Foscor

Catalonia’s Foscor emerged in 1997 as a progressive metal outfit whose Catalan name signifies “darkness” and whose entire catalog of lyrics appears solely in the regional language. Formed by bassist Fiar and guitarist Falke, both formerly of Lux Divina, the project began as an instrumental black-metal studio duo that relied on tremolo picking, blastbeats, and guttural screams for its 2004 debut album, Entrance to the Shadow Village. Over successive lineup shifts the group gradually incorporated atmospheric, folk, progressive, and melodic post-metal elements, a transformation most audible on the 2017 release Les Irreals Visions, where Fiar adopted a clean melodic vocal approach supported by harmonized lead-guitar lines. The resulting sound has drawn frequent comparison to the parallel trajectory of Swedish band Katatonia.

After constructing Notiflorous Productions studio in 1999, the pair recruited vocalist and lyricist Norax, also from Lux Divina, and circulated a three-track demo in 2001. A 2003 split release with Xerion, limited to three hundred copies, paired three earlier demo cuts with a newly recorded rendition of the companion band’s “Na Noite das Tempas”; Xerion in turn covered two Foscor compositions. Positive European fanzine coverage secured a contract with France’s Sacral Productions, which issued Entrance to the Shadow Village. The album earned praise for its dynamic handling of black-metal conventions, prompting the band to begin live performances alongside acts such as Kampfar, Necroschristos, Machetazo, and Frostmoon Eclipse.

Norax departed in 2006 to establish Fayrierie, after which Fiar assumed lead-vocal duties. That same year the expanded lineup—now including guitarist Wilkhiem and drummer Nechrist—issued the four-song demo …Narrow Is the Path to Darkness… on Notiflorous Productions, introducing folk passages alongside the group’s foundational style. Temple of Darkness Records subsequently signed the band, supplying both recording and promotional support. Their 2007 album Smile of the Sad Ones marked the first recorded venture into dark metal; extensive touring in Spain and Portugal with Swallow the Sun and Forgotten Tomb followed, drawing acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic.

Between singles, the group concentrated on live work across France and Spain, sharing bills with Shining and Farsot, while developing new material. The 2009 album Groans to the Guilty, still on Temple of Darkness, integrated progressive-metal characteristics and received widespread online and print recognition, leading to near-constant touring. Stigia Management soon facilitated festival appearances and continental dates. Wilkhiem’s final recording, the 2013 live video and cassette Deu Anys Vers la Foscor issued by Ruptura Records, preceded the arrival of guitarist A.M. (Albert Marti). The 2014 single “Graceful Pandora” signaled this change, and the subsequent album Those Horrors Wither appeared on Alone Records with guest contributions from members of Obsidian Kingdom. Three tracks—“Addiction,” “L.Amor. T,” and “To Strangle a Ghost”—introduced clean vocals for the first time, while Nechrist’s departure closed the band’s black-metal chapter.

After further touring, Foscor joined Season of Mist and recorded Les Irreals Visions, the opening installment of a projected trilogy released in June 2017. The album linked its thematic concerns to the fin-de-siècle modernist movement that paralleled Art Nouveau and Jugendstil, presenting dark progressive metal defined by shifting textures and atmospheric dynamics. A deluxe 2018 edition added six intimately re-recorded selections from earlier releases, featuring Jordi Farré (Apologoethia, Vidres a la Sang) on drums. Following festival performances on both sides of the Atlantic, the core trio of Fiar, Falke, and A.M., assisted again by Farré and Obsidian Kingdom keyboardist Esteban Portero, completed Els Sepulcres Blancs. This second trilogy installment retained the historical focus on art and society yet offset prior darkness with uplifting dynamics, heightened atmospherics, pronounced hooks, and dramatic emphasis. Issued in early September, the album attracted favorable notices beyond metal circles and received prominent streaming-platform placement.