In late December 2024 I went to the Faroe Islands to see the fantastic release show of NECROLEPSIA, the first and only Faroese Black’n’Roll band, together with other really great Faroese metal bands, most of whom I have never seen live before. I’ve been waiting years for this to happen and I was so happy when I finally could see NECROLEPSIA live. You can find my article about the concert itself here (german only).
A few days after the show I met with band leader/founder John Åge Frost to talk about NECEROLEPSIA, their debut album, the show and the future of the band.
Anne: Can you tell our readers something about NECEROLEPSIA?
John: The very first NECEROLEPSIA song was written as a joke in 2010 in my friend Harald’s apartment. At the time we just felt like doing some funny black metal and that was the song “Necrolepsia”. We made it, we thought it was a lot of fun, we laughed, and then it sat for a couple of years and then I thought “Maybe we should do something a bit more serious, not completely serious, but a bit more serious with it”. And over time one song became five and then they became ten. So it grew from this tiny little seed. The thing that I have done most in my musical career - or something I think about when I start a new project is that in the Faroe Islands it is apparently a bit important for bands that they don’t want to sound like other bands. They don’t want to create the exact same style. Anyone who has been to Wacken Metal Battle [Føroyar] can attest to this. So I wanted to make something that no one in the Faroe Islands had made before. And so it fell on Black’n’Roll. Because at the time I had been listening to a lot of KHOLD and SATYRICON and ABBATH and his projects so I thought that would be fun to do.
Anne: Why did it take so many years to release the first album?
John: Personal reasons. I went through a lot of life changes and had to build my life back up from scratch, so to speak, and I had a lot of obstacles in my way, so it took a long time for me to gather the energy to do this album and to do it properly.
Anne: Why are the lyrics in Norwegian and not in English or Faroese?
John: There are a couple of reasons. First and foremost: Norway is the origin of Black Metal as we know it. Also of Black’n’Roll as we know it. Then there are historical reasons: The Faroe Islanders are genetically related to Norwegians. It’s comprised mostly of people who fled from Norway at a certain point in history, so there is that connection. I also have more immediate family that is from Norway. My grandfather was Norwegian, from Bergen. So those are the reasons. I also didn’t want to do something in Faroese because I already do that with another band [HAMRADUN, and John is also a former member of HAMFERÐ, who also use Faroese lyrics]. And I thought Danish was too soft. I wanted something with a bit more edge. With a bit more guttural feel. And also there is another band in the Faroe Islands, ÓTTI, who have made an album in Gøtudansk [a variety of Danish spoken in the Faroe Islands] so I thought to pay tribute to history and music - let’s just do it in Norwegian.
Anne: Maybe it’s just me because I’ve known the old songs for such a long time, but I think you can clearly hear the difference between the newer songs and the old songs. I think they groove in a different way, and they are somehow less aggressive, but at the same time they sound more like Black Metal, not so much like Black’n’ Roll. But they also sound more original. In the old ones you can clearly hear your influences and the new ones sound more like your own.
John: Well, we were writing the material for the Wacken Metal Battle [Føroyar] in 2017; I think I set some arbitrary rules for myself: I wanted it to be repellent, primitive, narrow-minded; I had other rules like no palm mutes, no clean guitars, no clean vocals, no keyboards, that type of thing. So really narrowly, and that was how we made the first five songs. After they had sat for a while, our drummer started coming with ideas and he sent me riffs and other stuff which I then arranged. It was pretty fun doing that with him. Reversing roles, so to speak. I guess that made it fresh, somehow. Made me wanting to continue. And to release a proper album instead of just an EP. So what happened during that point was that he wrote the guitar parts and I programmed the drum parts. And then all of a sudden we had three new songs. The first song on the album was written directly after our last show in 2017 and after that I guess I was just busy with other things. With HAMRADUN, and with HAMFERÐ, too, up to a certain point.
Anne: I had to get used to the new versions of the old songs, because you changed some things on the album. For example I especially miss this shout in “Necrolepsia” after the very hectic middle part. You did it at the concert, but it’s not on the album.
John: It was supposed to be on the record but there are a lot of details on the record and it’s hard to keep track on all of them. Anne: How did you get the idea to let the album end with those ambient sounds and how did you get in touch with the guy who made them?John: My friend, called Fenrir, is what you would call a noise musician. Kristjan makes interesting electronic sounds, has been doing it for a number of years, and I thought that it would really set a good kind of mood to end it with a sort of soundscape that reminds me of a graveyard. That was the only direction I gave him. “Can you give me two minutes of dark ambient noise that is inspired by a graveyard?” and that’s what Fenrir came up with.
Anne: So you knew him a long time.
John: Yes, yes. We’ve known each other for years.
Anne: I didn’t know that William Heinesen had such dark poems. I was surprised when I read the lyrics that he wrote such dark poems that also fitted quite well to the other topics. How did you know that? Or when did you decide to use William Heinesen’s lyrics for your songs?
