Epicedium (band)
| Epicedium | |
|---|---|
 |
|
 |
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| General information | |
| origin | Frankfurt am Main , Germany |
| Genre (s) | Death metal |
| founding | 1996 |
| Founding members | |
singing |
Sascha Henschel |
Electric guitar |
Thomas Köstler |
Electric guitar |
Frank Lamping |
Electric bass |
Bruno Galletta |
Drums |
Musa Carom |
| Current occupation | |
| Thomas Karl | |
| Thomas Köstler | |
Electric guitar |
Daniel D'Arcy |
| Bruno Galletta | |
| Robert Marouschek | |
Epicedium is a German death metal band. The group from Frankfurt am Main has existed since 1996 and has released five albums so far . She is currently under contract with the independent labels Rising Nemesis Records (Germany) and Sevared Records (USA).
history
Origins and precursors of the Cenotaph
Epicedium emerged from the thrash metal band Cenotaph. The childhood friends Bruno Galletta ( bass ) and Musa Carom ( drums ) founded the group in 1993 with guitarist Thomas Köstler and singer Oliver Erdt. After just a few months, the quartet released a demo with five original compositions. The short-lived print magazine from Headbangers Ball stated in September 1993: “Cenotaph is always convincing in terms of play and songwriting. In addition, there is a powerful sound that is far above the usual demo standard. ”In particular, the author emphasized“ the filigree drumming by (Musa Carom), whose expressive singing makes the song 'Final Day' the highlight of this demo. "Oliver Erdt is certified as " Motörhead -compatible vocals ". In the July edition of Rock Hard 1994 Uwe “Buffo” Schnädelbach summed up: “An official tape (...), everything from the sound to the very professional presentation of the cassette to the music is just right.” Meanwhile, around two quickly followed Dozen concerts, including with Tankard , mostly in the region, such as in Isenburg Castle or the Oetinger Villa . The Cenotaph tracks Chaos Will Remain and Insane Justice appeared on the samplers Underground Overdose and Anal Sphincter . In 1996 Oliver Erdt left the band.
Foundation of epicedium and debut album Suffering Thoughts
In Sascha Henschel, the group found a singer with a completely different style. His deep rumbling, guttural singing in the style of Chris Barnes contributed to a musical change of direction towards Death Metal , initially with borrowings from Doom Metal . With Frank Lamping, a second guitarist also joined. The group manifested its change in name to Epicedium (funeral chants in ancient Greece, see Epikedeion ). However, the Cenotaph logo designed by Bruno Galletta has been retained, which adorns T-shirts and album artwork in addition to the lettering.
In July 1997, the self-produced and published debut album Suffering Thoughts was released . It shows a clear further development. Despite the many staccato passages typical of Death Metal , it meanders playfully between the styles and tempos . In an unnamed fanzine, an author called “Truhe” described it as “a mixture of Melodic Death and Doom Metal ” with “interesting and technically skillfully implemented material” and “varied song structures. (...) Epicedium slowly increase the speed, which makes the band appear more interesting and less predictable ”. In December of that year ENTRY - magazine for dark music cult (ur) and avant-garde recognized in the mixture of melody and brutality "a talent that not every band can write too good", although Epicedium stylistically assigned it to Black Metal. "Technical versatility and playful ability," recognized the Fanzine Way Up .
Spherical passages in doomy mid-tempo pieces such as the opener "Terrorizing Madness", "Morbid Oppression" or the final "The Dying Inside", in which Bruno Galletta played synthesizer arrangements with floating melodies by lead guitarist Thomas Köstler, also attracted special attention weave into dragged rhythms. Epicedium performed live without a keyboard, and soon only with a guitarist, after Frank Lamping left the band less than a year later. Concerts with big names in the scene such as Crack Up and Disbelief or the appearance as headliners at the “Rock im Schnaakeloch” festival in Kelsterbach quickly opened up an initially limited fan base for the band.
Manifestation of one's own style - Conspiracy with the Death
Epicedium began to cultivate its own sound. Guitarist Tom Köstler and Bruno Galletta implemented influences like suffocation in the songwriting to a greater extent , at the expense of the doomy elements. Drummer Musa Carom turn forced in places with grindcore -like blast beats the pace. The new compositions came out much faster and more straightforward. Sascha Henschel now alternated his growls with pig squeals , which are usually used as a common stylistic device in Black Metal .
In the summer of 1999, Epicedium released their self-produced second album Conspiracy with the Death . It sounded more like one piece than the stylistically still searching debut; how the interplay between each other was further harmonized. The playfulness, however, shifted to rhythmically extravagant passages. "Technically demanding up-tempo grind / death (...) without forgetting the touch for the groove", summarized Posessed, and praised "it never gets boring here".
