Although Infernal Conjuration is not the most prolific band from Mexico’s rich underground scene, the band’s sparse work is emblematic of what that Mexican metal has to offer. Their last album, ‘Infernale Metallum Mortis’ dates back to 2019, but, singer and guitarist Emmanuel tells us follow-up to that strong debut album is in the works. And in case you are not yet convinced of the band’s impressive quality: both Iron Bonehead Productions and Nuclear War Now! Productions, two of today’s most revered labels, signed on for the release of this upcoming sophomore record…
Hi Emmanuel, welcome to The Whispering Darkness. My personal first encounter with Infernal Conjuration was with the ‘Avto De Fe’ 7″ which was released via Blood Harvest Records. How do you look back on the early years of the band?
Cheers to all The Whispering Darkness staff and readers. Young lads sharing a passion for Metal Music, most of us could barely play our instruments but the passion is there, no doubt.
Apart from the musical quality of the band, what stands out is that you clearly take your time to release something. In the current times when bands release one album after another, your output since your formation in 2006 with a demo, two EP’s and a full-length album is very modest. How do you view this?
It has to do with many things, some are obligations and other duties that stand in the way of creativity, in my case it requires discipline and pushing myself to come up with ideas. I’m proud of what we have accomplished so far and love each song we’ve been able to publish, regardless of the time it took us to complete them. Props to bands that can release material right away, not an easy feat in my book.
Let’s dive into the music a bit. Your latest effort was your debut album, ‘Infernale Metallum Mortis’ from 2019 and was released by the revered Iron Bonehead Productions. Since it is a few years on since the release of that album, what do you think about that album now?
Are you satisfied with how everything turned into flesh in the end? Yes, it took an enormous effort on our part to get it done. We probably recorded it twice until we decided to record it on our own, no experience whatsoever, we just bought gear and set it up in our practice space and hit record. Of course, it was mixed and mastered by talented people that knew what they were doing; shout out to Patrick at Iron Bonehead Productions for picking it up. Looking back at it I love all the songs and production we were able to pull off, satisfied with the final product.
How would you describe your musical development since the band’s first demo, ‘Tremendous Plague’, up to the point where the band stands today?
With a solid perception of what Death Metal sounds like to us and what it could be mixed with our influences; always trying to add that extra twist of our own to a widely explored genre, regardless if it’s ground breaking or not.
Another thing that really struck me when listening to ‘Infernale Metallum Mortis’ was that the album, compared to the preceding ‘Death Has Appeared…’, besides an obvious update sound-wise, it sounded less Thrashy and a bit more versatile in nature. Can you relate to that?
I can see that, IMM did come up with a lot more variations vs DHA, all of it comes from wanting each song to have its own thing, heading full speed ahead to that rabbit hole of ideas.
In terms of musical influences, your music does sound fairly recognizable to anyone who has been around in or familiar with extreme metal for the past three decades or so. What would you consider your main musical influences and how do you think they come to live in Infernal Conjuration?
In the beginning it came straight from Metal. Sepultura, Death, Morbid Angel, Morgoth, Merciless, etc the list goes on, we focus on Riffs, the tension, rawness and the headbanging factor. Now a days, we listen to other genres to expand creativity while staying loyal to all things Metal. Our influences come to life with every riff we execute, it’s our interpretation of Metal of Death.
And what about your lyrical concepts? While going through your song titles there’s all sort of diabolical themes being addressed. What is the meaning of your lyrics, being either spiritual or aesthetical?
They can be interpreted into whatever the listener identifies with. Song titles usually come first, then the phrasing for each one (yes, just growling like a maniac in the rehearsals) and next the lyrics, by that time riffs and tempos are defined. We had a reissue of our first demo and I had to dig up the lyrics, I came to realize they went deep into whatever was happening at the time for me on some songs (or at least so it read like it, no demons flying around tho), back then I thought I wrote about demons and blasphemy (in a more aesthetic way to the genre). In conclusion it is a combination of both for some songs, stories for others and lyrical covers as well (i.e. In The Presence of Another World by Blue Öyster Cult).
When looking at your native Mexican extreme metal scene, there is quite an impressive underground movement going on ever since the late 80’s. Classic bands like Shub-Niggurath, The Chasm and Cenotaph or the more recent Necroccultus, Denial and your own band seem to play an important role in keeping the Mexican metal scene alive. How would you describe the current Mexican extreme metal scene as a whole? And do you feel a part of/connected to it?
There are a lot of bands in the Mexican scene, you can almost pick any genre of Metal and you’ll find a band from Mexico that executes it. I see it as a strong scene with a lot of potential. We do feel connected to the scene and add to it in our own way.
Something that always sparked a bit of curiosity within me about Mexican extreme metal is that, despite having quite a few interesting bands over the past three decades, it doesn’t have a bit of a distinct sound, like certain scenes in Greece, Sweden, Norway, The Netherlands or Czechia seem to have a bit of a extinguishable identity. Without putting a value judgment on it, can you, if you agree at all, shed your light on this?
Good point, it could be our country is way bigger in size compared to all those countries, Metal scenes over there were closer to each other vs here in Mexico (plus they did albums recognized as pillars to the genre), hence they can influence each other and have a “blueprint” of sound embedded by origin, this is just a theory of mine, of course.
I can hear an evil, melancholic eeriness to Mexican Death Metal that cannot be denied.
Do you think or feel that your Mexican background, both musically and culturally, plays a role in how your music with Infernal Conjuration sound?
Absolutely, everything we come across in our day to day folklore is drenched into our music.
All four of you are also playing in a wide range of different other bands. Can you introduce us to the best of those other bands? And, how do you combine all activities that come along with playing in a band?
My brother and me have a Heavy Metal band called Wicked Moon, my brother plays Guitar and I play drums. Emmanuel Orozco and Adrian Miranda both play in Unblessed Domain. Emmanuel has Perdicion and Adrian has Ignis Occultus.
We set rehearsal to twice a week, we have a practice space with our gear and a mini studio setup, we record almost every rehearsal, especially now that we are writing new material, to come up with ideas/changes.
Emmanuel and Adrian have their own thing with each of their bands when it comes to practice time.
From your own local scene, are there any bands worth recommending? Or maybe there’s even some bands that you’d like to see featured on ourpages as well?
Check out Black Blasphemy, Templus Execrato, Ogrish Demeanour, Perdicion (Tijuana), Ignis Occultus.
Something I am always curious about, what were the last couple of records you have bought and/or listened to? Anything worth recommending?
Al Di Meola – Tour De Force
Masayoshi Takanaka – An Insatiable High
Dominique Guiot – L’Univers De La Mer
Black Sabbath – Tyr, Eternal Idol
The Chasm – The Scars of a Lost Reflective Shadow
Death Breath – The Old Hag
Since your last record dates to 2019, the question of as to when we can expect anything new from you is inevitable, so… What can you tell us about the near future of the band?
Yes, currently have 7 new songs (3 of them are already part of our set), finishing 2 more to have the full length done. We are planning on touring South America and Europe for this release. If the times are right, we should have it in our hands by the beginning of 2024. It comes out via NWN! Prod in America and Iron Bonehead Prod in Europe.
Thanks a lot for your time Emmanuel, if you feel that I have been leaving out something important, feel free to add it here as the last words are yours…
Thanks for your time and interest in our brand of Death Metal, we appreciate it immensely. To all Death Metal enthusiasts out there, beware of the new Infernal Conjuration, headbanging & air guitar riffs coming your way soon!
