Black Camo talks new single "Blinded", DIY music videos, cult vibes and more
Devinney Rexrode | July 2026
Black Camo is a band from Slovenia that makes headbangers and heavy, high-energy music with a cult-like tone to their branding. This band knows how to have fun and get their audience involved in the world that they have created around the metalcore four-piece. Let’s dig into the existence of Black Camo, their 'cult’ brand and fanbase, and their newest release: “Blinded”!
Q: I love a good heavy band, and to learn more about them individually, I like to see why they make the music they do. So naturally, I had some questions about how they became the band Black Camo and found their sound. Luckily, they were willing to give me some background on these topics!
Illia Furst, frontman and vocalist: “Hi! So yeah, Black Camo is basically buffoons who share the same passion for breakdowns and overall heavy music. We’ve been existing for about five years now, and we were put on this earth to destroy people's earbuds. Regarding our sound, I can't tell you if we’ve fully found it yet, but we are definitely searching for it. We try to pull inspiration from everywhere. With every record, we like to try new things, and I'm constantly chasing that perfect, heavy sound.”
Q: With this in mind, Black Camo has released multiple singles and one full-length album. What is some insight we should know while listening to “Blinded”?
Illia: “‘Blinded’ was a really fun project to make. We shot our first music video for it, which you can check out on YouTube, and we worked with a great team to make it happen. It was also our first completely self-produced release; our drummer, Arne, recorded, mixed, and mastered everything. We honestly think he outdid himself.”
Illia continues with more vulnerability about the topic of the song, “To tell you a bit about the music: as far as the metalcore genre goes, it's a song about love – specifically my love for a previous partner. But I didn't want it to just be a standard 'go to hell' breakup track. I really wanted to make the song and the video deeply artistic, showing that duality of making her look good and evil at the same time. There were a lot of heavy emotions going on back then that I think everyone has felt at some point in life, and all of that energy went straight into the track."
Q: As a branding and marketing nerd, I was excited to hear that “Blinded” takes a little bit of a turn in both. What changes can we expect, and why did the band decide to rebrand?
“I think that with every new song, we do a bit of rebranding. As a newer band, we're still searching for our definitive sound. What changed from the previous record is our sub-genre; we didn't want to make a massive, jarring shift, but we are slowly moving deeper into that heavy metalcore sound. We're leaning into Drop C tuning, lower drops, and heavier breakdowns just because that’s what feels right to us.”
Furst gives me a little peek into some of their writing process and their current inspirations: “A lot of that influence comes from what we’re listening to. Together, we are massive fans of the hardcore and metalcore scenes: bands like early Bad Omens, LVNDMVRKS, and early Bring Me The Horizon. Like I said, with every record we try something new. I think every release is going to be a little different from the last, which I personally think is great. That's how you keep creating something fresh.”
Q: Originally, you guys had a very cult-like aesthetic, which is something I love, especially in metalcore! With the music video for "Blinded," it feels like it's still there. Will we be getting a new era of the cult?
Illia: "I think the 'cult aesthetic' is going to be with us all the time. We originally came up with the idea because of our fans. It’s not like a basic, negative cult, you know? The group is just filled with really cool people."
This is the kind of cult vibes I personally love: lore and the band ‘worshipping’ their fan base and each other on an even playing field.
Now, I have played in my own bands in the past, and I work with bands, but I love being able to give people who don’t know the processes of recording or filming days a glimpse into what all goes into making the music we love and the different parts that go into being an artist who wants to break out into the industry. It is by far more work than people think, a lot of the time!
Illia took the time to talk about what it was like to film the music video for “Blinded” with us, which was incredibly well shot and full of movement!
Illia: “Making the music video was incredibly fun, but also exhausting! We managed to pull it off with the help of our great friends and colleagues – shout out to them, because without their help, the video wouldn't have been possible. It was tiring because we shot everything in a single day at a theater. It was a small, DIY production, but the process was a blast, and we all had fun. We've received a great response from it, so we're definitely going to make another one like it in the future”.
I am truly impressed that this was a DIY shot production, given the professional feel it has! Once again, I want to give you all a glance at the process, one that can be very personal and specific to each artist and their personal writing style, along with their overall genre.
