Demonic Manifestation interview
Hi! Your last proper full-length came out in 2017, yet the band never really disappeared. Looking back now, what actually kept Demonic Manifestation alive during those years when there was almost no recorded output?
First of all, thank you very much for having us. It’s an honor to be part of Iron Backstage Zine and to talk about Demonic Manifestation and Grimshrine.
Yes, our previous full-length, Necrokult, came out in 2017. The long gap between that album and Grimshrine was the result of several circumstances rather than a single reason.
The biggest one was the pandemic. We already had ideas, demos, and plans for new material, but COVID completely disrupted the band’s momentum. Getting together for rehearsals became difficult, and since I’m also a physician working directly with COVID patients at the time, I had to be especially careful. Everyone in the band respected those precautions, so naturally the creative process slowed down.
On top of that, I went through knee surgery, which kept me away from rehearsals for quite a while. Every time it seemed like we were ready to move forward, another obstacle appeared.
At the same time, Enrique, Felipe, and I were deeply involved in other projects like Silent Tombs, altumtenebris, and Noxifer. I also spent some time recording vocal tracks for Ravenous Death. As live activity gradually returned across the country, we focused on getting back on stage while adapting to the new normal. Like most underground musicians, we all have jobs and responsibilities outside the band, and those always come first. Balancing our careers, personal lives, rehearsals, live shows, and our other musical projects naturally meant that Grimshrine took longer to complete than we originally expected.
But the band never stopped. We kept playing live whenever possible, continued writing music, and stayed active. Demonic Manifestation was never close to disappearing. The machine never stopped running—it was simply waiting for the right moment to strike again.
The Swedish death metal influence is obvious, but there's a difference between borrowing a sound and understanding why those records still matter. What do you think most modern bands misunderstand about the early Dismember, Grave, or Entombed era?
I think many bands confuse the sound with the essence. They believe that an HM-2 pedal and a dirty guitar tone are enough to capture the spirit of those classic records. But those albums have endured for much deeper reasons than their production.
What made bands like Dismember, Grave, and Entombed timeless was their honesty, their identity, and the strength of their songwriting. They weren’t trying to become “old school”—they were simply creating music that felt real.
Today there’s often a huge focus on technical ability. Faster, more complex, more virtuosic. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I don’t think that’s what made those albums unforgettable.
Some of the most crushing riffs ever written are actually very simple. The difference is that they have personality, atmosphere, and emotion. Every riff feels like it belongs exactly where it is.
That’s the lesson we’ve always tried to take from those bands. Not to copy their sound, but to understand their spirit. We respect that legacy enormously, but our goal has always been to create music that sounds like Demonic Manifestation—not like anyone else.
Grimshrine immediately feels darker and more focused than your previous work. Was that evolution intentional, or simply the result of the people you are today?
I think it’s simply the result of who we are today, both as musicians and as people. It wasn’t a conscious decision to make a darker album. That’s just where Demonic Manifestation naturally evolved.
Personally, I’ve always been fascinated by occultism, horror, cosmic horror, and everything that creates an unsettling atmosphere. Those interests have always influenced my lyrics and the imagery surrounding the band.
So I wouldn’t call Grimshrine a reinvention. I’d say it’s the album where our identity became the clearest. Every release has brought us closer to what Demonic Manifestation was always meant to be, and this record feels like the most honest representation of that vision.
The new lineup reduced the band to a power trio. Did having fewer people involved simplify the creative process, or did it place even more responsibility on each member?
Not really. The creative process didn’t change because the band’s musical foundation has always been built mainly by Enrique Fray and myself.
We’ve had different bass players throughout the years, and every one of them contributed in their own way, especially in the live setting. But when it comes to songwriting, arrangements, and the overall direction of the band, that dynamic has remained the same from the beginning.
So becoming a trio didn’t really add pressure or simplify anything. It simply reflected the way Demonic Manifestation has always worked. Enrique and I understand each other creatively, and over the years we’ve developed a workflow that feels completely natural.
At the end of the day, the lineup changed, but the identity of the band never did.
Your music has always favored atmosphere over technical exhibitionism. Have you ever discarded impressive riffs simply because they sounded too clever for the spirit of the band?
Not at all.
Most of the musical foundation is written by Enrique Fray, and once he brings a song to rehearsal, that’s where we all start shaping it. We refine the arrangements, adjust the transitions, and make sure every section serves the song rather than competing for attention.
We’ve never rejected a riff because it was too technical or too simple. The only question we ask is whether it belongs in the song.
For us, the song always comes first. We don’t write music to impress other musicians or to show what we can do technically. We write the kind of songs that we genuinely enjoy playing over and over again. If we still feel excited about a song after months of rehearsing it, then we know we’re on the right path.
Whether a riff is incredibly simple or technically demanding doesn’t really matter. What matters is whether it helps tell the story the song is trying to tell.
Death metal often celebrates decay, horror, and violence, but Grimshrine also has an almost ritualistic atmosphere. Were you consciously trying to build a world around the songs rather than just writing individual tracks?
Absolutely.
I wouldn’t call Grimshrine a traditional concept album, but every song belongs to the same world. They all share the same atmosphere and the same spirit.
That’s always been part of the way we build our albums. World of Horror, Necrokult, and now Grimshrine each revolve around a central identity rather than just being collections of songs.
With Grimshrine, that idea became much clearer. Even the title represents a place—a dark sanctuary, an ancient shrine where all those stories converge.
That’s where my role in the band comes in. Enrique creates the musical foundation, while I build everything that surrounds it: the lyrics, the imagery, the atmosphere, and the entire dark universe that gives those songs their identity.
