Icelandic heavy metal band Sólstafir has proven popular both at home and abroad. Their new video, directed by Bowen Staines, shows actress Rebekka Kolbeinsdóttir pull a black coffin across rough terrain in the Icelandic highlands, among other locations, and has been watched by more than 100,000 viewers on YouTube.
The video on YouTube.
“Bowen, who is American, has a different view on Icelandic nature than us who see it every day, and that was useful in the making of the video,” Sólstafir vocalist Aðalbjörn Tryggvason told mbl.is.
“I think we should get paid by the Iceland Tourist Board or Icelandair after publishing the video,” Aðalbjörn added. “We have received a pile of emails with questions on landmarks and locations in the video and respond to them daily.”
Aðalbjörn attributes the video’s popularity to successful distribution. “The first week after its release, the video was posted on the website of the magazine Metalhammer, which is among the largest heavy metal magazines in the world.”
The video is to the song ‘Fjara’ from Sólstafir’s new album, Svartir Sandar. “It is without a doubt the biggest hit on the album, as it is the most pop-like track. One could say it is our ‘Enter Sandman’,” Aðalbjörn said in reference to one of Metallica’s biggest hits.
He stated the hero of the video is Rebekka as it was some feat to pull an 80-100-kilo coffin across rugged areas. “Her hands were bleeding by the end of it.”
This summer, the band is booked to play at festivals in Germany, the Czech Republic and Transylvania in Romania.
“In December we will play onboard a cruiser in Miami, which sails to the Bahamas,” Aðalbjörn added, explaining that the cruiser specializes in heavy metal tours.
ESA
