MetalFolk & World
Season of Mist have released «Mi Jord», Gåte’s new preview track, and with it the record’s release date: «Sigil» arrives on 25 September. The song’s title means «my land» in Norwegian, and the label presents it as the record’s emotional turning point.
The lyrics work with images of currents crossing land and sea from the four cardinal points, like the last breath of something immense and maternal withdrawing. Production is by Kristian Fanavoll Tvedt and Magnus Børmark, who is also the band’s guitarist.
Gåte come from Trøndelag and were put together around the turn of the century by siblings Sveinung and Gunnhild Sundli, with the idea of playing traditional Norwegian songbook material — old ballads, Hardanger fiddle, dialect lyrics — backed by a rock band. Their debut, «Jygri» (2002), reached number one on the Norwegian chart. They went on hiatus in 2005 and returned in 2017 with the EP «Attersyn», followed by «Svevn» (2018). Gunnhild Sundli still sings today, with Børmark on guitar, Arent Todal on Hardanger fiddle and nyckelharpa, Jon Even Schärer on drums and Mats Paulsen on bass.
«Sigil», which the label presents as the band’s sixth record, is their first release with Season of Mist, a metal and avant-garde label, after a career centred mostly on Norway. Their most visible moment outside the country was Eurovision: in 2024 they represented Norway with «Ulveham», a traditional ballad sung in dialect, after winning Melodi Grand Prix on 3 February. They placed tenth in the second semi-final, on 9 May, and twenty-fifth in the final.
Text by Alba Puiggròs