The Nordic Sound with Jameson Foster

Send us Fan Mail
Viking metal veterans Einherjer joined Jameson for a quick chat at Midgardsblot 2026 to reflect on their journey over the years and discuss their latest endeavour “Lifeblood” which released in June of this year. 
Hailing from Haugesund, Einherjer have remained a steady and consistent fixture in the Viking metal scene, with their album Oden Owns ye All bearing a particularly strong fingerprint on the genre’s development. Considering they’ve been in the game now since the earliest developments of this peculiar genre which no one can seem to agree on, getting to chat with founding members Frode (bass, vocals) and Gerhard (drums) gave me some new insight on what it was that brought so many Scandinavian metalheads to the Viking age all those years back. Unsurprisingly, their story also includes Bathory (as is tradition), but Frode and Gerhard also explain that there was more to it even in the early days, and as they grow older, their relationship with the Viking age has changed quite a bit.
With Viking metal as one of the main points of transmission for Viking heritage and history across the glove, it’s always fascinating to hear what the musicians at the heart of the genre have to say about it. Thanks for the chat guys. I look forward to hearing what you have in store for us next.
Support the show
The Nordic Sound is supported by its patrons over on Patreon.com/jamesonfoster

Bar
Monica
Ember
George
Bets
Carrie
Gen
Leigh
Mike
Cindy
Clayton
Drake
Eric
Jamie
Julia
Mary
Michael
Michael
Sean
Simon
Tony

You too can support the project at patreon.com/nordicsound

Send us Fan Mail
Live from Fire in the Mountains 2026, Ivar Bjørnson of Enslaved joins Jameson once again to talk about Enslaved’s track “Spirit Helper” and its origins in their work with the Firekeeper Alliance.

Stay tuned for another interview in the near future about the new album Mi∂!
Support the show
The Nordic Sound is supported by its patrons over on Patreon.com/jamesonfoster

Bar
Monica
Ember
George
Bets
Carrie
Gen
Leigh
Mike
Cindy
Clayton
Drake
Eric
Jamie
Julia
Mary
Michael
Michael
Sean
Simon
Tony

You too can support the project at patreon.com/nordicsound

Send us Fan Mail
In Nordic Sound #68 Jameson is joined by Norwegian icon Gunnhild Sundli of Gåte to talk about the new album Sigil (out today!) and reflect on Gåte’s two-decade-long role in passing on traditional stories and songs through their unique brand of folk rock. 

________

Rooted in the intersection of Nordic folk tradition and contemporary rock, GÅTE have spent over two decades developing a sound that feels both ancient and fiercely present. Drawing on centuries-old ballads, oral traditions, and traditional vocal forms, the band transform these sources into music that is physical, emotionally direct and unmistakably their own.

Emerging in the early 2000s, GÅTE quickly became one of Norway’s most distinctive bands for their groundbreaking mix of Nordic folk tradition and modern rock. In 2002, their debut album, Jygri, entered at #1 on the Norwegian Albums chart and won them the Spellemann Award (Norwegian Grammy) for Best Newcomer.

“GÅTE have been drawing from traditional music and transforming it with modern means into something new right from their beginning”, Metal Hammer writes.

After two studio albums, three EPs and one live album, GÅTE took a twelve-year hiatus before returning to critical acclaim and sold-out performances with 2017’s Svevn. Following their folk-leaning LP Nord in 2021, the band went on to represent Norway in the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest with a contemporary re-imagining of “Ulveham”, a traditional Norwegian ballad. In 2025, they toured throughout Europe with Leprous.

Rather than treat tradition as a fixed reference, GÅTE approach it as a living force. Old material is not preserved for its own sake, but reworked and recontextualized, allowing it to resonate with contemporary urgency and relevance.

“Our music comes from a place where tradition is not something fixed, but something alive” the band says. “We draw from old sources because they still speak to us, and because they allow us to express something honest and human today.”

