Drottnar
Encyclopedia
Drottnar is a Christian extreme metal
band from Fredrikstad
, Norway
. They formed in 1996. Drottnar has played at notable festivals such as Sweden's Endtime Fest, Norway's Nordic Fest, Switzerland's Elements of Rock, Finland's Immortal Metal Fest and United Kingdom's Destruction Fest and they frequently play concerts throughout Europe.
The band has released two albums, Spiritual Battle
(2000) and Welterwerk
(2006), and an EP titled Anamorphosis
(2003). The first album was released on UK label Plankton Records. They are currently signed to Swedish label Endtime Productions
(Extol
, Antestor
, Crimson Moonlight
).
Drottnar is the plural (sing. Drottinn, Norwegian "Drott") of an Icelandic
word for master, ruler or king. Originally adopting a Viking image, the band is currently known for their peculiar political thematics and live shows where they use military uniforms reminiscent of the Russia
n style.
In 1998 the name was changed to Drottnar and a demo titled A White Realm was recorded in September.
In 2000 the band released their demos together as an album titled Spiritual Battle
. It was published by UK based label Plankton Records. The demos were remastered for the album, and Spiritual Battle was well-received by Cross Rhythms Magazine
.
A year later, Drottnar entered the studio of Black Woods Productions and recorded a song called "Trellebaand Maa Briste" for the Swedish label Endtime Productions' compilation album In the Shadow of Death.
The band changed its image a bit and used more militant elements such as gas masks as part of its live shows. In 2003, Drottnar recorded an EP titled Anamorphosis
on the Norwegian label Momentum Scandinavia. The EP was limited to 850 pieces, and contains an intro and three songs with violins on the intro and other parts. Bass player Bjarne Peder Lind left the band before the album was recorded. Drottnar was joined by guitarist Bengt Olsson and bassist Håvar Wormdahl.
In 2005 the band was signed to Endtime Productions, and entered Subsonic Studios to record new material. Some elements such as trumpet were recorded in Ostrava
, Czech Republic
by Jan-Espen S. Schildmann. In April 2006 the band released an album titled Welterwerk
. A 7 inch vinyl single titled Ad Hoc Revolt
was also released for promotional purposes. Welterwerk is by far Drottnar's most acclaimed release. Around the time of the album's release, the band began using early 20th century military regalia as part of their image, mocking Nazi and Communist regimes.
Drottnar has performed with bands such as Grimfist
and Extol
. The band played a short tour in the U.S. in summer 2008, performing at the Cornerstone Festival
.
On January 12, 2009, the band announced on their MySpace blog that Welterwerk has been a success, and they started recording a new album. On January 26, 2010 the band launched a new website and announced that the album is fully recorded and they are currently mixing it. The band promises that "We will deliver you state-of-the-art bunker metal heard nowhere else. You will not be disappointed!" On August 9, 2010, the band announced that the album is mixed and is proceeding to master the record.
and dealt mostly with the battle ravaging the spiritual world. The band members have said "The Norwegian black metal scene does not influence our lyrics, but the lyrics are still written in a black metal way, fitting our music well." Currently the lyrics incorporate politics and philosophy, for example Latin phrases such as "ad hoc
" or "sine qua non
".
Drottnar's early live shows incorporated flashing strobes
, thick smoke and cold or dark light show. They also used white candles on stage, "creating a bit mystic and emotional effect."
Currently Drottnar has had a special feature for several years, the use of Czech or "Soviet" style elements: the song titles and lyrics contain Soviet-sounding words and metaphors, some songs contain samples of radio play or radio communication elements involved in the 20th century, and at concerts all band members use Soviet or "DDR" type uniforms, "mocking notorious Nazi and Communist regimes". They still use stroboflashes at their concerts. The vocalist Sven-Erik Lind typically uses effects such as megaphone
s to create a militant atmosphere.
In November 2006, the Drottnar members played as session musicians for the one-man unblack metal pioneer group Horde
at Nordic Fest. The members covered their faces in order to not be recognized and to maintain the "myth" of Horde.
, death/doom
, and Viking metal
. On the Spiritual Battle, the band was compared to Groms, Extol
, and Antestor
, and Sven-Erik used a vocal style ranging from growling
to a more high-pitched style. With the release of Welterwerk, Drottnar broadened their style, "aiming somewhere between Atheist
, Extol, and the most complex Mayhem
material and almost hitting the mark."
