Foscor - Groans To The Guilty

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\r\n  The release date of Foscor’s “Groans To The\r\nGuilty”, is mentioned as the summer of 2009. \r\nI got this CD with great delay but better late than never!  It’s their third full length album, having\r\nalso released three splits and two demos.\r\n

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\r\n  The Spaniards perform black metal,\r\nemphasizing the sick atmosphere.  From\r\nthe first sounds of “Groans To The Guilty” they cut to the chase developing and\r\npresenting their traits.  “The Amber\r\nNest” is a killer song, with the addition of passionate -in a dark way- clean\r\nvocals.  At first they reminded me of\r\nEmperor and Thorns and I had to listen to “In Case The Seasons Break” to\r\nrealize who their main influence is.  A\r\ndelirious intro with slightly overdriven guitar and psychotic vocals… Hm, this\r\nsounds familiar.  It’s Ved Buens Ende of\r\ncourse!  The band from Catalonia is not\r\nthat perverted so to speak, but they have those specific touches required to\r\nclassify them as the Norwegians’ worthy offspring!  Needless to say that I also spotted some\r\nVirus references, at Foscor’s slower parts. \r\nI am always a sucker for those psychotic guitar (dis)harmonies, as long\r\nas they’re well written.  Foscor are\r\nadept and their tunes show a great variety in producing madness.  Emperor’s spirit roams over “Raids To\r\nPunishment”, with the inspired guitar parts elevating the song.  In gloomy black metal forms, “L’ Hivern Per A\r\nLes Muses” includes an excellent break and reminded me of early Opeth.  The trippy instrumental piece “La Incertesa\r\nDel Plaer” offers a moment of calmness, while “La Vetlla” and “’Till Water\r\nMirrors Couldn’t See” keep the quality in high standards.  The album draws to an end but Foscor’s\r\ncreativity doesn’t.  Melodic piece\r\n“Searching A Seal Of Pain” offers an emotional transcendence and could easily\r\nbe a “closing title”.  The aggressive\r\nblack metal piece named “Melangia” does that instead, leaving us with the best\r\nof impressions.\r\n

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\r\n  Final judgment:  Scandinavian black metal with brilliant\r\nreferences and an “out of the ordinary” approach.  The tempos vary from mid to conservatively\r\nfast.  The guitars are flawless –no\r\nmisplaced riffs here- and the soulful vocals –both clean and brutal- really\r\nmake the difference.  I know that it took\r\nme some time to discover them, but I finally did.  Now it’s your turn!\r\n

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