Krisiun: Death Metal Devotion!

There are very few substitutes for hard work, unwavering belief in your craft and unrelenting passion. Brazil’s very own death metal prodigal sons KRISIUN have all of these attributes in spades and have been waging sonic war on the world for over three decades. Now, in the year 2022 the band have just released their hellacious twelfth studio effort Mortem Solis and are showing no signs of slowing up any time soon. We managed to catch up with drummer and founding member Max Kolesne to discuss the ethos of one of South America’s hardest working bands.

Despite the world having changed immeasurably since the formation of the band back in 1990 with the way music is distributed, recorded, and even written the band has stayed true to many of its original ideologies about the way things should be done. “We still like to get in a room together and write the old-fashioned way,” Max explains. “As a drummer, I feel inspired to play my drums by listening to the other guys in the room and let things happen naturally. We have never had any interested in programmed drums or any nonsense like that.” And therein lies the main focal point of the KRISIUN sound. Old fashioned, traditional death metal that pays no heed to the overly engineered, squeaky-clean sound that has become all too common in the modern era.

With Mortem Solis, the band have continued with the forwards momentum that was created on their previous outing Scourge Of The Enthroned. An album that was described as a return to form following the rather lukewarm reception of Forged In Fury and have more than proved their doubters wrong (not that there were many). Songs such as Sworn Enemies and Serpent Messiah show that there is still plenty of firepower in the band’s armoury and show that they have more than enough creatively to not only keep up with the current wave of death metal bands, but to lead from the front. After all, experience cannot be bought, and the Brazilians have it by the bucket load. 

However, it seems that the break that was forced upon the band over COVID was a welcome change of pace and gave them the chance to recharge and refocus prior to getting back in the rehearsal room to write. “I didn’t touch my drums for three of four months at the beginning of the pandemic,” concedes Max. “We lost some motivation because we simply didn’t know what was going to happen, but then the livestream performances came, and we got back into the swing of things and got to run through some old songs.” This would revive the passion in the members as a collective and pushed them to get back into the swing of things and write one of the most compelling death metal albums of the year thus far.

The longevity of KRISIUN has not come without graft and sacrifice. With the Brazilian outfit coming from humble beginnings and breaking out of the South American scene in the wake of SEPULTURA exploding into the mainstream metal consciousness the world over. However, back in the day the circulation wasn’t as simple, and things were a lot more analogue. “Back in the day it was all about trading tapes and letters. Sending your tunes off to the big European magazines and hoping that people take notice,” explains Kolesne. And just like that the backbone of everything that KRISIUN stands for as a unit becomes a lot more understandable, the fact that they were required to graft so much to get their name out their meant that the hard grafting mentally was instilled from the very start.

Now, in the present day KRISIUN have made a name for themselves of being road-dogs. Even the quickest look at their socials will show you everything you need to know about the dedication to the touring life that is so fundamental to the band. Not only have they toured the world over time and time again, but they have toured with groups from every corner of the extreme metal soundscape from BELPHEGOR and SEPTICFLESH to DEICIDE and KATAKLYSM to name just a few. The band, now armed with their superb new album are readying themselves for another cycle of heavy touring and plenty of shows. Currently the band have a North America tour lined up with REVOCATION, followed up by a European tour with NILE that will take the band up towards the end of the year and that is just what has been announced so far.

Mortem Solis is out now via Century Media Records.

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