STRIGOI Stream Entire ‘Viscera’ Album
September 30th, 2022
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English / Italian death / doom metal band Strigoi issued second full-length studio album Viscera on September 30th, 2022 through Season Of Mist.
Viscera can be streamed in its entirety below.
“It’s the second album and we’re pushing those limits,” commented bassist Chris Casket. “The longer songs are longer; the shorter songs are shorter. It’s fully realising the concept. When we did the first album, there were certain expectations as we were coming from Vallenfyre. I felt that it was a really good transition from one to the other. But I feel that with this record, it’s more of a fully fleshed out concept. It’s pushing the light and shade further out.”
“The first album was us giving it its own identity separate from Vallenfyre, even though it’s kind of an obvious continuation, in a way,” added frontman Greg Mackintosh, also of Paradise Lost. “But with Viscera, it’s a combination of pushing the envelope a little bit, making it a bit less raw. Because, we had done that to the Nth degree with Vallenfyre. I’d also say there’s a bit of sound design in there, too, to make it very creepy and, yes, unsettling, sound wise.”
With Covid thwarting Strigoi’s plans to do shows to promote Abandon All Faith, Mackintosh and Casket used the down-time to work on what would eventually become Viscera.
“We have a strange way of working,” said Casket. “I will send words, prose, whatever it may be to Greg. He likes that process, because he reads what I’ve written and it inspires the music he comes up with. I’ve never worked that way before. But that and the added time we had, the space away from things, is what I think has made Viscera what it is.”
Mackintosh added: “If it’s a song where Chris’ lyrics sound angry, I’ll do a song that’s more, I guess, grounded in the essence of early grindcore. Something that expresses that mood. But if it’s something more sombre or unnerving, then I’ll start with a bit of sound design and work towards riffs. I’ve always thought of music in terms of visuals, and that might come from the lyrics. The last song on the album, ‘Iron Lung’, for example: I actually said to Chris that I had an idea for a song where it feels that you can’t breathe, that it feels like you’ve got a weight on your chest. And the result is probably the toughest going song on the record to get through. But I think it does get that across.”
“I get bored easily,” he continued. “I’ve got a very short attention span. I love doom metal, I love funeral doom, crust punk, grindcore… all these things. But usually after two songs of each I’m thinking, ‘Right, what’s next?’ And that’s my problem, but it does determine what this band and this music is like.”
“There’s not much light on this record at all. If there’s any, it’s there just to emphasise how dark the shade is, really. And what I loved about early death metal, which is when I got into it, is that everything had its own feel back then. That was at the back of my mind the whole time when making Viscera – that I wanted to give it its own feel. But the listeners are going to have to decide whether that was successful or not.”
Viscera was recorded at Orgone Studios in Bedfordshire, England with producer / sound engineer Jaime Gomez. Mixing was handled by Kurt Ballou at Godcity Studios in Salem, Massachusetts, while mastering was overseen by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege in Portland, Oregon.
Cover artwork was designed by Brian Sheehan of Legerdemain Art.
The track listing is as follows:
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01. ‘United In Viscera’
02. ‘King Of All Terror’
03. ‘An Ocean Of Blood’
04. ‘Napalm Frost’
05. ‘Hollow’
06. ‘A Begotten Son’
07. ‘Bathed In A Black Sun’
08. ‘Byzantine Tragedy’
09. ‘Redeemer’
10. ‘Iron Lung’
Strigoi’s line-up is as follows:
Greg Mackintosh (vocals and guitars)
Ben Ash (guitars)
Chris Casket (bass)
Guido Zima (drums)
Created by Dehn Sora, a music video was released for the track ‘Hollow’.
“We chose ‘Hollow’ as the first video single as it lends itself perfectly to giving the listener a broad overview of Viscera,” commented Strigoi. “It’s dark, brooding yet violent cinematic qualities allude to the delightful misery contained within the new album.
“A scathing commentary on human weakness, we feel ‘Hollow’ typifies the evolution of Strigoi, as a band and as a concept.
“It was also a perfect fit for the amazing videography work of Dehn Sora, who has presented a remarkable visual interpretation of the track.”
In addition, an official visualiser video was created for the track ‘King Of All Terror’. “‘King Of All Terror’ highlights some of the more venomous urgency present on Viscera,” Strigoi shared. “From all out blackened grind to sombre doom in less than three minutes. Lyrically it navigates old testament vitriol, and the inherent hypocrisy of celestial hierarchy…. the worst of the worst.”
Also, an official visualiser video was created for the song ‘An Ocean Of Blood’. “We chose this track as the third single taken from our new album Viscera due to its almost cinematic take on the internal and external conflict of existence,” Strigoi revealed. “A transformational journey into the bloodshed and horror of the human condition.”
All three clips can be viewed below.
Debut studio record Abandon All Faith was released in November 2019 via Nuclear Blast.
Promotional photograph by Hal Sinden.
