Exclusive: Fórn Break Down the Doom in Their New Album Repercussions of the Self

Among the new albums to come out recently, one of the more interesting offerings that you should absolutely check out is Repercussions of the Self, the latest from the self-proclaimed pioneers of “funeral sludge,” Fórn. This will be the Boston-based band’s third full-length release since forming in 2012 and their first new release since 2018’s Rites of Despair.

If you’re a fan of the dark and murky sounds that come from the thick molasses mixture of sludge and funeral doom, you’re going to enjoy the fuck out of this.

To help explain the themes and thought behind each song, we asked Fórn guitarist Joey Gonzalez, bassist Brian Barbaruolo, and vocalist/synth lord Lane Shi Otayonii to break it all down for us. Ever the gracious purveyors of doom, they obliged and that’s exactly what we have for you below.

Fórn’s Repercussions of the Self is out now. You can pick up your copy directly from Persistent Vision.

Pact of Forgetting

Joey Gonzalez: The opening tracks for all of our albums have historically and thematically been a mood-setting “overture” of sorts for our records. I think “Pact of Forgetting” does a very good job of setting expectations for this album, Repercussions of the Self. It encapsulates the new cinematic elements we’re introducing but still delivers on that insanely heavy, overwhelming wall of sound.

Brian Barbaruolo: We always intended to incorporate programmed, electronic elements into our music; on prior records this was usually done on what we called “interlude tracks”. However, on this album these elements are intentionally much more at the forefront of the music, as the listener will hear.

Soul Shadow

Joey Gonzalez: This was the very first song I wrote following the death of my father. To the best of my ability, it encapsulates the complicated relationship we had throughout our lives and the constant struggle between cherishing and memorializing the good while painfully acknowledging the bad. The song is, to me, incredibly mournful; but somewhere in the process I found peace, and I hope that rings true, too.

Hela’s Choir

Joey Gonzalez: This was the track that I initially asked Lane Shi Otayonii to collaborate on when writing the record; what she recorded and sent became the catalyst for asking her to join Fórn as an official member. Her contributions to this record elevate each piece in surreal ways and this track is no exception.

Anamnesis

Joey Gonzalez: The main riff from this song is actually a really ancient riff I’d been holding onto for a long time. There were many iterations before we ended up here but in my mind this song is a mash-up of NIN and Godflesh, written through our lens.

Brian Barbaruolo: Fun fact, I play guitar on this track, the recording of which started with me just playing the intro riff solo for about 30 minutes non-stop.

Regrets Abyss

Joey Gonzalez: This song was written during the peak of covid, when tensions in this country were seemingly at a boiling point. Injustice was, and still is, rampant and repugnant. However, there was also a level of community organizing and outreach happening across the country that was very inspiring; this song tries to capture both sides of that coin. The immense anger and pain and sorrow from that injustice, but also the spark that ignited people to organize, stand together, march and protest against institutionalized violence and oppression.

Brian Barbaruolo: To me, this track is peak Fórn. ~9 minutes of a hybrid cocktail containing death-tinged heavy doom, a mid-tempo sludge/stoner riff, a soaring, guitar-lead driven melodic peak into a quick, palm-muted breakdown; all culminating with a psychedelic, 2000’s screamo-influenced outro. All of our favorite genres mixed into one track.

Dreams of the Blood

Joey Gonzalez: This is another song that had many variations before we landed on this final version. I knew when writing that I was writing the closing track for the record so I wanted it to be over-the-top big, but I also knew it needed to encapsulate and tie together all of the motifs from this record. I think it is the song that best represents the vision of this record as a whole.

Lane Shi Otayonii: The lyrics are about my American dream as a Chinese immigrant, coming to the US alone when I was 16 years old. Unfolding great memories and also dark ones, such as the discovery of racism. It’s safe to say my political fantasy was burst like a bubble full of blood.