The online magazine Bloodchamber attested that most of the songs were “characterized by well thought-out tempo changes” and concluded: “Epicedium manage to pave the way into the listener's ears in a damn brutal way. (...) Above all, the sound is surprisingly good for an in-house production. ”Also“ a very good in-house production ”, said Carnage magazine (),“ the songs range from fast grind passages to thrashy and groovy parts that come with faster double bass are played and reinforced with a great voice a la Chris Barnes. "With" deepest grunts to bloodcurdling screeches ", the album awaits loud earshot, as well as" a successful song structure (...) with quite catchy riffs " . The album closes with an homage to Cannibal Corpse in the form of a live recorded cover version of Hammer Smashed Face .
Upheaval and consolidation
The new millennium began unevenly for Epicedium. On the one hand, the individual musicians perfected their individual skills and the group as a whole expanded its creative spectrum and underlined the technical ambitions of the group.
Furthermore, with contributions to the samplers Arising Realm Compilation 05 and Cacafonia Part 1, the Hessians have now expanded their level of awareness beyond Germany. On the other hand, the band had to reorganize after long-time drummer Musa Carom left. In the summer of 2002, Steffen Kraatz completed the quartet, a “worthy successor”, as the online magazine “Ancent Spirit” found in a live review, “despite all the brutal violent riffs, the ultra-deep growls and the violent blast attacks, Epicedium still have a certain amount of them Melody in their music. ”With the blast beats mentioned, in particular, Steffen Kraatz influenced the songwriting for the upcoming, now third epicedium album, Immense Affliction . The melodic element, on the other hand, had its roots in Tom Köstler's growing penchant for the filigree playing of John Petrucci or Chuck Schuldiner . The new songs that were created during this time were the consistent further development and at the same time consolidation of the stylistic line of Conspiracy with the Death . "However, the song structures can definitely be considered demanding, even if you are almost exclusively in the mid-tempo range," said Deathgrind. "It's really impressive at what high songwriting level Epicedium are now operating", again stated Metalspheres. "Legacy" emphasized the individual quality of the instrumentalists: "Absolutely amazing what guitarist Tom and bass player Bruno are doing. Fast-paced runs, arpeggios, sweeps and tappings, and everything very precisely and precisely to the point. ”Most reviewers unanimously praised the sound of the album, especially since it was again an in-house production. According to Posessed, Epicedium is “probably one of the most underrated bands in Germany”, and other authors were surprised that the group was still without a record deal. “Immense afflection” should actually remain the last self-distributed Epicedium album. The band also increased their national profile through joint concerts with Jack Slater , Debauchery and the suffocation cited as a role model in many reviews . The group was strengthened by guitarist Anastasia Schmidt on two appearances, before she soon turned to new shores and founded the band Arven . Meanwhile, Epicedium worked with a piece on the sampler Joining Forces - Three the Hard Way .
First record deal
The growing interest of other circles in the band caught the attention of the record company "Musicaz Records". Meanwhile, Epicedium had to look for a replacement for drummer Steffen Kraatz, who left the band after three years. He was followed by Fabian Fuss, who previously drummed for Betrayed and continued to do so at the same time. Daniel D'Arcy also joined as the second guitarist, and has since shared the lead guitar parts with Thomas Köstler. Like Thomas Köstler, Daniel D'Arcy is shaped by Chuck Schuldiner , but also by Marty Friedman and Nevermore . On the one hand, this resulted in a further expansion of the melodic elements in the music of epicediums. On the other hand, more pressure could be generated live, which was revealed during performances with Deranged, among others .
Soon we went to the studio of the Frankfurt sound tinkerer Michael Heiliger, who had already produced the previous album together with the band , with new pieces . The 2007 album Intoxicated Intercourse showed Epicedium again more varied. The celebratory intro Intoxicated ... flows smoothly into Gorelicious , which initially builds up dramatically , before the usual staccato sets in. The song Cervix Putrefaction offers a particularly colorful mix of styles , which increases from a grindcore-like blast beat with death metal elements to a hymn-like black metal part. "Epicedium sound more fresh and varied than ever before", summarized Posessed, "the brutal American Death Metal is peppered with grind attacks and blasts and is implemented technically flawlessly." The Metal Inside portal recognized "crazy breaks, merciless drums and tricky guitar work" and raved about the "high level of play that the Hessians are at". In addition to new compositions, Intoxicated Intercourse also features new recordings of the pieces Conspiracy with the Death and Disagreeable Incest , both openers of the two previous albums, which now sounded more mature. "Epicedium have (...) grown into a permanent fixture in the German underground," said Metal.de.
