einar "Eldur" Thorberg Guðmundsson and Kári Pálsson as well as all lyrics in original language and English translations.
FORTÍÐ comment: “The title ‘Þúsund þjáninga smiður’ is a play of words, which is derived from the common Icelandic term ‘þúsund þjala smiður’; but instead of referring to a ‘man of a thousand traits’, we have changed it into a ‘man of a thousand sufferings’ here", mastermind Einar Thorberg Guðmundsson writes. "The lyrics are more abstract than the video. They revolve around mankind’s thin outer layer of civilization and the pure animal instinct that lurks beneath the surface. It takes little effort to reveal our true nature. The clear cut story-line of the video shows Icelandic farmers fighting over a piece of land. Such family feuds have been very common in Iceland throughout the centuries and lie at the core of our saga literature. Coincidentally, the farmer that so kindly lent me his fence for this video also had a very rough land dispute with the neighbouring farmer. I cannot go into the details, because it is still an ongoing court case that will hopefully get settled in a more civilized manner than what you see in this video.”
Aural Aggravation 