Originally released only in Iceland in 1997, Von was the first album put forth by Sigur Rós. In Icelandic, Von translates to "hope." This lack of international distribution made it difficult for fans of the band, post-Von release, to get their hands on it, unless they wanted to pay upwards of $30 to import it from the band online. However, on October 26, 2004, thanks to One Little Indian US, Von finally saw a redistribution to the US, which meant fans could finally listen to Sigur Rós' early work at an affordable price. Needless to say, most fans were probably surprised at what they heard when they popped Von into their CD players. Expectations of amazing, gut-wrenching, tear-jerking musical tapestries akin to those found on Ágætis Byrjun and ( ) were not to be found, at least not in the recognizable forms of the band's latest two albums. Instead, Von contained music that might be compared to the work of Tangerine Dream or even to some extent, Brian Eno. Von has a distinctly more ambient, and experimental sound than later releases.
Total Running Time: 74:09
móðir vor sem ert á jörðu heilagt veri nafn þitt komi ríki þitt og veri vilji þinn framkvæmdur í oss eins og hann er í þér eins og þú sendir hvern dag þína engla sendu þá einnig til oss fyrirgefið oss vorar syndir eins og vér bætum fyrir allar syndir gagnvart þér og leið oss eigi til sjúkleika heldur fær oss frá öllu illu því þín er jörðin líkaminn og heilsan amen
I would have translated these lyrics into English, but without actually speaking the language, or having an understanding of it, any real translation would be at best choppy, and at worst incoherent. This at least lets you sing along in Icelandic.
loftið leikur við lakið sveipar frið ljósið lýsir þér læðist farið er tunglið tekur við tælir hugans mið máninn mænir á myrkur far þú frá dula dregin frá drauma mína sá drungalegur fer dagur risinn er myrkur margur er meiðir sér aleinn er
Like the few other songs with actual lyrics on the CD, the ones in this song, while not necessarily understood directly, manage to convey a strong emotional vibe. This is easily my favorite song that Von has to offer.
bakvið skýjaból vaknar sól úr dvala svalar sér við kalda dropa regnsins leikur sér við heita loga eldsins býr til regnboga
As the song winds to a close, the sounds start to fade, and an occasional random metallic noise can be heard, arranged in a rather chaotic fashion, which all eventually lead to a silence.
skapaður í mynd manns í líki karls og konu tvöföld var sú synd hans sagði hans sonur alla tíð eilíf stríð sál mín fer enginn sér ekki hryggja heldur sefa mín lífs- speki alltaf rétt? betra er að þiggja en gefa sagði sá ríki og öll hans stétt ég sem kenndi hér svo margt en engin nam það á mig fékk en ég lærði að lífið hér var hart enda var ég það sem á krossinum hékk heiðarlegur einfari það var ég það ég sver en hinn breiði vegur var greiðfærari hann geng ég og krossinn ber
Because of the coherency, and similarity to Ágætis Byrjun, this will likely be many people's favorite song on the album.
While overall very different from the later releases by Sigur Rós, Von serves as a logical first effort by the band. If possible, this should be the first album by Sigur Rós for people to listen to, so that people can better appreciate how far the band has come in their more recent releases. Many who are firmly accustomed to the newer sound of Sigur Rós will probably be turned off from this album, unless they are willing to give it the time for a few listens. At first, I was regretting the $15 I shelled out for a creepy baby face behind some purple plastic, and random noises. But after a couple listens, I started to come around, and appreciate Von for what it is: a first effort, nearly a decade old. It still takes a solid third place finish behind Ágætis Byrjun and ( ) when it comes to my list of favorite Sigur Rós albums, but it makes a very good contribution to my collection of music by my favorite band, and helps to give a more complete picture of the evolution of Sigur Rós, which most enthusiasts will also conclude, and appreciate. Basically, it might take a little time, but if you're a fan of the band, then $15 is a great deal for the first stages of a great band.
Sources: http://www.sigur-ros.co.uk/index.html
Von, formed in the late 80's but only recording two EP's/demos, Satanic Blood and Blood Angel, both recorded in 1991, and one live show, recorded in 1991 as well. What's most fascinating about Von was that conceptually as well as musically they formed much of what was early black metal. Inspiring many different bands Von itself remains a cult band, a band that more people have heard of than heard, and those who do hear them either love them or despise them, with very few in a middle ground. The band has a definite mystery about them, with few even knowing who the members are, or anything about them. The idea that was Von was to create a hypnotic ritual atmosphere and music, simple, primitive and minimalistic. Most songs are only a handful of chords, and perhaps one or two riffs. To most tech metal heads this is probably something like a child would play, which, to most Von lovers, is exactly what the appeal is. Using simple things to create atmospheric results, the band did much with very little.
The lyrics to the bands records were mostly Satanic subjects, most often very simple and incantory. They were vomited forth by the vocalist with a semi-death metal grunt. The guitar riffs tended to be simple, but when they put together solos you realized that is was a put-on, and they obviously knew exactly what they were doing. Darkthrone would do the exact same thing around the same time, they deconstructed from tech death metal to primitive black metal and production for the atmosphere. And indeed their blue-print could easily have been taken from Von. The music of Von is mostly slower or mid-tempo, with a few songs which speed up to near blast beats. The drumming was mostly ambient, again a spectre of what black metal would come to be. The bass filled the low end, much like on Bathory records, creating a hellish bottom end for the guitar riffs.
Von succeed in one fashion that many of their peers and followers wouldn't be able to. Von remain a mystery even to their most ardent fans. The only tangible thing that one can find is that they were from the Bay Area in California, and they were despised by the scene around them. That is obvious to understand, for what they were creating was such a counter-movement away from the wanking of their death metal counterparts. Von rebelled against those bands, and taking from Bathory and Sarcofago created what I have described. In the process they also created a mystery and a strange atmosphere around the band itself, which all subsequent black metal bands would also attempt to do.
Of course their influence on the Norwegian scene is easy to see as well. Varg Vikerenes from Burzum was aparently a big fan of them and it is easy to see how they could have been influential upon bands like Darkthrone, Carpathian Forest and Gorgoroth. Swedes Dark Funeral released a split with their first EP and the Satanic Blood ep by Von in tribute to the band. Americans Krieg aparently cover at least one Von song at every live show. That Von were ahead of their time there is no doubt. Personally I've become a big fan of the CD which has all their material upon it, called Satanic Blood Angel I recommend picking it up wherever you can. Von are essential to any black metal fans collection, even if you end up not liking their music.
printable version chaos
Everything2 Help
