Foscor  are  a  band  from  Spain  that  plays  a  progressive  mixture  of  black  and  dark  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Those  horrors  Wither"  which  was  released  by  Alone  Records.

  A  very  dark  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  violins  a  few  seconds  later  and  after  awhile  clean  singing  vocals  and  melodic  riffs  are  added  onto  the recording  along  with  all  of t he  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  after  awhile  grim  black  metal  screams  make  their  presence  known  on  the  recording.

  Throughout  the  recording  the  music  alternates  between  both  clean  and  heavy  parts  which  also  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  progressive  edge  and  the  solos  and  leads  also s tick  to  a  very  melodic  style  and  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic in  length  and  some  songs  also  bring  in  avant  garde  elements  and  some  of  the  slower  riffing  brings  in  a  touch  of  doom  metal  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction.

  Foscor  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  black  metal  and  mixes  it  with  dark  and  progressive  metal  to  create  a  style  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  darkness,  human  being,  philosophy  and  death  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Foscor  are  a  very  great  sounding  progressive  mixture  of  black  and dark  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Addiction"  and  "Graceful  Pandora".  8  out  of  10.    



 

1.Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?

Ave! thanks for your interest on INVOCATION, we're currently recording 2 new tracks called "Medium" & "ZoZo" (Instrumental) and composing 3 more for a future EP and of course we are rehearsing for the upcoming live shows, so clearly there's a lot of work to do...


2.So far you have released a single and a demo this year, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on both of the recordings?

For the Single/Advance "Emanations", we took two songs from Seance Part: 1 burned in a cdr with a simple layout to spread it around the globe, we send some singles to Canada, Sweden, Thailand, Italy, Perú, Bolivia and of course almost all the Chilean cities, the sound is the same pure Ritualstic & Hypnotic Blackened Death Metal!!! concerning the official debut release, obviously we prefer the cassette vibe and atmosphere for this type of music...


3.The name of the current demo was 'Seance Pt; 1" is there a concept going on with the other releases that are coming out in the future?

Sure, it's totally intentional this is our first attempt to comunicate and accept other spirits in an astral plane, we choose our music as "the medium" for it, just take a look on the lyrics and the titles... all this
"Emanations", "Pendulum", "Devout Effusions" and the mighty "Hypnosis" are part of this sesion.... in the next material we approach more to this paranormal topics, moving away from hackneyed anti-christianity


4.You label your music as 'ritualistic & hypnotic black/death metal', can you tell us a little bit more about this term?

In some passages of our songs you can find a very hypnotic atmosphere created by the communion of our instruments and the voice of an obscure demonic possession, so, along our visual concept and the artwork present in the layout the label “Ritualistic/Hypnotic” is very clear and doesn't leave much to the imagination…


5.Your lyrics and the band name deal a lot with the occult, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in the dark arts?

As discussed in the previous question we are not interested in anti-* topics, of course there are occult topics around there, but our interests are with paranormal themes and the search of evil spirits through INVOCATIONS the psychological, spiritual and traditional background behind this and the control of different kinds of médiums in wich you can attempt to contact evil spirits and the ancestral voices…


6.I have noticed over the years that a lot of the South American bands usually sound more extreme than what is going on in either the U.S or Europe, do you feel that living in a warmer climate and also being in an era where Catholics are the majority has a lot to do with the hatred and darkness that comes out of the bands from that part of the continent?

About the climate… I don’t think so…, it is true that our continent have a traditional sound but it’s consecuence of our truly sence of compromise and devotion to the music and the respect of the undergroud scene, we take this very serious… All the old bands from Brasil, Chile, Colombia, Perú were insane back in the 80’s, Pentagram, Death Yell, Sadism, Atomic Aggressor, Massacre, Torturer for example, they did a lot of bestial shows, and in the same time Sarcófago, Vulcano, Mystifier, Sepultura were destroying Brasil with their morbid sound… I don’t care much the politician issues, but in Chile there was a strong repression and discontent in those days, surely that was one of the reasons…


7.Has the band done any live shows or has this been strictly a studio project so far?

I do not want to overtake, but there are chances to perform along to a legendary underground band from the abyss ... In the Meantime we are open to some invitations


8. The new demo is being released on cassette, do you feel that both black and death metal lost a lot of aggression and rawness once the mp3 format started taking over?

Yes, I believe that the analog format fits perfect with the traditional Black/Thrash/ Death/Heavy/Doom Metal sound, cds are great in terms of money, but in our case we use it for promotional purposes…


9.The release is coming out on Godz Ov War Production, are you happy with the support they have given you so far?

