(In June of this year the Peruvian band Psicorragia released their third album. We had the pleasure of premiering a video for one of its great songs, and today we take pleasure in presenting Comrade Aleks’ excellent discussion with Psicorragia’s Mario Romanet.)
Peruvian death-doom band Psicorragia, led by bassist and vocalist Mario Romanet, has been together since 1994. Their first full-length album, La pasion de lo mortal, was released in 2001, and this year saw the release of their third major effort, Nekromanthra. Although nine years ago, the band had eight tracks in the works for their third full-length, the final release included only six songs, totaling 45 minutes. Yet there’s no need to worry; it’s absolutely a full-length recording and Psicorragia delivered professional and powerful material, effectively serving as the best work of their career.
The very first track, “Y sus plagas invocaron,” showcases their wide range of influences, from death metal to eldritch death-doom. The composition repeatedly shifts its mood from hostilely aggressive to detached melancholy and back again, the ascetic guitar sound offset by keyboard arrangements that take on the form of sublime orchestrations and mournful violin dirges.
Psicorragia tend to blend these two styles and, relying on their instincts, combine both approaches, but, for example, “Lo inexorable” embodies that very classic “death-doom with violin” from the ’90s that has become a brand in itself. The final track, “Nekromanthra,” concludes the album with grueling, drawn-out funereal doom, presented in an ominous, tormented, and almost ceremonial manner.
Mario Romanet answered a few questions recently, so I invite you to read this interview and join the macabre world of Psicorragia. Continue reading »
