Norther was a metal band from Helsinki, Finland. The band began in early 1… Read Full Bio ↴Norther was a metal band from Helsinki, Finland. The band began in early 1996 under the name of Requiem, and was assembled by guitarist Petri Lindroos and drummer Toni Hallio accompanied by two other musicians. In the beginning, the band suffered from the lack of a proper rehearsal place, but in late 1997, guitarist Alexander Kuoppala (ex-Children of Bodom) found a suitable place for them to practice at Lepakko; around this time the band decided to change their name from Requiem to Decayed. Their luck was short-lived, however, as their new rehearsal place was soon to be demolished. The musicians who played with Lindroos and Hallio soon lost their motivation and quit Requiem.

After a few months, the band managed to find another rehearsal place, and began looking for members to complete their line-up. After quite a few auditions, they were unable to find musicians that they deemed fit to play with them, and thus went on a hiatus, which lasted until the beginning of 2000, when they met guitarist Kristian Ranta. The band became active once more, and with the help of two brothers who were friends of Lindroos - Sebastian and Joakim Ekroos - the band recorded their first demo, for the first time using the name Norther. A promising demo led to them signing a deal with Spinefarm Records.

Due to internal problems, the Ekroos brothers quit the band; this lead Norther into finding its first stable formation when bassist Jukka Koskinen and keyboardist Tuomas Planman were incorporated into the band.

Norther received a positive response from specialized press after the release of the album Dreams of Endless War. Following this, the band maintained a prolific release schedule, releasing the albums "Mirror of Madness" (2003), "Death Unlimited" (2004), and "Till Death Unites Us" (2006), as well as the singles "Released" (2002), "Unleash Hell" (2003), "Spreading Death" (2003), and Scream (2006), the MiniDVD single Spreading Death, an EP titled Solution 7 (2005) and most lately EP "No Way Back" (2007). A full length album is planned to be recorded in August-September 2007, it was released in Finland in early autumn 2008 carrying name the "N".

In October of 2005, drummer Toni Hallio left the band, leaving guitarist/vocalist Lindroos as the only remaining original member. Hallio was replaced by Heikki Saari, drummer of Virtuocity.

Petri Lindroos left the band in 2009 because his other band Ensiferum took most of his time. Aleksi Sihvonen was hired as the new singer and Daniel Freyberg as the second guitarist. Norther entered Astia studios on October 5, 2010 to record a new album, ''Circle Regenerated'' which was released April 19 2011.

On 24th of July 2012 the band announced on their website that the members have decided to quit Norther because of time issues. The band played its last show on the 10th of August at Brutal Assault Festival 2012 in the Czech Republic.

Current members
* Aleksi Sihvonen - Vocals (2009-2012)
* Kristian Ranta (Kride) - Guitar and clean vocals (2000-2012)
* Heikki Saari - Drums (2005-2012)
* Jukka Koskinen - Bass (2000-2012)
* Tuomas Planman - Keyboards and Synthesizers (2000-2012)
* Daniel Freyberg - Guitar (Tours-2009-2012)

Former members
* Petri Lindroos - Guitar and Vocals (1995-2009)
* Toni Hallio - Drums (1995-2005)
* Tuomas - Bass (1995-1997)
* Roni Korpas - Guitar (1995-1999)
* Sebastian Knight - Keyboard (2000)
* Joakim Ekroos - Bass (2000)

Former official website: http://web.archive.org/web/20120929054100/http://www.norther.net

2) NORTER is a fast paced, energetic, romantic Indie Rock band from Prince Edward Island. They gather inspiration anywhere from the 2010's Indie Rock scene from artists such as Mac DeMarco, Rex Orange County, The Strokes, and The Arctic Monkeys. Their members include Declan Rockwell, James Gray, Keith MacEwen, Garrett Sherwood, and Patrick Stephen. They have recently released their debut record '12:34'
Their official Bandcamp website: https://norter.bandcamp.com/

Of Darkness and Light
Norther Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Gather 'round in the main square
Come tonight my child
See the end of a sinful life
The end of mischievous lies

So I went among the crowd
The whispers cursed her name
Then through the people's frantic shout

She was brought to be tested by the flame

And I saw her smile
As the flames rose
She looked up to the sky
And the air froze
Something in her eyes

Too much for the narrow minds
Condemned as an evil whore
She didn't mind, 'cause deep inside
She had reached something more

And I saw her smile
As the flames rose
She looked up to the sky
And the air froze
Something in her eyes
Of darkness and light

And I saw her smile
As the flames rose
I looked into her eyes
I saw that she knows

Things beyond this life
Of darkness and light

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Norther's song Of Darkness and Light describe the scene of an execution in a medieval or religious context. The singer invites the listener to gather around in the main square to witness the end of a sinful life and the end of mischievous lies. A woman is accused of being an evil whore and is brought to be tested by fire. Despite the people's frantic shout and curses, the woman looks up to the sky and smiles as the flames rise. The air freezes, and something in her eyes suggests that she knows things beyond this life of darkness and light.

The lyrics suggest a theme of duality, with the contrasting imagery of darkness and light. The execution scene represents the darkness and the end of a sinful life. However, the woman's smile and her knowledge of things beyond this life suggest a spiritual light and a higher understanding. The lyrics also suggest that the woman is condemned by the narrow minds of the people, but she has reached something more profound and enlightened.

Line by Line Meaning

Gather 'round in the main square
Assemble in the central plaza

Come tonight my child
Join me this evening, young one

See the end of a sinful life
Observe the conclusion of a life filled with wrongdoing

The end of mischievous lies
The conclusion of deceitful trickery

So I went among the crowd
Therefore, I entered the throng of people

The whispers cursed her name
The murmurs spoke ill of her and her name

Then through the people's frantic shout
Amidst the frenzied clamor of the masses

She was brought to be tested by the flame
They subjected her to trial by fire

And I saw her smile
I witnessed her grin

As the flames rose
While the fire soared

She looked up to the sky
She gazed heavenward

And the air froze
The atmosphere became still

Something in her eyes
There was a quality in her gaze

Too much for the narrow minds
Beyond the abilities of the closed-minded

Condemned as an evil whore
Pronounced guilty as a malevolent woman

She didn't mind, 'cause deep inside
She was unconcerned, for she knew

She had reached something more
She had progressed to something greater

I looked into her eyes
I peered into her gaze

I saw that she knows
I perceived that she understands

Things beyond this life
Matters that extend past this existence

Of darkness and light
Concerning obscurity and illumination

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JUKKA-PEKKA KOSKINEN, KRISTIAN RANTA, PETRI OLAVI LINDROOS, TONI ALEKSI HALLIO, TUOMAS PLANMAN

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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