Release Date June 26th, 2026
Format CD/LP/Digital
Genre Melodic Black Metal
Origin Iceland
Vafurlogi is an Icelandic black metal band centered on composer, vocalist, guitarist and bassist Þórir Garðarsson, joined in the studio by drummer Ragnar Sverrisson. The band emerged publicly with “Í Vökulli Áþján” in 2024, though the roots of its music are much older; ideas attached to this second album date as far back as 2007. Its path has therefore been unusual, with a recent discography assembled from music developed across nearly two decades, far outside a quick release cycle. The debut grew from a brief burst of writing, whereas “Gneisti Af Eldi Guðs” draws from compositions left dormant, revised at intervals, and eventually finished in their present form.
That divide matters: Vafurlogi is not recycling leftovers, since the older material shows extensive reshaping and a scale distinct from a notebook of abandoned riffs. The band’s musical base lies in 1990s melodic black metal and the spiritual severity of the later orthodox current, built into long compositions where melody has a central role. “Gneisti Af Eldi Guðs” is the second full-length, issued by NoEvDia and Oration, giving the earliest part of the band’s history its first complete release.
Across seven songs and just under fifty minutes, “Gneisti Af Eldi Guðs” works on a broad scale, using long compositions, recurrent guitar themes and climaxes built through accumulation; the pacing asks for patience, with few aimless detours. Stephen Lockhart handled production at Studio Emissary, shaping a spacious mix in which layered tremolo lines, bass, drums and scorched vocals remain distinct inside one cold atmosphere, with no excessive studio gloss dulling the edges.
The guitars dominate, moving from sinister chord patterns into soaring melodies, as Sverrisson’s drumming alternates martial mid-tempo sections with blasts that add urgency and little clutter; the performances sound deliberate and intensely rehearsed. The lyrics examine humanity’s relationship with the sacred through the image of a hidden flame that can illuminate or destroy, a theme echoed by the dark-and-light cover created by Void Revelations and Heresie Studio. The older melodic black metal influence is obvious, joined to orthodox severity through careful harmonic tension and a solemn, devotional character; genuine grandeur rises from the riffs, not costume-shop reverence or empty decoration.
Long incubation has also left a mark on the editing: several developments circle the same emotional ground, some transitions linger past their payoff, and the near-constant grandeur reduces the contrast needed to make every climax sting. Those issues become most noticeable across a full sitting, when similar pacing makes separate songs bleed together, although the melodic lines and drum arrangements retain enough detail to prevent the second half from collapsing into monotony. This is an imposing second album with excellent guitar work, substantial atmosphere and a severe spiritual current, held a step below top tier by pacing that needs a firmer hand and a narrower final cut.
|8.0
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