Scourge Of The Enthroned Krisiun

• 1Scourge of the Enthroned05:54
• 2Demonic III05:01
• 3Devouring Faith04:19
• 4Slay the Prophet04:50
• 5A Thousand Graves04:11
• 6Electricide04:04
• 7Abysmal Misery (Foretold Destiny)03:57
• 8Whirlwind of Immortality05:51
• Total Runtime38:07

Info for Scourge Of The Enthroned

Once in a while during a band’s career, there comes the moment when you look back and reevaluate your body of work. Such self-criticism can either lead towards an overhaul of one’s stylistic palette or increased awareness for what you truly are. Considering Brazilian death metal brothers KRISIUN, such an analysis can cause quite a dilemma. Active since 1990, and renowned for such furious classics as the rabid “Black Force Domain” (1995), 2000’s constantly blasting masterpiece “Conquerors Of Armageddon”, and the merciless yet memorable “Southern Storm” (2008), the band’s trademarks have always been insane tempos, almost inhuman drumming and Lemmy-like roaring vocals negating any sense of ‘hooks’ or ‘melody’. And, let us face it – while KRISIUN have become extremely technical and more varied in terms of grooves and rhythms over the years – they are forever committed to deliver the full-on-death-metal -assault that made the group legendary in the first place. Still, after 2015’s “Forged in Fury”, Alex, Max and Moyses realized a different approach was necessary. “It was a bit of a complicated album,” singer/bassist Alex Camargo admits. “There were more slower parts on it and it was also quite long. We still stand behind it 100%, but we doubt it is what KRISIUN’s essence is about.”

Thus, for “Scourge of the Enthroned”, KRISIUN’s 11th studio album, the group decided to head for a faster and extremely savage record again. Clocking in at an intense 38 minutes – counting in the bonus tracks “Forged in Fury” was almost an hour long – it was also due to producer Andy Classen’s input that “Scourge of the Enthroned” became a real monster: “Working with Andy at Stage One Studio again, felt like coming home. We stayed at his musician’s apartment for almost a month and we all concentrated on capturing an honest, almost live kind of vibe and trimmed the songs harder than on the last one.” Located in the countryside close to German city Kassel, the landscape helped immensely during this period. “There was no distraction at all, that place is in the middle of nowhere and apart from barbecuing with Andy we just worked on the songs like madmen.” Once the album kicks off with the title track, KRISIUN’s newest opus hits with an urgency and immediate force that even harkens back to the debut! “You mean the ‘Black Force Domain’ riff in ‘Demonic III’, huh? That song is about the band and our history. After all these years, we felt it was about time we do our own anthem and a riff like that is a bit of a throwback for us and the fans!” In terms of sound, however, the band did not bring back the uncontrolled roughness of “Black Force Domain” yet had a distinct mindset when starting the recording process: “We interpret the album title as us being a scourge for all the plastic death metal out there. You are listening to human beings here not a computer! All has been recorded and played naturally, and while you can hear all details, it does not go for this ‘American’ sound that is so lifeless and sterile. It is a very organic and heavy album and I think that connects it with the spirit we already had on the debut.” Indeed, sir, and it offers a whole bunch of highlights as well! From the Slayer-like screeching solo opening ‘Devouring Faith’, to the neck-breaking ‘A Thousand Graves’ and rhythmic complexity of ‘Abysmal Misery (Foretold Destiny)’ over to the album’s epic finale ‘Whirlwind of Immortality’, the latter being another track connected to the artwork by Eliran Kantor (Testament, Hate Eternal, Incantation) as Alex explains: “The song is about the Anunnaki, who appear in Sumerian mythology, judging the fates of mankind. Often they are portrayed as seven figures, we have only three appear on the cover since it connects well with ‘Demonic III’.

Krisiun

Krisiun
Since 1990 brothers Alex Camargo, Max Kolesne, and Moyses Kolesne have imbibed heavily in the deadliest form of metal known to mankind. They are brothers in death metal. Literally. In fact, there exist few bands that embody the genre quite like Krisiun, who celebrate 25 uncompromising years with the release of new album, Forged In Fury. “I think the fact that we are three brothers helps a lot,” says Max, the youngest brother of the trio. “When two of us are fighting the other brother will always try to calm the others down. We have been playing together for so long that our personal relationships have improved a lot. We learned to talk things out instead of fighting. Also, the chemistry we have created playing together for so many years makes it easier to write songs and keep the band’s style.”

