Krisiun
Biography
Brazil’s kings of death metal Armageddon Krisiun launch their new album, Mortem Solis, via Century Media Records. For the group’s 12th album, the trio - brothers Alex Camargo (bass/vocals), Max Kolesne (drums) and Moyses Kolesne (guitars) - was determined to keep Krisiun’s long-standing underground fearlessness intact. As metaldom eyes commercial ventures, Mortem Solis is a direct counter, a white-hot blade into the chest of a pre-fab musical culture. This is tried and true fiercely aggressive yet deceptively hard-working death metal. Focus tracks “Serpent Messiah”, “Sworn Enemies”, “Swords into Flesh” and “War Blood Hammer” demonstrate Krisiun’s 32-year commitment to death metal artistry.
“We had really fresh ideas coming into Mortem Solis,” says Krisiun guitarist Moyses Kolesne. “That’s maybe because we stopped for two years [due to the pandemic], but also we saw the metal scene becoming more commercial and fake. As an older band, we keep it real, and that’s our mission right now - to bring real death metal back.”
Krisiun’s infernal path started in Ijuí, Brazil, in 1990. The threesome were inspired by a diverse array of extreme metal, including Slayer, Venom, Destruction, Motörhead, Morbid Angel and famed countrymen Sepultura. The group toiled for years before signing a deal with São Paulo-based Dynamo Records and arriving at their now-classic debut album, Black Force Domain, in 1995. Word spread quickly. Krisiun’s unbridled ruthlessness was absolutely riveting. They inked a deal with GUN Records in 1997 to continue the onslaught in Europe, which commenced officially with Krisiun’s first tour outside of Brazil on the Black Force Domain Tour. Audiences were stunned by the trio’s full-throated, bloody-minded death metal. Since then, the legacy of brutality has been hoisted on battle flags like Apocalyptic Revelation (1998), their worldwide Century Media debut Conquerors of Armageddon (2000), Works of Carnage (2003), Southern Storm (2008), and Scourge of the Enthroned (2018). Mortem Solis continues the tradition of uncompromising musical insanity.
“Mortem Solis is more straightforward,” Kolesne says. “We cut everything that we deemed unnecessary to make it as brutal as possible. Without using a computer or click-tracks - all in true death metal spirit. The three of us share the same vision for metal. We are an army of three. Of course, we’ve evolved as brothers, people, and musicians. We have a lot of fun together. But this cohesion has given us the Krisiun way, the path we’ve been on and continue to go down.”
The songwriting on Mortem Solis commenced after the album (and touring) cycles for the sales-charting (#21 on Billboard’s Heat Seekers in the USA, # 93 in Germany, # 89 in Switzerland, etc.) Scourge of the Enthroned were completed. With two years of downtime and freshly inspired against the computerization of death metal, Krisiun set up pertinacious goals. Songs had to come from the heart, and they had to be true to Krisiun’s black-hearted signature. Most of all, the 10 songs that would eventually comprise Mortem Solis had to destroy. Tracks like “Serpent Messiah”, “Sworn Enemies”, “Necronomical” and “As Angels Burn”, featuring co-writing by Jed Simon (Tenet, Zimmers Hole, ex-Strapping Young Lad), funnel the brothers’ hate, frustration, and drive into an unstoppable force.
“We see a scene of poserism,” says Kolesne. “Death metal is getting soft. We’re not going to become anything like that. We know where we come from and what death metal means to us—it’s everything! Hate and disgust fueled us. That’s why Mortem Solis is stripped down, the intensity is increased, and we recorded it without the crutches of modernity. I think you can hear that we’re extremely angry. The music and the vibe it gives off are intentionally obvious.”
Krisiun recorded Mortem Solis at Family Mob Studio (Ratos De Porão, Crypta) in São Paulo. Instead of venturing overseas - albums like Scourge of the Enthroned or Conquerors of Armageddon were produced at Andy Classen’s storied Stage One Studio in Germany - the brothers decided logistically it’d be more efficient to stay in Brazil. Hugo Silva (Sepultura, Nervosa) and Otavio Rossato (Crypta, Desalmado) were enlisted to engineer, while Silva was also elected to co-helm the production with Krisiun. The sessions took around 22 days. When everything was completed in Brazil, the tracks were dispatched to mixing and mastering maven Mark Lewis (Nile, Monstrosity) in Nashville, Tennessee. Indeed, Classen put his stamp on Krisiun over the years, but the new team created an absolutely hellish sound on Mortem Solis.
“The studio sessions were great,” Kolesne says. “Family Mob isn’t too far from where we live, and we felt comfortable there. Plus, it was great to go home every night and recharge. We love Andy, but it was time for a change. We really like the sound Mark has gotten for other bands, so it was natural for us to choose him. He’s into death metal, too. Mark provided a lot of confidence to achieve the sound we wanted.”
Lyrically, Mortem Solis was inspired by literature and is throughout imbued with metaphor. But, there’s no mistaking the message. All good things inevitably come to an end, sometimes violently and unapologetically. This narrative is entirely and utterly woven through the lyrics, the menacing Marcelo Vasco (Slayer, 1349) cover piece, and the music. Even the album title Mortem Solis - Latin for “Death of the Sun” - is conspicuously fatalistic.
“The sun, besides its physical effects and cosmic condition, represents something significant in religion, empires, kingdoms, and so on. Humanity has placed a lot of importance on the sun - as kingdom and salvation. But, we live in a dying world. Empires fall, kings fall, politicians lie, and faith is lost throughout history. So, the metaphor for Mortem Solis is this: everything dies everywhere, and there is no escape from it. I was really impressed that Marcelo was able to capture all that and more with his cover art piece. He didn’t have an easy job.”
Krisiun close the four-year gap between albums with Mortem Solis. The stage is set for devastating death metal to be true again. One thing is sure: Once Mortem Solis hits store shelves and streaming platforms, there’s no stopping Krisiun. They’re already preparing to embark on the world stage in support. The Southern storm is upon us! The Southern storm is upon you!