Review: M​ú​r – M​ú​r

Style: Progressive metal, post metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Cult of Luna, Gojira, The Ocean, Textures
Country: Iceland
Release date: 22 November 2024

Is there a more prog metal coded country than Iceland? An icy volcanic rock where the earth literally boils with sulphuric pools and the sky regularly puts on ionic light shows. Where the heat and electricity is supplied by the awesome power of plate tectonics, where in the summer the sun doesn’t set, and in the winter it doesn’t even rise. A place of hostility and beauty in equal measure is, surely, the progressive metal promise. Iceland’s tiny population, which falls a little short of 400,000, have made a disproportionate impact on music—Sigur Rós, Sólstafir, Agent Fresco, etc.—and now it’s M​ú​r’s turn to represent the land of fire and ice.

Doomy opener “Eldhaf” channels the languorous beauty of Devin Townsend’s iconic “Deadhead” with Haraldsson’s plaintive cleans gliding atop gazy riffs. However gorgeous it may be, it’s a somewhat unrepresentative opener as the band begin to demonstrate on the title track (“M​ú​r” by M​ú​r from the album M​ú​r—“M​ú​r” M​ú​r M​ú​r¹); M​ú​r’s sound is usually far heavier, with an enormous wall of sound, mountainous growls, Gojira-esque grooves, and buzzing, ominous synth work all battering the listener. Shorter tracks like “Messa” and “Frelsari” showcase the band at their most brutal and energetic, while the more expansive works layer on atmosphere and build to typically epic post-metal crescendos in the vein of Cult of Luna.

M​ú​r’s greatest asset is frontman Kári Haraldsson whose vocals are absolutely monstrous. His pitched screams sit somewhere between Joe Duplantier (Gojira) and Devin Townsend, and his growls are as guttural as Randy Blythe’s (Lamb of God). His cleans, too, have a strident sense of force, with lyrics all in Icelandic. Haraldsson also handles synths and keytar which provide an unexpected but distinctive texture, like the ionospheric glamour of the aurora over the volcanic Icelandic landscape. The synth swells on “Heimsslit” drone ominously like harbingers of apocalypse, while the atmospheric break later in the song feels almost like someone put on Tangerine Dream, and the alarm call of the synth on “Messa” is ripped straight out of a rave where The Prodigy are headlining. “Vitrun” is underpinned by a constant synth pulse, providing a powerful sense of dread which ultimately explodes into a keytar solo that would sit comfortably in the discography of Frost*. 

If Haraldsson is M​ú​r’s USP, everyone else is working away more subtly to elevate the tracks. Drummer Árni Jökull Guðbjartsson shines brightest on the punchier tracks where he can work the kit harder (“Messa” features some ridiculous fills), and the guitar and bass work of Árnason, Ragnarsson and Klausen thrives on djenty grooves and crushing riffs with unusual chord choices to keep the listener on their toes, while tracks like “Frelsari” and “Eldhaf” feature some fantastic tapping-oriented guitar solos ala Gojira. The showstopping moments tend to be in the vocals and synth, but the interplay of the rest of the band is incredibly tight—on their debut, M​ú​r possess the synchronicity and confidence of a band who are a solid four albums into their career; it’s no wonder that Century Media Records signed them straight away. 

Despite using a band photo in which they look like baby-faced Metallica² as their album cover, M​ú​r have crafted an astonishingly mature and assured debut, evocative of the Icelandic landscape—volatile yet stoic, desolate yet beautiful—and apocalyptic in grandeur; a testament to the powers of this fledgling group. With grandiose metal grooves, electrifying synth, and a vocal performance that ranks among the best of the year, M​ú​r have come out of the gate running with a sound wholly their own—a late gamechanger in the 2024 release slate—and a record that sorely deserves your attention before the year is out.

Recommended tracks: Vitrun, Frelsari, Eldhaf, Heimsslit
You may also like: Seyr, Sikasa, Hippotraktor
Final verdict: 8/10

1. As Andrea True once sang. ↩︎
2. From left to right: Jason Newsted, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, white Rob Trujillo, Kirk Hammett. Sorry guys. 
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Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube

Label: Century Media Records – Bandcamp | Facebook | Official Website

M​ú​r is:
– Kári Haraldsson (vocals, keytar, synthesisers)
– Árni Jökull Guðbjartsson (drums)
– Hilmir Árnason (guitars)
– Ívar Klausen (bass)
– Jón Ísak Ragnarsson (guitars)