Heilung

Heilung was founded in 2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark by vocalist Kai Uwe Faust (a German tattoo artist who specializes in Old Norse tattoos) and Danish producer Christopher Juul. Juul, who had operated his own recording studio, Lava, in Copenhagen since 2003, admired Faust's visual work as a tattoo artist, so they struck a bargain: Faust offered Juul some free tattoos in exchange for help recording some poems. After this, Heilung was started. Their 2017 performance at Midgardsblot was listed by Metal Hammer as one of the ten best performances of 2017. Later that year, the band signed a contract with the label Season of Mist. On 20 April 2018, the two previously self-released albums Ofnir and Lifa were reissued on vinyl and CD. Fragments of Heilung's music were used during season six of the popular television series Vikings. Heilung released their third studio album, Drif, on 19 August 2022 through Season of Mist. The album peaked at No. 9 and No. 25 in the German and Austrian album charts respectively. Heilung performed at Glastonbury Festival 2024. They contribued as guest musicians on Kati Rán's SÁLA album. In November 2024, Heilung announced a European tour for 2025, with a final show on 17 August after which they plan to go on a hiatus. == Style ==

According to Faust, the name of the band, "Heilung", which means "healing" in German, says something about the style of the band: "The listener is supposed to be left at ease and in a relaxed state after a magical musical journey that is at times turbulent". • drums, including one with horse skin painted with human blood, two drums with deerskin and a drum with goatskin • bones, including a human forearm bone and deer bones • a buffalo horn rattle • a clay rattle with human ashes • a Hindu ritual bell • antiques from temples • a reconstructed silver cup from the Viking age • a ravanahatha (an ancient instrument used in India, Sri Lanka and surrounding areas, originating from Hela People, then brought to North India by Hanuman, then to India) • other rattles, whistles, and percussive instruments Faust's throat singing recalls the Mongolian style. Juul uses a chirping whisper as vocals. Elaborately designed costumes are worn by the band members on stage. These are partly based on the "spiritual traditions of the Eurasian circumpolar peoples", or are historically correct reproductions of Nordic Bronze Age clothing. == Members ==

Current members • Kai Uwe Faust – vocals (2014–present) • Christopher Juul – music, production (2014–present) • Maria Franz – vocals (2015–present) Session/touring musicians • Jacob Lund (2017–present) • Nicolas Schipper Pérez (2018–present) • Annicke Shireen (2018–present) • Mira Ceti (2021–present) • Emilie Lorentzen (2018–2022) • Juan Pino (2017–2018) • Alex Opazo (2017–2022) • Jonas Lorentzen (2017–2018) Show group ("Heilung warriors Europe") • Espen Winther (2017–2018) • Pan Bartkowiak (2017–2024) • Faber Horbach (2017–2022) • Leon Remie (2017) • Marijn Sies (2017–2024) • Ruben Terlouw (2017–present) • Jens de Vries (2017–2022) • Gwydion Zomer (2017–present) • Martin Skou (2018–present) • Martin Kufahl (2018–present) • Emilie Lorentzen (2018) • Mira Ceti (2019) • Jarasol (2019–present) • Obban (2019–present) • Sami (2019–present) • Edward Boyter (2019–present) • Nadja Kalameiets (2019–present) • Janne van Ooij (2019–present) • Adélie (2022–present) • Chloe Bakker (2022–present) • Mitchell Bosch (2022–present) • Luca Borsoti (2022–present) • Jeff Coyard (2022–present) • Kristian (2022–present) • Katalin Papp (2022–present) • Steven Pilon (2022–present) • Annet Postma (2022–present) • Nina Schilp (2022–present) • Rowan Schuddeboom (2022–present) Show group ("Heilung warriors USA") • Alex Chabot (2020–present) • Danny Davies (2020) • William Johnson (2020) Timeline == Discography ==

Studio albums • Ofnir (2015, self-released; reissued in 2018 on Season of Mist) • Futha (2019, Season of Mist) • Drif (2022, Season of Mist) Live albums • Lifa (2017, Season of Mist) • Lifa Iotungard (2024, Season of Mist) == Accolades ==

Heilung was nominated in the Best Underground Band category for a Metal Hammer Golden Gods Award in 2018. Heilung tied for the World Traditional Award in the 18th Independent Music Awards with the song Norupo. ==See also==