They accept all our terms so, we choose to work in the visual aspect and do it for ourselfs, the promotion was fine according to a limited release, so, hope we can still work together…


10.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black and death metal?

We recieve a lot of e-mails from differents countries around the world asking for our promotional, it’s matter of time to know how the foreing maniac reacts to our sound…


11.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

There is an EP and a Full lenght planning for 2017 and 2018… hope this material bring us a lot of gigs to show this morbid sound in all the possible places…


12.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

All the classic (and some of the actual) south american scene of course, but lately some of the sound impregnated by Demoncy, Teitanblood, Cultes Des Ghoues, Pseudogod, Necros Christos, Demonomancy, Embrace of Thorns, Grave Miasma and some more actual acts like Temple Nightside, Malthusian, Possession, Irkallian Oracle, and many others underground bands…


13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Thanks for your interest in the band and remember ...there's no light, only pure hypnotic darkness...

Contact:
invocationtemple@gmail.com
www.godzovwar.com

  Deitus  are  a  band  from  the  United  Kingdom  that  plays  a  very  raw  and  melodic  form  of  satanic  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Acta  Non  Verba"  which  was  released  by  Ulthar  Records.

  A  very  dark  and  heavy  guitar  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  after  a  few  seconds  drums  start  to  kick  in  and  once  the  screams  kick  in  the  music  starts  going  into  more  of  a  black  metal  direction  that  is  very  close  to  the  Swedish  style  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  it  brings  in  more  of  a  raw  style  along  with  blast  beats.

  Melodies  can  be  heard  quite  a  bit  in  the  guitar  riffing  throughout  the  recording  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and fast  parts  and  the  faster  riffs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  tremolo picking  while  most  of  the  songs  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  when  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  remain  true  to  a  melodic  style  of  black  metal.

  Some  tracks  also  bring  in  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  and  there  is  also one  track  that is  instrumental  while  later  songs  also  add  in  a  small  amount  of  death  metal  elements  while  the  black  metal  side  also  displays  more  of  a 90's  second  wave  style  at  times  while  still  being  very  modern  at  the  same  time. 

  Deitus  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  raw  and  melodic  and owes  a  lot  to  the  Swedish  style  of  the  genre,  the  production  sounds  very  powerful  while  the  lyrics  cover  Satanism,  luciferian  and  Occultism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Deitus  are  a  very  great  sounding  raw  and  melodic  satanic  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out t his  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Manifest"  and  "Lightbearer".  8  out  of  10.

  California's  solo  project  Sxuperion  have  returned  with  a  new  album  that  continues  the  atmospheric  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  of  previous  releases  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2016  album  "Cosmic  Void"  which  will  be  released  on  April  30th  by  Bloody  Mountain  Records.

  A  very  fast  and  raw  black/war  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  after  a  few  seconds  death metal  growls  are  added  onto  the  recording  while  the  riffs  start  utilizing  more  morbid  sounding  melodies  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  When  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  dark  and  melodic  style  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  melodic  choirs  which  also  have  rain  and  thunder  sounds  in  the  background  while  the  fast  riffs  use  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  some  songs  also  bring  in  experimental  and  avant  garde  elements  along  with  a  small  amount  of  spoken word  parts  which  also  retun  on  a  alter  song  and  the  riffs  also  start  adding  in  more  death  metal  elemnts  as  the  album  progresses.

  Sxuperion  creates  another  recording  that  is  mostly  rooted  in  bestial  black  and  death  metal  while  also  having  its  atmospheric  and  experimental  moments,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  metaphysical  and  occult  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Sxuperion  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  bestial  black  and  death  metal  that  is  a  little  bit  more  on  the  experimental  side,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Irreligious  Cosmic  Void"  and  "From  All  that  Is  Not".  8  out  of  10.     

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

The band was born about three years ago and it's always been me and G. We had a couple of rehearsals with a real drummer, a close friend, but things weren't working well because of the time that rehearsing takes out, so we finally opted for a drum machine and we are happy of the results. We have always listened and played black metal, as well as other genres and being only two people has helped in shaping our sound and made things a lot easier, speaking of recording and writing. When there is a "real" band, with fuor or five members, everything becomes more difficult.


2.Recently you have released your first album,how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

The album represents the music that we love, we never intended to be innovative or out of the black metal box, so to say. I think it is black metal as it should be done and, most importantly, music that we like producing and listening to. I'm sick of people labelling their sound with useless adjectives in order to try to be more interesting or for whatever reason they do it. It tooks almost three years to see the album out, so we are glad that the wait is finally over and ready to begin a new chapter of the project.


