With the hotly anticipated film The Northman by the auteur Robert Eggers coming to theaters this month, it has just been announced that the film's soundtrack will be released digitally along with the film's theatrical release on April 22.The Northman soundtrack comes from composers Robin Carolan and Sebastian Gainsborough. Eggers chose the two composers specifically to create a unique and authentic soundtrack for the story of Viking revenge. The Northman tells the story of Amleth (Alexander Skarsgård), a Viking prince who embarks on a mission to avenge his murdered father. The film features a star-studded cast including Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ethan Hawke, Björk, and Willem Dafoe.Of the tone of their soundtrack, Carolan and Gainsborough stated, "Robert wanted the world of The Northman to feel harsh and uncomfortable, and for everything to feel like it was caked in mud and dry blood, so it was crucial for the score to mirror that." In addition to the rugged feel that Eggers requested, Carolan and Gainsborough also did in-depth research on Viking-era music when crafting the score, which spans over forty tracks. Both composers previously worked almost exclusively in electronic music, so their work on The Northman served as a stark departure. Of the adjustments made for the film's soundtrack, Carolan stated, "Electronic music has almost limitless potential when it comes to making sounds and that’s obviously an incredible thing, but you can also go down the wormhole and get lost in it sometimes. There’s no risk of that happening when you only have a few primary instruments to draw upon."The primary instruments used on the soundtrack include traditional instruments such as the tagelharpa, langspil, kravik lyre, and säckpipa. Carolan said of one of the most authentic and unusual pieces in the soundtrack:
"One of the pieces we wrote was intended to emulate the sound of a bullroarer; an ancient, relatively humble-looking instrument used in sacred rituals, or in battle to intimidate enemies. It makes a really disorienting roaring vibrato sound and was capable of creating insanely low frequencies that could travel for miles. For this we attempted to do the same thing, but the twist being that we used a huge, 40 piece string ensemble in order to do so. Recording that made for a pretty mad, suitably unsettling experience.”
The unsettling tone of the soundtrack is perhaps one of the most consistent features of the film and its construction. A retelling of one of Europe's most influential folktales — which was most likely also the basis for Shakespeare's Hamlet — The Northman will certainly prove to be a disturbing and entertaining experience for viewers, like Eggers' previous work.
The Northman soundtrack will be made available on Digital on April 22, 2022, and the film will be released in theaters on the same day. You can get your hands on the soundtrack in its physical form when it's released on July 01, 2022, via Sacred Bones Records. The physical release includes a blood-red vinyl record, posters, and cover art that includes images from the film.
You can view the record's cover art and images of the vinyl below.
Here is the full tracklist for The Northman:
1. Approaching Hrafnsey
2. The King
3. Entering the Temple
4. Last Teardrop
5. Blood Tree
6. Strike, Brother
7. Escape
8. I Will Avenge You, Father
9. The Land of the Rus
10. A Burning Barn
11. Seeress
12. Raven's Omen
13. Storm At Sea / Yggdrasill
14. Iceland
15. I Will Save You, Mother
16. Slave Work
17. Guðrún
18. Follow The Vixen's Tail
19. He-Witch
20. Draugr
21. Mound Dweller
22. To The Games
23. Birch Woods
24. First Of Many
25. Trollish Sorcery
26. Svið Night, Part 1
27. Svið Night, Part 2
28. I Am Your Death
29. Come Morning
30. I Am His Vengeance
31. Óðinn
32. Valkyrie
33. Vestrahorn
34. Hidden Valley
35. Blood Tree, Part 2
36. Blóð Inside / I Choose Both
37. A Maiden King
38. The Wolf has Grown
39. The Gates of Hel / Slain by Iron
40. Hekla
41. Cut the Thread of Fate
42. Make Your Passage / Valhöll
43. Ættartré / End Credits