Интервю с Johan „Nephente“ Fridell – (NETHERBIRD, RIKET)

Interview with Johan „Nephente“ Fridell – (NETHERBIRD, RIKET) – „We do not live from metal music, we live for it and because of it“

Satania: Hello Johan! I’m glad that we can finally talk.

Nephente: Hey Milena, good to hear from you!

S.: After „The Ferocious Tides of Fate“ the future of Netherbird wasn’t very clear. You were at the verge of disbanding. What inspired you and made you revive the band?

Neph.: Yes, me and Bizmark founded the band in 2004 and our plan was to create something different from the bands we used to be in, and a part of that was the fact that we wanted to ensure it kept being interesting. So after about 10 years we felt things began to feel stale, with less progress and too many compromises in order to get gigs and so forth. We both felt we were done with the band in that shape and form, so we took a long time to think and to try to find our bearing. And after a while we both agreed that we actually just needed to return to original idea of the band, with focus on the music and doing things differently. We gathered most of the old line up and recruited two new members in order to allow us to play with three guitars live, which is how most of our songs are recorded. What is different is that we will only focus on doing a few select gigs now and then and keep more focus on writing and recording new music. It might not seem as a big difference, but for us it is what we needed, and I am glad we didn’t just soldier on but stopped to reflect. So I am personally ready to keep doing this for at least another decade, but with way less compromises that we did before.

S.: How much time the creation of the album „The Grander Voyage“ required? Do you see it as a return of Netherbird? Even more, the album is really different from all your other recordings.

Neph.: We actually wrote most of the tunes in about two weeks. We didn’t overthink things this time, instead we went with what just felt right. So it was actually the quickest album for us to write so far. Then the recording progress took its time, but that is how it is. It is our most honest and naked album, and I don’t think we could have written it before – we needed the pause and it has done wonders for our ability to create music without any regard of style or genres. So I agree, it is different, but it is also a natural progression and it is more ‘us’ than anything we have done previously.

S.: You said that „Pillars of the sky“ is a very personal composition. Can we say that it defines you? Your emotions, your views of the world even your sensuality. What is your pillars to heaven and what you had to sacrifice climbing it?

Neph.: Yes it is true, it is a very personal song. Me and Bizmark knew we found something special when we started with it and it quickly became precious to us. And the lyrics came quite naturally for me since I wanted to crown the tune with words that would convey something strong and quite personal.

So for me the song became somewhat of a declaration of my own search for a higher purpose. Besides my music, which of course is important to me, I am more and more intrigued by the people I meet through my art. I have learnt so much and grown so much from the countless conversations I have had online and when meeting people whom I got to know through music. And this communication is very much the fuel that drives me, and I really enjoy that aspect of my artistry, that I get the privilege to reach people and that they invest time and effort into the music we write and the lyrics I pen. So it is a very non-intrusive way to connect to people and those that like what we do; that means we are no longer strangers and when we communicate we have something to start from rather than talk about the weather. That aspect is something I treasure and I think it will give me all the energy I need to keep doing this, I get so much back. So I guess my pillar is a place I want to reach in order to connect to people all over the planet. Not all of them, but the ones that intrigue me ;).



S.: The song that impressed me on first listening is „Emerald Crossroads“. It is quite different from the overall sounding of the album, as if it opens a new dimension in it and as a whole about the idea of the black metal sound. What did you put into it? How it came out to be so clear and individual? So gentle, and yet on the same time so…black…

Neph.: When we first wrote the album it was actually two songs, sort of Part I and II that are quite different, but based on the same tones. But when we were working with the details we felt we wanted to blend them into one piece, a sort of yin and yang thing, something gentle and something a bit more bombastic. We wrote both parts the same evening, so that song actually wrote itself, it came out this way. In fact all guitars in the end segment are the first take Bizmark did, it is recorded as it sounded the first time he ever played that part, so it is as genuine as it possibly could get. And it is among the last tracks we wrote for the album.

We never plan much when we write, it is Bizmark that tries out a million ideas and then we sit down and piece them together, so it is very open-ended and almost anything can happen really. I guess it will always end up being some sort of black metal, but with this track I can say you can also find so many other elements as well – and that is how I want it. We will write what feels right and when it is done and the band has put their mark on it, it will still sound Netherbird, but the elements could really be anything. It is perhaps something that will challenge some purists out there, but that is fine, our music should push boundaries and we need to explore the uncharted, so I am delighted to hear you like it, I think it came out really good. And the end is a bit of a salute to Bathory, a nod to the late and great ones that walked before us.

