Múr Win Icelandic Music Award

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Múr Win Icelandic Music Award

Progressive metallers, Múr, have snagged themselves the Icelandic equivalent of a Grammy

You might squirm when you hear the word ‘keytar,’ but in the case of Iceland’s rising prog metal outfit, Múr, we’d advise giving it a day in court. A relatively new project, the launched their debut album in November 2024 via Century Media Records, but they have now been awarded the Icelandic Music Award for Newcomer of the Year. They were also nominated for Best Rock Album of the Year and Best Video of the Year for Heimsslit (see below). With a huge sound and a formidable pace, it’s time to get to know this lot. No snoozing!

Múr also had the distinguished honor of performing during the nationally televised awards ceremony, which took place live last night, March 12. The band’s acceptance of the “Newcomer of the Year” award and performance of the song “Kviksyndi” can be streamed at the 00:20:31 mark at THIS LOCATION.

The emerging quintet are forging a new era of dark, atmospheric and boundary shattering metal. With progressive sensibilities that harken to the Devin Townsend Project and mid-era Opeth, a talent to cohesively juxtapose atmospheric textures with polished technicality a la Meshuggah and Gojira, and a focus on jazz study among the fresh-faced instrumentalists, Múr is already proving itself to be a reckoning force.

Múr’s trajectory really gained momentum a year after their formation when their talent was recognized in the spring of 2022 as they conquered the Icelandic Wacken Metal Battle, propelling them to an impressive fourth place in the international finale at Wacken Open Air in Germany.

The band’s self-titled debut can be streamed, ordered, and downloaded HERE.

Tracklisting:

01. Eldhaf

02. Múr

03. Frelsari [WATCH]

04. Vitrun

05. Messa

06. Heimsslit [WATCH]

07. Holskefla [WATCH]

Múr Live 2025 Dates: May 03: London (UK) @ Incineration Fest

Aug 13-16: Dinkelsbühl (DE) @ Summer Breeze Open Air

With a sound that defies generic labels and a vision that stretches the limits of creativity, Múr are the latest descendents from Iceland’s volcanic underground.

The emerging quintet are forging a new era of dark, atmospheric and boundary shattering metal. With progressive sensibilities that harken to the Devin Townsend Project and mid-era Opeth, a talent to cohesively juxtapose atmospheric textures with polished technicality a la Neurosis and Gojira, and a focus on jazz study among the fresh-faced instrumentalists, Múr is already proving itself to be a reckoning force.

Exhibiting a musicianship that collectively exhibits impressive virtuosity, it’s unsurprising that frontman Kári Haraldsson (Vocals, Keytar, Synthesizers), guitarists Hilmir Árnason and Jón Ísak Ragnarsson, bassist Ívar Klausen and drummer Árni Jökull Guðbjartsson each already have established impressive resumes as their interest in music all started in their early childhoods.

Haraldsson is an unprecedented force, not only transforming the typically bright and cheerful keytar into an ominous weapon of sound, he has been a musician since the early age of five when he started taking drumming lessons with his grandfather.

His interest in music continued to flourish in his teens, where he studied classical and jazz piano and ultimately started to try his hand in composition. His efforts paid off as he already has written scores for two projects – the Icelandic feature film ‘Harmur’ (‘Come to Harm,’ 2021) and the Icelandic TV series, ‘Gestir’ (2024). His cinematic sensibilities are now evident in the gradoise soundscapes that he creates for Múr.

Haraldsson then released his first solo project, Bláþræðir, in 2020, which was part of a larger collaborative project in which he and director Hrafnkell Tumi Georgsson made an animated short film with an original score. This partnership soon came to produce Múr’s haunting first music video for the song “Heimsslit.” Ever since Múr came into existence, it has been his main outlet for songwriting and is his purest creative expression.

Guitarists Hilmir Árnason and Jón Ísak Ragnarsson both had a similar trajectory, each learning classical guitar at a young age, but eventually learning the electric guitar as teens under the tutelage of Skálmöld’s Þráinn Árni Baldvinsson, who would eventually also play a role in Múr’s inception. Eventually, they each studied jazz, pursuing a formal education of the subject at Icelandic music schools Tónlistarskóli FÍH and Menntaskóli í Tónlist, respectively.

