GlerAkur

Operating under the nom de plume GlerAkur -- the name is derived from the Icelandic words "gler" (glass) and "akur" (field) -- Elvar Geir Sævarsson is a Reykjavik-based sound designer and composer whose hypnotic and undulating waves of sonic disquiet draw as much from drone, ambient, and post-rock as they do black and doom metal. In 2016, Sævarsson took some time off from his work at the National Theater of Iceland and released his debut EP, Can't You Wait, which went on to land a nomination for a prestigious Kraumer Award, the country's annual musical prize. Sævarsson's ambitious follow-up, The Mountains Are Beautiful Now, was composed for the National Theatre's 2015 production of Fjalla-Eyvindur & Halla, a play penned in 1911 by Jóhann Sigurjónsson about a pair of famous Icelandic outlaws. The cavernous and feedback-laden full-length set was released via Prophecy Productions in 2017, and featured four guitarists, two drummers, and a bassist. ~ James Christopher Monger