First of all, congratulations for your new creation, it’s one of a few that respect the standards of funeral doom metal with some orchestral influence, please tell us the story of the band, how it all start?
Hello, and thanks for this interview, well Lament Christ was born early 1994 as only a project I got some members which left the band due to musical agreements and personal affairs, But William Castillo started playing rhythm guitar and then join us Robinson Ocampo (Drums), El pastor de la muerte (bass), Juan Sandoval (violín) and Ricardo Flores (Keyboards) and in 1998 we recorded our first production demo called “In Ventus Est Dolor” with a big acceptation in Peru and some countries, this demo was reissued 3 times and probably will be re released this year too, but in 2007 the LC disbanded, in 2018 LC was back to rehearsals with a new line up and played in big gigs in Lima Peru as Lima Metal Fest III with many bands from other countries as Enthroned, Dark Funeral, Necrodemon, Fates Warning, Masacre etc with a good acceptation and also with Paradise Lost world tour 2018 in Lima, due of this Lament Christ was invited to record the full length with Thrashirts Prods. And here we are with our new Album THE AGONIC FALL OF MOURNERS with a new line up:
William Castillo – Bass
Juan Carlos Sotelo – Voices/guitar
Robert Palacios – Guitar
Diego Manrique – Violín
Luber Elend – Keyboards
Ronald Tinieblas – Drums of doom.
How will you described your new creations?
We try always not to go so far from Doom Metal slow, sad and heavy, that’s why we had many line up changes and now our line up is solid we love doom metal with emotional and realistic lyrics which describes day after day the mourning procession of loss and solitude hard to manage process, our style may vary because we also love dsbm for the absolute despair so maybe we play atmospheric funeral doom metal with some dsbm very emotional and melancholic.
Is there good compositions or bad compositions on it? (in my opinion they aren’t)
There were many changes constantly with some songs and we used to change melodies, bpm and lyrics to be according to our current situation around this world, we think the compositions were from deep heart without noticing if this would be loved or hated by people, we do not compose to satisfy people we compose to set free our intense wounded emotions inside, we love absolutely what we do.
Would you be so kind to explain what every song is all about?
Surely, “Loss” for example is a prelude of what this album contains, the fall of all emotions when you loss a beloved one, from this point we walk through this album is like a long path of sorrow with so much negative feelings surrounding us, “This Unbearable Pain” is like a endless voyage through sadness, lack of acceptance and with this emptiness finally comes despair, “Drowned” describes a moment in life when you fell really lost and as a great black ocean draws you down, it recalls a certain moment in life when we feel all is forever lost. “So far from paradise” was written after my mother died, and you can see so much emptiness then came, is a farewell to eternity, “Cursed into eternal Void” is the everyday longing to set free from to much agony and absence, it is about the prisoners of the great hell abyss we become after mourning, “Alone in my Dreamylands” is a song of the demo but this time was recorded professionally and describes how we long for a dream to be real but you realize is could never be like we expect, after so much suffering we only long to be in a dream place so far from all grief.. and “The Aonaran” is like a description of what we become in this long process of loss, we become hermits so far away from all people who wishes the best and soon comfort and everything but all is in vain, we finally are not afraid of death after all this.
What themes do lyrics approach?
Precisely we try to be realistic in the way to describe loss and solitude and then the long path through emptiness, darkness and beyond that came after, it is hard to describe sometimes all the things that come after the dead of someone closed person’s and beloved ones, also about mankind decadence, and illness covering this suffering world.
The productions is also very good, did you have good time in studio?
Although this pandemic situation here in Peru was difficult to find the time to record, there were many many restrictions but finally we recorded this album in 2 weeks aproximatelly and the mixing and mastering almost one month.
What can we expect from your new album, will be in the same line with your latest?
This album is heavier than the first one, but contains the same vein and atmosphere that the old recordings with a much better sound quality we think maybe this 2021 or at the beginning of 2022 will be recording another production maybe as split and for sure will keep the same sounds of dying as always.
What hobbies do you have except music, by the way your favorite musicians are?
After music mmm there are not much things to do at all because we live and love music but we all have a job here and not always we can coordinate to get together except for rehearsals and we live in different and far one from another but after work we used to read a few, take a walk by the sea, or rainy afternoon, drink to much beer, it is not easy for me at last to fall asleep but when I have time I try to, others play video games and watch movies and documentaries about history.
My fave bands are probably Katatonia (old), Mournful Congregation, Elend, Penitent, old MDB, Evoken and I also like to eat Kitaro and some orchestral and classical music.
The cover illustration is interesting, who’s ideas were and the meaning?
It represents the hard moment in life when all hope is lost and the process after loss can’t be managed, it was my idea I draw it and the rest of the band where agree but we need a professional assistance so we met Erick from Noctenatus Artwork and he did this masterpiece.
In the end, you have the final word for all our readers…
Yes, first of all thanks for this interview and hope all funeral doom metal followers can listen our album, they are available from #Thrashirts you can visit Thrashirts website and fb page and visit us in fb at: Lament Christ - Funeral Doom Official.
Funeral Doom Metal from Perú
Interview by Ionut Dimitriev
April 2021