S.: The darkness is by definition evil, scary, cold, but you make it tender and warm, filled with a multilayered beauty. How do you do this?

Neph.: I think darkness is beautiful and comforting, and it has always had a very strong allure for me. I have been drawn to it and the mysteries it keeps for as long as I have been alive. I would say that the notion of it being evil and scary is how society and church has taught us to perceive it. Just as they try to make us avoid everything else they dislike, like sexuality, especially female sexuality, they labelled that dangerous and something people should avoid, and what a loss that has been. We have now started to break those old “truths” down and become more liberated and that is to the benefit to us all! We can live our lives any way we want, and there is no need to “mute” ourselves because of old dogmas or norms, and there is a lot of pleasures to be found in what was once sinful.

So I see darkness as a gift, something we can use to our advantage just as I see so much of what is labelled “sinful” as something fantastic and something I do indulge in with pride. This answer would be a novel if I was to detail all aspects of it, but I honestly want all people to be able to explore their own passions, urges and to be able to express who they really are. Without fear or judgement holding them back into some man made hell of repression.

Why I have always been drawn to the forbidden I cannot really say, but I have always been in opposition with norms and I guess that is partly the reason. The rest boils down to curiosity and the urge to explore and try everything life has to offer. I think I will only regret the things I didn’t do or try in the end.

S.: Speaking of this, we can say that 20 years ago the things with black metal,as a genre, were quite clear – darkness, death and Satan. Everything had to be aggressive, brutal, evil. But now there are so many sub-genres of the style. What should black metal suggest as worldview, music,as an emotion packed message, according to you?

Neph.: Yes, black metal has evolved a lot since I started playing in 1990. I think it is in the essence of black metal to innovate and to progress, it is what rebellion is all about, to break norms and push boundaries. Then there will always be people who do not agree and think that is was better in 1993 or whatever. Sometimes I am actually one of these people when I think the world is drowning in too much new and really bad music, and black and death metal is no exception. The albums that inspire me the most were released during 1990-1995 and that is where I draw most of my inspiration, but then we transform it into something that we think is relevant today. I do not see much need to make music that sounds like those old albums, they are already there, we want to do new and interesting music, but with a lot of respect to the sound of black metal as we learnt it. But I wouldn’t say that Netherbird is a black metal band in the true old sense, we sound a lot like black metal but our themes and also some of our songs incorporate influences from heavy metal, death metal, doom and also more alternative dark rock, so it is a wide spectra of music.

But to me black metal is about atmosphere and passion, and that we certainly keep and we will always make music that is dark in some sense, so in that regard and with that definition we are at least close to black metal. And there are a lot of good newer bands which keep pushing the genre into new territories, and that is needed else it would become stagnant and stale which would be an absolute contrast to what extreme metal should be.

S.: You use works of the painter J.M.W. Turner as your cover images. Why? In what way his pictures complement the music of Netherbird?

Neph.: Netherbird stands on three equally important pillars: music, lyrics and art. So we are very picky when it comes to what we use as cover artwork. „The Grander Voyage“ is very much a dark soundscape, a journey of sorts, so it felt important to capture this also in the motives of the album and the singles. And in order to keep it all “together” we decided to use JMW Turners art. I have always loved it and when we saw the sketch for the album using “Death on a pale horse” it just felt absolutely right. One day I hope we can start collaborating with a contemporary artist who can design artwork, videos, stage set and so on, but that is still some time away since we do not have the budgets needed to compensate a person for all that work yet; but in times ahead we will and that person will be a part of the band just like any other member. Art is that important to us and to what we are.

S.: And amidst the clear paintings, clear music.Acoustic parts in the songs of your new album, instrumental with a piano and a acoustic guitar, clear nature sound (rain, sea). To what limit do you want to spread the perceptions of the listeners? Can music paint landscapes, just like a drawing?

Neph.: To us our music is absolutely landscapes with different “tones”, like a journey through different places, soundscape if you will. This album takes the listener on a journey from the known into the vast uncharted unknown and we do also connect closely to nature, so for us those elements need to be there in order to convey emotions and strengthen the atmosphere of certain parts of the songs.

S.: Because of the acoustic instrumentals, you were accused of commercialism. How much, according to you, can an underground black metal band be commercial?

