There are few bands capable of making ancient rituals feel quite so unsettlingly alive as Heilung. Their music doesn’t always feel like something you listen to. Sometimes it feels like something happening around you, and “Læknisgaldr” is a particularly striking example.
Released on 13 October, the track is the first glimpse of “Sagas“, an unusual release collecting recordings made by Kai Uwe Faust, Maria Franz and Christopher Juul during their collaboration with Ninja Theory for the video game “Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II“. “Sagas” explores another side of Heilung‘s musical world, and “Læknisgaldr” sets the tone with a rather fascinating idea: healing through ritual.
The song draws on an early medieval belief that naming an illness gives it a form, allowing it to be contained and eventually overcome. The repetitive percussion gradually wears down the affliction, while the chants take over. It’s hypnotic and strangely comforting.
The accompanying video is the second chapter in a larger story about trauma. Set against the aftermath of battle, it explores what happens when the body finally feels safe enough to release the fear it has been carrying. As Kai Uwe Faust explains, the tremors depicted are inspired by the natural way mammals discharge accumulated adrenaline after danger. And then there is the sound itself. According to the band, the recording involved real human bones and breath. They even believe they captured something rather unexpected in the studio, describing the opening sound as an encounter with a ghost.
Whether you believe in spirits or simply enjoy a good mystery, it’s a wonderfully eerie detail.
“Sagas” will be released on 11 December 2026 via Season of Mist. Until then, let this one wash over you. Just don’t expect a conventional music video.
And if you ever get the chance to see Heilung live, take it. I first experienced them at Mystic Festival, and I still struggle to describe what happened that night. It wasn’t really a concert. It was something else entirely. The drums, the chants, the atmosphere, the raw physical presence of the performance. It gets under your skin and goes straight through your body. Emotionally, it was one of the most intense live experiences I’ve ever had. You don’t simply stand there watching Heilung perform. You feel every bloody minute of it.
