Sólstafir was formed in 1995 by guitarist/singer Aðalbjörn Tryggvason, bassist Halldór Einarsson, and drummer Guðmundur Óli Pálmason. The band's name is the Icelandic word for sun beams (
crepuscular rays). They soon recorded the demos
Í Norðri and
Til Valhallar. Halldór then left the band, and Aðalbjörn and Guðmundur recorded a promo tape as a duo in 1997. Their second album
Masterpiece of Bitterness was released by Spinefarm later that year. The album received positive reviews, with
Metal Storm stating "the perfect mix of non-Metal elements with metal ones makes it a necessary album for any Metalhead looking for something that breaks the mold of pre-established genres." Their third album
Köld was recorded in Sweden and released in 2009. Reviewers compared the band's sound to
Enslaved and
Neurosis, among others, while noting their unique post-black metal sound. The album was also noted for its addition of atmospheric passages. Sólstafir's fourth full-length album,
Svartir Sandar, was released by
Season of Mist in 2011. The song "Fjara" remained in the 2013 list of Iceland's top 100 songs of 20 years. This album signaled Sólstafir's retreat from black metal and move toward experimental atmospherics of the type practiced by fellow Icelanders
Sigur Rós. Their fifth album
Ótta was released by Season of Mist in 2014, and was noted for its additional experimental elements like strings and piano. Three official music videos were released and the band performed on
Stúdíó A, for Iceland's national television channel,
RÚV. In January 2015, the band announced that longtime drummer Guðmundur Óli Pálmason had left the band for "personal reasons". Guðmundur replied immediately via the band's Twitter account, explaining that he had been "stonewalled by ex-bandmates" and forced out of the band by Aðalbjörn Tryggvason. Guðmundur was replaced by Hallgrímur Jón Hallgrímsson. Upon its release
Berdreyminn entered international charts, mostly top 50, across Europe. On 6 November 2020, Sólstafir released their seventh studio album,
Endless Twilight of Codependent Love. In early 2023, the band supported
Katatonia on tour. ==Members==