(written by Islander)
Earlier today we published Comrade Aleks’ interview of guitarist/vocalist Emilio from the Barcelona metal band Bocc, the spur for that being the imminent release by Night Terrors Records of Bocc’s second full-length, Demolarium. And now, following quickly on the heels of that interview, we’re premiering a full stream of the album.
The interview provides informative background for what you’re about to hear. Among other things, it explains the meaning of the band’s name, describes the influences and intentions for their music, identifies a change in their composition process for the next album based on a change in the lineup, delves into their largely live recording of the album as a band, and discusses the themes explored by the Catalan lyrics of their songs.
We’ll interweave some of that dialogue into our introduction to the album stream, but of course our main focus now is the experience of the music itself.
Aleks introduced his interview by decribing Bocc’s music as “a crushing and uncompromising blend of death metal, funeral doom weight, sludge hostility and crust punk aggression”, and Emilio stated, “we are a death metal band with a lot of influences from the punk, hardcore, and D-beat scenes” — “some kind of meeting point between metal culture and punk culture”. Both of them also made reference to the influence of such bands as Autopsy, Cianide, and Coffins.
These aspects of Bocc’s music run through all the songs in varying degrees. The title track, which opens the album amidst sounds of thunder, brings forward grit-coated, down-tuned riffing that brutishly and abrasively heaves its way through gunshot drum-strikes, while gravel-toned gutturals and rabid screams expel the words in equally monstrous fashion.
The song’s surging momentum, massive gouging weight, and neck-cracking percussion make it a visceral muscle-mover as well as a mauling devastator. Bocc also bring in punk beats and wild yells as well as riffing that deliriously moans, and the song includes a swirling and soaring guitar solo that manages to sound both desperate and jubilant.
But Bocc also strip away the drums, freezing the song in place for the introduction of searing feedback, ragged notes that dismally groan and crawl, and macabre vocal utterances. When the drums return, more slowly this time, the music miserably wails, creating a closing mood of choking hopelessness.
In other words, in that opening song Bocc demonstrate the main ingredients of their songwriting, creating a bleak and punishing intersection of death metal brutality, doom-drenched oppressiveness, crust-punk aggression, and sludge-weighted hostility. Their music is crushing, corrosive, and belligerent but also steeped in moods of misery as well as rage.
As mentioned, these ingredients (as well as the band’s array of harsh tones) run through all the songs, but in varying degrees. “Estigma” (the album’s longest song) is densely saturated in doom, creating an atmosphere of utter despondency and grievous despair that even the sharp-toned and often electrifying drum progressions and punk grooves can’t dispel. As in the opener, “Estigma” also includes lead-guitar melodies that are emotionally wrenching, tempos that change with the moods, episodes of bludgeoning thuggery, and vocals that are again absolutely berserk.
Elsewhere, the more hard-charging “Escorxador” (“The Slaughterhouse”) often sounds like an immense pile-driver savagely busting through concrete, and its vocals rise up in raw, singing passion as the melody itself rises in distress, while the immense “4227” (which concerns suicides in Spain) slowly staggers like a wounded but still earth-shaking leviathan; both the vocals and the guitar-leads there are especially shattering.
With “Calvari (Dels Condemnats)” Bocc return to the savagely bludgeoning musical framework of “Escorxador“, albeit with heavy doses of crust-punk and anguished tremolo’d melody in the mix, and in the album closer “Ànima D’Acer” they deliver a punk-fueled mauler of stupefying heaviness, feral intensity, and gutting savagery.
It’s worth noting that Bocc’s lyrics on the new album draw from real-world horrors, with a strong anti-fascist political bent — a point made not only in the interview but also in the following statement from the band:
Demolarium is the band’s second LP. After three EPs, two splits, and appearances on several compilations alongside bands such as Undergang and Father Befouled, we decided to write our second full-length, staying true to the values we have had since the beginning of the band: heavy, downtempo riffs, a crushing drum and bass sound, and a constant blend of death-doom metal and crust punk influences.
Vocally, this LP is different because we now have two singers in the band, which brings a different kind of attack and a wider range of growls to our sound. Lyrically, Demolarium is the band’s most political and personal record to date. This time, we deal with suicide, prison, and working-class horror stories created by capitalism. We are still writing about horror, but this time it does not come from Catalan folklore or history. It comes from the real world.
Hell is here, on Earth.
And with that, we’ll turn you over to Demolarium in its entirety:
BOCC Lineup:
Emilio – Guitars / Vocals
Andreu – Bass / Vocals
Linares – Drums
Night Terrors Records will release the album on September 11th, on colored and black vinyl editions, accompanied by a limited edition fanzine entirely dedicated to Bocc, continuing the label’s tradition of celebrating the artists beyond the music itself. Pre-orders are available now (see the links below).
We’ll also share the news that Bocc will bring their crushing live assault to the CastellHell Reborns festival in Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain in October 2026, sharing the stage with acts including Dead Congregation, Galvanizer, Benighted, and Cerebral Curse (find tickets here).
PRE-ORDER:
https://night-terrors-records.net/
https://night-terrors-records.bandcamp.com/album/bocc-demolarium
FOLLOW BOCC:
https://bocc.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/boccofdoom/
https://www.facebook.com/BOCCOFDOOM
FOLLOW NIGHT TERRORS RECORDS:
https://www.instagram.com/night_terrors_records/
https://www.facebook.com/p/Night-Terrors-Records-100088326873332/