BUSKAS, a bass-and-drum duo formed by Asbear and Romain in the summer of 2022, hits hard with their dense mix of tribal rhythms and raw fuzz, pulling listeners into an abyss lined with the thundering depths of sludge and doom.
Since their start, BUSKAS has made waves in the underground scene, performing at Oslo’s Helix Music Festival, the grungy Club Vriompeis at DUNK, and Høstsabbat, along with stops in Bergen and Copenhagen. Their debut album, brought to life on vinyl through Denmark’s Vinylltroll Records and released on vintage cassette by Norway’s Evil Noise Recordings, is a dive into the mysticism and darkness that defines their approach to this niche of metal.
The band describes their music as “haunting noises from the depths of our soul,” combining a fierce love for the heavy and the mystical.
BUSKAS drags you in like some overgrown swamp in the heart of a black forest. With each step, you feel the vines wrapping around you, like the trees themselves are intent on keeping you there. Thick, muddy, crawling through the darkness—slowly, steadily, it consumes you, leaving no way out.
The album artwork, created by Thomas Moe Ellefsrud of Hypnotist Design, corresponds with this feel and encapsulates the supernatural aura BUSKAS strives for, blending human nature with the enigmatic. “We wanted the album to have a greenish color to suit our sound,” they explain, crediting engineer Jørgen Øiseth Berg for capturing their live essence at Taakeheimen Studio in Oslo.
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Each track explores a different theme, often intertwined with personal and existential reflections. The intro, “Birthling,” serves as a tribute to their supporters, symbolizing a collective outpouring of love. “Our music is all about love and spirituality,” they say, grounding the album in a core of connection.
“Totems,” the second track, is one of their oldest creations, dating back to a previous project in 2016. The band admits the track “doesn’t mean anything,” but that void, that hollow feeling, underscores the darker side of their music. It echoes the elusive question: “What’s the meaning of it all?”
“Desiderium,” another long-held track, takes on a raw, mantra-like form with the refrain “How do you feel?” The band explains, “It’s something you have to tell yourself every day…to not escape your feelings but rather embrace them.” The song becomes a brutal confrontation for the band, a ritual to confront unresolved emotions.
In “Hail the Mage,” BUSKAS offers a straightforward homage to the magic of the riff. Set in a mystical world, it celebrates the creative process, “a wizard in a tower” conjuring spells—a reflection of their dedication to their craft. “Pillar of Souls” veers into a more grounded but combative theme: the struggle for authenticity in a world bent on conformity. It’s a call to arms against the forces that obscure individuality and the constant fight to keep the inner light alive.
Closing the album is “Old Path,” an outro that loops back to the cyclical nature of existence. For BUSKAS, this track signifies “the path our ancestors have gone through…something we are bound to repeat.”
BUSKAS journey hasn’t been without hardship. The past year saw both members enduring personal upheavals, breakups, and losses. “It’s like we’re struggling to hold it together to be honest,” they admit, “but we try. We kinda don’t have any other choice if you know what I mean.” Despite it all, the duo has found purpose in their sound, an outlet that resonates with an audience drawn to the dark, the heavy, and the mystical.
