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"I was reading a book of Alaskan survival stories and one of the stories struck me as an inspiration" Nick Forkel (guitar/vocal) of Turbid North relates the inspiration to the band's new album "Orogeny." "It was the story of this hunter who was trapped in the wilderness at the height of winter and things got worse and worse for him. His will to survive and his hunter's instinct helped him to overcome this hell and the album follows that. It's about overcoming the odds no matter how grim and the survival instinct we all have." Self-proclaimed Alaskan mountain metal Turbid North's sound retains the galloping thrash of early 80's period of bands like Metallica and Kreator, the technical and abrasive shredding of modern death metal and even moments of bluesy and flowing solos reminiscient of Randy Rhoades period Ozzy. The songs are as epic as the storyline of the hunter and the fully painted artwork that adorns each page reflects the story. The artwork was done by Alex Rydlinski (guitar) and even contains a lost touchstone of metal, the bad-ass mascot (see pic above) "We call him Snow Death" says Forkel, "he represents old man winter throwing everything he can to make the hunter fail."
The story of Turbid North parallels the hunter as they both have a strong drive to survive and meet challenges. The band started in North Pole, Alaska back in 2001 right near Fairbanks. Original members Forkel, Rydlinski and his brother Adam Rydlinski (drums) were accomplished musicians with Adam even spending time in the Alaskan Symphony Orchestra. "We quickly made it to the top of the Fairbanks metal scene" says Forkel "but there was really no where to go from there." Though big acts in the world of heavy music rarely came, when they did come Turbid North were selected as the opening band. The group opened for Darkest Hour, Godsmack (twice), Adema and their show with Drowning Pool changed their lives. "The guys in Drowning Pool watched us and said you guys are great but you'll never make it if you stay here. They told us that the scene in their home area of Dallas/Ft Worth Texas was great and that we could really make a name out there." The band worked full time as Lumber Jacks saving up all their money and a little over three years ago picked up and moved to Fort Worth, Texas.
The band entrenched themselves in the live music scene, making a sizeable dent in the Texas metal scene building a respectable audience. Leaving their original bassist in Alaska, the band came to the attention of Chris O'Toole, who recently moved from the UK to Texas strangely enough. O'Toole sent audition videos from the UK to the band and joined their ranks. In 2009 the original vocalist left to return to Alaska and his replacement was Brian McCoy, ex vocalist of Debri, who won the Ozzfest Battle Of The Bands in 2008. Today the band lives together in the same house where they recorded Orogeny in their home studio by Forkel. They have done multiple regional tours through the Texas and surrounding areas playing with such artists as Goatwhore and Skeletonwitch.
The band plans to embark on another tour this fall and a video paralleling the album's story is in the works.
Members:
Chris O'Toole -- Bass
Nick Forkel -- Guitar
Brian McCoy -- Vocals
Alex Rydlinksi -- Guitar
Adam Rydlinski -- Drums
Discography
"Under the Eight" (2008)
"Orogeny" (2010)