Blackened death doom outfit STRIGOI, the brainchild of Greg Mackintosh (PARADISE LOST, VALLENFYRE) and Chris Casket (VALLENFYRE), will be releasing its sophomore full-length, “Viscera,” via Season of Mist tomorrow, September 30, 2022, making it the band’s debut to the label! The band is now streaming the new album in its entirety ahead of its release. Listen below!
From death comes rebirth, as is such with STRIGOI. Formed in the ashes of Vallenfyre by guitarist/vocalist Mackintosh and bassist Casket, the experimental death metal formation is now unleashing their sophomore effort, “Viscera.” This devastating brand of death metal pulls sludge and crust elements while lyrically, the album explores themes of both real and conceptual horror, coalescing into what can only be described as the ultimate mix-tape of misery.
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Formed immediately after previous side project Vallenfyre had run its course, STRIGOI found Greg and Vallenfyre bassist Chris Casket re-configuring the aesthetics of that band. Their 2019 debut, “Abandon All Faith,” was a notable transition, taking the crust punk, death metal and grind influences which had defined Vallenfyre and deriving from those an extreme music amalgam which was altogether more…well, unsettling.
“Viscera” Album Artwork
But if “Abandon All Faith” was a record where the memory of Vallenfyre exerted an inevitable, but important, influence, then second album “Viscera” is where STRIGOI define and express themselves on their own terms.
“Viscera” Track-list:
1. United in Viscera (6:44)
2. King of All Terror (2:38)
3. An Ocean of Blood (4:13)
4. Napalm Frost (2:26)
5. Hollow (6:20)
6. A Begotten Son (3:51)
7. Bathed in a Black Sun (4:19)
8. Byzantine Tragedy (5:28)
9. Redeemer (2:38)
10. Iron Lung (7:55)
Unsettling: it’s a word which can be used to describe a good swathe of the music which has come from the mind of Greg Mackintosh over the years, but in the context of STRIGOI it feels particularly apt.
“It’s the second album and we’re pushing those limits,” says Chris Casket. “The longer songs are longer; the shorter songs are shorter. It’s fully realizing 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,” adds Greg. “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.”
“Viscera”, then, clearly defines the STRIGOI sound and vision – as Chris says, it’s a “mix tape of misery” and points at ways in which the band may develop in the years ahead.
“I get bored easily,” Greg laughs. “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 emphasize 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.”
