As I'm working through the guitar recordings for this new album STAR THROWN, I realize once again that I'm not that great of a guitar player. In fact, I don't practice nearly as much as I should. Though it is what I consider to be my primary instrument, I have never taken the time to memorize a thousand scales and arpeggios to be able to noodle my way across the neck to the astonishment of swooning maidens. It just seemed pointless for what I was trying to accomplish.
My goal for When Bitter Spring Sleeps has always been somewhat akin to what the legendary Quorthon did with his incredible project Bathory. Now, I don't claim to be a fan of Bathory since day one, in fact, I didn't buy a Bathory album until I stumbled upon a copy of Blood Fire Death released on the Kraze label in 1990.
If you think about it, Quorthon single-handedly invented Black Metal in 1984 and then went on to invent Viking Metal in 1988. Most of this time, he was only marginally famous in the cult underground. The rest of the metal world was drooling over Thrash Metal and Death Metal was still fairly new to the world. I remember peering through the few metal magazines at the time and seeing Quorthon's photos posing in a pentagram with bones around his neck and feeling the same way most others were at the time.
Who the hell is that lunatic?
I had no idea that this fine fellow was conjuring some of the mightiest metal anthems on some of the cheapest recording equipment in his garage. So, when I finally heard Blood Fire Death, I was hooked. The songs were so catchy and powerful, and I'd already spent a few years wallowing in the grungy recordings of some of my favorite artists, so I never thought twice about the sound of Bathory's albums.
Then, in 1996 when my friend who wrote for a zine at the time, handed me a promotional copy of the newly-released Blood on Ice album (
because he didn't like it), I delved into it without a pause. These were easily Quorthon's best compositions ever. It didn't occur to me that the recording was so filthy until I played it to some friends and that is all they seemed to notice. They still didn't get it. They were so distracted by the snare drum sound and over dramatic narrations that they missed out.
I read a review of my previous album Spirit In Flames, in which the writer called it Black Metal with Power Metal vocals. He seemed to never have heard of this combination before! Has he never listened to Bathory?
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My poor-man's Steinberger I named Stormbringer
and the various pedals I use to paint my pictures. |
So, what am I getting at with this tale?
Well, I play all the instruments on my recordings, not because I
have to, but because I
want
to, and I
can. No, I'm not an amazing multi-instrumentalist like a lot
of artists out there. But that doesn't stop me. Would you ask a painter
to have someone who's better using a certain brush painting the color
white to take over whenever white was needed? Never, because an artist
enjoys the
act of creating art even if they are not the
best painter of white available. While some bands agonize in the studio, trying to capture that perfect live performance, I
enjoy the time spent layering each instrument to create my songs. The very act of recording is like painting a picture.
Quorthon didn't care that he wasn't the best singer or instrumentalist, but the music had to come out. And while his detractors were insulting his appearance and straining voice, he was building the foundation that most of metal is built upon today.
2021 Update:
