Megas - First Release and Controversy

First Release and Controversy

At the beginning of the seventies, his music works were not accessible as Megas only performed them to his friends of the left-wing circles. However in 1972, Icelandic students in Oslo, Norway helped him release his first album, in which diabolic and satiric lyrics were accompanied by a mild acoustic music played by Norwegian folk musicians. This work caused controversy and his music was banned by the Icelandic national radio, but Megas became a cult figure in the growing alternative scene.

In 1973, as Megas found it difficult to release further albums, he published his verses and music in 3 books.

When his original lyrics were performed with the electric rock band Judas in 1975, Megas managed to reach a broader audience. Several of those songs lampooned the Icelandic cultural legacy, including his two next albums: Millilending (1975) and Fram og aftur blindgötuna (1976), which were much heavier than the first one. He focused on topics that challenged all of Icelandic society’s taboos with references made to classical literature and a sarcastic revisionist history. His work polarized the audience, splitting them into a hostile minority and an enthusiastic majority. His songs' remarkable poetry and use of Icelandic language proved a novel way to boost Icelandic rock and roll.

In 1977 Megas released Á bleikum náttkjólum with the accompaniment of Spilverk þjóðanna, a popular folk-rock band. This album was voted the best Icelandic album ever made, and with a variety of music styles, it features what many critics considered the first Icelandic punk song. By the end of the seventies, Megas was perceived as a provocateur and his important role in the Icelandic rock scene turned him into a reference for future artists.

He then released a children’s song album and a double live album and withdrew from the Icelandic music and started working as a dock worker and graduated from arts school.