Setting the tone with classic arpeggiated plucked guitar, layered with elegant and immersive electric guitar and fused with 80s esque drums, we are already hypnotized by The DePatie Melt‘s single, The Viking Princess And The Troll King.
The energy of the track is romantic, tender and reminds us slightly of The Righteous Brothers’ Unchained Melody in theme, with the electric guitar as the protagonist of the story. We are hypnotized.
John DePatie has shared stages with artists like Nancy Sinatra, Leif Garrett, Jarvis Cocker, Richard Hawley, Little Steven, Greg Walker (Santana), Richard Street (Temptations) and legendary Wrecking Crew keyboardist Don Randi, so it is no surprise that the quality and experience of The Viking Princess And The Troll King is so refined.
“I came up with the title while visiting Norway in January 2017. I had seen a hilarious Norwegian mockumentary called Troll Hunter, and I got the idea for a story kind of the like Beauty And The Beast or Shrek,” says DePatie with regards to naming the song.
He adds, “I wanted to write something that would be fun to play and would be a good vehicle for improvising.”
The track was finally written while on vacation in the summer of 2018 with only an iPad and a guitar. The track came to John in “nearly record time and the melody and chords were entirely unchanged from the original demo when he re-recorded it for release.”
You can experience the 2019 version in the hybrid-live video below which shows DePatie in his element.
The video was shot while the actual recording was happening. DePatie felt that he had captured some magic on the video and got superstitious about redoing it, so in a very unique circumstance, the video for The Viking Princess And The Troll King predates the song’s official release by a couple of years. Iconic.
We have added The Viking Princess And The Troll King to our New Music Spotlight playlist and have been streaming The DePatie Melt’s wider discography, including The Song We Will Remember and The Place Of The Two Ponds!