Name : FINIS GLORIA DEI

Country: FRANCE

Line-up :

Xaphan - Vocals
Black Christ - Guitars
Lenrauth - Rhythm guitar
Hayras - Bass

Biography :

FGD was created by Black Christ (guitar, BLESSED IN SIN), Xaphan (vocals, ex-SEIGNEUR VOLAND) and Lenrauth (ex-KRISTALLNACHT, DESOLATION TRIUMPHALIS, SEIGNEUR VOLAND) to play Black Metal paying tribute to BEHERIT, early SAMAEL, BESTIAL SUMMONING, BLASPHEMY, HELLHAMMER / CF etc... and to perform it in a totally improvised way in order to get an even more chaotic, primitive and raw touch thus following the same path as BESTIAL SUMMONING did themselves.
Beside, it’s no secret that especially Xaphan and Black Christ have always been big worshippers of old stuffs from BATHORY, CELTIC FROST / HELLHAMMER, early IMPALED NAZARENE, BEHERIT, SAMAEL, ABRUPTUM etc... so, the creation of such a band was just a matter of time and circumstances.
Conceptually, FGD is mainly the manifestation and exploration of the bestial, instinctive nature of Man under the sign of Satan.
When they entered the rehearsal room in November 2003 they had no riffs nor songs at all. They just started to play and recorded several improvised tracks during the very first gathering. Then, they listened to the tape at home and enjoyed the result. Therefore, the recording was made available and they decided to go on in the future. Then, they choose to use as band’s name an old BLESSED IN SIN track / intro called “Finis Gloria Dei” which means “the end of god’s glory”. A name that suits perfectly to the impious convictions of the members. This first reh demo was titled “In Tenebris”. 4 months later they met again, recorded and released a second reh demo “Consecration of the Horned God”. Both were spread to over 500 copies.
During Autumn 2005 / Winter 2006, the band recorded the debut album “Goat : Father of the New Flesh” with session drummers while Lenrauth became rhythm guitarist permanently.
This final result still presents an utterly ugly and old fashioned music as on the band’s previous releases but this time it shows more improvements and work when it comes to the sound, the atmosphere, vocals as well as on the structures & arrangements of the songs.
The LP version of “goat : father of the new flesh” was finally unleashed through W.T.C. (ger) in December 2006 and the CD version was released on AURA MYSTIQUE Prod in Spring 2007. The CD was supposed to come with a video clip for the song “l’Enfer de Bosch” but some pressing plants refused to handle the job because of the provocative, blasphemous & pornographic nature of the video. So, in order to avoid more useless delays, the band removed it and will include it on a compilation DVD featuring also video clips from BLESSED IN SIN, DESOLATION TRIUMPHALIS, HAYRAS , O.T.AL...
Since late 2006, FGD officially became a 5 members band with the addition of Hayras on bass and Totengraber on drums

Reviews :

FORGOTTEN PATH MAGAZINE (Lithuania) Rating: 7/10
I was quite surprised to find out that Finis Gloria Dei consists of the members from such bands, as Hayras, Funeral, Kristallnacht, Blessed in Sin, Desolation Triumphalis. Man, these are several of my most favourite outfits from France! And it was shocking that “Goat: Father of the new Flesh” is quite an uninteresting album for me, unfortunately...
First be sure that you will like this album but only after no less than three or four listenings. First time it would be just Satanic Thrash/Black. After the second time you will find something pretty interesting, like French mourning and black Mass. Some time later you will think “man, it’s cool”. That was my situation. Though I’m not very keen on this Thrash sound and mood, but I must concede – I really did enjoy the release for the moment. The most important reason – ideology. Pure Satanism, spells and witchery...
I can still complain about the musical side and I will. It lacks more Black Metal riffing and atmosphere, but for that reason the members have their other projects, don’t they? Nevertheless, this is the devil music, mostly fast and evil, dirty and imprecatory. A strong debut from the French Satanic Legions.

