December Flower Solo

[Gums]

After all these years, I haven't heard much from the band about this legendary solo. Or from the artist who crafted it. Has anybody ever asked this guy about it in an interview or heard anything offline? I guess there is only so much you can say about a solo, but still..
I always wondered what the environment was like when they asked this guy to make a solo for them for this song, and he shows up with this. It had to have brought the house down.
How did this guy never get opportunities after this to write more guest solos? Or maybe he has and I haven't heard of them, or they didn't work out and he's just a one-hit wonder.
Who is this guy - was he another friend of theirs from their high school or whatever.. or how did they know about him and approach him about this? Did he write the entire thing or did he make the first draft, and Jesper added his magic touch to it?
Anybody have any other info, thoughts, similar questions?

 

[drawntoblack]

So, Fredrik Johansson. Commonly mistaken with the late Dark Tranquillity ex-member who has the same name and also plays guitar.
I doubt Jesper added anything because Jesper is technically way, way behind this guy, and that's why IF never played that solo live back in the 90s.

I will leave on a high note here with a special treat - same guy was an early member of Dimension Zero and features his own solo on the EP version of Through the virgin sky. The song was later re-recorded for their debut album with a different line up and obviously the original solo is not there.

Here's the timestamped link, and yeah you can within the first bar tell its the same guy from December Flower, that phrasing is unmistakable:

 

[Gums]

Fucking fuckballs!!! They chose to remove that??!
Thank you for sharing, that is cool shit.
Agreed about Jesper.. not saying he played any of it, I just meant.. maybe he said - how about you try these notes instead of these ones.. or some other changes just to make the magic happen. Or did Fredrik write the whole thing himself, and it just slotted in perfectly with no input from the band?

 

[drawntoblack]

Fucking fuckballs!!! They chose to remove that??!

Well, that song was already on their demo. Then they brought the dude in for the EP and he added the solo and they re-recorded the song (and the rest of the demo tracks) for the EP. Then he left the band and the band recorded their debut LP and recorded the same song for the third time, this time again without the solo.

Penetrations EP had all 3 of them on guitars - Fredrik, Jesper and Glenn. Debut album was only Jesper and Glenn.

 

[Gums]

OK. Makes sense - Fredrik smashed it with this solo, and the guys were like.. we gotta do more of this! And created Dimension Zero. But it didn't work out (at least with all 3 of them).

Still would love to have more insight into the December Flower process specifically. All I can find these days are violin covers on Youtube. Somebody needs to make a Jester Race documentary.

 

[drawntoblack]

That chick who did the violin cover is pretty cool, hearing it in that context really showcases how the composition itself could be done on violin or even keyboard/piano and you wouldn't be able to tell that it came from guitar originally.
I know nothing about the guy but I would be willing to bet that he is classically trained just like Jesper. He successfully avoids all the irritating tropes and cliches that technical guitarists without the formal education always have.

I guess that's what makes his playing so interesting, it's melodic but technically proficient except the fast runs aren't dominant and they are used in short bursts as connective tissue exclusively. And melodies themselves are not cheesy and don't go into Bodom style of phrasing.

The only other musicians from the scandinavian scene that come to mind in terms of having such a well balanced playing are the original Mors Principium Est guitar players.

 

[Gums]

Very well put.. completely agreed! I thought the same thing when I saw the violinist. Sounds very natural.

A solo I heard recently that took me away was in "Another Day" by Disparaged. Like December Flower, it is in the middle of a song, and has some of those fast parts that still sound clear and melodic and climbing to something.. and in this case, almost sounds like there are 2 guitars playing at once. And then soaring tones that are evolving as they are gliding. Really cool. It's a guest solo and the guy played in King Diamond and Death. Looks like he was featured in an At the Gates track too. I have to check more of his work. The rest of the album also blew my nuts off.