Finnish progressive folk/black metal band Jotungrav released their debut album Elegi

The Finnish progressive folk/black metal band Jotungrav released their debut album 'Elegi' on August 20th 2026 via Inverse Records.

LISTEN to the album on streaming services: https://push.fm/fl/jotungrav-elegi

Jotungrav’s debut album “Elegi” (Swedish for “elegy”) sees the band veer more towards progressive melodic death metal, while not entirely abandoning its original source of inspiration; blackened folk metal. Grand orchestrations and dark, melancholic passages are still present in every song to varying degrees, but the album as a whole amps up the grandeur and heroic lead melodies that can be found on Jotungrav’s earlier material. However, “Elegi” is not a collection of folky drinking songs you’d expect in a tavern, but rather an atmospheric musical journey, where norse paganism and spirituality meet both ancient and modern philosophy.

Jotungrav aims to always evolve musically, with no predetermined goal for any of its releases. What can be heard on “Elegi” is a result of organic experimentation over a year of composing, where the final songs are simply brought to life the way they present themselves. The themes of the album follow the same path, and center themselves around philosophical ponderings on humanity, suffering and perseverance, with the norse pantheon of gods in the background.

The album was composed in multiple stages, with some songs being almost completely rewritten. Initially the seven or eight minute songs evolved over time, some stretching to over ten minutes in runtime. As such the songs feature calm acoustic interludes that tone down the intensity between blazing blast beats and grandiose orchestral melodies. “Elegi” is a package that offers much for fans of Finsterforst, Moonsorrow, Wolfheart and Rotting Christ, to name a few.

BIOGRAPHY:

Jotungrav is the brainchild of singer-songwriter Matias Stenman, which incorporates elements of black metal and folk metal within a progressive metal framework. The project got its initial start in 2015, but most of the material composed back then ended up being discarded. It was in the summer of 2022 when the single Drängen was finished when Jotungrav finally materialized, with the help of fellow Sargassus members Matias Rokio, who provided percussive arrangements to the song, as well as Teemu Leskinen, who took on the mixing and mastering duties. Initially Jotungrav was a slowly progressing musical effort, but with time the project managed to accumulate enough material for a second single, Ulven, while working on more material for future releases. Both musically and thematically Jotungrav draws inspiration from early 2000s–2010s viking/pagan metal scene and mythology. The lyrics have a philosophical and symbolic focus on humanity. The songs evolve into vast soundscapes while maintaining a raw and genuine feel to them, paying homage to the early days of folk metal. As Jotungravi has developed, the band has moved closer to progressive, melodic folk metal, with the black metal influences familiar to the band playing a smaller role in the music. On the latest album “Elegi,” the songs stretch into even longer and more dynamic epics that take the listener through wartorn landscapes of the ancient world.

Track list:

01. Vansinnesvisdom (07:53)

02. Återfödd (07:51)

03. Segern (11:30)

04. Elegi (13:50)