Doomed Confessionary: Beatriz Onyx (Cruzeiro)
Cruzeiro is a stoner/doom metal band from A Coruña, Spain. Founded in 2019, the band consists of Beatriz Onyx on vocals, Gon. B on guitar, Raposa! on bass and Rust on drums.
2024 was a busy year for Cruzeiro. The Galicians put their intense live activity on hold for a while, and after releasing a split with the Italian band Stryx, they focused on creating their new album »Hic Sunt Dracones«.
If their eponymous debut full-length album already caused a sensation, Cruzeiro stand out in their second work as absolute masters of tempo and the magnificent spells of doom metal. Subject to the Beatriz Onyx witchery, the sorceress who commands this quartet from the micro, all the instruments shine here with their own light. Rust’s ample and generous drums, Gon. B’s versatile guitars and solos and, of course, Raposa!’s bass, crafted with care and engulfing the whole work with its mastery.
The band showed a creative and instrumental maturity out of the ordinary on their first album, and this time, starting from numerous themes and sources that go from the influence of characters such as the religious Hildegard von Bingen or Francisco de Goya, they build an even more solid, dynamic, and impacting work.
»Hic Sunt Dracones« was released on March 26th, 2025 via Interstellar Smoke Records, Vertebrae Records, La Rubia Producciones & Doomshire Tapes.
Can you say a few words about your band?
Hello, this is Cruzeiro, a doom metal band from the northwest of Spain (Galicia). We greet you and would like to introduce our second album, which we are very excited to be able to present on stage in a few days.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
Making a second album has been a crazy thing to do. It’s never easy given the personal circumstances of each member. But in our case, our bassist lives on the other side of the country and is actually in the US right now until the end of summer. We’ve had to ask a friend from our town for help to cover the album’s launch concerts and this is one big challenge to face.
What can you be most proud of so far?
From the effort to do what we want and be persistent, and above all, enjoy it.
Our first album was better received than we could have ever expected, and that also makes us proud and motivated to always give something more.
What was your biggest regret?
Actually, although we were working on many things, there were moments in which we now realize we lost a lot of long-term focus. It’s not a dramatic regret but maybe we have to try to do better.
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
There are a few, but perhaps the best so far was in Barcelona on January 6, 2024, with an unexpected sellout and a very dedicated audience and exceptional friendly bands. It was followed by Madrid on December 7, 2022, and Vigo on January 8, 2025. Both dates were also very good in terms of atmosphere and audience.
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
There are a series of things that make it difficult to sustain the underground and they tend to be venues with unfair conditions for artists, promoters who do not value the work and expense of a band or only create events in big cities without taking into account that there is life beyond them, local festivals that do not support proposals if they are not mainstream, this makes it difficult to put up with bands. The good thing is that there is still a small community, both at the level of the public and bands that continue in this and that although we can still support ourselves in this scene even if only at a subsistence level. In our country there are no clear or super segregated currents like those there were a few decades ago, today we all flow more and mix between different musical styles, and above all it is about maintaining a healthy network of contacts and bands.
What’s currently in your heavy musical rotation?
We heard a lot of different things. An example these days is listening to Coltaine over and over again. A few days ago we had the opportunity to have them in our city of A Coruña and they are impressive. So, our friends of Avern, Dopemancer and The Ghoul cannot be missing from the playlist these days, we hope to be able to share the stage with them soon. Then, some classics too like Ved Buens Ende or Aura Noir, which we will see in Portugal in a few days.
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
“Always enjoy what you do and don’t lose your own essence.” – Mark “The Shark” Shelton
What are your guilty pleasures?
Food and wine, music and travel and maybe one of the best guilty pleasures is taking a nap with the cats.
Can you say something more about current music scene in A Coruña / Galicia?
Perhaps it’s just an impression, but this country had an inferiority complex or undervalued everything artistic and cultural, even though the opposite is true.
This also happened in the music scene, as back in the 70s and 80s there were many bands that are now benchmarks and marked a point of no return, but at the time they had no impact beyond the national level and could have crossed borders.
The feeling if you’re a musician or artist is more of an amateur, as they tend to treat you like someone with a hobby who does this to spend time with friends, and they don’t value the huge investment of time, effort, and work that we put into it.
Self-managed or cultural spaces are becoming fewer and fewer, or they’re overcrowded, and as we mentioned before, venues are either becoming fewer and fewer, or the conditions are unsustainable in some cases.
Even so, our perception is that there are interesting and good proposals emerging in metal, and that’s why it’s not dying and won’t die. Furthermore, the public continues to turn to these styles, as they may be the last bastion we have left, in part, of all that they continue to strip us of at a vital level, and that, despite not being mainstream, has not yet been completely distorted.
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
April 17 – A Coruña
April 31 – A Cabana (Pontevedra)
May 1 – Ortigueira (A Coruña)
May 2 – Ponferrada (León)
May 3 – Laredo (Cantabria)
May 17 – Santiago de Compostela (A Coruña)
And we’re already finalizing other upcoming dates.
What are your plans for the future as a band?
Our next step is to be able to play in Europe and hopefully somewhere else abroad. We want to see how it feels with another audience that is still unknown to us.
How can people best support your band?
Attending our live shows and, of course, purchasing our music or merch. It’s the best way to support any DIY project.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Thank you for the support and all the words and opinions you send us about our music. It’s the most authentic way to know that it’s something that’s alive and this is what keeps Cruzeiro going.
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well