From Krisiun’s merciless debut album, Black Force Domain, through 2011’s lauded The Great Execution, the group’s approach is unmistakable. Copycats and sound-alikes run rife in death metal. Not Krisiun, who take their name from the moon’s Mare Crisium. No band, alive or dead, sound like the Brazilians. While the ever-blast of drummer Max and the unbridled guitar solos of Moyses have become more focused on recent releases, there’s little doubt Forged In Fury was forged in the same hellish pit of fire by the same set of wicked hands. “I’d say the new album has more diversity,” reveals Max. “But at same time it’s more straightforward and angrier than The Great Execution. The new songs are the soul of the band. A real band has to move forward, evolving and bringing in new ideas to stay strong. And on top.”

The writing sessions for Forged In Fury started in 2014 and continued into the first half of 2015 while the trio weren’t globetrotting in support of The Great Execution. At home in, Brazil, the brothers would gather five days a week to rehearse, re-tool, and polish songs slated for Forged In Fury. The time spent on songs like “Earth’s Cremation”, “Scars of the Hatred”, and “Timeless Starvation” proved invaluable, actually. At no time in Krisiun’s history has their music felt absolutely savage yet perfect for breaking neck no matter the venue size. “When we are working on a new song we have to think how it will work live too,” Max considers. “Not just for the crowd, but for us. The whole point of playing music live is to make it exciting and interesting for the crowd and for the band.

And with the newer songs we have now a good balance between real fast stuff and the songs with more variation and with slower parts. It makes the show more exciting and it has more impact. I’d say that our setlist live is way more exciting now than it was in the past. We’ve learned a lot from touring.”

Recorded at MANA Recording Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida, Forged In Fury is crushing yet clean. The production, expertly handled by death metal legend Erik Rutan, is modern yet purposefully old-school. Forged In Fury has an undeniable presence. From the thunderous “Burning of the Heretic” to the monstrous “Ways of Barbarism”, it’s clear Rutan knew what to expect from and get out of Krisiun. “It was really awesome,” says Max with a slight grin. “The vibe was great. Erik is a great friend and we feel home at his studio. He totally respected the way we work and did his best to make us feel comfortable recording. We practiced a lot before starting the recordings, so everything went smoothly.”

As for why Krisiun went with Rutan in a veritable ocean of able-skilled producers boils down to the right feel. They could’ve hired Andy Classen, a familiar face to the Krisiun camp. They could’ve hired superstars like Fredrik Nordström or Andy Sneap. But they didn’t. In fact, the brothers could’ve even produced Forged In Fury themselves, but instead opted to hire the Hate Eternal frontman. “Because we thought Erik was the right guy this time,” Max admits. “And the best result we would get was recording at his studio. He totally captured the band’s real vibe, and made this album sound real. The way it sounds is absolutely natural.”

Forged In Fury is Krisiun’s high-water mark. Make no mistake. The Brazilians have a storied career and a body of utterly brutal work, but this album is the group’s most accomplished to date. It’s definitively Krisiun yet Forged In Fury signals so much more. It’s both a look back at Black Force Domain and Apocalyptic Revelation as well as a brave heave forward. “It’s really hard to say where death metal will go from here,” ponders Max. “It’s so diverse nowadays. There are so many different styles. Bands even mixing up some emo crap and love-happy melodies with death metal elements. Also lots of fake recordings, bands manipulating performances in the studio. They totally kill the vibe of the music. There’s a lot of ‘false death metal’ out there.”

Thankfully, death metal still has Krisiun. Thankfully, death metal now has Forged In Fury. “The real bands will survive. They will keep it real, natural, spontaneous, and brutal,” Max laughs possessed. All hail real death metal.

Eternal hails to Krisiun and Forged In Fury!

This album contains no booklet.