Formicarius/Rending The Veil Of Flesh/Schwarzdorn Production/2019 CD Review

  United  Kingdom's  Formicarius  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  continues  the  symphonic  and  epic  style  of  black  metal  from  previous  releases  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2019  album  "Rending  The  Veil  Of  Flesh"  which  will  be  released  in  September  by  Schwatzdom  Production.

  A  very  fast  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  while  symphonic  elements  are  also  added  into  the  heavier  sections  of  the  music.  Vocals  are  mostly  grim  sounding  black  metal  screams  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  A  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  can  also  be  heard  in  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  while  the  riffs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody  as  well  as  some  growls  being  added  into  some  parts  of  the  music.  The  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  one  track  also  introduces  acoustic  guitars  onto  the  recording.

   Female  vocals  can  also  be  heard  at  times  as  well  as  the  music  also  bringing  in  a  decent  amount  of  mid  90's  era  influences  but  keeping  it  modern  at  the  same  time  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  the  dark  ages  and  the  corruption  of  the  Christian  religion  in  that  era.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Formicarius  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  symphonic  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Beyond  The  Veil  Of  Flesh"  "Inherit  Our  Sickness"  "Stalker  Among  The  Stars"  and  "O  Dread  Impaler".  8  out  of  10.

http://www.formicarius.co.uk       

Formicarius/Black Mass Ritual/Schwarzdorn Productions/2017 CD Review

  Formicarius  are  a  band  from  the  United  Kingdom  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  symphonic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Black  Mass  Ritual"  which  will  be  released in  July  by  Schwardorn  Productions.

  A  very  heavy  and  symphonic  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  the  riffs  also m using  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  hear  while  the  vocals a re  mostly  grim  black  metal  screams  along  with  a  few  growls  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  sound  very  powerful.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  some  of   the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  demonstrate  a  great  amount  of talent  and  skill  along  with  clean  playing  along  with  a  small  amount of  acoustic  guitars rare  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  Formicarius  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  melodic  and  symphonic  sounding  while  also  demonstrating  a  great  amount  of  talent  and  skill,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness  and  occultism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Formicarius  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE "Lake  Of  The  Dead"  "Under  Darkness"  and  "Master  Of  The  Past  And  Present".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBDFmGJi4bw

 
 

Formicarius Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the single?

We recorded the single back in March this year. There's been a lot going on behind the scenes to prepare for the band's launch, which happened on 1st July. Right now we're in the middle of booking a mini-tour during September and rehearsing for that.


2.Recently you have released a single, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
Evil. It's a fucking gargantuan sound, especially with the keyboards, and between a straight minute of blastbeats and one of the best guitar solos you'll hear this year I don't really know what else to say - it's just very, very heavy.


3.Some of the lyrical topics covered Egyptian Mythology, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this topics?
There isn't much more to it than a passing interest – it's fascinating but we're no experts on the subject in the way Nile are. Egyptian Mythology just provides an appealing backdrop to extreme metal for us; it's fantastical with powerful and extreme ideas and characters, and it can be revoltingly dark. It also provides a vivid setting which can easily be brought out in music, so it's a good basis for telling a story.


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

The Formicarius is one of the first books to discuss Witchcraft, written in the early 15th Century. This bleak time period of violent superstition and paranoia concerning the occult is something underlying all of our music, far removed from the industrial and modern themes. We explore the historic accounts in the Formicarius on the forthcoming album, and the mysterious and dangerous overtones of the occult are something which we will continue to explore. Therefore, Formicarius is an appropriate title to unite us by.

5.Has the band done any live shows yet or is it still in the works?

We have yet to make our live debut, which is being planned for September. We are all veterans of this industry and are taking our time to prepare carefully – the world shan't forget us once we begin our conquest.

6.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?

Indeed, having announced the band only 3 weeks ago we are still unsigned. There has been interest surrounding us and the album, and we are open to the idea of a label provided we can come to a compromise which benefits both parties. That said, we have slaved over our already complete album and shan't relinquish our lifeblood without reason to.

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

Most people seem to 'get' it and are generally impressed with the quality of a record coming literally out of nowhere. There's basically no competition in regards to quality control as many unsigned bands do themselves a disservice by not investing properly in their music, so it isn't surprising that the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive.

8.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?

De Profundis signed to Wickerman recently, and they're releasing their new album this September. I believe Premature Birth are writing an album, and Maxdmyz are training up their new guitarist.

9.You have a full length album coming out during the end of the year, what should we expect musically?

The single 'Lake of the Dead' was released to serve as a teaser for the album. The same overall production and sound spread across 8 tracks totalling at 45 minutes exactly. In my opinion we haven't revealed our best tracks yet – the wait will be worth it.

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?

We recorded an Emperor cover for the b-side of the single in order to pay homage to what is probably our biggest collective musical influence. Mid 90s era Satyricon comes to mind, along with Sigh, Bathory, Immortal and of course our English brethren Hecate Enthroned, Eastern Front, Old Corpse Road and so on. We are constantly influenced by our contemporaries.

11.How would you describe your views on Occultism?

I speak only for myself when I say I don't really have any views on the subject. It's fascinating from a historical and sociological perspective, and I'm interested by ideas and stories which are fantastic in nature, but I'm not a believer in things which aren't backed by sound logic. It's something which real people have died for, which is fucking crazy... and crazy is exciting. It's not different from how I view religion, so I guess that makes me impartial.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?

Outside of music I just try to experience people, places and life and take inspiration from that. It's not an uncommon way to balance a working life alongside a music career in order to stop yourself from going insane.

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

Our aforementioned single 'Lake of the Dead' is available for free download and streaming from http://formicariusband.bandcamp.com – there's absolutely no reason for you to not make your own unbiased mind up. If you like it I would highly recommend that you watch this space and keep an eye out for our live exhibitions and the full length album later this year.

- Lord Saunders

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Formicarius/3540406692

Formicarius/Lake Of The Dead/2015 EP Review

  Formicarius  are  a  band  from  the  United  Kingdom  that  plays a  very symphonic  and  epic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of t heir  self  released  2015  ep  "Lake  Of  The  Dead".

  A  heavy  guitar  sound  and  epic  synths  start  off  the  ep  along  with  some melodic  riffing  that  brings  in  elements  of  thrash  and  after  awhile  grim  screams  are  added  into  the  music  an d the  music  starts  adding  in  more  symphonic  elements  and  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  at  times  and  the  music  has  more  of  a  mid  90's  style.

  Throughout  the  3  tracks  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  add  more  of  a  melodic  metal  style  to  the  recording  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  the  vocals  also  bring  in  deep  growls  at  times  and  they  close  the  ep with  a  cover  of  Emperor's  "Cosmic  Keys"..

  Formicarius  plays  a  style  of  symphonic  black  metal  that  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  mid  90's  style  and  also  brings  back  the  aspects  that  made  the  genre  interesting  back  in  those  days,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness  and  occultism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Formicarius  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Under  Darkness".  8  out  of  10.

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