Fornicus/Ofstingan/Life After Death/Dark Horizon Records/2021 Split EP Review

 

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  ep  between  U.S.A's  Fornicus  and  Ofstingan  which  was  released  as  a  joint  effort  between  Life  After  Death  and  Dark  Horizon  Records  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Fornicus  who  returns  with  a  blasphemous  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  a  very  distorted  sound  before  going  into  a  very  fast  and raw  musical  direction  which  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.  Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  while  the  songs  also  add  in  a  lot  of  90's  influences  and  bestial  growls  are  also  utilized  at  times.  

  Dark  sounding  melodies  are  also  added  into  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  along  with  some  elements  of  war  metal  also  being  utilized  times.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  as  with  the  solos  and  leads  also being  done  in  a  very  chaotic  style  when  they  are  used  briefly and  the  music  also  adds  in  a  small  amount  of  slow  and  mid  tempo  sections,  clean  vocals  are  also  added  on  one  of  the  tracks.  The  production  sounds  very  raw  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  blasphemous  and  anti  religion  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Fornicus  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  fast  and  blasphemous  black  and  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK "Hellfucked".

  Next  up  is  Ofstingan  a  band  that  plays  a  very  raw  form  of  black  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  a  very  fast  and  raw  sound  which  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.  Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  while  the  music  also  adds  in  a  great  amount  of  90's  influences  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  a  small  amount  of  dark  sounding  melodies  also  being  utilized  briefly  and  all  of  the  music  also  sticks  to  a  heavier  direction.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  Satanism,  Occultism,  Blasphemy  and  Anti  Christianity  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Ofstingan  are  a  very  great  sounding  raw  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Fallen  Revenge".  8  out  of  10.

  In  conclusion  I  feel  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  and  I  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of  the  faster  forms  of  black  metal.  8  out  of  10.

https://fornicus.bandcamp.com 
https://www.facebook.com/fornicus666

https://www.instagram.com/fornicus666

Ofstingan:
https://ofstingan.bandcamp.com

https://instagram.com/ofstingan     

  

Fornicus/Sulphuric Omnipotence/Negative Earth Records/2020 CD Review

  Kentucky's  Fornicus  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  shows  to  the  music  going  into  more  of  an  infernal  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2020  album  "Sulphuric  Omnipotence"  which  will  be  released  in  June  by  Negative  Earth  Records.

  A  very  powerful  sounding  bass  guitar  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  heavier  riffing  a  few  seconds  later.  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  tremolo  picking  can  be  heard  which  also  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  raw  feeling  along  with  some  keyboards  also  being  used  briefly.

  Vocals  also  bring  in  a  mixture  of  black  metal  screams  and  guttural  growls  while  the  songs  also  add  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  Some  of  the  faster  sections  of  the  music  also  shows  an  influence  of  war  metal  along  with  the  guitar  solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.

  A  touch  of  doom/death  metal  can  also  be  heard  in  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  along  with  the  guitar  solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  as  well  as  having  their  chaotic  moments,  a  couple  of  tracks  also  introduces  a  brief  use  of  clean  vocals,  whispers  and spoken  word  parts  onto  the  album.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Satanism,  Blasphemy,  Darkness  and  Chaos  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Fornicus  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black  and  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Perdition's  Guiding  Winds"  "Vitriolic  Proclamation"  "Inexorable  Pantheon  Of  Death"  and  "Usurping  The  Throne".  8  out  of  10.

http://fornicus.bandcamp.com
http://www.facebook.com/fornicus666 

  

Fornicus/Hymns of Dominion/Negative Earth Records/2016 Full Length Review

  Fornicus  are  a  band  from  Kentucky  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  black  metal  with  elements  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Hymns  Of  Dominion"  which  will  be  released  on  Halloween  by  Negative  Earth  Records.

