Metal, Hardcore, Indie, Rock
Brazilian doom metal outfit Black Priest have released a self-titled single with lyrics in Ecclesiastical Latin, alongside a lyric video. The song evokes a Priest conducting a reverse exorcism, where religious bigotry is purged out of an unsuspecting nun. The band’s press release states as follows:
And so the Truth, the final and sovereign darkness of the Universe, from whom everything comes and to whom everything belongs, turns Its attention to our pale and insignificant orb. Where rotten powers, granted to cursed humans by so many others in delirium, restrain the potencies of creation under the scrutiny of faith.
Man becomes wolf to man. Brother turns against brother over dogma dissent. Innocent blood is shed upon living soil. The flesh is burnt under the ardor of prayer. And the immaculate body is violated amidst the shadows of the temples.
And it was in that atrocious turmoil of pain and suffering, that came to the Truth’s attention a cry for salvation. Lost under torture and woe. A lonely voice in pure supplication, like a lost candle in the void. A prayer for vengeance.
“Antique spiritus Tenebrarum, defende nos in proelio;
Este refugium nostrum contra nequitias et insidias inimici;
Ut Veritas potentiam suam manifestet, id humiliter vos supplicamus”In that moment, all those who had ready eyes and anxious spirits looked to the sky. And felt a gentle trembling taking the Firmament, when the Truth’s voice was heard:
“Then I shall cast my Shadow upon the enemies of my children, and by its hands my wrath and grief shall be laid! Ancient fear shall be its bastion, and the deepest agony, its herald! For my Shadow shall speak to the wicked in their holy language, so it may harm their souls and corrode the certainty that they are saved! And by fire and blood, all shall fall!”
And the Truth, filled with hatred and despair at the iniquity of the human being, sent to Earth the Black Priest, to terminate the curses of faith, and purge the miasma of death that enslaves its children.
The roots of this Brazilian band bring us back to the times before the pandemic, back in 2019, when three old school freinds, long apart from playing their instruments and favorite songs, decided to shake the dust from their old speakers and bring back the old ways of screaming heavy metal. Basking in the the glory of two of the greatest paragons of metal and baptizing themselves after them, the band made their way through the underground metal scene of Rio de Janeiro, spreading the word of their forefathers.
Then came the advent of Covid-19. No more shows, no more nights out on the streets, no more heat of the crowd. Only silence, anxiety and depression. Their old enemies. An old and hideous wound sores again. Music was the way. Creating songs, screaming out the pain, putting their hearts and minds into chords and beats. A howling of power and rage against the shackles of disease and idleness. Thus, they brought forth “The Soul Scar”, their first EP. Raw, relentless, grim doom. But not only doom ran in their veins. Later, Black Priest released “Fatal”, their first studio album, featuring songs that break out of their doom metal roots.
Now, the band boldly release “Black Priest“, their self-titled single. Sung completely in Latin, it starts a new chapter in their metal-fueled story.
You can check out the music video below:
