Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
The band started in late 2012 when our bassist Chris and I started writing together. When we first started we really didn't know if it would grow into a full band or not as people who play this kind of music are pretty scarce in our parts (rural Kentucky). It was especially doubtful that'd we would find a drummer but I knew David from recording his previous band Witness the Reckoning at my studio and knew he'd be the guy to drum for us if interested, just that he lives nearly 2 hours away and in a different time zone. Fortunately he was very interested in working with us and from there Fornicus was truly born. Kelly joined up at the beginning of this year after we decided to merge a project we had going into Fornicus. That project is where our debut album title comes from, Storming Heaven. We also happen to play together in a death/grind band called Gorgy so he was a natural choice to be in the band and fell right in.
How would you describe your style? Which bands influenced your music?
I think our sound is primarily black metal with influences of thrash and death. We definitely take a more old school apporach to it. Bands such as Marduk, early Emperor, Destroyer 666, Celtic Frost, Dissection, etc have all had an influence on our writing.
Why should a metalhead buy your demos/albums?
Firstly, for any band you enjoy, to support. There isn't much money to be made in this music, its definitetly something you do because you are passionate about it. This goes doubly for a DIY band such as ourselves. Every cent goes straight to the band to be re-invested into the band. Second, if you like true uncompromising metal you should definitiely check us out.
What have you released so far and how were your releases received by the public/media?
We just released the album last week and reviews have just started. The feedback so far has been very positive. We look forward to hearing more feedback in the coming weeks.
Do you play live as well? How's your live activity so far?
We do playout mostly on weekends regionally. We aren't in a position to tour at the moment as we all have work commitments and couple of us have kids and such. So far we haven't been able to play locally as support for our music is practically non-existent.
What should labels/zines/promoters know about your band? Why should they be interested in it?
All should be interested in Fornicus as we are a band driven to create bestial metal without compromise. You will never hear any "flavor of the week" influences in this band and quality will always be our goal.
What plans do you have for the near future as a band?
We have already started writing for our second album. So far most material is very much in the skeleton stage but Kelly has the first complete song ready for the rest of to work on which I must say we are very excited to get worked up. We have also been entertaining the idea of doing a split in the near future. Beyond that we will be hitting up the few venues that will support metal in the region.
Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
You can stream and purchase our debut album Storming Heaven at fornicus.bandcamp.com and follow us on facebook.com/fornicus666.
August 2014