Wardruna have released “Helvegen II,” a new recording of their 2012 song “Helvegen,” accompanied by a music film directed by longtime collaborator Tuukka Koski. Released through By Norse Music, the new version is also available on 12-inch colored vinyl. The recording reflects how the song has developed through more than a decade of live performances, changing arrangements, and collaborations.

Since its original release, “Helvegen” has become an important part of Wardruna’s musical identity, finding its way into funerals, memorials, weddings, and other significant moments in listeners’ lives. Composer Einar Selvik explains that the new recording was created not to replace the original, but to acknowledge how the song has evolved through its connection with audiences around the world, including people who have adapted it into different languages and communal singing traditions.

The accompanying film features Finnish dancer Sofia Ruija portraying a deceased person making a journey into the afterlife, with a raven named Krummi witnessing the passage. Together, the new recording and film revisit the song’s themes of death, transition, and the role of music in connecting people across different experiences and stages of life.