All (good) things must come to an end.
DARKCREED never played by the rules in the first place – yet few could have predicted such an unusual career, if you could call it that. One might say that in the 20 years since they formed in Mexico City, they haven’t achieved much but as their singer and spokesman Andrés Furukawa said himself: It’s about quality, not quantity. Despite having only released two demos and one EP (‘Dark Regions’), their legacy extends beyond such a meagre discography. After relocating to Sweden, Furukawa contributed lyrics to the song ‘Laudanum Dreams’ on TRIBULATION’s, ‘Children of the Night’ (2015). He also oversaw the making of the ‘Resurrected in Festering Slime’ (2008) compilation that paved the way for the resurgence of real death metal in Scandinavia.
Having never done things according to the norm (no live gigs, no promo pictures) it was as if the band lay dormant -and in a way, they did. In 2015 the inevitable decision to split up became official. Shortly thereafter, the band released a series of mp3 covers recorded in total secrecy in Mexico City, uploaded one by one on their Facebook page.
Now 37, Furukawa has decided to close this chapter of his life “for good”. Not without a parting gift however; eleven cover songs of mostly Swedish death metal dating back from the golden era of the genre.
“These tracks were my absolute favorites when I was 12 to 18 years old,” says Furukawa, “To me, they are the best songs by bands who heavily influenced me during that period, though I realize I was and still am too specific when it comes to artistic matters. As you can see, these songs are the inception of Swedish death metal (ENTOMBED, GENERAL SURGERY, GOD MACABRE etc.), with the exception of XYSMA (Finland) and DAEMON (Denmark). The latter was recorded in Stockholm with Nicke Andersson (ex-ENTOMBED) on drums. “
“I deliberately wanted to record the tracks in Mexico City”, Furukawa continues, “in the same studio where we recorded our first demo back in 1995. I wanted to end the story where it all began. Everyone in the band is Mexican and we spent our entire adolescence listening to this genre of metal. Besides, recording it in Mexico has a better context and is more meaningful than being a ‘wannabe’ Swedish band recording in a classic studio, such as Sunlight or what have you. DARKCREED was born during that period of my life.”
He adds that the band always strived to keep a low profile, seeing as they were solely a studio project.
“We tried to uphold the principles of death metal: anti-posers, anti-commercial, DIY and no fucking rock star attitudes.”
With backing-vocals by Micke Petersson (ex-STENCH), additional guitars by Alejandro, a re-recording of a track (‘Absent God’) from their debut demo and amazing cover artwork by Ola Larsson, (who’s done work for DISMA, NECRONY and TRAUMATIC – the latter two of which have been covered), ‘Darkcreed is Dead and Always Has Been Dead’ is a genuine labor of love (and death) from one fan to another. It’s a celebration of what death-metal really is and should be remembered for.
