Litost/Ethos/Blood Fire Death/2024 Re-Recorded Album Review

 

  Litost  are  a  band  from  Spain  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  very  raw  and  melodic  mixture  of  black, death  metal  and  crust  and  this  is  a  review  of  their 2024  album  "Ethos"  which  will  be  released  in  October  by  Blood  Fire  Death  and  is  a  re-recorded  version  of  their  2019  album  with  the  same  name.

  A  very  dark  yet  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  the  riffs  also  adding  in a   great  amount  of  melody  and  the  vocals  are  mostly  angry  sounding  black  metal  screams.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast b eats  can  be  heard  which  also  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  raw  feeling.  Elements  of  crust  are  also  added  into  the   mid  tempo  sections  of  the  tracks  along  while  death  metal  growls  are  also  utilized  at  times  and  some  tracks  also  add  in  a  small  amount  of  clear  singing.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  some  of  the  vocals  also  adding  in  a  melodic  touch  on  a  couple  of  tracks  and  one  song  is  also  a  Spanish  guitar  instrumental.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  suffering,  sadness,  anger,  evolving  towards  self-knowledge  and  psychological  improvement. 

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album  from  Litost  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  raw  and  melodic  black, death  metal  and  crust,  you  should  check  out  this  re-recorded  version.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Cieno"  "Ananoreta"  and  "Tempesta".  8  out  of  10.

  https://litostofficial.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/LitostMusicVlc

https://www.instagram.com/litost.music/

https://open.spotify.com/artist/1DIcK8CQkeWMFhMTWX7vWD?si=d44gyRClQ6SjeErN_R3jzQ&nd=1&dlsi=ab6d6b1d894f464c

https://www.youtube.com/@LitostOficial 

Litost Interview

 

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

We are Litost, an extreme metal band with shades of death, black and crust among other styles with no particular link with any of them.

We were formed in Valencia (Spain) releasing our first album Ethos in December 2019 willing to delight the listeners.

 

 

2.You have a new album coming out in march, musically how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

We have progressed and evolved since the first album, as we search for more complex feelings to capture, both with music and lyrics, and we fuse together aspects from new music genres, even from non metal styles.

 

 

3.A lot of your lyrics cover existentialism and philosophy themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in these topics?

The general concept of our music turns around the word "litost", a Czech term related to self misery as a human. This way, we like trying to express the feelings that make us behave as we do, especially those which are hard to explain with words.

In our first album Ethos, a word from Greek philosophy, we focused on the darkest aspects of human nature, using lyrics and melody quite open to interpretation.

In this new album Pathos we explore more diverse factors, such as emotion, wrath, sadness, empathy or persuasion, keeping the same ambiguous tone.

We are currently researching the term "logos", which will close our trilogy about Aristotle's Rhetoric.

 

4.What are some of the other lyrical topics and subjects you have explored so far with the music?

 

For the moment, we have only revolved around introspection, human condition and feelings, using different resources such as stories, descriptions or metaphors.

Nevertheless, once we finish the trilogy, we plan to broaden our horizon forward to new subjects.

 

5.Originally the band was called 'Polybious', what was the cause of the name change and the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Litost'?

Actually, it is a previous project, with a different style, direction and members.

When that project dissolved, we formed Litost with the idea of exploring other genres of metal, and even non metal, forging towards a specific humanistic topic that any person could understand, creating this way something as unique as possible.

 

 

6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?

In the visual aspect we intended to expose the same we did in the music and the lyrics.

Therefore, the artwork shows an eclipse, which represents a duality, a double-edge, or an altered state.

Underneath there is a dessert, of which dunes are softly caressed by the warm wind. This is actually a reference to the second interlude Barján de Céfiro.

The new logo is inspired by Mozarabic architecture, an important culture in the past and present of Spain.

 

7.Has the band done any live shows or open to the idea?

 

When we released Ethos we hit the road, we had a nice tour ahead; unfortunately we could only perform a couple of concerts before confinement.

At this moment we keep searching and organizing new shows so that we can spread our work on a national level.

We hope that someday we can open frontiers and tour abroad…

 

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

 

Our first album got a shy reception, mostly in Spain; we received some reviews and interviews but, as we said, everything came to grief with the pandemic. For this new album, and other surprises to come, we could reach further limits. For now, the release of the first single is receiving really good critics and a nice response from our people.

 

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

Dani, our drummer, is involved in an extreme metal project named Nethertale, which is on its way to release their second album. He also has just restarted an electronic rock band called 2nd Reset which remained inactive for some years.

For his part, the guitarist Joaquin (Mr. Crap) plays with Kickin' Kidneys, a thrash metal band from his hometown. 

Lastly, Pedro, the bassist is preparing a project about 80s Rap with samples and references to classic video games.

We encourage you to listen to them!

 

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

 

We are going to keep developing our music, even after the trilogy; we have plans about how to proceed, with no limits on influences, inspiration and styles while maintaining our solid essence.

We look forward to keep growing and get a wider audience to enjoy our music.

 

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?

Since many years and still today, we have been listening to bands like Der weg einer freiheit, Groza, Taake, Stortregn, Gorod, Mastodon, Devin Townsend, Trocotombix, and many more, but we are receptive to many styles out of metal, searching for influences in oriental, classic, orchestral, electronic or flamenco music, or whatever we could use to evolve as a band.

 

 

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

Despite the current scene, it's great to see how many companies continue working with new bands, placing their trust in young musicians and granting them an exciting musical adventure. This is why we would like to encourage your audience to please support their emerging local bands and the underground scene, they actually need it. Attend their shows, share their music and buy their merchandising, this is how you can truly help.

We really hope you can enjoy our music.

Thank you very much for this interview and letting us be heard by your audience.

 

https://www.facebook.com/LitostMusicVlc

https://www.instagram.com/litost.music/

https://www.youtube.com/@LitostOficial

Litost/Pathos/Blood Fire Death/2023 Full Length Review

 

  Litost  are  a  band  from  Spain  that  plays  a  raw  and  melodic  mixture  of  black,  death  metal  and  crust  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  s  2023  album  "Pathos"  which  will be  released  in  March  by  Blood  Fire  Death.

  A  very  dark  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  rain  and  thunder  sou8nds  can  also  be  heard  briefly.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads a re  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  technical  an d melodic  style  style  along  with  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  adding  in a   great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a r aw  feeling.

  Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal s creams  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody.  Elements  of  crust  can  also  be  heard  in  the  mid  tempo  sections  of  the  songs  along  with  the  tracks  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts,  clean  playing  and  synths  can  also  be  heard  on  a  couple  of  songs.

  A  couple   of  the  tracks  also  being  an  instrumental  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  also  being  utilized  at  times  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  clear  vocals  can  also  be  heard  as  well  as  one  track  also  adding  in  a  brief  use  of  ethnic  folk  instruments.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Spanish  and  cover  existentialism,  introspection  and  human  misery  themes.  . 

  In  my  opinion  Litost  are  a  very  great  sounding  raw  and  melodic  mixture  of  black,  death  metal  and  crust  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Tromba"  "Simun"  and  "Galerna".  8 out  of  10.

https://www.facebook.com/LitostMusicVlc