Experimental Schizophrenic Metal - Norway
Trondheim is the last great city on Norway’s western coastline before the Nordic wilderness gradually starts to take over from its diminishing human inhabitants on the way up to the Arctic Circle and beyond. Trondheim is also home of the avant-garde metal-outfit Atrox, which shares the sharp contrasts between light and dark, harshness and beauty as well as warmth and frost with the North Atlantic landscape of fjords and fjells surrounding the bands place of origin.
Many cities in Norway are linked to a certain musical style: Oslo is associated with black metal, Bergen with pagan bands or extremely black troops, while Kristiansand flirts with sounds that are more progressive and Stavanger can easily claim to be the gothic metal capital of its country. Although these are of course just generalizing statements, there is nothing comparable for Trondheim. Like the city, itself build on wide hills rolling down to the shoreline its metal scene seems to be more open, experimental and ready to discover new ways on their own.
While listening to the new Atrox the contrast to old Atrox becomes quickly clear. When the band started out in 1988 at first under the name Suffocation and after 1990 as Atrox, the Norwegians were pursuing a different path. After a couple of demos (“Darkness”, “Mind Shadow”, “Dead Leaves”, “The Granskogen Recordings” and playing live with bands like Equinox, Edge of Sanity, Conception, Witchhammer or Godsend the band finally released its debut-album “Mesmerized” (1997), which presented an atmospheric mix of death and doom metal. With album number two and three release on Season of Mist “Contentum” (1999) and “Terrestials” (2001) Atrox renewed its sound towards a more melodic and at the same time experimental direction and started to call the outcome schizo metal. This was also due to the intense and bizarre vocals of singer (and keyboard) Monika Edvardsen – the younger sister of Ann-Mari Edvardsen, who replaced Kari Rueslåtten in The 3rd And The Mortal. These legendary Norwegians could be called straightforward in comparison with Atrox, but on “Orgasm” (2003) the Trondheim band took a less avant-garde turn themselves, which appealed to a broader audience and let to invitations to Hole in the Sky and Southern Discomfort festivals with bands like Katatonia, Arcturus, Entombed, Danzig, Red Harvest, Madder Mortem or The Haunted.
Finally, Atrox are returning in a new incarnation with their fifth full-length album “Binocular” combining their past with present and future alike: Do not expect easy listening, expect a surprising experience of exciting new dimensions in metal sound and space!
This band is no longer active on Season of Mist.
Norwegian schizo-metallers ATROX are marking their twentieth anniversary on December 17th, at Blæst in Trondheim, Norway . Since 1990 ATROX have played and toured with the best, recorded five full length albums and one EP, and given thousands of people a good time. After 20 years ATROX is stronger than ever, and ready to pay some respect to their true fans.
