Frostnatt - the Ural Mountains are alive with the sound of music

Frostnatt

Den Evige Vinters Rike

December 25th, 2024

Here, when you drive around this area, from Everett to Arlington, the winter has brought the usual rain, winds and storms, and lots of tree branches, some small and some bigger, on the wet ground. The labor of clearing the branches takes some time, and while I was doing that work I was listening, thinking about the most recent recording by this project right here, Frostnatt (Russia), and how different it sounds from the eight previous releases (6 EPs and 2 albums) of winter-obsessed instrumental black metal since 2019. The most recent is this seventh EP, which carries out a major turn towards a new direction. Whereas before, speaking in general terms, I would write that the music is melodic, memorable and uptempo, and rather easy to enjoy for audiences that like much melodic guitar, and especially if instrumental music is appreciated. The new direction means melancholic melodies that are more pronounced and extended, and the pace of the music is midtempo cinematic. The drumming, which used to be, broadly speaking, fast, is now, as Frostnatt calls it, orchestral. Consequently, the music has transformed into an epic sound, where black metal, folk, films core and melancholy have been subsumed into a renewed Frostnatt.

This all got me thinking, what has happened with Frostnatt and the change in musical direction? First of all, let's tackle the issue of the drumming style. Previously, the music featured programmed prototypical black metal drumming, and now that style is gone. It has been replaced by what Frostnatt called "orchestral" drumming: big, epic, midtempo drum patterns. I asked Alex Evensen, the man behind, Frostnatt, "Do you use only real percussions on the new recording? I saw the pictures on Facebook, pictures of the drums." He is in the process of reimagining the drumming. So far, at this point, he explains, "This is the first recording where real/live instruments are more than VST (virtual studio technology) ones. Kick/bass drum, tambourine, and shaker were recorded by me. Also, I wanted to record toms and some kind of frame drums, but I'm still looking for good ones to buy that will fit my music. Besides drums, of course I recorded guitars and bass, but the most important and really new instrument for me was the tagelharpa. I was planning to buy it even in 2022, but some world events changed my plans. And the last instrument I want to say is the ocarina, which was VST, but I already found a real analog and am going to buy it. I think you will hear it on my next release."

While he makes the new music, does he still depend on programmed drumming? "Yes, I do. Those were toms, frame drums, and some percussion elements like a triangle that you can hear at the beginning of each tune/riff’s repeats. But as I said before, I have plans to ‘fix’ it and record real instruments that I am looking for at this moment. I hope I will do it on my next release." The new style of drumming had me wondering as to where the ideas for change came from. Was there some specific inspiration? "To be honest, there was no inspiration. Just in one moment I got a thought: 'What if I play my riffs with orchestral percussion?'. After that I made a track, 'Overvintre', from the EP 'Den Russiske Tomheten' which I released in 2020. Currently, this EP is one of Frostnatt's most listened-to releases or even the first. At least the track 'Dødelig Frost' has more plays on Spotify than other tracks."

I wondered what role folk has played in this vision. I also wonder how it all fits with black metal. There have been hints of this change in previous recordings, but it was not as developed as it is at this point. Does folk have any bearing on the musical changes taking place? Alex is not sure that such an explanation is accurate, though. "Of course, I listen to folk music. Heilung, for example. But the first time, as I said, it was just an idea without any inspiration or something like that. But there was a next step that I did. At 'Den Russiske Tomheten' and 'Det Kommer Til Å Bli Kaldt' I used mostly orchestral instruments, but starting from 'I Det Høye Nord» I used more folk percussion than orchestral. And maybe at this step there was some influence on me from folk music, but I can't say that for sure. When I did it the first time, yes, it was difficult, but I quickly understood what I had to do. So I did it as I could. It was not perfect, but not bad. Let's imagine that I am going to rerecord 'Den Russiske Tomheten'. I think I would redo most of the percussion using my new experience and skills."

Maybe making so much black metal with the traditional drumming patterns, in quick succession since 2019, has begun to make him feel like he has been visiting that well too much. It could be some type of black metal fatigue, like being tired of black metal? "No, I am not tired, but I play instrumental music, and I think if I delete something, I mean vocals, that I have to bring something, and this something is not usual drums for this genre. My old works sound like 'Someone deleted vocals from black metal', and it’s ok that someone can think so, but my fresh works with new drums I think are original and just do not need any vocals."

To me, the new music sounds more cinematic, and to some extent, Alex agrees, "I think I can say yes, I am moving in that direction. I mean, I don’t want to make music for a movie; I mean, I want to take some elements from it and bring it to my music." On the other hand, it's not logical to think that one knows beforehand what roads Frostnatt music will take between now and another five years. If 2024 found Frostnatt ready to take the music towards different horizons within the first five years, who knows what the music will sound five or ten years from now? At any rate, I have been listening to the most recent EP 'Den Evige Vinters Rike' that came out at the end of 2024 and have taken an interest in the new sound.

Alright, well, I think I better get back to clearing those tree branches. It's another cold, wet day here and those branches will not clear themselves. I just need to find my headphones and put some Frostnatt on and get back to work.

https://frostnatt.bandcamp.com

https://www.facebook.com/frostnattofficial/