Earlier today, we posted about a series of high-quality performance videos from the French HELLFEST 2012 festival earlier this month. Iceland’s Sólstafir performed at HELLFEST, but their set isn’t included in the collection featured in that earlier post. But some blessed filmographer just uploaded a video of them anyway.
The song being performed is “Fjara”, and as persistent readers are well aware from all my previous blathering about the song, it’s one of my favorite songs ever, of all time, world without end, amen. Fortunately, this video is of high quality, both in the visuals and in the sound. Among other things, it makes the bass drum and the bass guitar sound super-FAT, but the guitars still ring like heavenly chimes.
I don’t think I’ve expressly said this before, but I think Sólstafir are just incredibly cool on stage. They just have to stand there and bob a little on a slow, powerful song like this one, and they still just look so damned cooooool, including the way Aðalbjörn Tryggvason plays his guitar while bending from the waist like a weeping willow. He’s got an amazing voice, too — love the way he moves from the melancholy crooning to the gritty blast of the chorus.
Man, I’m really coming off like a girly fanboy, aren’t I? I’ll just shut up and direct you to the video after the jump.
5 Responses to “MORE HELLFEST SWEETNESS: SÓLSTAFIR LIVE”
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Fantastic! Superb! Magnificent! I demand that Solstafir do a North American tour, with a Vancouver date on it!
Hahahaha I totally agree with you! SÓLSTAFIR are an amazing band with fantastic songs (“Fjara” being one of their best) and just one thing has to be said: You can’t write about SÓLSTAFIR without sounding like “a girly fanboy” – it is impossible! 😀
I recently shot them at PAGANFEST 2012 in Vienna and also wrote a small loveletter/essay about that fantastic band. The stuff can be found at the links below (if you’re interested and/or speak German …. otherwise give google translate a try ^^)
http://wet-photo.blogspot.co.at/2012/06/solstafir-eine-liebeserklarung.html (also with a link to Bowen Staines [“Fjara” director] behind the scenes photos on facebook)
http://wet-photo.blogspot.co.at/2012/03/paganfest-2012-arena-wien.html
Wonderful photos from Paganfest, and I really enjoyed your essay as well (though I had to use google translate). I see that Fjara is also your favorite track from Svartir Sandar, as it is for me. “The beauty of sadness” . . . indeed. I really hope the day will come when I’ll get the chance to see a live performance.
Did I introduce NCS to Solstafir? I can’t remember. I hope I did, as it has been an unqualified success imo.
I first heard their name from you back in January 2011, though I didn’t listen to anything by them until I got the promo for Svartir Sandar last October.