AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: CORAX B.M. — “ZOPHOS”

The Athenian black metal band Corax B.M. made their recording debut last year on Pagan Records, with an EP named Spread the Occult. It featured a guest vocal appearance by The Magus (Necromantia, Yoth Iria, etc.) on the song “Anilliagos”. Live performances followed, and the band also turned their diabolical energies to the creation of a debut album.

Their dark arts have borne evil fruit, in the form of a full-length named Pagana that will be released on January 26, 2024 via The Circle Music (also known for their release of records by Necromantia, The Magus, Thou Art Lord, and Autumn Tears).

As a shuddering sign of what the album presents, today we premiere a lyric video for a song called “Zophos“, which is the track that closes the album.

On this new album Corax B.M. made the unusual choice not to use guitars. As they explain:

Pagana is our first full-length album after releasing our first EP Spread The Occult. It consists of seven songs recorded with two bass guitars (Vi bass guitar) and a four-string for even darker melodies and riffs. Most of the lyrics are in Greek to express our feelings better on the black canvas. This is a Pagan Black Metal album with a lot of Thrash and Hardcore Punk influences dressed up with dark melodies from the Primal Greek and Scandinavian BM scene.

With respect to the song we’re presenting today, the Greek word zophos (ζόφος) refers to darkness or blackness, with old meanings that are associated with the gloom of the underworld. The music itself captures those notions. It is intensely unsettling, but also proves to be trance-inducing — and what a very dark spell it is.

The riffing that immediately infects the senses is dense, distorted, and dismal, as if pestilence has managed to become manifest in sound. No mercy is to be found in the drumming, which hammers tyrannically, or in the howling and roaring vocals, which scar like claws. With cymbals crashing and another bass throbbing and undulating like a serpent, all the sensations combine to create a chilling journey through abysmal realms.

When the hammering stops and the roiling riffage vanishes, the notes ring like ill chimes, the drums boom and tumble, and a scarring voice speaks. If anything, the feeling is even more steeped in misery and gloom than before. When the hammering resumes and the music writhes again, a strident voice cries out in passion and another diabolically chants… and it will take some time for the chill to leave your skin.

Corax B.M. on Pagana are:
Kostas “Corax” Katoikos – Lead Vocals/ Rythm Bass
Thanos “Peisithanatos” Nanopoulos – Lead Vi Bass
Ennea – Additional Vocals
Giannis “Morker” Chariskos – Drums

The Circle Music will release Pagana on CD, vinyl, cassette tape, and digital formats — and it’s available for pre-order now:

PRE-ORDER:
CD, Vinyl, Tape: https://thecirclemusic.gr/product-category/the-circle-releases/?filter_artist-name=corax-b-m
Merch: https://thecirclemusic.gr/product-category/the-circle-releases/the-circle-releases-merchantise/

CORAX B.M. Online:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/corax-bm
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coraxbm/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0taoRitYPctZQO8GdXAOAl?si=P0uNAa_HS8K0vvY7Wa9-kw