Interview with INVOCATION
!!!BLACK/DEATH METAL FROM CHILE!!!
We had a conversation with Sense of Premonition (Guitars / Vocals). Enjoy!
Welcome to the FILTHY DOGS OF METAL Webzine.
Tell us a few things about INVOCATION (Members, Starting Year etc).
The band was formed in 2015 by 3 very old friends, we knew each other a while ago, but that year we decided to hit hard the scene in our city, after other projects that are not worth mentioning, in our first rehearsal we down tuned our guitars/bass and the first track was born immediately, then came the name, the logo, etc.
You have recently released your album ''The Archaic Sanctuary (Ritual Body Postures)''. What is the feedback from your audience as well as from the press?
The album was released on September 20th of this year via Iron Bonehead Prods, I think it has had a very good reception, we have sold out our copies quickly and we have received good reviews from some portals like Angry Metal Guy, MetalBite, Mystification Zine, Nattskog, etc. so we are more than satisfied with the result, although we are still missing the most important comments which are the ones written in the paper fanzines.
How did your cooperation with Iron Bonehead Productions occur? What do you prefer, Label or DIY and why?
We sent a letter to Patrick, which contained a cassette with the demos of “The Mastery of the Unseen”; we had a good response and decided to work with Iron Bonehead. They know the underground very well and have done an excellent job with our music. It is undoubtedly one of the leading labels in terms of underground Black Death metal worldwide. The production of "The Archaic Sanctuary" has been really first class, so being under their mantle has been a great honor.
Is there any funny or weird story from the recordings or from your live shows that you would like to share with us?
Well, as Archfiend DevilPig commented in the interview with Embrace of Thorns a few days ago, on the date we had to travel to Guanajuato we were checked by the immigration police, this was quite strange because they were heavily armed, I think they were carrying DPMS Panther assault rifles, it was a little strange but we continued our way to the city without problems, I think everything turned out great. I will take this opportunity to thank our brothers from Embrace of Thorns, Onslaught Kommand (specially Rodolfo), Gerardo, the people who attended these events and everyone involved in the organization in Irapuato/Mexico City for the great dates and memorable moments lived there.
Do you prefer Vinyl, Tape, CD or Digital Format and why is that?
The physical format is my favorite, in the Vinyl format you can appreciate the work in all its splendor, the Cassette I generally use it to listen to limited material or some demo that has no other format, and the CD for the convenience and quality compared to streaming, on the latter I only use it for some trip or transport to work, there is generally a good catalog of classic bands so I do not complain. Obviously and for my pleasure I have my favorite albums in all 3 formats.
Your music style is Black/Death Metal. Which are your main influences (Favourite Artists / Bands etc.)
We're very influenced by the old South American extreme metal, I've already named enough bands, but I think the mighty Sarcofago, Mystifer, Demoncy, Grave Miasma and Embrace of Thorns were the ones that helped us the most in finding the final sound. From the beginning, we always had the objective of making obscure metal and above all with a lot of feeling and atmosphere, and I think people understood and recognized it since our first demo.
Which things do you think a band should sacrifice in order to succeed? Have you ever sacrificed anything in your life for a better future for your band?
Clearly you have to invest a lot of time in everything that surrounds a band, in my case I'm in charge of the social media, interviews, merch sales/trades, designs and a lot of other things, all this is done with absolute passion for metal, and is an important part of all this, lately I've been trying to use my time efficiently even though I even maintain a couple of fanzines, a small label/distro, and of course my regular job.
Describe your ideal live show as a performance band. Have you already experienced that?
Maybe it's not an “ideal” show but I can tell you that in our live shows we have used ritualistic elements, specific lights, backdrops / sidedrops, aromatic essences and intros / interludes that, together with the music creates an intense atmosphere. We want to induce the listener to a darkened trance; we have listened to people who have been hypnotized by our sounds…Anyway, we respect our audience, and not including a saturation of paraphernalia we care about running our instruments decently as a seal and quality assured to people who would pay a ticket to listen to us.
