Review by Brynjar Vatnsdal.

When I first heard about the band Mordingjarnir, I thought a band with such a name must be pretty damn rough. However, when I realized that the English translation of the band’s name is “The Killers” it dawned on me that this perception wasn’t right.

Mordingjarnir have been in the forefront of a small but steadily growing punk scene in Iceland in the last couple of years. Their two previous albums, Í götunni minni (2006) and Áfram Ísland (2008) were raw and energetic in the classic punk do-it-yourself manner.

This time around the rough edges have been rubbed down and the sound is much more radio friendly.

To call Mordingjarnir a punk band is actually a bit of an over simplification; they are in fact citing metal references all over the place. The title song has a glorious Iron Maiden intro but somehow the chorus seems a bit cheesy.  

That is actually the problem with this album; it sometimes doesn’t seem to be able to choose in which direction to go.

The opening song, “Letiljód” sets things off with a heavy riff, but then the verses sound way too much like Green Day, while “Nálaegt Nordurpól” is raw like the previous albums.

“Hlakka til ad hitta thig” is so damn soft that is almost sounds like a children’s ditty. The only problem is the suicidal lyrics. That’s another schizophrenic thing about this album. Sometimes the lyrics don’t quite match the music.

Another example of the band’s dilemma of going in different directions is the cute little love song “‘81 (Sé thig aldrei meir)” being immediately followed by “Kríp”— which has a totally opposite meaning.

“Manvísa” includes a guest appearance by Katrína Mogensen of Mammút. This is probably the most interesting song of the album, a little twist on the punk formula, and the interplay of the two voices is excellent.

Like all good punk bands, Mordingjarnir include the obligatory reggae song on Flóttinn mikli. What it is with punk bands and reggae I don’t know, but it certainly adds another dimension to the album. If that song will not be used in a commercial in the next couple of years I will be extremely disappointed.

All in all Flótinn mikli is a growing-up album of a once rough diamond of a punk band. The band definitely has places to go and talent in abundance to take them there. Let’s just hope they won’t have all their edge rubbed off. 

Listen to a clip of track #3 “Flóttin mikli” from Flóttinn mikli by Mordingjarnir.

The album is available in the webstore of Kimi Records.

Brynjar Vatnsdal – brynjarvatnsdal@hotmail.com

Brynjar Vatnsdal is a biomedical engineer by profession and a devoted music fan and record collector. He has a collection of more than 1,000 CDs and vinyl records spanning the past 50 years of musical history, both local and international.