The Scandi bands redefining Norse folk music. In tough times, they look to ancient mythology for clues about the present. Norway’s Wardruna are leading the charge. Myth and legend is at the root of their lyricism and their epic.

To create this fantastical, century-skimming noise, Wardruna use a host of historical instruments, including bowed lyres known as taglharpas, as well as goat horns, flutes and the langeleik, which is similar to a German zither.