Sight of Emptiness
Formed: 2005
From:
Costa Rica
Last Known Status: Active
Latest Sight of Emptiness News
Below is our complete Sight of Emptiness news coverage, including columns and articles pertaining to the band. Some articles listed may be indirectly related, such as side projects of the band members, etc.
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Column
Unearthing The Metal Underground In Costa Rica
Many years ago, I grew up and graduated from High School in this small Central American country. Nestled between the political hotbeds of Nicaragua and Panama, Costa Rica has maintained it's status as a democratic bastion while it's neighbors are plagued by coup'd'etats and upheaval. Only a couple hours either way from the capital city of San Jose to both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, Costa Rica has the ideal party atmosphere. The breathtaking beauty of the country coupled with the cultural tolerance they exhibit has awakened a phenomena in the metal scene.
Back in the old times, Costa Ricans ("Ticos" - as they are referred as) would clamor to several AOR stations to listen to Budgie or Judas Priest, or be found in a downtown bar shooting darts to Saxon. Yes, the Ticos love their metal every bit as much as any salsa or folklorico music. Nowadays they have definitely evolved with the times and share plenty of love for foreign metal and all things imported. Restrictions are not so hard on entrance visas to foreign musicians hereby opening the floodgates to plenty of stellar international talent. Big name acts are a monthly thing now, especially since Costa Ricans have a good standard of living and can afford to buy tickets and fill the clubs. Bookings into such venues as Pepper's Disco Club and a whole host of local bars is routine.
Back in the 80's, I had only seen Santana and Sting ever come down and perform. Since Iron Maiden played in 2008, visits from such luminaries as Anthrax, Moonspell, Therion and countless others ( Slayer this June) are now the norm. In fact, Marduk raised the hairs on the Catholic Church's neck with their visit last July. But even the priests are of a gentle nature in Costa Rica. "Don't use religious artifacts in an obscene manner on stage," implored a local monsignor.
Perhaps the godfathers of the local scene, a lot of credit must be given to Mantra. Formed nearly twenty years ago, these guys made so much possible for the younger crop of Tico musicians. Their 2003 release "Creature" marked the zenith of their creative career, spawning a couple of classic local death thrash songs. Unlike their younger counterparts, Mantra preferred to sing in Spanish and continue to do so. Nowadays, as with many bands that have been around for a long time, they have changed members and their style of metal a bit frequently. To listen to the classic track "El Ojo de Dios" from Mantra, click here.
Similar respect must be given to Sight of Emptiness who brought Costa Rican metal to the forefront with their win at the UK Open Air Bloodstock festival in 2007. They are usually the opener for most of the international acts that come, and we have posted plenty of news articles and videos about them in the past five years. If you are not familiar with their melodic techno thrash sound, listen to the video for "Desolation Whispers" here. Last week they were one of 27 bands to inaugurate the new National Soccer Stadium.
In January, the Documentary "Heavy Metal 506" was produced, showcasing the talents of Costa Rica's heavy hitters in the metal scene. (The title, incidentally, gets it's name from Costa Rica's country calling code). You can listen to the trailer right here. Also, the four part compilation "Costa Rican Metal" includes twenty bands from genres ranging from commerical metal, symphonic black metal, demonic thrash, brutal death and atmospheric. The first part has links to the other three parts and can be listened to here. Today we will take a look at a few of the bands that are also stirring up the Costa Rican scene.
Advent of Bedlam
You may have heard of Advent of Bedlam, who hail from the town of Heredia, or as they have called it before, "Hell-redia," by their previous name. Together over a decade, they used to be known as December's Cold Winter. Under that name, they put out some nice symphonic black metal and an album of enjoyable tunes. Deciding to go for a more blackened thrash sound, they changed their name to Advent of Bedlam a couple of years ago and have contined to receive great mentions, attaining an ACAM Award Songwriter of the Year nomination and a win for their "Ablaze all Shrines" LP. Their song "Manipulating Human Emotions" also appeared in Zero Tolerance Magazine's covermount CD. They produced their whole new album themselves, since the average Latino producer possibly wouldn't understand where they were coming from. Check out the new one from their "Behold the Chaos" album below, along with a few others.