  Dark  sound  effects  along  with  spoken  word  parts  start  off  the  album  and  after the  intro  the  music  starts  bringing  in  more  of  a  bestial  war  metal  style  along  with  some  chaotic  sounding  guitar  leads  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  and  the  music  also  brings  in  a great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.

 At  times  the  riffs  bring  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  and  most  of  the  music  is  very  heavily  90's  influenced  and  you  can  also  hear  touches  of  thrash  at  times  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  and  as  the  album progresses  the  solos  and  leads  start  getting  more  melodic  and  the  whole  album  also  remains  very  heavy  from  beginning  to  ending  of  the  recording.

   Fornicus  creates  a  recording  that  takes  black,  war  and  death  metal  and  mixes  it  in  with  elements  of  thrash  to  create  another  very  heavy  sounding  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  yet  heavy  at  the  same  time  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  blasphemous  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Fornicus  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black  and  death  metal,  you  should c heck  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Feat  For  Rats"  "Hordes  Of  the  Abyss"  "Blessed  By  Hos  Holy  Jism"  and  "Nyctophilliac".  8  oiut  of  10.

https://fornicus.bandcamp.com/track/woeful-oppressor

Fornicus Interview

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

We are a black/death metal band hailing from KY. The band started as a just myself and our bassist Chris in late 2012 in whom I've known for several years having played with him in one of my earliest bands as a teen. We approached David sometime in early 2013 expecting him to not be interested and surprisingly he was more than eager to get involved...fucker lives nearly 2 hrs away and makes the drive over for practice every Friday night. Kelly is our latest addition to complete the lineup on lead guitar. We also play together in a death/grind band called Gorgy where I actually drum. Kelly and I had another project going before he joined Fornicus that was black metal called Storming Heaven and since the projects sounded so similar we just merged the two, hence why the debut album is titled Storming Heaven.

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

The album I think has a fairly wide range of sound. Some songs such as We Are Sin and Pallium Mali have a riffier, more old school sound, some have a darker edge such as Into Obscurity, and some have a pretty heavy death metal influence such as King of the Egoists and The Beckoning.

3.A couple of the band members also have a background in death metal, how would you compare playing black metal to death metal?

Black metal for me pulls deeper into the essence of who you are...it can represent a wider range of thought and emotion than I think death metal can. Death metal satisfies me on a more primal, pure aggression level. I love both genres however so it depends on my mood as to which I favor.

4.Your lyrics cover some satanic, occult and anti christian topics, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in these subjects?

Having been raised as a christian as a child right in the heart of the bible belt, especially in a denomination that felt it was the only "right" one a lot of the anti-christian sentiment stems from my own rebellion from the religion and my views of its hypocritical and mentally abusive nature. The use of satan for me is more a literary and metaphorical reference as I do not believe in any deities. Satan of course represents rebellion and freedom from the binding chains that religion had on me when I was younger as he dared to defy god as well. Views vary a bit from member to member but at its core, we are very much anti-religion.

5.I know that the name 'Fornicus' comes out of the movie 'The Cabin In The Woods', what was the decision behind using it as a band name?

It was suggested by either David or Chris one night when we were trying to figure a name out. We're all horror fans, some more than others and we thought the name sounded good and wasn't overly complicated so it would be easy for people to remember. 

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?

My favorite show thus far was our debut show last May. We opened it but the crowd was already there and they gave us some very enthusaistic and positive feedback. There aren't any stage theatrics that some use within the black metal world in our performance (not suggesting anything negative towards that, just not what we choose to do), its just straight forward, no bullshit thrashing black/death from beginning to end.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new release?

Touring is probably not an option in the near future as well all have full time employment and a couple of us have families as well. We do however and will continue to play regionally in surrounding states on weekends.

8.According to the Metal Archives page the band is signed to Negative Earth Records, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

Negative Earth is a DIY label Kelly used to have a few years ago that he revived to release our album. We had interest from a few established labels but we felt that we had the resources to achieve what we wanted to achieve ourselves and the offers weren't 100% to our liking.

