FORTÍÐ have signed a multi-album deal with the Prophey Productions. First release will be the Icelanders’ sixth full-length later this year.
Einar Eldur Thorberg comments: “We are both pleased and proud to announce our signing with Prophecy Productions”, writes the FORTÍÐmastermind. “I am already working with the label through my other band, Katla. It feels right to have the same home for Fortíð as we have already started syncronising well with them on professional and even friendly terms. We will start by releasing our sixth studio album via Prophecy in December. It feels great to be back on track after our long hiatus. Like it or not, you will be hearing a lot more from us in future. Cheers to the Germans!”
Martin Koller adds: “It is with great pleasure that I can announce the signing of Fortíð, says the SPKR media group founder. “Ever since ‘Thor’s Anger’ landet on my desk back in 2003, I have been interested in Einar’s band and their steady development with each consecutive release. What is important to me is their individual stylistic handwriting that clevery combines elements from the darker side of heavy metal with a feeling for folkish Icelandic melodies. Welcome to Prophecy Productions!”
Current line-up
Einar Eldur Thorberg – vocals, guitars
Kristján Einar Guðmundsson – drums
FORTÍÐ band pictures and other graphic materials are provided via this link: https://shwca.se/fortid
FORTÍÐ are the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Einar Eldur Thorberg, who had previously been a member of local cult act POTENTIAM. The band name literally translates as “time before” and means “past” as in “the past” or “past times”. The Icelander founded FORTÍÐ in Kópavogur, a town within the wider area of the island’s capital Reykjavik in 2002.
FORTÍÐ started out with an album trilogy revolving around the Old Norse Eddic poem “Völuspá” (“The Vision of the Seeress”): “Völuspá Part I – Thor’s Anger” (2003), “Völuspa Part II: The Arrival of Fenris (2007), and “Völuspá Part III: Fall of the Ages (2010)”. After recording his second album, Einar Eldur relocated to Oslo and as a result recruited Norwegian musicians to be able to perform live.
Musically, FORTÍÐ combine harsh black and death as well as thrash metal riffing with a penchant for epic melodies and versatile vocals with a noticable dose of that hard to describe “Icelandic sound”. Due to the band taking inspiration from Norse mythology and their black metal roots style, their style has been labeled as pagan metal, which should not be confused with folk metal.
Following up on their early trilogy, FORTÍÐ released “Pagan Prophecies” in 2012 and “9” (2015), which confirmed the band’s status as one of Icelands leading acts within their genre and increased their international following.
Having meanwhile returned to his native sub-polar country in the North Atlantic, Einar Eldur amically parted ways with the former line-up and recruited drummer Kristján Einar Guðmundsson with whom he had already collaborated in POTENTIAM and on the first FORTÍÐ album. Einar Eldur also contributes as one half to the Icelandic duo KATLA.
Currently, FORTÍÐ are preparing for the release of their sixth studio album later this year.
Prophecy Productions are an international label and were originally founded by their owner Martin Koller in Germany in 1996. From the beginning, the label has the declared aims of providing a dedicated home for eerie emotional music and to offer long-term collaborations to artists signing into the family. This concept has generated a roster displaying a stylistic emphasis on dark music from different genres such as metal and rock, alternative, and folk. Signees on the label are generally characterised by a strong artistic vision, which is reflected in premium physical products. Prophecy Productions is best known for artists such as Empyrium, Alcest, Arcturus, Tenhi, Dool, and The Mystery Of The Bulgarian Voices feat. Lisa Gerrard. Prophecy Productions are a part of the independent media group SPKR.