3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?

I wrote all the lyrics, independently from the music, but I must say that the mood produced by the music is a perfect partner for the lyrics, and vice versa. They represents my vision of the world, at least at the time of the composing process, and even though it's not a concept album, the main topic of the lyrics are the struggle of living, a constant feeling of dissatisfaction and of course the awareness, presented as the only gift of time. Someone may see it as a negative vision of life, but I find it as a journey from uncertainty to acceptance of life as it is, you can live it in a bad way or accept it and try to live it in a positive, or at least, in a normal way, without concerns and obsessions.



4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Abisso'?

First of all it's a word that I like, based on its etymology and meaning, it can refer to something infinite, both negatively and positively, it suits my lyrics and my point of view of life and world. It may represent the endless void that many of us feels sometime, but also a peaceful sense of abandon and calm. Last but not least, it sounds good and no other band had chosen this name before.



5.Currently there are only 2 members in the band, are you planning on expanding the line up in the future or do you chose to remain a duo?

The band will always be G. and me, and we don't plan to include any other person outside us. As I already said, the less people are involved in a project, the better and faster things go. We have reached a perfect balance between the two of us, so I don't think we will break it allowing somebody else to join us. During the recording of the album, we asked D. (session bass and synth, and also producer) to become a permanent member, because of his musical skills, but he refused. Anyway I would be more than happy if he changed his mind, being a close friend of mine and a great musician.



6.Has the band done any live shows or is this strictly a studio project?

We had our live experiences in the past with our old projects, but we will never play live with Abisso. I personally don't like rehearsing and I don't see our music as a live act, but more as something one can listen on its own, both because of its genre and also for the length of the songs. Also during a live performance, above all for black metal, a lot of the music is lost because of bad sounds, inappropriate amplification and so on. The scene here in Sardinia is alive and constantly produces good bands, but there are not many venues for a gig and also the crowd is usually composed by the same people, mostly friends of the band that is playing, many times the band that brings more people is the band which has more friends.



7.The album was released on Third I Rex, are you happy with the support they have given you so far?

At the moment that I am writing, I still don't have the physical copies of the album, but I think the label is working well and hopefully will make us known more than I would do on my own! I didn't know Roberto before contacting him for Abisso, I only knew his musical projects, but he seems a determined and focused guy, so I am pretty confident.



8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black metal?

As I said before, I still don't have my copies, and I think nobody else has them. At the moment it is still very underground, but I hope that the name will be known as soon as possible and I don't care if the full length ends up on torrent or in web hosting sites. I don't want to make money out of it and I don't understand people who are angry when they discover their album has leaked on the internet, I find it as a way to be reached by lots of people, and hopefully appreciated by them.



9.Are any of the band members also involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?

G. has another band where he plays totally different music, I recently recorded the vocals for D.'s project VIII, and apart from that I am not involved in any other band.



10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

We want to record new music as soon as possible, keeping the soul of the music intact but also moving towards something different. We don't want to repeat ourselves, but we are conscious that we will not produce the next black metal masterpiece or the most innovative album in the genre. As long as we play what we like and the music satisfies us, we will be happy. And that's all we will do, not playing live.


11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Without writing a "band grocery list", I personally enjoy listening to well produced bands, with a nice sound, with a preference to a slow and bass driven sound, both black metal and not, I still find incredible that so many "old school bm" groups become so well known producing incredibly low fi music, that I find impossible to listen. For sure we love the early Norwegian scene and I am fond of the contemporary Polish (Furia, Mgla, Thaw etc) and French scene (Aosoth and Deathspell Omega above all). Black metal is a big slice of my personal taste, but I also love doomjazz, doom and some classic heavy metal, and of course anything that appeals to my hears, from the most commercial pop to the most extreme drone metal.



12.What are some of your non musical interests?

I am a big football and professional bodybuilding fan, I love going to the gym, probably because it suits my personality, being an activity that I can do on my own, giving me the possibility to isolate myself, lifting weights and listening to the music that I like. Living in Sardinia I also love going to the beach and swimming. Reading a good book or watching a good movie, independently of their genre, is an activity that I like.



13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Thank you for the interview and your interest. I want to thank Roberto and Third-I-Rex for the support and all the people that will buy or listen to the record. You will have our news very soon.

https://abisso.bandcamp.com/

https://3rdirex.bandcamp.com