Heilung share new single and music video ‘Læknisgaldr’

HEILUNG, the world-famous ritual collective from Denmark and Germany, have released “Læknisgaldr”, accompanied by an official music video. The track is the lead single from Sagas, the collective’s first studio release since Drif, which arrives on Season of Mist on December 11th, 2026.

“Læknisgaldr” is conceived as a song of healing. It is rooted in a belief from the early medieval period that language is bound to the condition of the human body: to name an affliction is to define it, contain it and open it to ritual healing. With each repetition of the song’s percussive beat the affliction weakens, until chanting guides it towards dissolution. The video, directed by Gornoss, tells the second part of a greater story about trauma. Set in the forest after a battle has ended, it follows warriors who reach a state of absolute safety and security and are guided into neurogenic tremors, the way mammals shake off the adrenaline built up by shock or danger, as Kai Uwe Faust explains it.

Stream “Læknisgaldr”: https://orcd.co/heilunglaeknisgaldr

Sagas collects recordings that core members Kai Uwe Faust, Maria Franz and Christopher Juul created in collaboration with Ninja Theory for the video game Hellblade II: Senua’s Saga. Unreleased until now, the material is available in full for the first time on CD, vinyl and digital platforms. Heilung regard Sagas as its own branch within their musical universe, a cinematic, immersive and environmental side of the project. After a 10-day trip across Iceland’s ice caves, rivers, waterfalls, beaches and volcanoes, the three wrote far more material than the game could use, including “Læknisgaldr”. The 2CD mediabook and the 3×12” vinyl editions also include Sagas + Ambient, a companion set of eight tracks.

Since 2015, Heilung have connected modern listeners with the beginnings of humanity through what they call amplified history, pairing authentic and archaic instrumentation, from rattles and ritual bells to human bones and throat singing, with the subtle electronic elements Juul brings to the production. Their self-released debut Ofnir appeared in 2015, and their live ritual debuted at Castlefest in 2017. Season of Mist label owner Michael Berberian signed the band after seeing that ritual first-hand. Futha followed in 2019 and placed on seven Billboard charts, and Drif is the third studio album. Their songs have reached audiences through Game of Thrones, Vikings and Robert Eggers’ The Northman, and their first North American tour sold out in 72 hours. A sold-out 2021 show at Red Rocks Amphitheatre was released as the live album Lifa Iotungard in 2024, and in 2025 the collective headlined tours of Europe, Australia and New Zealand and played Roskilde, Download and Glastonbury. After a hiatus, they announced in September 2026 that they would return to the studio in October to record their fourth studio album.

Sagas was recorded, mixed and mastered at LAVA Studio, and produced, mixed, mastered and engineered by Christopher Juul. The video for “Læknisgaldr” was directed by Gornoss and produced by Eudaimonia APS and Maria Franz. It was filmed on location at Borre Vikingmarked in Borre National Park, Norway, and at Árdalur, Írárfoss and other locations across Iceland.

Heilung says:

“The first sound you hear on ‘Læknisgaldr’ was not made by anything from our reality. During the recording process, somehow, while playing with real human bones and breath, we managed to capture a ghost in the studio!”

Pre-order Sagas: https://orcd.co/heilungsagas

Since they began in 2015, Heilung has paved melodic paths to the past with their unique and mystifying sound. Evading all conventional genre tags and the confines of any specific labels, the ritual collective connects modern society with the rudiments of humanity’s beginnings through amplified history.

“Our ancestral Nordic civilizations did not just pop up, exist and disappear in isolation”, Heilung core member and throat singer Kai Uwe Faust says. “With singing these primordial songs we want to give tribute to these cultures, reconnect to the beginnings and remember that we all, from East to West, from past to present, are connected through the exchange of ideas and inspiring each other”.

While Heilung features authentic and archaic instrumentation that ranges from rattles and ritual bells to human bones and throat singing, their captivating brand of music is far from primitive. Producer and core member Christopher Juul implements subtle electronic elements that elevate the musical atmosphere and provide a more in-depth and layered soundscape.

Indeed, Heilung’s success has been unprecedented. The collective had already been rapidly growing a buzz upon the self-release of their first full-length Ofnir in 2015, but their dizzying upward trajectory really took off from the moment they set foot on the stage at Castlefest in 2017 for the now-legendary debut of their live ritual.

Every Heilung performance begins with Faust leading Juul, core member and vocalist Maria Franz and the rest of the tribe in an ancient prayer. Soon after, the audience is swept into rapture, swayed by incense and throat singing, primordial rhythms, subtle electronic textures, a mesmerizing light show, an army of warriors and bursts of fire.

As Heilung trekked across Europe and brought their mystifying experience to new audiences, talk of this new band and their stunning ceremony made its way to Season of Mist label owner Michael Berberian, who quickly offered the band a record contract after seeing their undeniable musical impact for himself.

By 2019, Heilung launched their second full-length record, Futha, which contrasted the masculine and battle-heavy themes of their debut with a feminine counterpart that celebrated fertility and female energy. It debuted at #3 on the Billboard Heatseekers Charts and #4 on the Billboard World Music Chart and would place on a total of seven Billboard charts while receiving critical acclaim from press around the globe.

Heilung has crossed over into places outside the music industry. From hit television series like Game of Thrones and Vikings to the blockbuster Robert Eggers film The Northman, their songs have transcended into the larger world.

Even a global pandemic couldn’t slow down Heilung’s success; it only strengthened them and gave them the gift of time to complete work on their third album, Drif. In English, the title means “Gathering”. The music embodies this philosophy by tying together the beginning of civilization with today’s modern society.

Heilung has performed their ritual all over the world. They sold out their first North American tour in 72 hours. Upon returning to the United States in 2021, they were greeted by another sold-out crowd, this time at the historic Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado. This performance was released on vinyl and CD in 2024 as the live album Lifa Iotungard.

In 2025, Heilung embarked on headlining tours of Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Along the way, they cast their spell over more of the world’s biggest stages, including Roskilde Festival, Download Festival and Glastonbury Festival. After completing their 2025 Amplified History tour, Heilung went on hiatus. Following a restful period, in September 2026, the collective announced that they are returning to the recording studio in October to record their fourth studio album.

They also announced Sagas, a collection of recordings that Franz, Faust and Juul created in collaboration with Ninja Theory for Hellblade II: Senua’s Saga, including many recordings that don’t appear in the video game. Now available in full for the first time on CD, vinyl and digital platforms, these recordings capture the game’s epic journey while also adding the Icelandic landscape to the ritual collective’s unmistakable sound. Lead single “Læknisgaldr” remedies an affliction through the simple act of repetition, like water running over stone.

The special edition of Sagas includes Ambient, a bonus disc with eight atmospheric soundscapes that Heilung recorded to immerse gamers even deeper into the world of Hellblade II.

“Sagas holds a special place in Heilung’s discography”, Faust says. “The ideas that we composed and developed with Ninja Theory for Hellblade II: Senua’s Saga soon took on a life of their own after Chris, Maria and I came home from a formative 10-day journey through Iceland. The landscape of the country helped shape the sonic identity of the material and inspired us to write far more than could be used in the game. The pieces collected on Sagas and Ambient now stand on their own and can be experienced as fully realized Heilung music. After almost eight years since its creation, we are grateful to finally be able to share this material and present it to our listeners as part of our creative journey”.

More news about Heilung’s fourth studio album is coming soon.

Line-up:
Kai Uwe Faust
Christopher Juul
Maria Franz