Neph.: Haha, yeah, it was Metal Hammer Greece that gave us that comment. I find it to be so unspeakably stupid, to be honest. It is wrong on so many levels to state that we have any sort of commercialism just because we use acoustic guitars. Have they ever heard Dissection, Bathory or Vinterland? Are they commercial? Acoustic guitars is nothing new in our type of music, on the contrary, it is a basic element. We only decided to use it more and as interlude, but instead build parts of the songs around it. And commercial, please, that should indicate that we did get some money from the band I guess? I can assure everyone that we lose money on Netherbird just like almost any band playing any form of extreme music! We would need to sell tens of thousands of albums to break even for all money we have poured into this band, into our art. And we certainly do not sell that many albums, and we are fine with it. We do not live from metal music, we live for it and because of it. So calling us commercial is not only outright offensive, it is also wrong. Just ask our bank 😉

S.: I must ask you about that little gem that you created recently – RIKET. How did you decided to gather yourselves for such a project, even more, you are all famous musicians there (although only for the underground)?

Neph.: Famous? Who? 😀 Yeah, RIKET came into existence when Tobias (lead guitarist of Netherbird, previously bassist) showed me some of his song ideas. I really liked them, a bit “in your face” death metal sounding and they reminded me a bit about stuff I played in the early 90’s, so I said we should try to record them.

Since we wanted to keep it separate from Netherbird we needed someone to play drums, so I sent the demos over to Adrian Erlandsson because I know his heart also beats for uncomplicated and raw music (we spent time in studio Fredman playing old favorites to each other about ten years ago when he was drumming for Netherbird). He liked the stuff and agreed to do the drums. He recorded them in England and sent them over, then me and Tobias recorded the rest. Very quick process, about four days in total, like the time spent doing a demo back in the old days.

So RIKET is a spontaneous thing, but great fun for everyone since we can do whatever we want. We all are involved in more demanding bands, so it is cool to have something where we can do stuff simpler and cruder.

We have so far only recorded a 12-minute EP with four songs and we do some odd live shows, but then with a slightly different lineup since the lack of budgets to cover flight costs. So live we are joined by Jerry (Wormwood), Erik (Sterbaus) and Emanuel.

S.: What was your idea behind that project and what was the challenge? Do you see RIKET as some sort of a challenge towards yourself, or the fans?

Neph.: I would say we did it just because we love playing music and we wanted a band that can do more live shows. To put Nethetbird on a stage is a pretty big venture and it demands a good stage and a bit of budgets; with RIKET we can take smaller shows and play, hence get to play more live which both me and Tobias really want to. I do also get the chance to growl more which I really like, so vocal-wise it is also a different beast from my normal vocal style which is more “mid range”, but I started out growling so it is cool to do it again. Since RIKET only does music with Swedish lyrics, it also presents an opportunity to write things in a different way than how I do it in Netherbird.

So for us it is a perfect combo really to have both bands, and that means we get to hit the stage more often and play also for slightly different audiences since RIKET is more death metal. So it is mainly to keep us entertained, I am not so sure if RIKET really appeals to the Netherbird fans actually, I wouldn’t really think so since they are quite different bands.

S.: But I would like to know, will RIKET have a continuation (I would really want one)? And do you have any plans for RIKET shows outside Sweden?

Neph.: We will do some sort of continuation, we have played one gig live and have two more booked, all being local and very underground shows in the Stockholm area. We will most likely record a full-length album when we find the time. We have a lot of songs ready so it is more a matter of coordinating things.

As for shows outside Sweden we are more than ready, our only demand is that we get to play early (never headline) and that we can keep our set short and intense. So if someone would want to book us for a number of gigs we are most likely ready and willing to unleash hell around Europe!

S.: It is quite logical that after an album is released, there will be a live presentation. Do you have any plans for a Netherbird tour, supporting the release of „The Grander Voyage“ or you haven’t considered this yet?

Neph.: Netherbird will play live, but we want to make sure to represent our music in a decent manner, so we need to find the right headliner to pair with or play festivals. We are not at all an expensive band to book, but we want to ensure we have the chance to make a good show so we want a decent stage, backline and to play with bands that can pull a crowd. So we will absolutely play live, and we are discussing it with various promoters, so I hope we can hit the road during spring 2017, hopefully even earlier.

S.: Thank you, Johan! Your message to the fans and readers and where will your „grand voyage“ take us?

Neph.: Thank you kindly for these questions, forced me to think, and that is something I really appreciate. As for “The Grander Voyage” I hope it will present a unique journey for each listener so he/she can use it to find new places and eventually also find his/her way home. Give it a listen, it is out on all platforms October 28th and two tunes are already available: