Doomed Confessionary: Anto, Florian, Christian & Gregory (Chorosia)
Photos by Martin Ramisu
Chorosia is a progressive/post-sludge metal band based Vienna, Austria. The band was founded in 2017 by Anto Pranjić (guitars/vocals), Florian Zeus (guitars), Christian Umkehrer (bass), and Gregory Reinig (drums).
Chorosia’s third studio endeavor, EP entitled »Stray Dogs«, deepens the experimental efforts. It’s a 35-minute prog/post-sludge odyssey that pushes the envelope of the genre. The band’s signature blend of compelling instrumentation and growling vocals consumes the listener by the raw power of its transformative intensity. »Stray Dogs« dropped on September 15th, 2023 via Grazil Records and Kvlt und Kaos Productions.
Can you say a few words about your band?
Chorosia is a band from Vienna, Austria and no one can really describe what we are, us included. People call us prog/sludge/doom/death/post/folk and everything in between, it’s best if you listen and decide for yourself. We got together in 2017 and have been dispatching a fair amount of decibels ever since. Just recently, we’ve released our latest studio effort, an EP called »Stray Dogs«. It’s available everywhere, so go check it out.
What was the biggest challenge for the band last year?
The biggest challenge for us last year was planning and organizing the whole release process for »Stray Dogs«. Even though it’s “only an EP” for us it’s a proper release and we wanted to give it as much attention and exposure as possible. So the tasks included everything from mixing, mastering, physical release prep, all the promotional activities, organizing a supporting tour, etc etc. It was a lot of work on a tight budget for a band our size, but we love it and we can’t wait to do it again.
What can you be most proud of last year?
Obvious answer: our new release »Stray Dogs«.
What was your biggest regret?
Not doing more gigs! We only did like 20 or so.
What was the best concert/tour last year and why?
The biggest concert we did last year was supporting Crowbar in Vienna. It’s the second time we opened for the heavyweight champions and although we thought we couldn’t possibly top the first time, we did. What an amazing gig it was! The best tour was the only tour we did last year. It was the “Stray Dogs Tour” with our buddies Thosar. We toured 4 countries within 9 or 10 days and it was the best thing ever.
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
Can’t really single out a single biggest surprise honestly. 2023 was a great year in heavy music with tons of great releases both mainstream and underground.
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
We sure hope to visit some places we did on tour soon again, other than that we’d love to come and do some shows in Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the surrounding area. Of course, we’ll most likely do some shows in Vienna, Graz, and some other Austrian cities as well in 2024. If you have something or know someone who could help us book some gigs anywhere, just drop us a line via chorosia.band@gmail.com. We always look forward to coming to new places and meeting new people.
What are your plans for this year as a band? What do you personally want the most?
We plan to start writing new stuff in 2024. Apart from shows and gigs mentioned previously, our biggest focus in 2024 will probably be writing new material.
How can people best support your band?
Buy stuff from Bandcamp and/or come to gigs and buy stuff there. We hate directly telling people to buy stuff, but if you feel like supporting us that’s the single best way to do it. Not sure if you heard, but Spotify just recently decided not to pay anything anyone with less than 1000 streams on their platform. So you can see how underground bands are being treated by the streaming services. And it’s not only Spotify, they’re all equally as bad. So yeah, the best way to support your favorite band is still the good old way of buying merch and coming to gigs.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
First of all, thank you all for your support. It keeps us going and it means a lot to us. Secondly, love and respect each other and have some fun. Be a free thinker and dig deeper.
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well