Emerging from the extreme underground of Ecuador, Oath of Malignancy have been steadily carving out a name with their uncompromising take on dark, aggressive music. Blending raw intensity with a deeply atmospheric edge, the band channels both the chaos of classic extreme metal and a distinctly South American ferocity. With a growing following among fans of the genre and a reputation for unrelenting soundscapes, Oath of Malignancy stand as one of the more intriguing acts rising from the region. In this interview, we dive into their origins, creative process, and the vision driving their sonic assault.
1. Your band name is clearly “borrowed” from one of your favourite bands.How strong is the influence of bands such as Moenen of Xezbeth, Forbidden Temple, and Necromantia on your music?
Based on our lyrics,our sound aligns with that: evil, dark, raw, just like bands did in the 90s, such as the aforementioned Necromantia and currently Moenen of Xezbeth and Forbidden Temple, who are also influenced by Necromantia. That is the school we follow: that dark, occult and blasphemous school.
2. Sabbath Witchcraft was an outstanding first release. How were the reactions from around the world, and did any responses surprise you?
Fans of old occult black metal loved this profane ode it, the reception of the work was not a surprise for us because we knew what we were creating, granted under the full moon like a black spell from the Master! Real Black fucking metal!
3. How important are the visual and ritual aspects (artwork, photography, stage presence) to the identity of Oath of Malignancy?
There is a saying that goes, ‘Clothes do not make the man,’ but everything is a complement to the ritual of invocation or cursing. Each instrument is necessary to obtain good results, from the realm of composition to create melodies full of feeling and inspiration. A good work of art is essential, as it is a letter of introduction to what you want to convey and project, to later add a good musical concept that flows with the dark, evil feeling you want to convey under a strong, clear, and arcane production like the spirit of the 90s.
4. Can you tell us about the recording and production process behind Sabbath Witchcraft and Spectral Oath? What choices were crucial in shaping their final sound?
Our sabbatical ritual took place, when the witch’s eye shone in the high night sky and the stars lost their brightness, and the children of the night gathered in the dungeons forgotten by time to offer the sacrifice, and through the chalice they drank the blood, sealing the pact in eternal oath with the sinister forces. The unholy curses were preserved in the classic cult format (Tape – WolfKult Religion) in a strictly limited edition for certain sinister entities.
The necromantic profanation Spectral Oath was conceived in two curses, also in the classic cult format (Tape – Sounds of Satan Productions), a label belonging to our brother SW. It is a dark and evil work, and the aggressive and technical part to end the ritual is carried out by Spectrofilia, an entity of our brother WA, who is also in Oath of Malignacy, the result of an alliance of witchcraft and necromancy.
5. From the beginning, was Oath of Malignancy conceived as a purely artistic project, or also as a spiritual or ideological oath?
Oath of Malignacy is a spectral entity conjured under dark necromantic spells and under the witch’s eye in the deep catacombs, adding spells and curses through musical and spiritual art. Each identity is spiritual and witchcraft-like. We are a musical, spiritual, and ideological trilogy.
6. To what extent is your use of occultism literary and aesthetic, and to what extent is it practice or belief? Where do you draw the line between symbolism and action?
Everything is a perfect balance between the literary, which is the initiation to understanding the dimensions you want to project yourself into, discover or reach, but you are not going to become prey to fantasy if you do not do the work with practice. This is where we question ourselves: not everything that is written can give you the same result as the person who wrote the literary works or teachings. There is no single path to reach the end, Likewise, not everyone is psychologically and spiritually prepared to face the unknown, since nothing is free. Out there, entities older than time itself roam due to the irresponsibility of those who opened portals and could not close them. Knowledge is also madness. Everything must be done with prudence and stealth, for the mirage is deceptive and makes you create fantasies.
7. Is music, for you, a ritual in itself, or merely the vessel through which the ritual is carried?
Since we started composing, it has been a ritual; it’s a whole process of profane trance for each track made like a black pact. Each track represents a different ritual in which you are sonically immersed; you can hear the malevolent night as witches and demons rejoice.
8. Your sound carries a distinctly archaic atmosphere. Is this a conscious rejection of modernity, or simply the form that feels most truthful to you?
Yes, if it is the truest form and we reject the overproductions they make in these damn modern times, the real fucking way to make black metal is this.
9. What influence does Ecuador—historical, spiritual, or social—have on your work, even if it is not explicitly audible?
We do not leave aside our Ecuadorian roots; the current times in our country are as dark and violent as our music. The mysticism in our country is very rich, marked by nature, the sacred, and the invisible.
10. Do you consider yourselves part of a Latin American black metal identity, or is that categorization irrelevant—or even limiting—to you?
We are a circle of Latin American black metal, Australis Loxa Hermeticvn, and it has not been a limitation for us to work with foreign labels, nor for our music to remain stagnant, none of that.
11. Are there compromises you refuse on principle, even if they would bring greater visibility or growth for the band?
If we do what we are passionate about, we don’t try to be commercial, none of that interests us, it’s simply a conviction to the old dark and occult black metal!
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