On March 22, Cruz Del Sur Music will pair Finland’s CARDINALS FOLLY and Australia’s LUCIFER’S FALL together for a split of monolithic proportions.

Formed in 2007 in Helsinki, CARDINALS FOLLY has four full-lengths to its credit, including their most recent effort, 2017’s “Deranged Pagan Sons”. Releasing the split on vinyl was their primary reason for signing with Cruz Del Sur, not to mention their affinity for the label’s previous output. CARDINALS FOLLY’s three-song contribution features songs that expand upon the undeniably heavy and dark feel found on “Deranged Pagan Sons”.

“This time it felt inspiring to create a smaller release of just three song with a singular theme that remains basically the same throughout the release,” says bassist/vocalist Count Karnstein. It also features the Nordic mysticism in our music. We’ve had it before on few songs of our catalogue, but this time, it was given priority which was the knot we used to tie it all together. So, in a way, it came naturally through some of the stuff you hear on ‘Deranged Pagan Sons’, especially the last songs of that album, but I don’t see it as a new direction, but rather feeding more influence from a certain side of our music that was always there, but not so much present before.”

One of the secrets to CARDINALS FOLLY’s sound is their ability to avoid the traditional trappings of doom metal. The Finns, who played major festivals like Doom Over Vienna and Doom & Bloom in addition to trekking over to America for an appearance at the Doomed And Stoned festival, aren’t interested in long, laborious songs, nor are they afraid to incorporate influences from other forms of metal, in particular black metal, which Count Karnstein cites as a spiritual influence.

“We rely on showmanship, catchy songs, fearlessness a and ride-or-die attitude,” he says. “I am merely following the path set out to me by the bands that I used to look up to as a very young man and that doesn’t just include legends from the genre known as doom metal, but also BATHORY, VENOM, MERCYFUL FATE, IRON MAIDEN and JUDAS PRIEST. NWOBHM is a very important influence in our riffs, even if we don’t play that fast. I’m doing heavy metal in a way I see as true, and that doesn’t just mean the music, but also how to perform it and carry it forward. And that’s all you need, in my opinion.”

Hailing from Adelaide, LUCIFER’s FALL was formed in 2013 and have been prolific ever since. The band has released two full-lengths in addition to numerous demos, singles and splits, and were brought to the attention of Cruz Del Sur by CARDINALS FOLLY’s Count Karnstein. The band’s most recent album is 2016’s “II: “Cursed & Damned”.

According to vocalist Deceiver, the three songs LUCIFER’s FALL provided for the split were born out of simple band rehearsals, reflecting the lively and dynamic sound. “Heavy metal is just as important to us as doom,” he says. “This release leans more to the metal than the doom. There’s nothing really that slow this time around. We didn’t think too much. We just wanted to write some simple aggressive, catchy headbanging tunes.

“‘Die Witch Die’ is an anti-stoner rock song written in a stoner rock language. ‘Call Of The Wild’ is about a beast/man who escapes his tormentor, wreaks havoc on the moors and also on his master. ‘The Gates Of Hell’ is about an escaped lunatic searching for the gates of hell in the nearby woods. He rides through the imaginary gates and then hangs himself in disappointment.”

The band’s split with CARDINALS FOLLY will be preceded by demo compilation that includes rehearsals and live recordings that is due this December. They have also started writing for their third full-length album, “III: From The Deep”.

CARDINALS FOLLY/LUCIFER’s FALL split release track listing:

CARDINALS FOLLY:

1. Walvater Proclaimed
2. Spiritual North
3. Sworn Through Odin And Satan’s Blood

LUCIFER’s FALL:

1. Die Witch Die
2. Call Of The Wild
3. The Gates Of Hell