v e n e f i c u m n: The Poisoner; the one who brings death.
Veneficum is a highly diverse mixture of modern melodic black metal. They incorporate a wide range of influences in their musical art to paint a tapestry of epic yet melancholic compositions. This highly skilled ensemble is highlighted by the stark contrast between the shrill, tormented vocals and the sheer beauty of the layered keys to the tight precision of the guitars and drums. The following is a short history of the band and it’s five devoted members.
Before “Veneficum”, Ceja and Mendoz were in a Mexican death metal band by the name of “Profanacion” in 1995. That band lasted for about two years, their reason for breaking up are the same as all other bands. Some band members started getting swollen heads, and their musical tastes started to change.
In February of 1999 Ceja called Mendoz and asked him if he was interested in starting a new band. This time they were in control of the band, the style, the music, and the decisions. They decided to go with black metal because this is the style of music they both enjoyed and was consistent with their beliefs.
They both got together and came up with several songs and at this point they were practicing at Miguel Delgaldo’s house (Mendoz’s buddy). Along side the infamous “Severed”. They practiced for about two months and came up with three songs, at this point they felt they were ready for a drummer. They got Danny from “Severed” to fill in. They practiced with Danny for a while but although he was a very talented drummer, the style of drumming was different from the style that they really wanted, and they decided to put up a flyer to start looking for a black metal drummer. And sure enough one week later Nacht replied. Ceja, Mendoz, and Nacht met for the first time in April and several days later the mayhem began, or so they thought.
They practiced for about three months and then Nacht told the guys that he was returning to Cleveland to be with his former band, “Blood Coven”, they were supposed to open up for “Emperor” and they needed him. So Nacht was on his way to Cleveland for what was supposed to be two or three weeks. Two or three weeks turned into two months, within this time no one had heard from him. Ceja and Mendoz had stopped playing at this point because they figured he would return. They started to give up hope and just when they were getting ready to get another drummer, Nacht returned.
In late September when Nacht returned the band reformed. Along with Nacht came G. Reymund the bassist/vocalist. G. Reymund was introduced to the band as the bass player, and the very first time he sang the lyrics to the songs, they all knew he had to be the vocalist. So now the band was almost complete, except that the band felt there was still an element missing from the music. Sometime in October, Bjornberg mentioned that he had met a keyboardist by the name of Antarktis on the Internet. They all met, he tried out for the band, and the other guys were amazed and bewildered with his talent.
This is how “Veneficum” came to be. In December of 1999, they recorded their first promo, which was released on CD the end of January 2000. They have worked hard on this promo, and it is well worth it. Currently the band is hard at work on the new material for a mini-cd in early winter of 2001 with a full length to follow.
