Grýla the murderer

Grýla and her husband Leppalúði are ogres, leaving in cave amongst the Icelandic mountain. There are kept quiet until winter time where Grýla, with sharp hearing, throw misbehaving children in a bag and cook them into a stew. She has a black cat who also eats children, and is the mother of the 13 Yule lads, well know as time crooks, thieves and robbers.

This folk north Atlantic tale from the early middle ages is nothing more than the personification of the cold, long, dark (4 hours of daylight during December and January ) and harsh winter in Iceland that could have justify high infant mortality rate or simply a loneliness feeling during this period.

Grýla likes nothing better than feasting on naughty children.

A relevant fact is the evolution of this folkloric tale over the course of the centuries. Grýla and her husband remain hideous ogres, that strike fear in the hearts of small children. But their mischievous sons, the Yule elves, instead of sabotaging and scaring the  population distribute presents.
One by one, they begin arriving at Icelandic homes, from December 12th to the 24th, each leaving a small gift for children or a black potato, in case of misbehaving. Which, we can all agree on, is quite similar to the Santa Claus tale. Bushy white beard, red and white clothes have now replaced the ratty and dirty clothes of the Yule Lads.

The winning team: Sheep-Cote Clod, Gully Gawk, Shorty, Ladle Licker, Pot Scraper, Bowl Licker, Door Slammer, Skyr Gobbler, Sausage Swiper, Window Peeper, Door Sniffer, Meat Hook and Candle Beggar.

Icelandic trolls

Nowadays Yule lads

To sweeten tale is a common phenomenon. Walt Disney did it with Grimm and Perrault tales, whose original versions are more cruel. So logically, opposite phenomenon had widely spread on the internet as we can see in the work of photograph Thomas Czarnecki  or even in the sexy calendar of Disney princesses.

On another subject I can recommend to read the Thesis on the figure of Grýla a mother and a murderer.
Indeed, apart from the devil aspect, Gryla embodies the character a powerful women, appreciated in Icelandic culture.

You can also read more on this medieval Icelandic folk belief.

This is what I do When someone tell me to move on

Inferno festival 2012: This is Norway!

Black Metal is Norway.
Norway is Black Metal.
Black Metal is Norway.
And Norway is Black Metal.

I surely had these words in mind, five years ago, when I came to Norway for the first time, listening to Filosofem integrally covered with my hair in the sleeping car of the train.
A too strong listening, five years of intense mental development or a too serious devotion to The Goddess of Doom, Christina Ricci must had soften the (church burning) fire. And I was almost never thinking about visiting Varg Vikernes in his 4 stars prison during my night nose to nose with that ushanka wearing Italian-speaking Russian.
But here came the saviour 180€ kick in the ass : THE INFERNO FESTIVAL

Day 1: "Club day" Wednesday 4 May

The first day is the "Club day" - 17 bands in 7 bars & clubs - but first we have to pick up our tickets in the Royal Christiania Hotel, the well-named official hotel of the festival.Here we meet our first fellow long-haired companions. Our unorthodox habits make us take more time that first predicted to convince the staff that we actually paid the several hundreds of euros and we spend significant time in front of the Easter egg at the reception (a quite tempting thing like that, to be found in every - open - shop or facility during Easter holidays).

We arrive just in time at the John Dee, part of the festival main host, to see its last concert of the evening: Nekromantheon, our first Norwegian band, playing a great 80s-style Black Metal. A shame it finishes that soon, but this first preview is a harbinger of great taste to come!

After a short stay in the Rock In and an even shorter Banjo-led Black Metal listening, we move to the biggest band of the night: Earth at the famous Victoria Live Jazz Club, in the Karl Johans Gate.

The room is full and we must wait 20 minutes - the first song to end - before getting in.

Don't trust that picture, the Americans stays loyal to their immobile drone: a 30 minutes long shoot was needed to achieve that effect. As a matter of fact, at least half the audience was sleeping at the end of the set (including half of us). But it was the most pleasant sleep!

All in all, even if we didn't see a lot of bands, this first night was a very promising preview of the coming days and we should definitely return to the Victoria!

Day 2: "Church of Misery" Thrusday 5 May

Trollfest

Our first concert in the big stage of the Rockfeller is the Folk Norwegian Black Metal band. With a big dozen of big dudes on the stage, it sure is an impressive sight.

This is definitely not True Black Metal but these bearded friends who want to party and drink beers can make the audience.

The traditional Norwegian mandolins are played by the two Snatch's gypsy looking guys. Sometimes hard to hear behind the ten other guitars but still bring some fjord freshness.

Undying Inc.

Let's go downstairs on the second stage, the John Dee pub/club, for Undying Inc. from India.

Undying Inc. plays a classic Blackened Death Metal but despite a good presence, they were much less convincing that on the myspace...

Learning norwegian : lesson one

"Jeg skrapte rumpa"

To be repeated frantically for a better understanding

First post, first norwegian learned expression. Don't ask me what it means, or how I found myself singing it out loud.
If, for any obscure reason I am far from understanding, you would like something more usefull you could say: Mitt navn er Sarah --> Mon nom est Sarah 

And just for the viewing pleasure a typical happy new year norwegian greeting card.