9.On the album you also did a cover of Sepultura's "Antichrist", what was the decision behind doing your own version of this track?

I had always loved the raw, aggressive sound of early Sepultura and always had this song in mind as a good one to cover which the rest of the band agreed. Felt we could make it our own while preserving what the song originally was as well, to which I believe we did successfully.

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

We just released the album a week ago digitally and are currently taking pre-orders for the CD which will ship by the end of August so there hasn't been a lot feedback just yet but so far the bulk of our sales/pre-orders have been international from different European countries so I believe fans from abroad are finding us to their liking.

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

We are already writing for the next album and are actually considering talking with some other bands about doing a split. So far the writing has been a little darker and some playing more on the aggressive side of black metal.

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?

Bands that have had an influence on myself include early Emperor, Marduk, Angelcorpse, Dissection, and Goatwhore to name a few. I've also taken a bit from local metal stalwarts Abominant as they've recorded their last three releases at my studio so I think they've rubbed off on me a little, ha! Bands I frequently listen to at the moment include Craven Idol, Vader, Prosanctus Inferi, Oubliette (a band from nearby that just released a fantastic album), Goatwhore, and Gorgasm as far as more recent shit goes and have been revisiting Emperor a lot lately from all the media attention for the reunion shows they're doing. 

13.What are some of your non musical interests?

Don't have a lot of time for other interests between work and music but myself I do some gaming here and there, same for Chris. David is big into weight lifting and such and Kelly...I don't know where he finds time to breath, ha!

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

We appreciate your time and the interview very much! Hails to all that support the underground and keep its flame burning, you are its spirit!

www.facebook.com/fornicus666
fornicus.bandcamp.com

Fornicus/Storming Heaven/2014 CD Review

  Fornicus  are  a  band  from  Kentucky  that  plays  a  very  fast  and  heavy  form  of  black  metal  with  elements  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Storming  Heaven".

  A  very  dark  and  evil  sounding  intro  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  spoken  word  samples  which  gives  the  music  a  ritualistic  feeling  before  going  into  a  more  old  school  black  metal  direction  along  with  some  grim  screams  and  you  can  also  hear  a  great  amount  of  thrash  influences  in  the  bands  musical  style.

  Deep  demonic  growls  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  the  solos  and  leads  the  band  uses  are  in  more  of  an  old  school  death  metal  direction  while  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  amount  of  the  more  melodic  side  of  black  metal  at  times  and  the  band  also  adds  in  a  decent  amount  of  fast  playing  which  utilizes  tremolo  picking  along  with  some  blast  beats  which  also  gives  the  music  a  more  raw  feeling.

  As  the  album  progresses  the  band  really  starts  to  find  their  sound  taking  the  raw  and  melodic  styles  of  black  metal  and  combining  them  with  death  and  thrash  metal  as  well  as  using  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  they  also  have  a  technical  feeling  to  them  at  time s when  they  bring  in  the  death  metal  parts  and  the  spoken  word  parts  also  return  on  one  of  the  later  tracks  along  with  some  fast  and  primal  bass  guitars  and  the  band  also  does  a  cover of  Sepultura's  "Antichrist"  before  closing  the  album  with  2  of  their  own  original  songs.

  Fornicus  creates  a  style  of  metal  that  takes  both  the  old  school  and  melodic  satanic  side  of  the  black  metal  genre  while  also  adding  in  a  decent  amount  of  death  and  thrash  metal  influences  to  create  some  truly  heavy  and  unholy  music,  the  production  sounds  very  powerful  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  Satanism,  Occultism  and  Anti  Christian  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Fornicus  are  a  very  great  sounding  fast,  melodic  and  aggressive  black  metal  band  with  a  thrash  and  death  metal  edge  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "We  Are  Sin"  "Into  Obscurity"  and  "Storming  Heaven".  8  out  of  10.

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