Bio
Meaning of ATER:
Ater – Latin adjective
1. Dull black (as opposed to niger, shining black); dark
2. Gloomy, sad, dismal, unlucky
3. (poetic, rare) malevolent
4. (poetic) obscure
Source: Wikipedia
ATER is a metal band of Chilean origin founded by frontman and bass player Fernando ‘’Feroz’’ Bühring and drummer Matías Acuña. Formed in Santiago, Chile in the year of 2010, originally named ‘’Æons Collide’’ to later be re-named ATER in 2013.
Their sound combines elements of many sub-genres of heavy metal including death, black, doom, gothic and progressive. The band is known for their enigmatic live performances and use of stage costumes which makes them look like shadows.
Current lineup consist of frontman Fernando ‘’Feroz’’ Bühring on bass and vocals and Vincent ‘’Txalkan’’ Zbinden (Mawiza) on drums as permanent members and Christian Vallejos (Chances) and Mauricio Gallón (Internal Suffering) as session live guitarists.
2010 – 2018
‘’Eternal Gray Spiral’’ and the formative years
Formative years consisted of writing extensively and many different lineups. After years of trying to find stable band members, Feroz decided to move from Chile to California, and Acuña left the band.
With the primary intention of re-forming the band in his then new home town of Los Angeles, he self released the debut album ‘’Eternal Gray Spiral’’ in January of 2018 while working as recording engineer and producer in the LA studio scene. Just a few days later that same month, a new lineup was formed. After meeting at a Meshuggah concert, new members Josh ‘’Sol’’ Seguin and Stephan ‘’Kalani’’ Seguin entered the band playing guitar and drums respectively.
The band then gets active and starts playing local shows and causing some buzz with their enigmatic performances.
Despite being an instrumental release ‘’Eternal Gray Spiral’’ was received well among niche scenes of ‘’Djent’’ and ‘’Thall’’ creating a passionate first wave of fans.
Feroz explained in an interview he never intended the debut album to be an instrumental release. Feroz didn’t think of himself as a potential frontman or vocalist for ATER and was still looking for a vocalist to enter the lineup but this did not happen and so he decided to simply release the album as instrumental.
2019 – 2024
‘’Somber’’ and the Covid-19 Pandemic
While the band was getting more active in 2019, Feroz was actively writing music for a new album and the band was set to enter the studio in March 2020 but sessions were canceled due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
In a desperate attempt, the band enters the studio in June 2020, right before the imminent re location of all band members due to lack of income and the heavy restrictions in California. The recording process was delayed several times due to travel restrictions and long distance between members.
The band seemed completely inactive for years but sometime during 2022 Feroz finished producing and mixing the album in his studio in Mexico City where he had relocated and was focusing on his career as engineer and producer.
After dealing with personal issues Feroz relocated yet again in 2023, this time back to his home town Santiago, Chile.
He then focuses on the band again and begins planning the release of the new album titled ‘’Somber’’. The name is inspired by the sound of the record itself, according to Feroz.
The album was sent to Mastering engineer Ted Jensen for finalizing and the band begun working with music video director Zev Deans.
‘’Ignis Immortalis’’ the first single in advance of the sophomore record was released February 27th 2024 along with a music video by the aforementioned director
The second single ‘’Descending’’ was released March 26th 2024 along with a music video made by artist Wizardhead.
Somber was released April 19th 2024 under Torque Records.
Another music video for the track ‘’Through The Portal’’ was released October 28th 2024.
The album is made up of linear compositions rather than actual songs, just like the debut release. The sound is much heavier and lower in tuning. Fernando’s debut as a vocalist features low death-style growls to high screechy black metal vocals, and also includes some clean passages.
Somber was very well received achieving top rated reviews and more media coverage for the band than ever before. The band was then invited to join the Epic Prophecy Tour alongside PATRIARKH, Vltimas and God Dethroned, during September and October of 2024 across Europe, UK and Ireland.
2025
The Present
ATER is currently writing a new record and they are set to tour Europe in March 2025 with Leaves’ Eyes and Nytt Land, then again in April and May supporting Venom Inc, Krisiun and Hate.
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CONTACT
First Album Stream – Eternal Gray Spiral (2018)
Follow @ater_dark for updates.
