Bjørn Riis is a veteran of the prog rock scene in Norway, both as a solo artist and as a previous member of the band Airbag.
He is regarded as being among Norway’s most acclaimed and prolific artists in the genre since learning his trade in obscure cover bands.
Bjørn has just released a new album, ‘Fimbulvinter’, which refers to the legendary long winter that heralds Ragnarok in Norse mythology—a series of catastrophic events, including a great battle, that will result in the destruction of the old world and the beginning of a new one.
Seems to me we edge closer to that with every passing day even if the seasons don’t match so it couldn’t have come out at a better time.
‘Fimbulvinter’ reflects Bjørn’s diverse influences, blending the atmospheric tones of progressive rock with the energy of the hard rock bands he grew up with in the early ’80s.
I’ll be honest, while I grew up with those prog rock bands in the 70s I’ve never previously encountered an attempt to merge their sound with that of harder rocking bands so my appetite was whetted.
A key element of his work is his own experiences with anxiety; a subject he feels is both deeply important and still somewhat taboo.
Now a few years ago I went through a period of experiencing panic attacks, usually in supermarkets for some perverse reason, and my mental state wasn’t helped when I saw the size of the bill. The cost of living in this country, jeez.
So I was attracted if that’s the right word to the third of the six tracks, the one called ‘Panic Attack’ as the sample one.
While I can sit and quietly listed to prog, regular readers will know that my mission with tracks like this, and especially where they are wholly or partly instrumentals, is to identify whether or not the song sells the idea of the subject matter. In other words, does this song accurately purvey the sensation of a panic attack, whether it was intended to or not?
It’s a long track, almost 11 minutes, and the first 30 seconds, the sound of a thunderstorm, made me think I clicked on N-Trance’s ‘Set you free’ in error.
Once it gets under way it rapidly develops a hypnotic, slow four note section which I take to represent the humdrum, awaiting the arrival of someone unknown and the calm before the storm.
That calm does not last long and is equally rapidly replaced by a strident section in which “I can feel my heart beating…right through my chest…I try to hold on…I try to stand up straight”, which anyone that has experienced this will instantly relate to.
I’m minded of the character Rael in Genesis’ ‘The Lamb lies down on Broadway’ in the way the narrative is generated in the first person.
From that point onwards until the song’s termination there is a repeating juxtaposition of the resumed, placid four-note section, now played on a synthesiser as well as guitar, and the far more manic apparition of the panic attack.
There’s a bridge about halfway through, haunted by ethereal ‘voices’ and a selection of various musical ‘noises off’, which I took to be representative of a period of reflection and preparation for whatever comes next, followed by a plaintive section where the mantra is “don’t want anyone, anyone, to see me”, which anyone that has experiencedthis condition will recognise.
The final section, which is the longest, could have been a piece of ‘War of the Worlds’, an extreme coming together of synths, guitars, bass and drums into what could alternately be the battle for someone’s soul in The Exorcist franchise.
And the chords used here in this final section are so similar to those used to such great effect by Carter USM in some of their work, as indeed is the subject matter although Carter would have put their trademark socio-political-economic spin on it while Bjørn sticks to a psychological script.
The unexpected sudden ending tells me that it is a battle that will have to be fought again and again.
So yes, the votes are in and it does accurately describe the sensation of a panic attack.
Are the other tracks as equally successful in conveying their meaning? The one entitled ‘Fear of Abandonment’ looks tasty.
You’ll have to listen to them and decide for yourselves.
‘Fimbulvinter’ is available on CD, Digital and Black Vinyl LP, as well as a Coloured Vinyl LP formats.
He is playing three dates in the UK in April:
25.04 – Winter’s End Festival, Chepstow
26.04 – The Dome, London
27.04 – Club Academy, Manchester
Find him on:
Website: https://www.bjornriis.com/
Bandcamp: https://bjornriis.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BjornRiisArtistPage
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bjornriis
Picture by Anne-Marie Forker.
