Uzbekistani Doom/Death Metal Project
MONTFAUCON to Release New Album "Renaissance"
Pre-Orders Available via Bandcamp
Mixed & Mastered by Dan Swanö (Edge
of Sanity, Bloodbath, Katatonia)
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Like the main gallows and gibbet in Paris, France for which it's named,
two-man Uzbekistani doom/death metal project MONTFAUCON resonates with
historic tales of violence and upheaval, exploring the implications and
consequences of emotional turmoil, aggression and fear. Drawing from elements
of death metal, black metal, progressive doom and symphonic metal, the band's
debut full-length, Renaissance is a majestic, eclectic and
musically diverse portrait of darkness, desperation and barbarism that presents
a new perspective on the ever-shifting landscape of extreme metal.
Renaissance will be released on February 17, 2017 and features
mixing and mastering from death metal veteran Dan Swanö (Edge of Sanity,
Bloodbath, Katatonia). A new track from the album, entitled
"Prisoner", can be heard now via the band's Bandcamp page here.
Pre-orders are also available at the same location.
Renaissance track
listing:
1. Prisoner
2. I Was A Warrior
3. Alone
4. Mastermind
5. Insanity
6. The Last Night
"I'm the kind of person who loves math puzzles
and mind-bending challenges," says MONTFAUCON multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Valentin
Mayamsin, an Uzbekistan-born musician currently residing in the San Francisco
Bay area. "That's why I started listening to increasingly complex music
and that's how MONTFAUCON evolved, both technically and
compositionally."
Inspired as much by the literature of Victor Hugo and the history of the
Middle Ages as by the numerous bands that motivated Valentin to first pick up a
guitar, MONTFAUCON achieves a sound that's at once brutal and beautiful,
alternately direct and dizzying.
From one song to the next, there are hints of well-known acts such as Satyricon,
Darkthone, Cradle of Filth, Death, Opeth and Pink Floyd, as well as
traces of more obscure artists, including Lux Occulta, Dominion and My
Dying Bride. Regardless of how many rocky paths, dense forests or barren
wastelands MONTFAUCON explore sonically, the six epic songs on
Renaissance are unified by the haunting piano and keyboard lines of
Valentin's songwriting partner Michel Cadenzar, who still lives in the duo's
native land.
"All the music came out of lots of
experiments,"
Valentin says. "I liked [our new track] 'Insanity' very much but I
wanted to experiment more with guitar and make the other songs less obvious.
So, we tried everything: black metal, death metal, even progressive stuff. And
then we found ways to tie everything together and make it work so it doesn't
sound like 10 different bands going at once."
It's incredible that Valentin and Michel have crafted such diverse,
high-impact and intensely melodic songs from opposite parts of the world.
What's even more impressive is that as forward-thinking as the songs on Renaissance
are, the skeletons were written years ago, and early versions of some of the
tracks were played on metal radio in Uzbekistan, and were well received by the
region's loyal underground scene. The band even played shows in the country
with a different lineup.
But then Valentin relocated to the U.S. to work as a software developer,
while Michel continued to work on computers in his hometown. For a while, MONTFAUCON
was on ice. But after a few years in limbo the players discovered that raw
determination, and a little technology, can break the bonds of distance.When
Valentin went back home to Tashkent to visit friends and family, he and Michel
decided to resurrect MONTFAUCON by trading files back and forth over the
internet.
When it was time for Valentin to start putting Renaissance
together back in his home studio in San Francisco, he struggled at first to
find the right gear and learn how to use it. Since he didn't have much
experience with home recording, he experienced several setbacks. To make sure
the songs sounded as good on the digital files as they did when he played them
in his living room, Valentin hired The Faceless guitarist Michael Keene
to help him assemble a rig that would yield a high quality recording.
"I thought he would be good to teach me because
he actually recorded great sounding Faceless albums in his living
room," Valentin says. "He
gave me very good advice and we were able to make the guitars sound really
strong."
For metal fans who are excited to hear more, MONTFAUCON are
already working on five or six new death/prog songs that will leave listeners
speechless. Until then, Renaissance should be inspiring and
enthralling enough to keep listeners completely satisfied. Stay tuned for more
updates leading up to the release of Renaissance in
February.
MONTFAUCON online:
MONTFAUCON is:
Michel Cadenzar - piano, keyboards, sampling
Valentin Mayamsin -
guitars, bass, vocals, sampling
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