Photo by Raquel Garcia

Named after the Catalan word for “darkness”, the Spanish atmospheric metal band FOSCOR have revealed new details about their forthcoming album. The band’s Season of Mist debut is titled ‘Les Irreals Visions’, and will be released worldwide on June 9. Pre-orders for the album are available across multiple CD and LP formats at the Season of Mist E-Shop.

FOSCOR are streaming the first new track off ‘ ‘Les Irreals Visions’. The track, a dark, progressive metal outing titled “Ciutat Tràgica” features guest vocals from Alan A. Nemtheanga (PRIMORDIAL, TWILIGHT OF THE GODS) and is streaming now at Invisible Oranges.

Regarding the new track, FOSCOR comment: “Our premiere song “Ciutat Tràgica” translates as ‘tragic city’ and it was admittedly also our first choice for the new album’s opening track and title. It perfectly describes the emotional dimension of the nature of our music. Reminiscent of the 80’s monochrome landscapes that we all have in mind, “Ciutat Tràgica” offers the same intensity and vitality, which has always characterized us and that people hopefully find thoughout this whole album. To work only with clean vocals and adding Catalan lyrics clearly mark a changing point for us. Last but not least, having Irish gentleman Alan A. Nemtheanga from PRIMORDIAL performing vocals on this song makes it an even more special moment.”

Regarding the concepts behind their new album, FOSCOR continues,

“In terms of lyrics, this record maps the collective interactions, weaknesses, and individual hopes of human beings in a city as a metaphor – amplifying the myths that we face. Life as such is represented by a maze of places, paths, wefts, and bounds that make us into who we are. After receiving the translation into photography, which Dutch artist Nona Limmen developed around our concept, for the album artwork, and its cover, we realized the bigger scale and wider connection that everything had with the Modernist Art period. Isolating the experience of hallucination to treat the ventures and misfortunes of the human being in a changing and distressed society, this magical place becomes a dreamlike landscape of extremes where we locate the scene and its reality.”

The artwork and track list for ‘Les Irreals Visions’ is available below:

Track-list
1. Instants
2. Ciutat Tràgica
3. Altars
4. Encenalls De Mort
5. Malfiança
6. Espectres Al Cau
7. De Marges I Matinades
8. Les Irreals Visions

FOSCOR hail from Catalonia, which is still yet largely unwilling part of modern Spain. With Barcelona as the capital, this region has a long artistic tradition with the fin de siècle style of Modernisme a parallel development to Art Noveau and Jugendstil among others forming one of its major achievements. Catalonia has also left its mark in the extreme music scene of Spain.

FOSCOR are attracted to and build upon these foundations, while taking inspiration from the morbid, decadent, and sick reflections on a rapidly changing society that shaped the artistic landscape at the end of the nineteenth century.

The Catalan’s first three albums, ‘Entrance to the Shadows’ Village’ (2004), ‘The Smile of the Sad Ones’ (2007), and ‘Groans to the Guilty’ (2009) were wrapping a shroud of classic second wave black metal around a melancholic core, while already showing a distinct individuality reaching out from the confines of any genre.

‘Groans to the Guilty’ witnessed FOSCOR setting out towards more progressive and avant-garde course, but it was their next full-length ‘Those Horrors Wither’ (2014), which marked a clear departure from the black metal waters as well as related clichés and self-imposed limitations. Darkness found an equally strong expression through the use of clean vocals, doom infused tempo reduction, and catchy heavy riffing.