DE SOM SEJREDE... / VEJEN TIL ASGÅRD (2CD BOX SET)  REVIEW BY SMD AUGUST 2007

Nattefrost is Bjorn Jeppesen from Denmark. To make things a little easier for the majority of our audience I have decided to use the English versions of the track titles instead of the Danish. A twangy bass loop provides a rather aggressive start to 'Towards Lindisfarne'. Spooky drones hover through urgent stabs of energy. There are some excellent manipulated vocal sounds that give proceedings an even greater feeling of unease- that bass loop not letting up 'Sailing through deep Valleys' is less in your face, fizzing melodic pads being the main feature without masking a predominantly edgy feel to proceedings. Timpani provides a little structure, more syncopation is then added in the form of a militaristic type rhythm.

'At War' is a symphonic sounding track with exquisite sawing strings over a slow beat. It may be short but it's absolutely superb. Warning beacon type bass pulses initially provide the main structure for 'The Battle that lasted Eternally'. The mood is softened by a lovely melodic loop. This melody morphs becoming a little more whimsical but with some fascinating contrasting distorted vocal effects, like lost souls searching for a home. The way the pulses, melodies and spectral sounds mix together is fascinating. 'The Sword' uses a series of melodic tones, a little like 'Close Encounters...' which are then mimicked by double bass, Violin (I think!) and vibes. A short but bizarre track! 'Storming the Enemy' is one of the stranger organ pieces I have heard- Cesar Franck maybe! 'The Warriors of the Tower' uses metallic, percussive, staccato notes to create quite an exciting pace but also mesmerizing melody. Curious indeed.

'Night Frost' (or in Norwegian, Nattefrost) again features strangely manipulated sawing strings over an aggressive growling drone. A little melody tries to escape from the middle of the mix but can't compete against the drone and strings. A bell rings out for 'My Pagan Blood'. Smaller chimes and other percussion are added then a sort of bastardised harpsichord. Lack of inventiveness is certainly something that Bjorn can't be accused of! It all sounds rather strange but it's curiously effective. About half way in some mellow strings are added and we now enter a rather compelling cinematic section. An excellent track- my favourite on the album. 'Winter Solstice' takes us back to spooky realms with dark drones and twittering effects. Strange percussive detail adds an extra level of unease.

'Near UFO' is initially much more lush with lovely velvet pads, an intriguing lead line / melody and then an excellent sequence. This is probably the most accessible track on the album- even a bit Jarre like! There is still a good dose of inventiveness thrown in there though. It's also quite a powerful track- up until the fifth minute anyway when things change completely becoming quite bleepy- like being trapped in a computer! Then it's all change again as an edgy loop and contrasting soft pads take things forward only to become weirder and weirder as we progress. Maybe we are now in the strange interior of the UFO itself. It's certainly rather descriptive music that I am sure will conjure up as many images as there are people who listen to it. We finish the first disc with a remix of 'My Pagan Blood' by Tor Brandt, and very different it is too. Melodically it is just as brilliant but there is more menace here, the demonic vocal utterances being particularly effective.

'The Face of the Ancient Forest' is initially full of brooding malevolence but then suddenly a sublime little melody shines through like a powerful beam of light cutting through mist to illuminate the forest floor. An incredibly atmospheric and 100% wonderful piece. There's a radical change for 'Where the Gods are Watching' as a bouncy, almost happy sequence skips along, accompanied by an equally joyous staccato melody. There is a twist though as everything is underpinned by almost growling pads. The juxtaposition of the two contrasting elements is fascinating. 'The Magic of the Burial Mound' (I have a feeling that this title looses something in translation) gets off to breakneck speed with an energetic twangy sequence. Soft breathy pads and twittery effects provide pleasant backing. In the third minute the sequence disappears, to be replaced by vast bass crashes like some enormous mallet hammering on the very earth.

'In a Forgotten Time' returns us to vast dark drones, then a melodic percussive loop. Slow mournful strings play over the top. Things become more symphonic and cinematic by the moment. It's another moody but rather 'visual' number. 'Norse' is a return to sequencer driven territory, the bass pulsations forming a wonderful structure round which skip delicate melodies. It is not the Nattefrost way however to let things just run as after a few minutes moody drones replace the sequence and the melodies become increasingly sedate and 'thoughtful'. Another lovely track. 'The Road to Asgard' just oozes brooding menace as a bass sequence mixes with an uneasy echoing melody, the sound of the wind and sampled eerie text. We now get a series of three remixes. The first is 'Where the Gods are Watching' by Claud Holm Lynglund and I must admit that I can find very little comparison to the original! It is all rather bleepy with a funky beat- not my cup of tea I'm afraid. Forgotten Time' by deZeptive is again nothing like the other version. Here it has been transformed into something of a trance track full of infectious beats and brooding melodies. Even though I would not have recognised it as a companion to the original it is nevertheless a very enjoyable body mover. Carsten Ji's interpretation of 'The Road to Asgard' does have more of a resemblance to the source material but as with the previous remix it is infused with a rather cool rhythm. This treatment again works very well imparting real energy but without blunting the feeling of menace.

I have never been to Denmark (though would love to go) so I have only what I have read in books and seen on TV to influence my imagination but the music of Nattefrost could be the perfect soundtrack to my mental pictures of such a place. I wonder if I am just jumping to the wrong conclusions or if indeed Bjorn's homeland did play a large part in what we have here. It is a rather different album to his Groove releases, edgier and demanding a little more of the listener. There is always something going on- one point of discussion after another. I just couldn't stop writing whilst listening to it- thus the length of even this edited down revue. To me it demonstrated more than any other album I have heard by him just how talented a composer he is. It is not going to be to everyone's tastes but I am sure I will keep returning to it as I know there will be always something new to discover- and I haven't ever heard anything quite like it before.

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