INTERVIEW: Rancorum on Their Brutal Sound, Creative Process, and Upcoming Performance at Spears of Wallachia Festival

Rancorum has solidified its presence in Romania’s death metal scene with a sound that fuses old-school intensity with a forward-thinking edge. Known for tackling intense themes in their album “The Vermin Shrine“, the band brings a raw, unfiltered approach to the genre. Ahead of their performance at Spears of Wallachia Festival, we had the chance to talk with the band members about their journey, creative process, and what fans can expect from their powerful live shows.

The official logo of the band
© Rancorum

DinÎntunerec: Greetings, it’s a pleasure to have you with us today! Can you start by sharing the story behind the formation of Rancorum and what inspired you to establish the band back in 2014?

Rancorum: 2014 was the year when jamming between a guitar and drums begun and the initial point was to be part of the new wave of old school death metal from 2010’s. It took some time to find the right line-up, but the first songs were being worked on since 2016 and constantly refined. When the band felt completed with Liviu, Tiberiu and Călin, most of the music was already written and was just in time to add the finishing touches for “The Vermin Shrine“.

DinÎntunerec: How would you describe your sound and vision within the death metal genre, particularly in contrast to the metal scene in Romania?

Rancorum: We don’t like to force ourselves into one particular subgenre of death metal. From its inception Rancorum was meant to avoid nominal tags. It’s true that we have a lot of old school death metal elements on “The Vermin Shrine”, things that we intend to keep on the future release from which you will hear a few songs live. However all of us in the band like to explore different soundscapes and Rancorum is a band that will always try to do new things with each song. This is why we have a large variety in the music that we write. Some songs are fast, some are slow, some are sludgly, some more thrash sounding, but overall they are all Rancorum.

DinÎntunerec: Could you tell us about your creative process, like how does Rancorum typically approach writing and recording new material?

Rancorum: Most of the stuff we write starts with a couple of complementary riffs in the rehearsal studio and looking to do something we didn’t have done yet in terms of structure, time measure or overall feeling. We keep playing it and refining by trial and error scheme until we are satisfied with the flow of it. And when we have piled up some good songs, we enter the studio for recordings.

DinÎntunerec: Your latest album, “The Vermin Shrine”, delves into intense themes and atmospheres. What were some of the main inspirations behind this album?

Rancorum: That is true, we do explore some intense themes. It doesn’t have one particular underlying theme though. Some songs are about corrupt religious institutions, some about the dialectic of Hegel, in others we go into social upheaval and how sometimes revolutions who tend to be very optimistic can turn out very bad. In our country we saw how the price for freedom was bought with blood, with results being more or less positive. However in other cases we see how they can turn terribly wrong such in the case of the French Revolution that devolved into a reign of terror, same for the Russian Revolution that toppled an oppressive imperial regime only to have it replaced by even a more oppressive and destructive system.

DinÎntunerec: The title track, “The Vermin Shrine” has a lengthy and intense build-up. How did this song come together, and what does it signify for you?

Rancorum: The build-up came natural actually. We had a solid structure, but always felt we can add more to it. This is how it ended up being so long. Thematically, we go into the worship of evil and perversion masked under a false pretence of holiness. You often find that people who present to be such moral paragons have some nasty skeletons in their closets. We have sort of a part 2 to this song on the next album, a track that we will play live in our next shows.

DinÎntunerec: “Voidification” was the first track you shared with the world. How does it feel to look back on that release, and what memories do you associate with it?

Rancorum: We were certain very eager to share a track with the friends and families which saw us so much in rehearsals and also with the world around. With almost no activity on social media in pre-release time, we were grateful to receive a good chunk of positive thoughts about it.

DinÎntunerec: The lyrics of the aforementioned track include vivid imagery like “Walls and streets and skies filled with glass/ Dimensions and lines guiding the mass/ Among shadows we enter the night/ Leaving an ember of a promise behind”. What do these lines represent to you, and how do they tie into the song’s overall message?

Rancorum: The lyrics are from “Voidification” track and the whole idea relies on the heterotopia concept of the French philosopher Michel Foucault, as we are shaped by the space around us but the human nature always finds a way to break this chain reaction.

