The warriors in HEILUNG’s music video for ‘Læknisgaldr’ seek safety in a forest after battle. Directed by Gornoss, the film accompanies the lead single from Sagas, the collective’s collection of recordings developed through their collaboration with Ninja Theory for Hellblade II: Senua’s Saga.
HEILUNG describe the video as the second part of a larger story about trauma. Core member and throat singer Kai Uwe Faust explains its forest sequence: “In the video for ‘Læknisgaldr’, you can see how the warriors reach this feeling of absolute safety and security in the forest after the battle is over. There, with the help of psychedelics, they are guided into the neurogenic tremors”.
Faust connects that imagery to his account of the body’s responses to acute stress, shock and danger, and to the possibility of releasing accumulated energy once a person feels safe. The collective’s concept for the song draws on an early medieval belief connecting language with the condition of the body: naming an affliction makes it defined, contained and open to ritual healing. Repeated percussion and chants carry that idea through the composition.
The recording also involved human bones and breath. Describing the resulting opening sound, HEILUNG say they “managed to capture a ghost in the studio!” The remark forms part of the collective’s explanation of the track’s creation.
Eudaimonia APS/Maria Franz produced the video, which was filmed at Borre Vikingmarked and Borre National Park in Norway, and at Árdalur, Írárfoss and other locations in Iceland. Gornoss also handled camera work and editing. Ruben Terlouw served as camera assistant and warrior coordinator, Teddy Masson handled color and visual effects, and Franz was the main project coordinator.
Released on October 13, 2026, ‘Læknisgaldr’ was previously unheard. Sagas arrives December 11, 2026 through Season of Mist, bringing together work by Kai Uwe Faust, Maria Franz and Christopher Juul, including recordings that do not appear in the game.
A 10-day journey through Iceland’s ice caves, rivers, waterfalls, beaches and volcanoes helped shape the material. The trio wrote more than the game could accommodate, including ‘Læknisgaldr’. HEILUNG describe the collection as an exploration of the cinematic, immersive and environmental side of their music.
“The landscape of the country helped shape the sonic identity of the material and inspired us to write far more than could be used in the game,” Faust says. He adds that the pieces on Sagas and its companion Ambient now stand on their own, with the announcement marking almost eight years since the material’s creation.
Sagas was recorded, mixed and mastered at LAVA Studio. Juul produced, engineered, mixed and mastered the recordings. Cover art is credited to Faust, Juul, Franz and Adrien Bousson.
The release will be available digitally, on CD and on vinyl. Physical options include a deluxe CD digipak with a 28-page booklet, a two-CD mediabook in a sewnbound hardcover book, deluxe gatefold vinyl in seven color variants, and two triple-vinyl tri-gatefold variants. The mediabook and triple-vinyl editions include Ambient, comprising eight additional soundscapes created for the world of Hellblade II: Senua’s Saga.
- Geiteseidh (00:48)
- Slagt (3:53)
- Læknisgaldr (6:15)
- Orrustumaul (2:34)
- Seidh (5:06)
- Jøtnarhaiti (5:30)
- Sverdhasøngurin (4:10)
- Spjoutsyla (2:42)
- Sonatorrek (2:01)
- Opnun (5:10)
- Dauðimessa (2:32)
- Strongyle (11:01)
- Ran (13:04)
- Dimmuborgir (6:13)
- Baina (3:34)
- Isshellir (2:15)
- Hvaldaudhigaldr (15:45)
- Meinbein (14:03)
- Hyttepåhyttepå (2:31)
The Denmark/Germany collective began in 2015 and describes its approach as Amplified History, combining rattles, ritual bells, human bones and throat singing with Juul’s electronic elements. Their studio releases include the self-released Ofnir from 2015, Futha from 2019 and their third album, Drif. Their live ritual debuted at Castlefest in 2017; the 2021 Red Rocks performance later appeared on the 2024 live album Lifa Iotungard.
Following their 2025 Amplified History tour and a hiatus, HEILUNG announced plans to return to the studio in October 2026 to begin their fourth studio album. Sagas is a separate collection issued between studio albums.
