January 24, 2022

Episode 75 – Ansur & Frantic Bleep: Norwegian Voyagers in the Hazy Aughts

1 hour 16 minutes

At the dawn of the 21st century, strange sounds brewed in the Southeastern corner of Norway -- musical paths cobbled together with the tortured echoes of second wave black metal, the ambitious, borderless miscellanea of progressive rock and metal, and the hostile liberalism that is indigenous to Norway’s pioneer enclave. Operating outside the radar of media glare, and attracting scant attention even from the most well-heeled metal travelers, Ansur and Frantic Bleep created a modest but potent body of work that at once suggests both a long view of metal history and a fiercely contemporary spirit. The 75th episode of Radical Research is a tangential, anecdote-laden conversation about the work that Ansur and Frantic Bleep performed, in virtual secrecy, between 2002 and 2008. The time is long past to pay tribute to these unsung pioneers and their contributions to the art that we love.

Note I:

Beware: this is an episode of many tangents and sideroads.

Note II:

16 years and not a bleep? Don’t hold your breath for a second F.B. album.

Note III:

Leixis, where are you?

Note IV:

Our admiration of the Ansur Warring Factions album cover failed to note the artist of the piece: Eliran Kantor. Kantor is, of course, known for a lot of other album covers, including those by Sigh, Helloween, Testament, Loudblast, My Dying Bride, Sodom, Atheist, and Incantation, among many more.

Note V:

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Music cited, in order of appearance:

Ansur, “Through Snowlands” (demo, 2004)

Ansur, “Earth Erasure” (Axiom, 2006)

Ansur, “Interloper” (Axiom, 2006)

Ansur, “An Exercise in Depth of Field” (Warring Factions, 2008)

Ansur, “Prime Warring Eschatologist” (Warring Factions, 2008)

Ansur, “At His Wit’s End” (Warring Factions, 2008)

Frantic Bleep, “Fluctuadmission” (Fluctuadmission demo, 2002)

Frantic Bleep, “To Bleep or Not to Bleep?” (Fluctuadmission demo, 2002)

Frantic Bleep, “The Expulsion” (The Sense Apparatus, 2005)

Frantic Bleep, “…But a Memory” (The Sense Apparatus, 2005)

Frantic Bleep, “Nebulous Termini” (The Sense Apparatus, 2005)

Frantic Bleep, “Sins of Omission” (The Sense Apparatus, 2005)

Radical Research is a conversation about the inner- and outer-reaches of rock and metal music. This podcast is conceived and conducted by Jeff Wagner and Hunter Ginn. Though we consume music in a variety of ways, we give particular privilege to the immersive, full-album listening experience. Likewise, we believe that tangible music formats help provide the richest, most rewarding immersions and that music, artwork, and song titles cooperate to produce a singular effect on the listener. Great music is worth more than we ever pay for it.

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