Natti Natti Nattramn (a.k.a. Nattramn) is a singer from the Depressive Suicidal
Black Metal band Silencer, about whom many highly disturbing rumors have
circulated. One rumor that has been fully confirmed is that he used to self-harm various parts of his body to achieve his distinctive vocal tone.
Background.
Nattramn was apparently born on September 7, 1975 (or 1977) in the town of
Markaryd, in the province of Småland, in southwestern Sweden. There have been
rumors for years about his full name; however, the most likely candidate,
although this has not been officially confirmed, is Mikael Nilsson.
What little is known is that the artist chose the pseudonym Natti Natti
Nattramn or Nattramn, which comes from a Swedish folklore character named
Nattramnar, a figure who flies through the forests of Småland in the form of a
bird and carries off the souls of unbaptized children or people who commit
suicide.
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| Alleged photograph of Nattramn. |
Musical carrer.
He formed the ambient project Sinneskross in 1994, which changed its name to
Trencadis in 1995 and released a demo in 1996 titled Ödelagt. In 2012, the HAL
website released the album “Trencadis Ödelagt” in a limited edition of just
300 copies.
In 1995, he formed the band Silencer, where he served as lead singer from its
inception until its breakup in 2001.
In 1998, he recorded an independent demo titled "Death - Pierce Me" with
Andreas Casado on bass and guitar and Jonas Mattsson as a session drummer.
In 2000, together with Leere, he began recording the band’s only LP, also
titled "Death - Pierce Me", with Steve Wolz serving as session drummer. It was
released by Prophecy Productions in 2001. The popular single “Sterile Nails and
Thunderbowels” was taken from this album.
Mental disorders.
It is known that Nattramn suffered from severe mental health issues, including
schizophrenia and depression, and was known to self-harm in order to achieve
certain tones in his music. It is believed that his mental health issues
stemmed from his intense envy of other bands.
Shortly thereafter, Nattramn was admitted to the psychiatric ward in Växjö due
to schizophrenia, bringing the project to an end.
Urban legends.
The "Death - Pierce Me" album promotional artwork sparked the most famous rumor about the musician. The images show Nattramn covered in blood with a pair of pig’s feet in place of where his hands should be, giving rise to the famous urban legend that he had amputated his own hands. In reality, it was merely a promotional photoshoot for the release.
Unlike the urban legend about the amputation and pig's hooves, the
self-mutilation in the recording studio is a fact confirmed by those
involved in the production of "Death - Pierce Me".
To achieve those piercing, uncontrollable screams, Nattramn severely cut his
arms, hands, and other parts of his body while recording the vocal tracks.
The idea behind this practice wasn’t simply to hit a musical note through
technique, but to capture genuine physical and psychological agony.
It is known that the studio floor ended up stained with blood during the
sessions. By inflicting that pain on himself, Nattramn managed to push his
vocal cords to a state of absolute hysteria, producing sounds that resemble
torture more than conventional singing.
Another rumor goes that Nattramn had killed a 6-year-old girl with an axe while
escaping from the hospital. However, the truth behind this myth is that the
girl was only attacked, but managed to survive, by Nattramn's brother, Patrik
Nilsson, who was 26 at the time, and who also suffered from mental illness.
When the police caught him, he was admitted to St. Sigfrids, but he managed to
escape and later committed suicide.
Art in the Psychiatric Hospital.
While hospitalized, Nattramn offered to compose and record music for a year as
part of his rehabilitation therapy. This led to the creation of "Diagnose:
Lebensgefahr", a collaboration between Nattramn and the psychiatric ward in
the southern city of Växjö.
This project led to the release of the album "Transformalin" in August 2007 on
the Autopsy Kitchen Records label. The album blends industrial, drone, ambient
(especially dark ambient), and experimental music.
New life.
According to a statement, Nattramn was finally discharged from the hospital
fully recovered and began living a normal life in a house near the hospital so
that if he ever drove the guards crazy again, it would be easy to readmit
him.
Today he lives in anonymity; no one knows where he lives. The little that is
known is that he has a strong philosophy, in which he claims to “embody the
heart of a pig.”
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| Alleged photograph of Nattramn from 2016 (retouched). |
"Heart of Pig."
In 2011, he published a book titled "Heart of a Pig." In it, he takes us deep
into his mind, explaining why he did the things he did and what the true
message he wanted to convey through his music was. He tells us that we must
have an animal heart to be fully human. Here is a quote from the book:
"People stray from life by becoming prisoners of their own minds, without
realizing that true freedom lies in living life as a non-human being, yes, a
being that is not human. Let us cling to the scent of decaying bodies, for
it serves to remind us of what we truly are; let us move from the heat of
the fire toward the intense cold with an endless desire to turn everything
into darkness. In this book, I write to you about a wide variety of
emotions, moods, and mental states; it is like pure poetry in which you will
realize that you are destined to reject yourself as a human being and invoke
the animal that you truly are, and in this way, you will attain the true
level of perfection."
An interesting fact about this book is that Swedish buyers were given a test
tube filled with blood. This wasn't optional; you had to accept the tube no
matter what, or else the book wouldn't be sold to you. And this becomes clear
once you finish reading the book.