John: The thing is - I’ve never been much of a lyric writer. I prefer to express myself through music exclusively so when I do a project for myself I am always in the need of lyrics. I have written one and a half lyrics for this album and the first one was written in 2010. So it doesn’t happen very often that I express myself in that way. But we started getting songs, more songs, new songs and we needed lyrics. And rather than go and ask some lyricist or singer, friends of mine, of which I am sure all are busy, I thought it would be good to make use of Faroese poetry. And so I started digging around to see what do Faroese poets really do. And I have always been very interested in William Heinesen because, as you probably know, he is an artist of many mediums, he made pictures, he made novels, and apparently he made poetry as well. He expressed himself in every form I think that was available in the arts it seems.* When I found his collection of poems on google books I started thumping through it and found it pretty dark. It creates an atmosphere you can get a feel for. A dark sort of country, a cold sort of country. So I thought that would go pretty well. And you know, he’s dead, so he doesn’t really get any saying in how I use it.
Anne: Do you know when those poems were written?
John: No. I have the collection of poems, my girlfriend gave them to me as a book but I haven’t checked the years, no. As you wrote in your review, it might have been during second world war.
Anne: I could relate to it, now that we have a war again in Europe. I thought they could be, because those were maybe the feelings he had when he was forced to stay in Denmark during the war, couldn’t go home and had the war all around him.
John: I think so. It would be an interesting subject to explore. But no, I don’t know the particular years. I just went for a feeling of the words and if they fit together with the concept, which they did, so that was nice.
Anne: I think the song which stands out mostly because it sounds so different and has a different lyrical concept is of course “Foruten Vind”. Why did you chose to have this on the album and how did you get the idea to make a Black’n’Roll version of that song?
John: It was Sigurð’s idea, our drummer. He sent me the riffs and he did a bit of singing and he thought that we should probably do something with this. And I thought that it was soo different that it would be an interesting challenge to try and make it work. And the song ended up having the longest blast beat part of any song in the entire album. So I think it got pretty heavy towards the end. It’s a fun mix of new stuff and a couple of elements that people might like. The original song is also pretty short; it only has two verses, it is “vem kan segla” [who can sail] and then “jag kan segla” [I can sail] and then we needed a third verse, so it became a bit more accusatory. “You cannot sail”. I think that it being different was a fun exercise, a fun challenge. And people seem to respond well to it live. So that was nice.
Anne: That also leads to my next question: How did you like the concert?
John: It was very nice. I was probably a bit nervous. I rarely stand in the middle of the stage when it comes to anything. But I figured we had released an album so it would be proper to do an album release concert. Despite of it being a few months since it came out. I think everyone enjoyed it very much. We were surprised that so many people turned up because, as you know or found out, Faroe Islanders have a tradition to go out partying on the 26th. It has been a long time, it has been a few years since a similar concert has been done in the Faroe Islands so I think it proofed that there are still fans out there in the local scene who want to experience this type of music live. So it was gratifying, it was inspiring and we’re thinking about maybe doing it again next year.
Anne: That would be my next question: Do you want to play more shows now?
John: Yes. I mean, there is a logistical challenge. Three of the four guys who played in that concert live in the Faroe Islands, I live in Denmark, so it will only be possible without great difficulty during summer or winter holidays. But, sure, why not? I think so. I think that the concert gave us a reason to continue. It’s probably not the last time ever that we’re going to play.
Anne: Are you thinking about writing more songs, maybe a second album or EP or whatever?
John: Yes, there is some material that was left out of the original album due to time constraints, and Sigurð has already created some material. I have also been thinking about something. Maybe one or two, maybe even three new songs… We’ll see what happens. If it grows enough in our heads then eventually it will come out.
Anne: You played and play in many different metal bands of different styles - you played Death Metal, you played Doom Metal, Black’n’Roll, Folk Metal. Which is your favourite music style to play and which is your favourite music style to listen to?
John: Hmmmm… That is a good question. Regards to listening, the newest stuff that I have been listening to is Melodic Death Metal. I went to a DARK TRANQUILLITY and WOLFHEART show not too long ago. I think Melodic Death Metal has always been a favourite of mine, even though I haven’t played it for many years. So I guess the things that I do might be subtly influenced by it. I would love to do it again some day. But what is my favourite to play? Hm… it’s hard to choose. I like all of them. I mean, I’ve been in HAMRADUN for close to ten years now, so there is probably a reason for that. I’m not a big folk metal fan, but I do enjoy this particular group of musicians. I think they are very good and I am sort of stunned that I am allowed to play with them. So I think that’s pretty good. Let’s say that. Our particular version of Folk Rock I do enjoy.
Anne: Will the album be released in a physical form at any point?
John: We do have to sign for a CD. So hopefully next summer. Some people have been asking about it which I found weird. But in my guess there are collectors out there. It would also be nice for me to have something on my shelf.
Anne: I think it feels strange to have music just as data, not physically. Maybe I’m oldschool at that, but I like to have it on the shelf.
John: Yes, it feels more real. So, yeah, we have it designed, but I am pursuing an education at the moment and also have other challenges, but next summer I’m going to have a good, long holiday, so see what happens.
(Anne)
* William Heinesen (1900-1991) was the most famous author of the Faroe Islands. He wrote novels, short stories and poems, but he was also a composer and visual artist. His art can be seen in many places in the Faroe Islands. He was even supposed to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1981 but renounced his candidacy because he wrote in Danish and not in Faroese and he claimed that him winning a Nobel Prize while writing in Danish would throw back the fight for the Faroese language and he appreciated all the people who fought for establishing the Faroese language and didn’t want to be the reason for a setback.
