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FROZEN
SHADOWS - At The Heart Of Winter
By Chris Bruni
One of the most violent, grim and atmospheric black metal bands
that has caught my ears as of late are Frozen Shadows. Hailing from
the cold depths of Montreal, Frozen Shadows (who are comprised of
Alvater: guitars, Myrkhaal: vocals/keyboards, and Namtar: drums/bass/guitars)
are a true reflection of essential black metal. They are a band
who capture that obscure spirit where pure violence blends with
atmospheric fury in a cold flurry of piercing darkness. Their debut
album, Dans Les Bras Des Immortels, released by the band themselves
on their Sepulchral Productions label, is one of the finest black
metal albums to ever come out of North America. In this time when
North American black metal is at its most hateful, Frozen Shadows
are one of the bands who will herald the North American black metal
elite. So let singer Myrkhaal tells U! readers about his excellent
black metal entity.
"Frozen Shadows was first envisioned by Namtar and myself in
late 1995," begins Myrkhaal. "We were both playing in
another Black Metal outfit called Tenebrae I had formed in 1993
and we were dissatisfied to say the least with the lack of anger
and hatred plaguing this band. The remaining members basically wanted
to turn it around from a raw and atmospheric outfit to a feeble
Cradle Of Filth clone, and we sure as hell weren't interested by
this! Frozen Shadows was then formed and we created it with the
intention of being the darkest thing out of the new continent. We
mainly set out to create ultra-fast and hateful Black Metal, but
also incorporate very dark and eerie moods by adding a moderate
amount of keyboards into our composition, hence giving them an atmospheric
and symphonic edge."
Would it be fair to say that the musical influences for Frozen Shadows
come from the early Black Metal movement? Has the Canadian extreme
metal scene played an influential factor for Frozen Shadows?
"I don't think the Canadian scene played any part in Frozen
Shadows' conception and you are absolutely right to point out to
the early Scandinavian scene as our major influence. The reason
is pretty simple actually: having always been into Bathory and Satanism,
we instantly connected with the overall feeling of the early '90s
scene when it first came out. I remember getting Darkthrone's A
Blaze... back in 1991 and identifying with the darkness and coldness
in its music and poems. I started playing in my first band around
that time, and there wasn't yet those talks about 'Norwegian Black
Metal', as there were only a handful of bands around back then.
Even though my and the other members' styles evolved over the year,
we still stayed true to the early scene and way of life."
The songs on Dans Les Bras... seem to evoke that grim atmosphere
that was essential to black metal. I take it that was the intention
with the new album?
"I think the production on the CD fits perfectly with the style
of music we play: grim and cold but at the same time very brutal.
The guitar sound for example is grim in the traditional BM way,
but also a lot more powerful than the usual 'paper thin' guitar
sound. We could have made the sound clearer, as we had the means
to do so in the studio, but then we would have lost some atmosphere.
As you've said, our sound is very cold and obscure and since it
was exactly what we were aiming for, I don't see any reason to change
it in the future."
Does the winter imagery that you present with the album cover, the
band photos and landscapes play a role in the Frozen Shadows concept?
"Winter is the season of darkness, desolation, and death, so
it is only natural for it to play a big part in our concept. I've
always been fascinated by its deathlike beauty as long as I can
remember. Winter is also a season of opposites where solemn peace
can be found during raging storms and you can feel obscurity oozing
from all this whiteness. It all comes down to our personalities
if you ask me, as we are not very warm individuals. It's just natural
for us to play cold music and the winter imagery is the logical
continuation of this."
Aside from the prevalent winter themes, what other themes are portrayed?
"Dans Les Bras... is definitely Satanic in both general and
personal themes. It's just not as obvious or in your face as some
other bands put it. The lyrics to it are in fact considered by myself
as Satanic poems, so obviously they are more personal and metaphoric
than some more mass-friendly type. These are actually glimpses into
my soul, but I think they also represent well what the other members
are all about. The musical side of it is also fairly representative
of us, most of the time angry and hateful yet sometimes sorrowful
and depressed."
Would you like to see Frozen Shadows rise from the ranks and possibly
go head to head with the "bigger shots" in the scene or
are you satisfied with an underground setting?
"As long as Frozen Shadows continues on doing dark and hateful
black metal I won't feel any shame if we become recognized because
I think we are producing very solid music, and that is still the
most important thing. As a matter of fact, I would quite like it
if we were able to go head to head with the big shots as I think
this scene needs more groups who adhere to the old principles of
black metal instead of the countless clowns who have desecrated
this lifestyle in their unending quest for money. The rise of black
metal has of course many downsides, the biggest one being the commercialization
of it and its loss of values. Most bands nowadays play this watered-down
style of black metal and they just don't cut it in my eyes! Even
worse, most of the first BM groups still around have also wimped
out. So if Frozen Shadows ever become big you can count on us being
a thorn in their sides!"
One more final thing worth mentioning is that the band have graced
the back cover of the CD booklet with the Quebecois flag and a statement
written in French. What is the significance of this and does it
pertain to the subject of separation from Canada?
"Sorry for all you Canadians out there, but we ARE separatists!
What I think most people from the rest of Canada don't know or understand
about this matter is that Quebec used to be a country of its own
until we were invaded by the English in 1763, renamed Lower Canada
in 1791 and integrated against our will into the Canadian Act of
1867. When it all comes down to it, the movement for independence
of Quebec is not about breaking up Canada as most English people
would say, but rather regaining what was once ours! After all, we're
the ones that had their country broken down! Don't get me wrong,
I still believe that Canada is a very good country to live in, hell,
it's a lot better than the U.S., but I just don't feel that it is
my country. Most people in Quebec feel that way..."
Contact Frozen Shadows:
CP St-Andre
BP 32 128
Montreal, Quebec
H2L 4Y5
CANADA
www.total.net/~frozen
e-mail: frozen@total.net
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