What attributes do you think that a new Black/Death Metal Band should have in order to gain identity and be unique?
It should be a “real” band, I mean that each member plays an instrument and performs live in a serious manner and with respect for the audience, with all that that entails. Also, music needs a feeling, sometimes new bands try to imitate other new bands and that makes them sound the same, sometimes it is better to be inspired by the precursor and classic bands before following the trend of the month. Attitude is essential in extreme music.
Do you believe that Digital Platforms help the new Black/Death Metal Bands? Which, do you think, is the ideal way for a band to promote its work?
The new generations are not interested in fanzines, or in sending demos to labels, there are exceptions of course and I know several, but most of them are promoting their movements on social networks, I think they are a good platform, but in its right measure.
Do you see any differences between the Chilean Metal Market & the EU Metal Market (Labels, Bands, Fans etc)?
The infrastructure is still incomparable with the European one, but lately the Chilean Black/Death Metal records have had a very good reception and that is a product of the passion and commitment that exists within the country, there are many labels, fanzines and fans organizing extreme music fairs and sometimes just by hand and in a DYI way, despite the geographic and resource differences, I think Chile has been able to position itself in the extreme metal world, especially with bands with trajectory that have been able to overcome the barrier of South America as Force of Darkness, Unaussprechlichen Kulten, Wrathprayer, Slaughtbbath, etc.. It is no coincidence that every week extreme metal concerts are organized, as well as the great foreign bands continue to visit us every year.
Tell us a few things about the New Underground Metal Scene in Chile (Bands, Fanzines, Webzines, Metal Clubs etc.)
It is impressive how every month a new extreme metal band is born, Chile is still fertile for evil music, although lately I have been taking my precautions, there are many newcomers trying to just appear with their friends signing for foreign labels and that makes it a bit unpleasant, why? because most of them after a couple of demos disappear without a trace and that somehow takes away space for another band that has remained firm and attached to the old practices of the underground. New bands that I could recommend for your consideration are; Onslaught Kommand, Hexerei, Sadistic Kult, Somnus Mortis, Chaos Perversion, Demonic Lust, Final Ritual, etc.
Do you know anything about the Hellenic Metal Scene?
Of course, we are fans of the Necromantia demos, they are a real must! Varathron, Rotting Christ, Zemial, Thou Art Lord are classics from Greece. As well as the legends Embrace of Thorns a band that has influenced us in many ways and that we had the honor to play together a few weeks ago in Mexico, a totally amazing experience, I could also mention Obsecration, Nar Mataron, Dead Congregation, Unholy Archangel, Heptameron Goatvomit, Kawit, Tatir, Sarvari, Cult of Eibon, etc. very good bands!
In the last 4 years, worldwide in the world, we have faced many dark, strange, and new situations in our everyday lives (covid, lockdown, etc.). Did all of this affect you positively or negatively?
I think it definitely affected in a negative way, it was a total disaster not being able to get together to play, our drummer lives at least 1 hour away from the center of the city so we could not move there, (here in Chile everything was very restrictive, the military was around to control the roads), even so each one could compose individually and once the restrictions were lifted we got going with the continuation of the LP which took another year. I think all this time has been worth it, we didn't want to rush the process and leave “filler” songs or get the feeling that we could have done more, we are quite happy with the sound and the result of the album, so now we move on.
What are your future plans?
We already have a couple of dates to play the new album, the idea is to continue playing this new material in as many places as possible, I hope we can continue playing outside the country and after that maybe think about a successor to “The Archaic Sanctuary” (Ritual Body Postures), 2026 will also be the 10th anniversary of our debut demo so we could do something special for that.
Thank you very much for your time & keep up the good work! The closure is yours.
Thanks for your time & interest in the band. Official contact:
invocationtemple.bandcamp.com
https://open.spotify.com/intl-es album/11w46aD7KKYa6LMsNGDreP?si=uBw0qaKwT8C3d5jYBDmB2Q
By Steve the Filthy Dog.