I’ve always been inspired by occultism, horror literature, cosmic horror, and classic horror films from the ’70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s. Those influences aren’t there just for aesthetics—they’re part of the emotional language of the album.
So yes, Grimshrine was consciously built as a world. I wanted it to feel like opening an old grimoire, watching a forgotten cult horror film, or stepping into a place that feels both mysterious and familiar.
Mexico has produced an incredible number of killer extreme metal bands over the decades, yet the international spotlight rarely stays there for long. From your perspective, what makes the Mexican underground unique?
I think what makes the Mexican underground unique is its honesty.
Extreme metal isn’t something most musicians in Mexico can make a living from. We all have jobs, professions, or play other kinds of music to support ourselves. We do this because we love it, not because we expect fame or financial success.
That changes your perspective.
When someone spends months writing an album, rehearsing, recording, and traveling long distances just to play a show, they’re doing it because they truly believe in their music.
At the same time, we live in an era where visibility is often confused with artistic value. Social media can make a band look huge overnight, but likes don’t define the quality of music. Time does.
I grew up trading cassette tapes, searching for obscure records, discovering bands through fanzines and word of mouth. For me, metal has always been much more than entertainment. It’s part of who I am.
That’s why I believe the greatest strength of the Mexican underground is its passion. Most of us know this music will probably never make us rich, yet we keep creating because we simply can’t imagine our lives without it.
Many listeners describe Swedish death metal as "chainsaw riffs", but the classic albums also relied heavily on memorable songwriting. When composing, do you think more about individual riffs or about how an entire song will survive repeated listens?
For us, it’s always about the song as a whole.
A great riff might catch your attention, but it’s never the reason a song stays with you. What really matters is whether the entire composition still feels alive after you’ve heard it—or played it—countless times.
We don’t sit down wondering what people expect to hear or what kind of riff will get the biggest reaction. We focus on creating songs that we genuinely enjoy playing. If we don’t believe in the music ourselves, there’s no reason to expect anyone else to.
Ironically, I think that’s exactly what gives a song the best chance of lasting. When the music comes from an honest place instead of chasing expectations, it tends to stay with people much longer.
After nearly fifteen years as a band, what have you become less interested in proving?
At this point, I don’t feel the need to prove anything.
Enrique and I have been playing together since 2001. We grew up in the black metal underground, and that scene shaped us in many ways—not only as musicians, but as people. Like many young musicians, we embraced ideas and philosophies that were intense, dark, and sometimes deeply nihilistic. Looking back, those years became an important part of our personal growth, even though life eventually gives you a broader perspective.
Because of that, none of our bands—including Demonic Manifestation—were ever created to chase fame, recognition, or attention. We simply wanted to make the music we believed in. That has always been enough for us.
Today, we’re all in our forties. We have careers, families, responsibilities, and decades of experience behind us. Time, experience, and everything we’ve lived through have only reinforced our belief that success isn’t about becoming rock stars or following trends. It’s about creating music we can stand behind and still be proud of years from now.
I can’t speak for anyone else’s personal motivations, but for Enrique and me, Demonic Manifestation was born from conviction, not ambition.
I’ve also come to realize that darkness isn’t something exclusive to extreme metal—it’s part of the human condition. Our music is simply another way of exploring it.
Personal Records has quietly assembled a roster full of bands dedicated to classic death metal. What made them the right home for Grimshrine?
This is actually our second collaboration with Personal Records, since they also released Mourning Hymns from Beyond by Silent Tombs.
Working with Jacobo Cordova has always been a great experience. He’s professional, honest, and, most importantly, he truly believes in the music he releases. That kind of trust is hard to find.
By the time we approached Personal Records, Grimshrine was already finished. Jacobo believed in the album exactly as we presented it. He never asked us to rewrite songs, change the production, or reshape the record in any way. He trusted our vision completely, and that’s something we truly appreciate.
To us, that’s exactly what an underground label should be: people who support the music because they genuinely believe in it, not because they want to reshape it into something else. That’s why Personal Records felt like the right home for Grimshrine.
Is there a particular horror film, novel, or historical event that directly shaped the mood of Grimshrine, even if listeners might never recognize the reference?
There isn’t a single source that defines Grimshrine. It’s really a combination of many different influences.
I’ve always been drawn to classic horror films, occult traditions, dark literature, and especially cosmic horror. Those ideas have fascinated me for years, and they naturally find their way into my lyrics.
I prefer not to reveal specific references because I enjoy leaving those connections open to the listener’s imagination. Sometimes a single image, a forgotten legend, or the atmosphere of an old film can inspire an entire song without being directly quoted.
For me, it’s never about retelling someone else’s story. It’s about capturing a feeling and transforming it into something that becomes part of Demonic Manifestation’s own world.
Imagine someone discovers Demonic Manifestation twenty years from now without knowing anything about the current underground. Which album would you want them to hear first - and why not the others?
I’d probably tell them to start with Grimshrine.
Not because it’s our newest album, but because I believe it’s the one where Demonic Manifestation finally found its own voice.
Our roots are deeply planted in extreme metal. Death metal, black metal, doom metal, horror, and everything that has inspired us over the years is still there. But instead of simply paying tribute to those influences, we wanted to forge something that felt unmistakably like Demonic Manifestation.
That doesn’t mean our previous albums are less important. World of Horror and Necrokult are essential chapters in our history, and I’m still proud of both of them. They show where we came from and how our sound evolved.
But if someone wanted to understand who we are today, Grimshrine is the album I’d hand them first.
Thanks to Iron Backstage Zine for having us. We hope you enjoy Grimshrine, and thanks to everyone who continues to support the underground. See you on the road.