Also starting his musical training at age six, Árni Jökull Guðbjartsson didn’t start to hone his craft on drums until he was 13 and has performed in other local Icelandic bands (Krownest, Blóðmör) before joining Múr. His experience in punk and hardcore bands have been integral to his stage presence, lending to his immense energy and live ferocity.

Ívar Klausen also discovered his craft later in life, starting as a guitarist before conquering the bass. As a guitarist, he was actively involved in the local pop scene, contributing his talents both in studio and on stage for various artists. He also studied jazz guitar at the Icelandic music school Menntaskóli í Tónlist and has released several other records with his band Dópamín, where he sings and shreds the guitar as the frontman.

The commonalities between the musicians of Múr made the formation of this project almost seem inevitable, with ties between the members going back to their school years. “It started when Hilmir and I met in our first year of high school and started jamming in my mom’s garage, playing covers of our favorite rock and metal songs,” explains Haraldsson of the band’s inception. “Hilmir and Jón Ísak had the same guitar teacher at the time, Þráinn Árni Baldvinsson, but one day he introduced them to each other and strongly encouraged them to join forces with me in that very same garage the next weekend and start playing together.”

“We became good friends over the next couple of years, meeting most weekends to hang out and play all sorts of different covers and some very early original material as well, but back then I was the drummer, so we were just a guitars and drums three-piece.”

“A few years later we met the rest of the guys in the Icelandic music school, Menntaskóli í Tónlist, and things started to shape into what they are today when I stepped away from the drums to give full focus to the vocals, synthesizers (keytar) and songwriting. Singing was a completely new thing for me, only done originally so that the earliest songs I wrote for what would become Múr could include some vocal melodies. Ívar joined us on bass after I showed him some early Múr demos at school, but once this started looking like a full band and we had some of our first songs, we really needed a drummer.

“Sigurður Jakobsson (of Úlfúð, ex-Mannveira) joined us right around the start of the pandemic and we spent those isolated months really honing our inner dynamic as a band and were really tight by the time we could finally play our first gig when things finally started opening up again. Sigurður played the drums on the recordings for our debut album and stayed with us until we placed fourth at Wacken Metal Battle in Germany, but then had to part ways with us for personal and practical reasons, all on good terms. Árni, a good friend whom we had met through music school and the local scene, joined us right after, solidifying the lineup into what it is today.”

Múr’s trajectory really gained momentum a year after their formation when their talent was recognized in the spring of 2022 as they conquered the Icelandic Wacken Metal Battle, propelling them to an impressive fourth place in the international finale at Wacken Open Air in Germany.

Describing their music as “a wall of sound and emotion,” Múr is quick to point out that their sound is up for interpretation. “I’m not sure whether it’s our place to fully define it,” cautions Haraldsson “as people seem to take vastly different things away from experiencing it, depending on who they are and what they like in music.” While their complex passages will undoubtedly elicit different perspectives as it borrows from many genres and elements, the emotional component to their music is more direct, with lyrics that center on the human experience. “Most of the lyrics revolve around facing yourself, breaking the shackles of inner turmoil and finding strength in letting go,” he adds.

As for what comprises their multifaceted sound, Haraldsson explains, “We draw inspiration from a lot of different sources, both when it comes to the songwriting and when designing the more overarching soundscapes and textures. Amongst other things we are inspired by film scores, forces of nature, and various different forms of electronic music.”

Making their debut with their self-titled full-length, which will be released via Century Media Records on November 22, 2024, the newcomers already have a buzz around them as they have been winning over crowds on the festival circuit since conquering Soulcrusher Festival in 2023. Through their unique blend of atmospheric textures, evocative songwriting, and raw emotional intensity, Múr has garnered critical acclaim both within their homeland and beyond, solidifying their position as one of the country’s most promising and exciting musical exports.

Lineup:

Kári Haraldsson – Vocals, Keytar, Synthesizers

Hilmir Árnason – Guitar

Jón Ísak Ragnarsson – Guitar

Ívar Klausen – Bass

Árni Jökull Guðbjartsson – Drums