My Final Undergraduate Major Project at the University of Hertfordshire comes in the form of a concept album, performed as a suite. The suite is based on the events of Norse Mythology; specifically, the events that lead up to Ragnarök -- the end of the world.

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The suite consists of six consecutive tracks:

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1. INTRO (BALDUR): 0:00 - 1:16

Baldur, Odin’s son, often dreamt of his death. His mother, Frigg, who knew that his death would be the end of 

their age, vowed a promise from all living things to never harm him. However, she had not asked Mistletoe,

which was considered too young and weak of a threat. Loki, the trickster God, took advantage

of this error and tricked Hod, Baldur’s blind brother, into shooting him with a Mistletoe spear.

Baldur, most beloved of the Gods, died, causing great sadness and marking the first sign of Ragnarök.

 

2. FIMBULWINTER: 1:17 - 3:32

Baldur’s death plunged Midgard (Earth) into three long and brutal winters, with no summers in-between.

The warmth of the Sun failed and biting winds forced mankind to kill each other in desperate wars for survival.

The Jotun (Giants) made their way to Hel’s halls. This was the second sign of Ragnarök.

 

3. DARKNESS (SKÖLL AND HATI): 3:33 - 5:12

The wolves Sköll and Hati, who had been hunting the Sun and the Moon since the beginning of time, had at last

caught their prey. The Nine Realms were cloaked in a black void, the stars disappeared, and Yggdrasil

(the tree that holds the cosmos together) trembled so greatly that the mountains fell to the ground.

The chain holding Fenrir captive (Loki’s wolven son) snapped, freeing him. Jormungand, the mighty serpent

who dwells at the bottom of the ocean and encircles Midgard, rose from the depths, flooding the Earth.

Midgard was dangerously vulnerable for attack, and so this marked the third sign of Ragnarök.

 

4. THE NAGLFAR: 5:13 - 7:22

Loki, traitor of the Gods, had broken free from the chains in which the Gods had bound him.

The Jotun, who had now arrived in Hel, released the Naglfar (Nail Farer) from its moorings - a ship made from

the nails of dead men and women. Loki, who was now captain of an army of Giants, set sail across a flooded

Earth in order to siege and destroy Asgard. This was the final sign of Ragnarök. 

 

5. RAGNARÖK: 7:23 - 10:36

Fenrir ran across Midgard, devouring everything in his path, and Jormungand poisoned the world with his venom.

The sky opened, and from the crack emerged the Fire Giants from Muspelheim. They marched across the Bifrost

(a rainbow bridge that connects the realms together) which then came crashing down behind them.

Heimdall, Watcher of the Gods, blew into his Gjallarhorn to signify that the time for Ragnarök was nigh.

The Gods and Giants fought each other in a valiant attempt for survival, but it was not enough...

Fenrir fought with Odin, eventually swallowing him. Vidar, Odin’s son, stabbed Fenrir through the throat and

Ragnarök had completed its cycle, leaving the Nine Realms desolate and decimated.

 

6. REBIRTH: 10:37 - 13:23

A new world, green and beautiful, then arose out of the waters of the old one. Vidar, and a few of the

other Gods had survived the cataclysm and would now live peacefully in this new and untouched world.

A man and a woman, Lif and Lifthrasir, had also survived, and would go on to populate the lush land they now

found themselves in. A new Sun would rise in the sky and life would be reborn again.

However, Ragnarök is fated to repeat itself, and will do so again and again and again...