Extreme metal
Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. The term usually refers to a more abrasive, harsher, underground, non-commercialized style or sound nearly always associated with genres like black metal,...
band from Fredrikstad
Fredrikstad
is a city and municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Fredrikstad....
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. They formed in 1996. Drottnar has played at notable festivals such as Sweden's Endtime Fest, Norway's Nordic Fest, Switzerland's Elements of Rock, Finland's Immortal Metal Fest and United Kingdom's Destruction Fest and they frequently play concerts throughout Europe.
The band has released two albums, Spiritual Battle
Spiritual Battle
Spiritual Battle is the first album by the Norwegian band Drottnar, released in 2000 on the British label Plankton Records. Spiritual Battle is a compilation album of the band's first two demos, both of which were recorded at X-Ray Sudios.-Overview:...
(2000) and Welterwerk
Welterwerk
Welterwerk is the 2006 full-length first album by the Norwegian extreme metal band Drottnar, released on Endtime Productions.-Recording:Welterwerk was recorded at Subsonic Sudios, Norway, in 2005, and it was produced by Lars Klokkerhaug and Drottnar....
(2006), and an EP titled Anamorphosis
Anamorphosis (EP)
Anamorphosis is the first EP by the Norwegian black metal band Drottnar. This EP was limited to 850 copies and was released in 2003 on Momentum Scandinavia label...
(2003). The first album was released on UK label Plankton Records. They are currently signed to Swedish label Endtime Productions
Endtime Productions
Endtime Productions is an independent record label based in Scandinavia. The label focuses on extreme metal music and helped notable groups such as Norway's Extol to gain fame and get a record deal with Century Media Records. Notable groups on the label's roster include Antestor, Drottnar and...
(Extol
Extol
Extol is a Christian progressive extreme metal band from Bekkestua, Norway, that was formed in 1993. In 2007, they announced they were splitting up to work on separate projects. The band is known for playing a variety of different styles of metal which include progressive death metal, melodic death...
, Antestor
Antestor
Antestor is an extreme metal band formed in 1990 in Jessheim, Norway. Credited for starting the whole northern European Christian extreme metal scene, Antestor is the only Christian band to have an album released by Cacophonous Records, which has also released records by bands such as Dimmu Borgir,...
, Crimson Moonlight
Crimson Moonlight
Crimson Moonlight is a Swedish Christian black metal band which was formed in the summer of 1997 with the mere intention of recording a primitive old school black metal demo and playing one show before breaking up. However, the breakup never happened, and they have since recorded two EPs and two...
).
Drottnar is the plural (sing. Drottinn, Norwegian "Drott") of an Icelandic
Icelandic language
Icelandic is a North Germanic language, the main language of Iceland. Its closest relative is Faroese.Icelandic is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic or Nordic branch of the Germanic languages. Historically, it was the westernmost of the Indo-European languages prior to the...
word for master, ruler or king. Originally adopting a Viking image, the band is currently known for their peculiar political thematics and live shows where they use military uniforms reminiscent of the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n style.
History
The band was originally formed under the name Vitality in 1996 by four Lind siblings: vocalist Sven-Erik Lind, guitarist-keyboardist Karl Fredrik Lind, drummer Glenn-David Lind, and bassist Bjarne Peder Lind. They recorded their first two demos at X-Ray Studios. The first one, titled Doom of Antichrist, was released in May 1996.In 1998 the name was changed to Drottnar and a demo titled A White Realm was recorded in September.
In 2000 the band released their demos together as an album titled Spiritual Battle
Spiritual Battle
Spiritual Battle is the first album by the Norwegian band Drottnar, released in 2000 on the British label Plankton Records. Spiritual Battle is a compilation album of the band's first two demos, both of which were recorded at X-Ray Sudios.-Overview:...
. It was published by UK based label Plankton Records. The demos were remastered for the album, and Spiritual Battle was well-received by Cross Rhythms Magazine
Cross Rhythms
Cross Rhythms is a Christian media organisation based in Stoke-on-Trent, England.-History:The roots of what was to become Cross Rhythms go back to two separate sources which merged in 1991. In 1983, broadcaster Chris Cole started a 30-minute weekly Christian music radio show on Plymouth Sound FM, a...
.
A year later, Drottnar entered the studio of Black Woods Productions and recorded a song called "Trellebaand Maa Briste" for the Swedish label Endtime Productions' compilation album In the Shadow of Death.