DinÎntunerec: Yeah. The concept of “heterotopias” in “Voidification” feels very symbolic. How do you interpret this idea, and what does it bring to the themes of the album?

Rancorum: There’s six themes in our first album, one for each track, altogether forming a little anthology of unsettled itches from our reality. Foucault came with this concept about space, of worlds within worlds, mirroring what’s outside and also what’s inside, with an upsetting feel. And in a deep meaning we choose to have these lyrics about spaces mirroring ourselves and vice versa, spaces that shape our inner core, and once we perceive them, we can walk the straight line of our thoughts.

DinÎntunerec: Another powerful track, “The Shining” explores themes of possession and obsession. Could you elaborate on the song’s message and what you hoped listeners might take away from it?

Rancorum: “The Shining” is probably our most straightforward song on the album. Of course, it’s about greed and how obsessing over material wealth ultimately is pointless. Our mortality wipes the slate clean and you are reduced to zero. But there’s this shining of being complete with all you got and for some of us nothing else matters.

DinÎntunerec: Lines in “The Shining” like “You are enslaved by the delusion of shining” are striking. How does this concept of “shining” reflect modern society’s struggles with materialism?

Rancorum: Obviously, we live in a very materialistic society. It’s, sometimes, hard to focus on other things that are more important when you are bombarded with advertising and manufactured desires for frivolities. It’s all illusory.

DinÎntunerec: You’ve almost finished your second album, and you are one of the few local ambassadors of death metal in its established forms. What can you tell us about this upcoming album, and how will it differ from the first, considering the new line-up you’ll be recording with?

Rancorum: The upcoming album brings more complexity of our sound. The arrival of Alex, John and Davu gave us some fresh inspiration to work with. I would say the album is more atmospheric but also more intense, since we can now write more intricate songs. I would say it’s definitely something to get excited about!

Rancorum
© The band’s photo archive

DinÎntunerec: We are already excited about that! But, hey, as a band with roots in Bucharest, how has the Romanian metal scene influenced Rancorum, and what is your place within it?

Rancorum: We are happy to be part of the scene and noticed that lately some bands appeared that decided to play this genre which is great. We don’t see ourselves being too influenced by what other bands are doing though.

DinÎntunerec: You have signed with Loud Rage Music. How has working with them shaped the direction of Rancorum and what has your experience been with them as a label?

Rancorum: It’s a great collaboration so far. It’s awesome that we have passionate people like Adrian from Loud Rage Music to carry the torch for extreme metal bands in our country. We know its tough for many bands to find help and theirs was much appreciated.

DinÎntunerec: Shall we talk about performances as well? Let’s! So… you performed at Dark City Nights on March 30, 2024, at fabrica—a highly anticipated event. What were some of the standout moments for you during the show?

Rancorum: For us it was playing “Blizzard of Ashes” for the first time. It was awesome because the new songs, such as this were a collaborative effort from all the members of the band. It’s a sign of things to come. Rancorum is a much more well integrated group now than we were before. And of course, being part of a metal marathon was something very special.

DinÎntunerec: Were there any tracks you particularly enjoyed playing that night?

Rancorum: All of them really! But “Endless Rift” stands out because that’s when the public started moshing.

DinÎntunerec: You’re set to perform at Spears of Wallachia 2024, a new festival in Quantic, Bucharest set for 8 and 9 November. What are your thoughts on this upcoming event, and what can fans expect from your performance?

Rancorum: We are really glad to share the stage with other talented musicians, including Akral Necrosis who extended their invitation for us to perform. We are upgrading some technical aspects with this occasion and hopefully we and the fans alike will experience a very good show.

Spears of Wallachia Festival
© Cavalleria Events

DinÎntunerec: Which songs are you most eager to perform at this festival?

Rancorum: For us it’s always the new songs. And we have a new one that we’ll be playing live for the first time. It’s going to be fast and straight to the jugular vein!

DinÎntunerec: Finally, what message would you like to share with your fans—, is there anything you’d like them to know or feel as they experience your music?

Rancorum: Thank you for coming to our shows and supporting us! It means a lot to us and keeps us going to make more brutal music!