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http://www.livingformetal.com/ – 7/10
Finis Gloria Dei's, Goat: Father of The New Flesh is what I like to call bestial Black Metal. The sound is raw and flat, but the guitars and drums need to come through a little bit heavier and crushing. So the sound is some that does not take away from the album, but it takes a while to get used to and requires some time in the process. The line-up for Goat: Father of The New Flesh consist of Xaphan on Vocals, Black Christon guitars, Lenrauth on rhythm guitars, and Jean Philippeon session drums on all the tracks on the album except for L'enter de Bosch, which isby Rimmon and the lyrics for Goat: Father of The New Flesh are written in English and French.
In the future I will be paying close attention to Finis Gloria Dei, because within time the band is going to be at the head of Black Metal in France.

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Panzerfaust Magazine (Poland)
Album after an album I see AURA MYSTIQUE as very solid, improving label. I really liked some of their recent releases and this one surely is one of the most impressive. This is French band, which I haven’t heard about before, even though its musicians have played also in some other projects. Besides, this is just a debut CD, before that the band has recorded just a couple of demos, as far as I know. Anyway, we’ve got this album and I’m totally overwhelmed by its atmosphere. It’s really rare, when a band is able to create such diabolic, sinister and dark atmosphere on the album. FINIS GLORIA DEI managed to do it and also created really great music. Basically it’s traditional raw black metal, which has similarities to many cult acts like BEHERIT, ACHERON, when we have such tracks like “Sphinktes: Le Rite Oublié”: very grim, occult, with keyboards, but totally raw and malignant. And there’s even DARKTHRONE touch in brilliant, more guitar riffs oriented, “Behind the Rotting Sun of Human Desolation”, and classic SAMAEL-esque playing in “Buried God”. Basically most of “Goat: Father of the New Flesh” is about creating this grim mood, so the music is rather slow or mid paced tempos, with some intros in between to create even darker atmosphere. It’s full of hatred and primitivism, but it does work as hell ! 80 / 100

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http://www.ablazine.com/
Quand des membres de BLESSED IN SIN, SEIGNEUR VOLAND et DESOLATION TRIUMPHALIS se réunissent pour un projet musical, ça donne FINIS GLORIA DEI ! Après quelques démos, le groupe sort donc son premier album, au design déjà très évocateur... Auteur d’un Black Death primitif, bestial et old school à souhait dans la lignée de formations cultes type BLASPHEMY, BEHERIT, SARCOFAGO…, FINIS GLORIA DEI nous propose dix titres sombres sur fond de textes français et anglais, dans une ambiance messe noire pimentée de quelques influences Thrashy.
Bien que peu original et ultra dépouillé, l’album a au moins le mérite de se montrer efficace. Une bonne surprise!

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http://www.metal-observer.com/ – 8/10
France is not really a place associated with Metal in general and yet there are several top class Black Metal bands that call the French countryside home. ANOREXIA NERVOSA burst on to the scene after supporting CRADLE OF FILTH’s French Tour and since then, there has been a steady trickle of bands that have impressed but not left a mark. Enter FINIS GLORIA DEI.
The Frenchmen have a rather interesting style of Black Metal. They incorporate ambient sounds such as church bells and gushing wind effects whilst maintain the traditional approach laid down by DARKTHRONE. The vocals are distorted beyond the norms during certain sections of the songs, increasing the variety and reducing the typical monotonous drone which plague many bands in this genre. Time signature changes are frequent, mainly switching between ultra fast and slow chugging riffs which worked so well for DARKTHRONE. “L'Enfer De Bosch Part I - Mesnie Hellequin” and “L'Enfer De Bosch Part II - Gor Al: Phosphoros” are the most varied tracks and features all the elements mentioned above.
As catchy and innovative as one can be whilst remaining true to the original sound, FINIS GLORIA DEI have fallen short of the mark. The music just doesn’t grab you by the throat and the riffs make you sway from side to side instead of making you feel like lighting a fire to warm your body from the icy wind

