Fleet of North (Severny Flot)

I don't really know how to start this one, because it is gonna touch tough moments of musical area, which unfortunately are not rare. Many musical groups change members quite often. But some keep playing in the same set of musicians for years. Until something happens. When Chester from Linkin Park died, the band stopped existing for a long time. I wrote another story about it. But they found strengths, regrouped, and started over again under the same name. I respect this, but I don't think this is the way to be. It's simply impossible to keep doing the same stuff after such a loss. It's too hard.

When the leader of Korol i Shut (I also wrote a piece about this Russian punk rock band) died in 2013, the band stopped existing. It was a final. Yeah, they did bunch of concerts in memory of this guy, they even had some legal issues between another band leader (King) and the family of a dead guy (Fool) about who's gonna have the band name as a trademark. But nobody ever said that Korol i Shut band keeps going. Because this is the truth, it's like a body without a soul - it can exist, but without that spark anymore.

Instead, the full set of people who were there started a new band and called it after one song - Northern Fleet (or Severny Flot in Russian). These are people, who worked together for a long time, they overcame lots of difficulties, they grew up together. It was impossible for them to stop being with each other. In lots of interviews, the new band leader (Renegade) told this story hundreds of times, that even though they have the same people, they cannot keep the old name. It doesn't exist anymore.

They turned the page, which is respectful by itself. But the music quality is noticeable as well. It became heavier and more misanthropic compared to the previous band. Instead of scary tales, it is now brutal heavy urban punk. Lots of songs were written in memory of the previous leader. It's not obvious formally, but you can feel it quite easily. I understand it - God knows how much time is needed to overcome that tragedy. Music really shows it - all the grief and sorrow is there, every little drop of it.

From the band that gathered stadiums, they turned into a small squad playing intelligent heavy music in small clubs. Who knows, maybe that's even better. This is the way musicians can explore their feelings and express them honestly, instead of just providing what the crowd wants. I don't have an answer. Time to turn the vision into the inside and process life events. This is how I would characterize the first, second, and third albums of this new band - concentrated focus on inner self.

Maybe they didn't need to start over at all. Who knows. I read in a book of James Hollis - Jungian psychoanalyst from the US - many people write letters to him asking how to become a psychoanalyst. But in fact, 99% of them just want to figure out themselves. Maybe Northern Fleet band members had similar desire - understand who they and how to live on. But even if they did it only in respect and memory of their friend - it already makes sense!