Fredrik Klingwall – The Resilience (2008)

Szwedzki kompozytor i klawiszowiec. Członek zespołów: Anima Morte, Loch Vostok (progresywny metal), Machinery (thrash/heavy-metal), Flagellation (deathmetal), In Grey (gothic/power metal). Założyciel i kompozytor grupy Rising Shadows (Neoclassical).

 

There are a number of places in which Fredrik Klingwall's music may have been heard, and nearly all of them seem to have a place on what appears to be the man's own label Last Entertainment Productions out of Sweden.  However, in addition to this soundtrack / neoclassical / dark ambient self-titled project, he also plays and has played a role in several moderately important extreme metal projects, namely Prog elite “Loch Vostok” on Escapi Music and the fairly impressive neo-thrashers Machinery whom saw their 2008 album “The Passing” released on Regain Records.  His Last Entertainment label is a largely diverse label, carrying everything from war-oriented Death Metal in Flagellation to Anima Morte, a progressive realm of Euro horror film music, namely of the Italian essence.  Needless to say, Fredrik's lave and taste for everything dark really has no boundaries so long as it remains in that dark realm, be it neoclassical or death metal, horror movies or the soundtracks that dwell within, and thus his solo project undoubtedly would stick to the classic horror theme.

With a purely instrumental album, one has to rely on the texture of the music teamed with the track titles to identify the type of journey we're meant to take, and the track titles really say it all in this one.  Everything on The Resilience is bound for the dream state and the paranormal.  We're not taken on a chronological story, but rather into images and profound visions of psychological themes, from our dreams brought into reality to a simple presence.  Unlike Fredrik's Anima Morte project which also focuses on the horror subject, this is much more classically bound rather than progressive rock structured.  Fredrik has used synth and computer software to create this album and it takes on a very neo-horror appeal.  Much of the imagery is epic, stretching from beautiful dark pools of water at dusk within winding gardens and ruined statues of angels and gargoyles to the inside of the ornate mansion within which the garden surrounds. 

The word 'resilience' is defined as 'an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change.'  This would imply the horror world that Fredrik creates is akin to the generally understood fact that most supernatural events occur in places that have faced strong emotional moments in time and have been changed.  A wall put up in a house or a window removed, a river being dammed or a house built on Native American grounds, its really a usual story in the paranormal world.  This could also mean the uncompromising nature of dark themes, how these occurrences continue over and over with little care for the modern world.  Regardless of what the man has planned for this release, its not your typical minimal dark ambient structures combined with your generic cheesey Casio keyboard sounds.  This orchestrations are moderately complex and would fit well for any modern horror independent film.  The sound is thick and full of life, strong string synth stretches overtop of bombastic (yet not martial) and sparce choir backdrops.  Low-end brass and minimal bell sounds are often used for added texture, but the primary tool in this music is the string quartet leads that flawlessly create dark harmonious, yet melancholic song structures.  Tracks like Spirits Reside utilize deafening effects with noise and dark ambient swell-pulsing to give a strong foreboding effect through minimal music, sweltering the listener in a cloud of sound rather than elaborate compositions.

In addition to computer software, Fredrik uses my personal keyboard of choice, the Korg X-50 which also runs off of the Korg Triton system, so you know the synth effects on the album are going to be of the highest quality.  This combined with his confessed experience of 14 years in music starting solely with a computer should encourage fans of cinematic neoclassical to attain a copy of this release.  Unfortunately this album isn't without its downside.  Even the mighty Triton system has still not quite perfected the solo violin / cello sound and they still come out as obvious synth, but its a large step up from anything else really on the market today with the exception of the high-end Yamaha series'. 

While there is a beautiful Digipak version available, it is also available for free download via Fredrik Klingwall's official website.  Remember that its easy to take a free download, but if you truly enjoy an album, spend the few bucks to buy it.  Even offering music for free, these artists still need support to better their sound, and with a top of the line keyboard, Fredrik has every skill necessary, as seen evidently in this work, to be a world-class home-composer for independent horror soundtracks.  This is an excellent and promising sophomore effort.

Format: Full-length
Year: 2008
Label: Last Entertiment Productions
Country: Sweden
Genre: Industrial / Gothic / Experimental
Official Website

01. Opening
02. The Uninvited
03. A Presence
04. Dark Water Stirs
05. The Resilience
06. Unbound Shapes
07. From Eternity’s Angle
08. Spirits Reside
09. Distorted Dream Disorder
10. Still Dark
11. The Ethereal
12. Shine
13. True Salvation