The band changed its image a bit and used more militant elements such as gas masks as part of its live shows. In 2003, Drottnar recorded an EP titled Anamorphosis
Anamorphosis (EP)
Anamorphosis is the first EP by the Norwegian black metal band Drottnar. This EP was limited to 850 copies and was released in 2003 on Momentum Scandinavia label...
on the Norwegian label Momentum Scandinavia. The EP was limited to 850 pieces, and contains an intro and three songs with violins on the intro and other parts. Bass player Bjarne Peder Lind left the band before the album was recorded. Drottnar was joined by guitarist Bengt Olsson and bassist Håvar Wormdahl.
Ostrava
Ostrava is the third largest city in the Czech Republic and the second largest urban agglomeration after Prague. Located close to the Polish border, it is also the administrative center of the Moravian-Silesian Region and of the Municipality with Extended Competence. Ostrava was candidate for the...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
by Jan-Espen S. Schildmann. In April 2006 the band released an album titled Welterwerk
Welterwerk
Welterwerk is the 2006 full-length first album by the Norwegian extreme metal band Drottnar, released on Endtime Productions.-Recording:Welterwerk was recorded at Subsonic Sudios, Norway, in 2005, and it was produced by Lars Klokkerhaug and Drottnar....
. A 7 inch vinyl single titled Ad Hoc Revolt
Ad Hoc Revolt
"Ad Hoc Revolt" is a 7-inch single by the Norwegian unblack metal band Drottnar. It was limited to 100 vinyl copies.The record contains the songs "Ad Hoc Revolt" and "Victor Comrade", two of the songs featured on Welterwerk. "Ad Hoc Revolt" begins with a sample of and old film projector starting...
was also released for promotional purposes. Welterwerk is by far Drottnar's most acclaimed release. Around the time of the album's release, the band began using early 20th century military regalia as part of their image, mocking Nazi and Communist regimes.
Drottnar has performed with bands such as Grimfist
Grimfist (band)
Grimfist is a blackened death metal band from Oslo. Founded in October 2001, they are currently signed to Candlelight Records, for whom they have released two albums....
and Extol
Extol
Extol is a Christian progressive extreme metal band from Bekkestua, Norway, that was formed in 1993. In 2007, they announced they were splitting up to work on separate projects. The band is known for playing a variety of different styles of metal which include progressive death metal, melodic death...
. The band played a short tour in the U.S. in summer 2008, performing at the Cornerstone Festival
Cornerstone Festival
Cornerstone Festival is a Christian music festival put on by Jesus People USA and held annually around the 4th of July near Bushnell, Illinois. In a given year, many artists that play at Cornerstone also play at other events such as Creation Festival and mainstream festivals and tours such as the...
.
On January 12, 2009, the band announced on their MySpace blog that Welterwerk has been a success, and they started recording a new album. On January 26, 2010 the band launched a new website and announced that the album is fully recorded and they are currently mixing it. The band promises that "We will deliver you state-of-the-art bunker metal heard nowhere else. You will not be disappointed!" On August 9, 2010, the band announced that the album is mixed and is proceeding to master the record.
Lyrics and themes
In the beginning the band's lyrics dealt with Christianity with a brutal and extreme approach; the lyrics on the album Spiritual Battle were inspired by the Book of RevelationBook of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...
and dealt mostly with the battle ravaging the spiritual world. The band members have said "The Norwegian black metal scene does not influence our lyrics, but the lyrics are still written in a black metal way, fitting our music well." Currently the lyrics incorporate politics and philosophy, for example Latin phrases such as "ad hoc
Ad hoc
Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning "for this". It generally signifies a solution designed for a specific problem or task, non-generalizable, and not intended to be able to be adapted to other purposes. Compare A priori....
" or "sine qua non
Sine qua non
Sine qua non or condicio sine qua non refers to an indispensable and essential action, condition, or ingredient...
".
Stroboflash
Stroboflash is the name of one of the earliest commercially successful portable dry cell battery powered electronic flashes produced.-History of development:...
, thick smoke and cold or dark light show. They also used white candles on stage, "creating a bit mystic and emotional effect."
Currently Drottnar has had a special feature for several years, the use of Czech or "Soviet" style elements: the song titles and lyrics contain Soviet-sounding words and metaphors, some songs contain samples of radio play or radio communication elements involved in the 20th century, and at concerts all band members use Soviet or "DDR" type uniforms, "mocking notorious Nazi and Communist regimes". They still use stroboflashes at their concerts. The vocalist Sven-Erik Lind typically uses effects such as megaphone
Megaphone
A megaphone, speaking-trumpet, bullhorn, blowhorn, or loud hailer is a portable, usually hand-held, cone-shaped horn used to amplify a person’s voice or other sounds towards a targeted direction. This is accomplished by channelling the sound through the megaphone, which also serves to match the...
s to create a militant atmosphere.