Advent of Bedlam - "The Stench of Your Faith"
Advent of Bedlam - "The Darkest Alliance"
December's Cold Winter - "The Alabaster Corpse"
More...
Sight Of Emptiness Posts "Burning Silence" Video
"Burning Silence," the new video from Costa Rica-based melodic extreme metal band Sight of Emptiness, can be viewed below. The clip was filmed in front of 15,000 metal fans as Sight Of Emptiness opened for Megadeth at Autodromo La Guacima in San Jose, Costa Rica.
Sight of Emptiness Posts New Album Teaser Online
Sight of Emptiness has posted a video teaser for their 2010 studio album, "Absolution of Humanity," which can be viewed below:
Sight of Emptiness Posts New Music Video Online
"Faceless Dream," the new video from Costa Rica-based melodic extreme metal band SIGHT OF EMPTINESS, can be viewed below. The clip was directed by Sergio Gutierrez and produced by Fernando Fonseca. The song comes off the band's second studio album, "Absolution of Humanity," which is expected to be released late February/early March 2010.
Sight of Emptiness - Faceless Dream from Sight of Emptiness on Vimeo.
More...Sight Of Emptiness Announces New Album Details
Costa Rica-based melodic extreme metal band Sight of Emptiness has tapped Jens Bogren of Örebro, Sweden's Fascination Street Studios to master the band's upcoming second album, "Absolution of Humanity." The band issued the following announcement about the album:
"Having Jens Bogren working on our new album is unreal. He is responsible for numerous masterpieces: Opeth's 'Watershed', Amon Amarth's 'Twilight of the Thunder God' and Katatonia's 'The Great Cold Distance'. Having him on board makes us a lot more excited about our new creation; you can't go wrong with a guy like this. We gave him the green light and he is doing an awesome job; we love this guy already. He is a perfectionist and an honest and humble lad.
"Combining aggressive riffs reminiscent of At The Gates, with melodies similar to In Flames, and the tight structures of The Black Dahlia Murder, with a fresh Costa Rican twist of flavor you won't find anywhere else. The new album from Sight Of Emptiness will appeal to fans of all forms of extreme and melodic metal."
The "Absolution of Humanity" track listing will be as follows:
1. Predictable Tragedy
2. Infected
3. Faceless Dream
4. Witness of your Murder
5. Funeral March
6. The Art of Suffering
7. Judge me today...Die Tomorrow
8. Absolution of Humanity
9. Burning Silence
Sight of Emptiness Post New Music Video Online
"Wall of Pain", the new video from Costa Rican metallers SIGHT OF EMPTINESS, can be viewed here. The clip was filmed by Niclas Swanlund during SIGHT OF EMPTINESS' performance on the main stage at last year's Bloodstock Open Air festival.
SIGHT OF EMPTINESS has written nine songs for the follow-up to 2007's "Trust is a Disease" and expects to enter the studio shortly to begin recording the effort for a late 2008 release.
Labels interested in releasing the new album or signing the band can contact SIGHT OF EMPTINESS at eduardochz@gmail.com. More...
Sight of Emptiness Post New Song Online
Costa Rica-based melodic death metallers SIGHT OF EMPTINESS have uploaded a track from their upcoming debut album, "Trust is a Disease". Check out the song "In Death State" at this location.
SIGHT OF EMPTINESS cites its influences as DIMENSION ZERO, AT THE GATES, DARK TRANQUILLITY, IMPIOUS and THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, among others.
SIGHT OF EMPTINESS is:
Roberth - Guitar
Diego - Bass
Max - Guitar
Rodrigo - Drums
Eduardo a.k.a "Filthy" - Vocals