Hailing from the frostbitten plains of North Dakota, Frosthelm have conceived a vile brew of blackened plague-infused thrash, abundant with punishingly memorable riffs filled with tinges of black metal savagery following the adage of old school thrash, but at the same time offering something unique and inspiring to the new school arena of extreme music. Bassist Jim discusses the band's process with their new album and plans for playing shows and a whole lot more!
1. What type of band are you guys?
Jim: We've heard the term melodic blackened thrash thrown around, sounds about right for what we do.
2. Where is the band from and what is the music scene like there?
Jim: We are all pretty much originally from North Dakota, but as it stands now we are a multi state outfit. North Dakota, Arizona, Nevada and Illinios as it stands this very moment in time.
3. How did you come up with the band's name and what does it mean and symbolize for the band?
Jim: We simply wrote down a bunch of names we came up with and let the old 12 sided die decide our fate. I think it fits perfectly with the region we are from. There is a huge cultural Norwegian influence in the area and the weather can be outright deadly.
4. What are your songs about? (What specific themes do they cover?)
Jim: Alot of it is fantasy based, intertwined with personal and social issues, but It's definitely open to interpretation, and we'd love for everyone to take what they want from the lyrical content.
5. Do you write your own songs? (Discuss the songwriting process in detail.)
Jim: Our guitarist Dakota wrote most of the riffs, and arrangements. He'll usually hammer away at a song for quite some time. He'll write a song, completely destroy it and build it back into an even bigger monster that stood before it.
6. Who are your musical influences?
Jim: We all can agree that Slayer is a big influence musically, but I'm sure 99% of metal bands out there will tell you the same thing. but what helps us stand apart from other bands is the fusion of genres. We are pretty big on melody and I'd say bands like Naglfar, and dissection definitely have an influence on that aspect of our sound. and as far as thrash goes, there's an endless amount of bands we can say we look up to.
7. Where are you in the recording process of the new album?
Jim: We have yet to hit the studio. Loosing our old drummer, and adding a second guitarist set us back quite a bit. Dakota is still putting the final tweaks and arrangements together at the moment as far as the writing process. Then we'll probably all get together and rehearse the material before we hit the studio.
8. Where are you recording the album?
Mixing and mastering will be done by Matt Hyde(Slayer, Skeletonwitch.), and we are looking at going to Lazy Ape studio in Scottsdale. Our new guitar player is good friends with the engineer there, and another of our friends from back home in North Dakota is doing an internship there, so it just seems like the perfect place for us to go at the moment.
9. What label will be releasing the album?
Jim: Right now we are planning to self release the record, but things could change from now until the release. It would be nice to get some good distribution. :)
10. How would you describe the overall sound of the new album? How does it compare to "The Northwinds E.P."?
Jim: It's definitely different. Alot darker...It was a long, hellacious winter is all I can say.
11. How has the band’s sound evolved from "The Northwinds E.P." onto this one? I think you are going to see an added emphasis on the black metal aspect of things, but the formula will basically remain the same.
12. Was your songwriting and recording process any different than usual for this CD?
Jim:With the EP we did it all ourselves, and almost killed each other in the process. It was extremely stressful. This time around we'll be hitting the studio, but we'll probably still want to kill each other afterwards haha.
13. What inspired the album title? Is it a concept album?
Jim: The environment we call home, in all its frostbitten glory. We talked about doing a concept album with this one, but it never materialized. Hopefully the next record we can work something like that out.
14. Who produced this album and what was it like working with them?
Jim: N/A at the moment.
15. Who did the cover art for the album and how much input did you have on it?
Jim: Raymond Swanland who did the newest Suffocation cover did it for us. We just told him the title of the record and he went from there. He did a great job! It will definitely make for a sick fucking t-shirt.
16. Did the band have any definitive goals they were shooting for before the recording process began for this album?
Jim: We just want to progressively get better and better as each record passes. If we are doing that, I'd say we are on the right track.
17. Are you using any new instrumentation you've never used in the recording process before?
Jim: We talked about doing adding maybe some atmosphere via synths just to add a little dimension to some parts. It would definitely be used sparingly if we decide to do so.18. When did you start writing for this album? How was the songwriting process different/similar to previous Frosthelm albums?
Jim: It's kind of interesting but it seems the way it worked out was that it was written during the winter months of this year and last year. and not to mention we are all in different states now, so the process is a bit different in that aspect.
19. Did you feel any pressure to follow it up?
Jim: Absolutely, We strive to get better and better, and the way things are playing out each record will have a little different flavor than the next. It's always good to keep people on their toes and give them a little challenge with each record we put out. but you will know for sure that it's a Frosthelm record.
20. What are your expectations for the CD?
Jim: We'd love to get it out there to as many ears as possible, I think people are really going to get something out of this next album.
21. When can we expect the new album to be released?
Jim: Somewhere in the middle of 2014. We are pretty bad with deadlines so that's about as good as it's gonna get right there.
22. What are your upcoming touring and show plans?
Jim: We are hitting the road for a few days at the end of April, we are playing a festival (2014 NYDM Spring Bashg) in Milwuakee with the Almighty Possessed, and tons of other great bands. We'll probably hit the road for a few weeks after this record drops as well.
23. What are the plans for the future for you guys?
Jim: Just to continue what we are doing, releasing records and touring, anything after that is just a huge bonus.
24. Anything else you'd like to say?
Jim: Thanks for the interview. Help support Frosthelm by buying our music and merch via iTunes, or our Facebook page. It really helps!!!!
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