In November 2006, the Drottnar members played as session musicians for the one-man unblack metal pioneer group Horde
Horde (band)
Horde is the single-album unblack metal project of Australian musician Jayson Sherlock, formerly of Mortification and Paramaecium. In 1994 the only album Hellig Usvart was released on Nuclear Blast. With a session line-up, Horde played live-shows in 2006, Norway, and in 2010 in Finland and Germany...
at Nordic Fest. The members covered their faces in order to not be recognized and to maintain the "myth" of Horde.
Musical style
Drottnar's general style has been described as unblack metalUnblack metal
Unblack metal is a term used to describe musically black metal sounding artists whose lyrics and imagery promote Christianity. Such artists are controversial, mainly because black metal's pioneers, especially those of the Second Wave, intended to encourage hostility towards Christianity...
, death/doom
Death/doom
Death/doom, sometimes writes as death-doom or deathdoom, is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It combines the slow tempos and pessimistic or depressive mood of doom metal with the deep growling vocals and double kick drumming of death metal...
, and Viking metal
Viking metal
Viking metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its galloping pace, keyboard-rich anthemic sound, bleakness and dramatic emphasis on lyrical themes of Norse mythology, Norse paganism, and the Viking Age...
. On the Spiritual Battle, the band was compared to Groms, Extol
Extol
Extol is a Christian progressive extreme metal band from Bekkestua, Norway, that was formed in 1993. In 2007, they announced they were splitting up to work on separate projects. The band is known for playing a variety of different styles of metal which include progressive death metal, melodic death...
, and Antestor
Antestor
Antestor is an extreme metal band formed in 1990 in Jessheim, Norway. Credited for starting the whole northern European Christian extreme metal scene, Antestor is the only Christian band to have an album released by Cacophonous Records, which has also released records by bands such as Dimmu Borgir,...
, and Sven-Erik used a vocal style ranging from growling
Death growl
A death growl, also known as death metal vocals, guttural vocals, death grunts, and harsh vocals among other names, is a vocalisation style usually employed by vocalists of the death metal and black metal music genre, but also used in a variety of heavy metal and hardcore punk subgenres.Death...
to a more high-pitched style. With the release of Welterwerk, Drottnar broadened their style, "aiming somewhere between Atheist
Atheist (band)
Atheist is a technical death metal band from Florida, founded in 1984, whose music combines metal riffs with subtle Latin music arrangements and jazz fusion.- History :...
, Extol, and the most complex Mayhem
Mayhem (band)
Mayhem is a Norwegian black metal band formed in 1984 in Oslo, Norway and regarded as one of the pioneers of the influential Norwegian black metal scene...
material and almost hitting the mark."
Discography
- Doom of Antichrist (demo) (1997)
- A White Realm (promo) (1998)
- Spiritual BattleSpiritual BattleSpiritual Battle is the first album by the Norwegian band Drottnar, released in 2000 on the British label Plankton Records. Spiritual Battle is a compilation album of the band's first two demos, both of which were recorded at X-Ray Sudios.-Overview:...
(compilation) (2000) - Anamorphosis EP (2003)
- Ad Hoc RevoltAd Hoc Revolt"Ad Hoc Revolt" is a 7-inch single by the Norwegian unblack metal band Drottnar. It was limited to 100 vinyl copies.The record contains the songs "Ad Hoc Revolt" and "Victor Comrade", two of the songs featured on Welterwerk. "Ad Hoc Revolt" begins with a sample of and old film projector starting...
7" EP (2006) - WelterwerkWelterwerkWelterwerk is the 2006 full-length first album by the Norwegian extreme metal band Drottnar, released on Endtime Productions.-Recording:Welterwerk was recorded at Subsonic Sudios, Norway, in 2005, and it was produced by Lars Klokkerhaug and Drottnar....
(2006) - TBA (2011)
Current lineup
- Sven-Erik Lind – vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
- Karl Fredrik Lind – guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Bengt Olsson – guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Håvar Wormdahl – bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Glenn-David Lind – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
External links
- Official website
- Drottnar at MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....