Ghost Cult’s Chris Elliott (C.ell Arts Media / Black-Angeles) chatted with Viktor Veisgarsson, a.k.a. “V” of Kópavogur, Iceland’s modern Black Metal act Forsmán. Their debut full-length album Brenndar Rústir & Fuðrandi Fjörur was released June 26th, 2026 through Vesperian and Metal Blade Records.
The emergence of bands like Misþyrming, Svartidauði, Naðra, and Almyrkvi have helped build the foundation of the Icelandic extreme metal scene to come into existence. Aside from the said bands I mentioned, now here we have Helfró as a part of the rising forces of the Icelandic extreme metal scene as well, being the formidable force in the world of Blackened Death Metal that they are.
Iceland is not the first location you think of when considering the legacy of traditional or melodic metal, and would probably not be amongst the first (hundred) places you would go if you were searching for the next great Heavy Metal band. Indeed, brooding, expansive post-Rock; emotive, atmospheric Black Metal; twisted traditional folk are all styles that you’d more instantly connect with the volcanic, expansive, open landscapes of the western-most point of Scandinavia. So, I think it is fair to say that you would have got fairly long odds on the first release for the metal industry-shaking new label giants Atomic Fire being the debut album of a brand new Power Metal band from Iceland.