Bless The Knights Cast Mjornil, Fritz Faraday: I Want To Show My Long Lost 'Hammer' Back

Fritz Faraday pentolan Bless The Knights (Dok. Bless The Knights)

JAKARTA - A fresh single full of technical maneuvers titled Mjölnir was released by the Tangerang-based progressive metal/djent unit Bless The Knights on July 17. Being hit by several changes in formation or personnel did not dampen their enthusiasm to keep fighting in the segmented realm of extreme music.

Mjölnir is the name for the hammer weapon of Thor, the fictional superhero character popularized by Marvel Comics. Just as Thor's hammer can return to his hands after being thrown at an enemy, guitarist Fritz Faraday wants Bless the Knights to return to his hands.

“I want to show my long lost 'hammer' back. That's the basic (thought) that pushed me to make this work. I have to maintain the characteristics of Bless the Knights, which are aggressive, technical, but catchy in the chorus," said Fritz, who is also the main brain behind the creation of Bless the Knights, in an official statement received by the editorial desk.

Fritz called the Mjölnir released in this instrumental format his greatest achievement. Not only did the composition pattern take a long time, but also in terms of production.

He admitted that he had to go back and forth to make revisions to get the details of the sound he wanted, while undergoing the stages of mixing and mastering.

But this time, Fritz got a magical touch from Ricky Aprianto from Rostels Records, who polished the sound of Mjölnir's songs to be heavier, as well as cinematic. Fritz feels grateful because he finally met Ricky, who he considers a genius and understands exactly what he wants, especially in processing sound recordings.

“Because I wanted this song to be as detailed as possible. I want the cinematic elements to come out, and a lot of layering. That's the hard one. Since this is an instrumental song, my guitar solo playing there is also like the culmination of the entire song chart. It's technical. Honestly, I'm not really satisfied with the results of mixing and mastering (on the album) before, “said Fritz, convincingly.

From a musical point of view, the Mjölnir concept is arguably an extension of the formula that Fritz applied when working on the album Dunamous (2018). Fritz did not listen to any references when writing his compositions, and tried to follow his heart as original as possible.