Onferno/Rise Of The Grim Demons/2018 CD Review

  Onferno  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  an  unholy  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2018  album  "Rise  Of  The  Grim  Demons".

  Atmospheric  sounding  drones  and  soundscapes  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  elements  of  dark  ambient  before  going  into  a  heavier  musical  direction  while  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  melody  at  times  as  well  as  some  demonic  voices  being  used  in  the  background  briefly.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats and  tremolo  picking can  be  heard  which  gives  the  music  more  of  a  raw  feeling  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  along  with  the  songs  also  bringing  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  dark  yet  melodic  fashion  along  with  some  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  as  well  as  the  music  being  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  second  wave  style  and  as  the  album  progresses  guitar  leads  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  the  ambient  and  drone  elements  also  return  on  the  closing  track  as  well  as  some  harsh  noises.

  On  this  recording  Onferno  remains  true  to  the  unholy  black  metal  style  of  their  previous  release  while  also  adding  in  slight  touches  of  noise,  drone  and  ambient,  the  production  sounds  very  dark,  raw  and  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness   themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Onferno  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  raw  and  old  school  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Possessed  By  The  Demon's  Call"  :The  Curse  of  The  Witch  King"  and  "Unholy  Death".  8/5  out  of  10.

https://onferno.bandcamp.com/album/rise-of-the-grim-demons

    

Onferno Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
- ONFERNO is three people. Guitar+vocals, bass+vocals, drums. Names are irrelevant.
We gather and play since Winter 2013 in our practice room in the Eastern Italian hills.

2.Recently you have released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
- With "Cathartic Offering" we wanted a 100% raw black metal album that would relate to the old school that influenced us. We wanted the guitar to sound edgy and clanking all over the listener's face. We wanted the bass to pound from the underground. We wanted the bass drum to be deep and present. We wanted the vocals to be sometimes stabbing, sometimes eerie, not necessarily in front of all the instruments: we wanted to convey an agonizing feeling without many studio tricks.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
- The lyrics are an abstract collection of images related to all the obscure, bleak and hateful feelings we experience in our lives. They were not written line by line, but rather all mixed together: during the piece, we grab on one phrase or word that is suggested by the music and build from that. The titles refer to the general mood of the song.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Onferno'?
- First of all, it just sounded right to us. Second, Onferno is a word very similar to "inferno", the Italian for "hell", and it is also a place in the Italian hills with some very fascinating caves.

5.On both the facebook and bandcamp page you refer to your musical style as 'unholy black metal', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
- "Unholy Black Metal" is just one of many Darkthrone tributes present in our album, as it is the title of a song from "Under a Funeral Moon".

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
- We only played 2 concerts so far.
The first is with a death/grind band of friends, Hell Brood: the venue was not a metal venue and our sound was awful, so we are satisfied because the final result was very rotten and most of the people was disgusted.
The second was at a wild multi-group event with another band of friends, Antares: we played 15 minutes, the whole room was filthy because everyone kept throwing stuff, drinks and stinking food at each other, and we are satisfied because in spite of the cheerfulness of the party, some people felt the coldness that we wanted to convey.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
- One member of the group is currently abroad and another one have problems playing live and getting in touch with the darkest core of our music while strangers are only there to drink beer and chat about nonsense.
For this reasons we will not play live unless and until we will have another record ready to be released. In that case, we may have a "release party" concert, but ONFERNO at its current state is not a live band.

8.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
- We are starting to receive some interest, but we're still far from having a direct contact with a label.
Most of all, we are eager to distribute our music in the BM scene so in that sense our door is open.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
- The first record is a sort of "manifesto", so it inevitably conveys a wide and generic vision of Black Metal. After this, we already started writing new material, exploring other aspects and fringes of Black Metal. We think that the next albums should be more focused, each one with a specific sound and "grain".

10.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?
- Each one of us has individual tastes, very different and also distant from Black Metal, but with Onferno (and specifically with "Cathartic Offering") we gathered around some of our favourite "old school" bands - the names may sound banal, but they still remain the most vivid and inspiring: Darkthrone, Mayhem, Burzum, Emperor, Immortal, Ulver.

11.How would you describe your views on Satanism and Occultism?
- We have no opinion on this matter. The Darkness that influences our vision is all-encompassing and rooted in the human guts, it stands before and beyond any religous, philosophical or hystorical belief. It makes us feel angry, hateful and desperate regardless of who we side with.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?
- Individually, they range from visual arts to swordmanship to video games.
Together, our collective interest are drinking beer, being mean to each other and NBA basketball.

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
- No.

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Onferno/Cathartic Offering/2014 Full Length Review

  Onferno  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  very  unholy  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  album  "Cathartic  Offering".

  Rain  sounds  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  drum  beats  and  distortion  and  a  few  seconds  later  grim  screams  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  after  the  intro  the  music  starts  going  for  more  of  a  black  metal  direction  as  well  as  bringing  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  which  also  shows  the  vocals  getting  more  high  pitched  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Blast  beats  can  be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  and  the  music  has  a  mid  90's  Norwegian  style  black  metal  feeling  at  times  while  also  having  a  more  raw  edge  than  the  bands  of  that  era  and  at  times  the  vocals  also  have  a  very  depressive  and  suicidal  feeling  to  them  and  as  the  album  progresses  you  can  hear  more  of  a  raw  and  atmospheric  approach  to  black  metal  being  utilized.

  All  of  the  tracks  stick  to  a  very  true  and  pure  form  of  black  metal  and  the  band  avoids  adding  in  any  modern  trends  from  the  past  10  years  and  focuses  more  on  a  sound  that  contains  a  great  amount  of  variety  while  also  remaining  very  raw,  dark  and  heavy  and  always  retains  a  very  black  metal  orientated  atmosphere  which  also  has  a  very  melodic  edge  at  times  and  one  of  the  later  tracks  also  shows  the  band  adding  in  a  brief  use  of  guitar  leads  and  spoken  word  ritualistic  parts.

  Onferno  creates  a  very  raw  and  dark  style  of  black  metal  with  their  musical  sound  as  well  as  showing  the  ability  to  bring  in  atmosphere  and  still  keeping  it  very  grim  and  there  is  never  a  soft  or  weak  moment  to  be  heard  anywhere  on  this  recording,  the  production  sounds very  dark,  raw  and  old  school  in  the  true  black  metal  tradition  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  blasphemous  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Onferno  are  a  very  great  sounding  unholy  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "At  Dusk  Came  The  Madness"  "Mat  Death  Bloom  In  My  Enemy"  and  "Cursed  Chant  of  the  Maniac  Mind"  which  is  also  an  instrumental.  8  out  of  10.

https://onferno.bandcamp.com/