The highlights of the live activities were appearances at the Walpurgis Metal Days in Hauzenberg next to bands like Unleashed and at the Death Feast in the Essen Club Turock with Dying Fetus . At the beginning of 2008, a concert with Behemoth and Suicide Silence in the Frankfurt nightlife club was the last joint appearance with Fabian Fuss, who fell seriously ill shortly afterwards and had to leave the band. The new man on the drum stool was Robert Marouschek, who previously played with the death metal group Samax, among others. Later he also worked with the regionally known formation Bösedeath, albeit as a guitarist. The next - and to this day last - line-up change followed soon afterwards: the long-time front man Sascha Henschel left the band. His successor Thomas Karl had already made music with Robert Marouschek at Samax for a long time .
2009 until today
The new musicians set new accents through additional influences such as Nile and Vader (Marouschek) or Aborted and Cattle Decapitation (Karl). The two remaining founding members Thomas Köstler and Bruno Galletta also experimented with a wide variety of styles. Thomas Köstler plays bass in Conjuring and Scottish Bagpipes in the group Fat Lazy Dogs . Bruno Galletta, on the other hand, has worked across genres as a musician and producer on other projects over the years. He gained new inspiration from contemporary death metal representatives such as Fleshgod Apocalypse , Obscura , and Beyond Creation .
Epicedium redefined its style, refreshed and matured at the same time. Thomas Karl at the microphone enabled more varied sounding compositions. The group first tested the songs that were created in this transformation process at concerts with Macabre , Japanese combat radio plays , Devourment and Cannabis Corpse . In front of their biggest audience to date, Epicedium performed at the Eisenwahnfestival , ahead of Grave , Illdisposed and Headliner Destruction .
The new songs were about psychopathic serial killers like Gary Ridgway ("Green River Killer"), Albert Fish ("Sadomasochistic Perversity") or Walter Seifert, who ran amok . In this thematic framework, the concept album Anthropogenic was created , the most varied work in the band's history to date, in which they sound out the limits of Death Metal with a mixture of genre-typical brutality with melodic and especially spherical elements, for example in fade- outs and transitions of some pieces, which in turn are supplemented with clips from horror films or original sound recordings of the perpetrators described in the songs as well as documentaries about them. Like its predecessor, it was produced by Michael Heiliger in his Presskopp studio. The fifth disc was released in early 2012 on Rising Nemesis Records in Germany and Sevared Records for the USA . For the piece Chainsaw Ripper , a song about Joel Rifkin , Epicedium shot a music video for the first time .
The renowned Rock Hard magazine awarded eight out of ten possible points. Andreas Stappert wrote of “old school death lead with a technical note”, the songs were “at a consistently high level” and “smashed the listener with enormous force, only to surprise the next moment with a completely unexpected melodic interlude.” The Lady Metal Webzine attested "a technically very mature and sophisticated album". Powermetal.de remarked that the special thing about Epicedium are “the excellent compositions, in which sometimes even melodic passages are wonderfully combined with rabid beating”.
The Portal Hotel 666 found: “Particularly noteworthy is the veritable feeling for good songwriting, with which Epicedium conjures up riffs that not only push the songs forward for their own sake, but also have real class and make people sit up and take notice.” Recognition value are "highly melodic leads, distinctive solos and instrumental passages that overlook the genre's edge of the plate, which together with the cleverly set and very tightly performed tempo variations allow each song to stand alone".
The stylistic diversity in the newer pieces of Epicedium is also reflected in the latest compositions of the quintet. Towards the end of 2016, the group wanted to enter the Presskopp studios again to record their sixth album, but for health reasons another creative break followed.
Discography
Albums
- 1997: Suffering Thoughts
- 1999: Conspiracy with the Death
- 2004: Immense Affliction
- 2007: Intoxicated Intercourse (Musicaz Records)
- 2012: Anthropogenic (Rising Nemesis Records, Sevared Records)
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original dated August 12, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://www.bloodchamber.de/review/444-epicedium-conspiracy-with-the-death.html
- ↑ http://www.carnagedeathmetal.de/carnage/reviews/e/epicedium.html
- ↑ http://earshot.at/?show=reviews&file=343
- ↑ https://www.musik-sammler.de/album/229220/
- ↑ https://www.musik-sammler.de/album/154173/
- ↑ http://deathgrind.bruview.de/archiv/reviews/epicedium_immenseaffliction6.html
- ↑ http://www.metalspheres.de/cdreviews.php?ID=898
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original dated August 12, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original dated August 12, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ https://www.musik-sammler.de/album/159682/
- ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original dated August 12, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://www.metalinside.de/review/epicedium/intoxicated-intercourse
- ↑ http://www.metal.de/reviews/epicedium-intoxicated-intercourse-8278/?genre=2
- ↑ http://www.rockhard.de/megazine/reviewarchiv/review-angebote/29635-anthropogenic.html
- ↑ http://www.lady-metal.com/cd-reviews/epicedium-anthropogenic.html
- ↑ http://powermetal.de/review/review-Epicedium/Anthropogenic,19891.html
- ↑ http://www.hotel666.de/review/572/epicedium_-_anthropogenic/
