Band Biographies: Bones Of Minerva

Long-time friends Chloé (bass), Eustaquia (vocals), and Ruth (guitar) started Bones of Minerva in 2013, with Nerea joining on drums in early 2018. Like a chimera, their music is a menagerie of sound: the vocalist Eustaquia shifts from hypnotic melodies to savage growls, pairing introspective lyrics with dreamy landscapes whilst Nerea is a powerhouse of crashing progressive rhythms that pair with the band’s heavy riffs and swirling basslines to brutal effect.

Their debut, Blue Mountains (2017), was initially self-released, with a reissue through Nooirax and La Rubia Producciones the following year. Two years of nonstop activities saw them play festivals like Download Madrid and Resurrection Fest and dates all over Spain, Sweden, and the UK.

In early 2022, the band announced their signing with Spanish label Aloud Music (Toundra, Viva Belgrado) alongside La Rubia Producciones once more to release their second full-length. A new single, “Swamp,” was released soon after as a 7” to mark the beginning of this new chapter, and on 16 September of the year, their second album, EMBERS, was released in full.

The band opted for a live recording at Metropol Studios (Madrid) with producer Alex Cappa, a process that has seen the band hone their sound and expand into progressive and post-rock territory on tracks like “Merula or Silence.” EMBERS is a journey that takes the listeners through smoke, across forests and swamps, to the very roots of Mother Earth herself. It is the remnants of fire ready to surge at any moment as a roaring force.

Since the release of their sophomore album, EMBERS, last year, Bones of Minerva has been on a busy ride. In June 2023, they performed at Azkena Rock in the Basque Country, sharing the stage with legendary acts like Melvins and Iggy Pop. Come August, they kicked off a UK tour, including a performance at Bristol’s esteemed ArcTanGent festival where they joined iconic acts such as Swans, Devin Townsend, Converge, and Rolo Tomassi. September brought an intense gig with their Spanish counterparts, the grungy noise rockers Rosy Finch.

Bones of Minerva recently accompanied the British post-metallers Svalbard during their shows in Germany and France. This tour marks Bones of Minerva’s debut appearances in both countries. To commemorate this occasion, the Spanish quartet released a new song, “Sky,” produced by Álex Cappa at Metropol Estudios (Madrid).