GÅTE have now completed their sixth studio album, which will be released on the band’s new label home Season of Mist. While the band has focused primarily on Norway in the past, signing with the international label reflects both the growing interest they have received from around the world and their desire to reach a wider audience.

During the fall of 2026, GÅTE will perform the album’s lead single “Sannsiger” and other new songs during a headline tour of Norway and one date in Istanbul, Turkey. Their concerts are well-known for being immersive and intense, balancing raw energy with a ritual-like focus that has earned them a glowing and growing reputation beyond the Nordic region.

Sigil is GÅTE's first album for Season of Mist and the most internationally minded chapter of their catalogue to date. Across ten tracks, the record moves through ancient legend and folk narrative to ask what survives once illusion falls away: enchantment, hunger, prophecy, mortality, and finally renewal. “Oskorsreia” conjures the Wild Hunt as a mirror for modern consumption and excess, while “Strandvaskar” draws on coastal burial superstition to stage a quiet exchange between the living and the dead. The album's emotional weight builds toward “Mi Jord”, where the earth itself seems to withdraw on shifting currents, before resolving in “Jostedalsrypa”, a song rooted in the true story of a child who survived alone in the mountains after the Black Death. Musically, Sigil threads Hardanger fiddle, nyckelharpa, and hurdy-gurdy through programmed electronics, heavy guitar, and Gunnhild Sundli's voice, with Maria Franz of HEILUNG joining on lead single "Sannsiger." The record never treats tradition as artefact. Old material is reworked rather than preserved, carrying inherited stories into something urgent and present.
Support the show
The Nordic Sound is supported by its patrons over on Patreon.com/jamesonfoster

Bar
Monica
Ember
George
Bets
Carrie
Gen
Leigh
Mike
Cindy
Clayton
Drake
Eric
Jamie
Julia
Mary
Michael
Michael
Sean
Simon
Tony

You too can support the project at patreon.com/nordicsound

Send us Fan Mail
We're taking a break from the live festival interviews this week to have a familiar face back with us once again! In this episode, Jameson sits down with Jonas Lorentzen of Nebala to discuss the band's long-awaited return at this year's Midgardsblot. Jonas and I also let off some steam about AI and its affect on the Nordic music scene. 
Support the show
The Nordic Sound is supported by its patrons over on Patreon.com/jamesonfoster

Bar
Monica
Ember
George
Bets
Carrie
Gen
Leigh
Mike
Cindy
Clayton
Drake
Eric
Jamie
Julia
Mary
Michael
Michael
Sean
Simon
Tony

You too can support the project at patreon.com/nordicsound

Send us Fan Mail
Welcome back to the Nordic Sound. This is the first of a few live interviews done across both Midgardsblot and Fire in the Mountains, so there is a video component for those listening on podcast if you’d like to watch the scenic places where these chats take place as a nice changeup from zoom. 
This first of the festival interview series is with mr. John Stenersen of Wardruna who is currently ramping up to release his first solo album on ByNorse, featuring traditional tunes played on Nyckelharpa with tastefully dark and brooding accompaniment on droning instruments and percussion. 
In this upcoming conversation, John and I talk about a wide range of things including the inspiration for the solo album itself and his diy introduction to the Nordic folk tradition, and we learn some about his first musical experiences as a kid too which was pretty fun. 
One caveat I always like to preface these live interviews with is because they are live at festivals, there will of course be more ambient noise than the typical Nordic Sound episode: people chatting in the distance, sound checks, seagulls, planes overhead… the works. Luckily there was nothing intrusive, but  I just wanted to mention it for posterity. It’s all part of the charm of festival interviews - it really sets the scene
Support the show
The Nordic Sound is supported by its patrons over on Patreon.com/jamesonfoster

Bar
Monica
Ember
George
Bets
Carrie
Gen
Leigh
Mike
Cindy
Clayton
Drake
Eric
Jamie
Julia
Mary
Michael
Michael
Sean
Simon
Tony

You too can support the project at patreon.com/nordicsound