Q: With this being a really hard and such a great heavy jam, I wanted front man Furst to tell me about the writing and recording process that Black Camo has that brings us music like this?
Illia: “As I mentioned earlier, this was our first time recording, mixing, and mastering everything ourselves. That's all thanks to our drummer, Arne, who is working toward becoming an audio engineer. Without him, a record like this literally wouldn’t exist. The riffs were actually created separately beforehand, and we pieced them together like a puzzle – the bass intro you hear was heavily inspired by the band Bad Omens. That's just the way we like to write our songs. What brought us to this style of music is pure emotion and the burdens we carry. The main theme is heartbreak. I know it sounds like a basic topic, but it runs deep.
"The cool thing was how we took all of that bad energy into the track. You can really feel it. It's crazy to think that a line in the lyrics says, 'You said you'd stay,' and now here we are, having built a whole music video and production around it. It turned out to be amazing work.”
Q: With some releases, even singles, there come release parties to get more eyes on the song and the band, as well as to celebrate the song for being something special to the artists. This isn’t for every release, of course. Let’s talk about release parties with Black Camo, why don’t we?
Illia: “Yeah, we planned a massive party for the release. The planning was fun but definitely tiring, and the staff at the venue were incredibly nice. The other bands on the bill, Nightcrawler and The Way We Are, were amazing, and we’re so grateful to have shared the stage with them”.
Furst then goes on to explain that there was a moment during the show where they had to take charge and end some crowd misconduct: “We did have one issue with a guy who was harassing women at our concert, but we kicked him out immediately. That kind of behavior shouldn't be tolerated anywhere, period. But overall, it was an amazing vibe with amazing people.”
This is a very important moment to mark and talk about. Harassment should never be tolerated, as Illia said, and I am so happy that he took a moment to give us insight on not just the show, but keeping their crowd and individual fans safe!
Q: Every band has its own things that they do; pre-show rituals are one of them! What are yours?
Illia: “Honestly, our pre-show rituals are pretty basic! Before a set, we usually just play some games and maybe have a beer. Personally, I don't like to drink too much before a concert because I want our performance to be precise. We focus heavily on the music, so we can deliver the absolute best show possible for the crowd. But yeah, right now, we’re just chilling.”
Q: “Blinded” was released on April 18, and so I had to ask what they had seen from the turnout. While big outcomes can be fun, it’s always important to remember that just playing music and getting to make the music you want to make should always be the goal for any musician.
Illia: “I think the turnout and reception for “Blinded” has been pretty good. Of course, I think more people should hear it and see it, but it’s tough in today’s world because you almost have to be a major content creator on top of being a musician. We’d love to just focus purely on the music, but we do our best to create content so that new people can discover us. We try to keep our content exclusive and unique; we don't want to make basic, generic videos with cheap hook captions like everyone else is doing.”
I see a really bright future for this band. Their music is great, their heads and hearts are in the right places, and they have more things in store even still! The Black Camo vocalist fills me in on what they have coming up in the near future: “The most exciting things on the horizon for us are definitely more shows and tours. We are going on tour through Eastern Europe this fall, and next year we plan to expand across the rest of Europe. On top of that, we are planning to release our new EP. We're still in the final stages of finishing up its production, but it's getting close, and I absolutely can't wait for everyone to hear it.”
Black Camo has so much more coming for them, and I personally cannot wait to see what all they do and make in the future. Working with Illia on this interview has been lovely, and he’s been such a gem to talk with. I do not doubt that more people will love Black Camo and its wonderful members. I hope you all will check them out for yourselves as well!
Q: Black Camo wanted to add one last thing: a message for everyone reading!
“Black Camo just wants to say: stay safe, love yourself, and look out for one another. There is a lot of heavy shit going on in the world right now, and love is what we need. We love you guys, and thank you so much for allowing us to do this interview!”
I would love to follow up with Illia and the other members of Black Camo again in the future – maybe for a release or after their tour. A huge thank you to both Illia for talking to me about “Blinded” and the band as a whole for working with me and BRUITMag.!
Listen to “Blinded” here!
