Tales of Dhvaras just announced the release of both its single "Three Winters Black" and their first music video showing both the band performing and close encounters with the gritty winter of Norway.
As we are skiing our way out of the darkest and coldest days of the year here in Norway, we are giving you the next episode, «Three Winters Black.» ❄️ Stream or watch full movie in bio👀 On this date March 12th last year, the first pandemic lockdown was imposed in Norway. When the winter arrived here up north in the year 536, the tale was not so forgiving. The sun was replaced by black skies. The fertile soil was replaced by frost. The food reserves depleted. The livestock feeding the poor died. The poor feeding the rich died. They all sacrificed to the Gods. With no effect. Leading people to killing each other for survival. The tale of Three Winters Black, however, is about those who summoned the Dead when the Gods were of no practical use to them. Researchers believe half the population of Norway and Sweden may have been wiped out following these years with no summers in between (climate change caused by volcano ash). Fimbulvinter and Ragnarok had a real face back then. Enough chit chat. Hope you like the music. Tom Kvålsvoll on vocals with me this time🤘 Kyrre
Relevant sources and references for the avid reader on Scandinavian history are listed at the bottom of this article.
The visuals in the music video were filmed occasionally by Kyrre in mostly Nordmarka at night where had been escaping the pandemic lockdown by cross-country skiing frequently into the dark forests with headlights on. Examples of filming and capturing lyrical themes such as "open the gates - release the spirits", "who treasure the forest with eternal sacrifice" , "Who carry the moon through the pale night" , "Who evoke the sun before the third winter" in both Nordmarka and Østmarka can be viewed on the band´s Instagram account.
The band´s bass player, Ruben Drage DeLeon captured the photo used for the single cover and videos featuring the memorial mound stones of Rastarkalv right next to his father-in-law´s house in Kristiansund.
The song lyrics have no direct linkage to the battle of Rastarkalv between the King Håkon "The Good" Haraldsson and Eirkssønnene, the sons of Håkon´s half brother Eirik Blodøks referred above. However, the site represents a typical obelisk memorial where people used to employ a strong connection with their dead and their past, which is the theme of the single, Three Winters Black, now available on the official band Website and all streaming platforms such as Bandcamp, Youtube and Spotify. Retrieve the song lyrics at Bandcamp and follow the band to receive notifications about future releases.
Sources and references related to the climate change and events around year 536: Science Norway
https://sciencenorway.no/archaeology-climate-cultural-history/the-long-harsh-fimbul-winter-is-not-a-myth/1613223 https://forskning.no/arkeologi-historie-klima/fimbulvinteren-er-ikke-en-myte/258233
Rutger Sernander: «Die schwedischen Torfmooren als Zeugen postglazialer Klimaschwankungen. – Die Veränderungen des Klimas seit dem Maximum der letzen Eiszeit», Berichte d. 11. internat. Geol.-Kongr, Stockholm, 1910.
Bo Gräslund: «Fimbulvintern, Ragnarök och klimatkrisen år 536–537 e. Kr.», artikkel i tidsskriftet Saga och sed, Kungl. Gustav Adolfs akademiens årsbok, 2007. Artikkelen som pdf.
Fredrik Charpentier Ljungqvist: «Klimatet och männsikan under 12 000 år», bok utgitt på forlaget Dialogos, 2017.
Frode Iversen og Håkan Petersson (red.): «The Agrarian Life of the North 2000 BC–AD 1000». Bok på Cappelen Damm Akademisk. Gratis tilgjengelig her.
Morten Vetrhus: «Nedgangstid eller samfunnsendring?», masteroppgave i arkeologi ved Universitetet i Bergen, våren 2017. Masteroppgaven.
Ulf Büntgen m. fl: «Cooling and societal change during the Late Antique Little Ice Age from 536 to around 660 AD», Nature Geoscience, 2016. Artikkelen
IPCC: «Fifth Assessment Report», 2013
Sources: Toohey, Krüger, Sigl, Stordal og Svensen (2016): "Climatic and societal impacts of a volcanic double event at the dawn of the Middle Ages." Climatic Change, 2016 (Open access).
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