Load up ELS FOCS NEGRES’ Facebook page and you’re greeted with a singular description: “Heavy Metal Armageddon Speed Metal Massacre!!!” In the case of any lesser band, we’d say something like “and that describes them perfectly!”, but with these people, that is just the beginning of the conversation. Created by two crucial individualities of the Portuguese underground, the mythical Belathauzer, aka Monsenyor Bthzr, of legendary black metal oddities Filii Nigrantium Infernalium, and Hugo Conim, aka Hugo "Serp de Cascavell" C, an axe-slinger responsible for Dawnrider, Son Of Cain, Dragon’s Kiss, Patrulha Do Purgatório and so many other local highlights, Els Focs Negres play an indescribable form of blackened heavy metal deeply steeped in ecclesiastic imagery, right down to the lyrics, song titles and band name which are all in Catalan and refer to a fire and brimstone liturgical universe based in that region – and they already have two full albums worth of it, 2020’s self-titled debut and 2023’s «Martiris Carnívors: Himnes Per A Un Nou Apocalipsi». If it all sounds totally batshit crazy, that’s because it is, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