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http://www.imm3moria.org/ - 87/100
La légendaire scène black toulonnaise n’est pas morte ! La preuve en est avec Finis Gloria Dei, le nouveau groupe de Xaphan et de Black Christ, figures emblématiques du black metal hexagonal. Kristallnacht, Seigneur Voland, Blessed in Sin et Desolation Triumphalis sont morts depuis un certain temps mais l’aura satanique créée par Xaphan, Black Christ et Lenrauth est toujours présente ! Nos trois guerriers malfaisants ont donc fondé Finis Gloria Dei afin de rendre gloire à Satan une fois de plus.
Sorti en 2006 chez Aura Mystique Productions (qui est à l’origine du succès de Seigneur Voland en Europe), « Goat : Father of the new Flesh » est leur premier opus et nous montre que les toulonnais sont toujours en pleine forme après tant d’années. Comprenant onze compositions diaboliques et blasphématoires, cet album reflète un black metal assez bien produit, mélodique et original. Les vocaux black / death de Xaphan sont impressionnants, donnant une ambiance ténébreuse à leur musique maléfique. Cette ambiance de rituels sataniques si effroyable est renforcée par des passages aux claviers atmosphériques et par des sons de cloche d’une église. Quant aux refrains, ils sont accrocheurs, personnels et parfois illustrés par des chœurs inquiétants. En outre, la présence d’une intro et outro symphoniques accentue le côté mélodique de l’album.
Représenté par un très bel artwork, « Goat : Father of the new Flesh » est un opus unique. Finis Gloria Dei a réussi à créer son propre style en alliant la mélodie avec le côté bestial et satanique des groupes de black old-school des années 80 et du début des années 90. Xaphan et ses sbires sont donc de retour avec un album excellent du début jusqu’à la fin. Les toulonnais ont encore frappé ! Félicitations !

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Sombres Baptêmes (France).
Me voici en possession du premier album d’un groupe qui réunit en son sein Xaphan, Lenrauth et Black Christ, sans oublier quelques guests (Rimmon et Rost, entre autres). Niveau livret, on change d’ambiance. Paroles en rouge sur fond noir, quelques illustrations discrètes, qui aèrent les pages, des photos et les inévitables « Concilium ». Des crânes, des chandeliers… on sait déjà que ce ne sera pas la musique à laquelle ils nous avaient habitués !!!! En effet, c’est dans un art beaucoup plus satanique, où la dévotion est palpable, que nous entraînent ces 10 morceaux ! L’intro est lourde, avec un côté malsain et stressant : excellent ! Même constat pour le premier titre, Sphinktes : Le Rite Oublié, si les riffs de guitares sont en général lents, l’ambiance n’en est pas moins lourde. La voix aide aussi, une voix grave et profonde, avec un côté bestial et démoniaque, qui diffère de ce qu’a pu faire Xaphan dans Seigneur Voland ! La basse est saturée elle aussi, ce qui donne un son bien corrosif lorsqu’on l’entend distinctement !!! Avec ça, il est évident que les influences ne seront pas les mêmes que pour Blessed in Sin… Nan, là il faut chercher dans les mi-80 et fin-80 pour trouver : Beherit, Samaël (old, bien entendu !!) et, exception, j’ai trouvé une ressemblance entre le titre Behind The Rotting Sun… et un certain Nattefrost !!! Rrhhaa, il y a même un solo, dans L’enfer de Bosch !! Bref, la musique est excellente, si ce n’est dans un ou deux passages, où des baisses de régime pourront se faire sentir, et entraîner une perte d’attention… Les paroles sont toujours aussi bien écrites, pratiquement toutes en français, bourrées de références historiques/théologiques… Quelques nappes de clavier, discrètes, viennent enrichir les compos. Un excellent album, pas d’hésitation.

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