Article Response: Wotanic Majesty

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The Dirty Vicar on Nordic bands.

― Tom, Friday, 19 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

All I can say is that I really, really liked this article. I'll read it again, and I might be able to say why.

― Dr. C, Friday, 19 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

I for one think it is an excellent article.

― DV, Friday, 19 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

When Nath & I saw Múm play live, in addition to the melodica, they had this HUGE harmonica-like instrument. I want one!

― Jeff W, Friday, 19 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

it is a bass harmonica (possibly)

it is the serpent of the blues world

― mark s, Friday, 19 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

All good and well but the bands toward which the article takes a dismissive if not contemptuous attitude continue to make some of the most challenging, interesting, best music around. To lump them all in as "crazy guys who burn down churches" is like me saying all dance music is Daft Punk. Which admittedly is the sort of ridiculous thing I'm likely to say when I get riled up, but you get my point. Scandinavian metal remains more interesting than anything else going on in Scandinavia, to my ears.

― John Darnielle, Friday, 19 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

that may be true, but Burzum haven't played many gigs in Dublin recently.

― DV, Friday, 19 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

also, with the Norwegian black metallers (none of whose music I have ever heard) - is it not the case that the killing people and burning down churches is an important part of what they are about, in the sense that the same pagan-nietzschean worldview that drives their music also drives them to commit those acts? If you take Mr Varg Vikernes (or Count Grisnakh, or Brian, or whatever he is calling himself this week) - he makes sad mournful music about how Christianity has replaced the old religion of the Norse, and he burns down churches as a way of striking a blow against the new religion.

― DV, Friday, 19 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

This is why I brought up my own relative myopia w/r/t dance music: Varg & his ilk are part of Scandinavian metal, but they're not The Whole Thing nor even the most interesting part of it. To a lot of people outside the region, the most sensationalistic elements are naturally the most compelling -- but all kinds of metal are really big (like, "the records go gold & they win the local equivalent of a Grammy" big) up there, and burning down churches isn't an essential part of any of it. Hatred of Christianity is, sure, but that's hardly a radical position. I think the Lords of Chaos book paints a romantic picture of what's actually a rather more complex scene, and a lot of people have take LoC as straight reportage.

― John Darnielle, Friday, 19 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

the most sensationalistic elements *are* the most compelling.

Heavy Metaller dislikes authority, christianity = big mickey

Heavy Metaller burns down church, kills best friend = a lot more interesting.

Anyway, this is all focusing on a throwaway paragraph. At the end of the day Heavy Metal is rubbish, the Hives are Law, you are crime.

― DV, Friday, 19 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

Well, I'm not gonna argue with you -- though I have heard the Hives, while by your own admission you haven't heard much in the way of Scando-metal, and the former seem rather faceless and drab compared to the latter. The new Clandestine Blaze album ate the Hives for breakfast and declared them yummy. Do check it out if you get the chance.

― John Darnielle, Friday, 19 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

The article itself was quite good & nicely written by the way -- it just seemed like it went out of its way to say "oh and this other kind of Scandinavian music, about which I know very little, is silly."

― John Darnielle, Friday, 19 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

You should write an article comparing the Lords of Chaos bands with other Scandinavian metal bands. But are they the "trend" bands that the LoC people are always railing against?

One of the things that is funny/bad about the Lords of Chaos book is how little it says about the music of the bands it covers. You are kind of left to assume that it's all grunty grindcore, but there are some tantalising mentions of how a lot of those bands were also very influenced by early Kraftwerk and many of them also recorded electronic ambient music.

― DV, Friday, 19 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

I still say Mum should "adopt the fishnets"...

― Paul, Friday, 19 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

As much as the Scandinavian metal scene can (and must) be praised for the great bands it produced in the first half of the 90s, it produces very few noteworthy bands today. So mentioning the antics of the Norwegian metal scene of the late 80s/early 90s in the context of an article about the state of music in 2002 is a bit odd.

And let's not forget that Scandinavia has brought us loads of music in many genres: Abba, A-Ha, Army Of Lovers, Dr. Alban, Ace Of Base, Roxette, Biosphere, Motorpsycho, Eleven Pictures, Satanic Surfers, The Hellacopters, Kent, Alcazar. Plus, isn't Britney Spears producer team Swedish?

― Siegbran Hetteson, Friday, 19 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

Most of the Backstreet Boys' delectable Black & Blue was written by Swedes & recorded in Sweden. No word yet on whether the album will be released in a true cult edition whose sleeve's left corner has been dipped in the blood of the unbeliever.
― John Darnielle, Friday, 19 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

phun phacts: much of Charion's team are former metal guitarists.
― Sterling Clover, Friday, 19 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

sorry 'bout that

― John Darnielle, Friday, 19 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

There.

― John Darnielle, Friday, 19 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

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