WORDS OF EDITOR
CLOSING A CYCLE. BUT, WHY CHANGE?
T
. PEI FON @PEIFON JOURNALIST, PHOTOGRAPHER AND ROCK MEETING’S GENERAL DIRECTOR
o begin with, every change creates discomfort. You don’t know how it will be, however much you want to do it. This really scares, regardless of the area in which you act or the reason that led you to such decision. When you realize you need to take another direction, you need to recognize the signs, decide, and move on. When I realized that a new cycle was beginning, a lot of things crossed my mind, which has generated a whirlwind of memories that come and go; but it is not a bad thing. I believe it is the certainty that we did the job correctly and now it is im-
portant to achieve another goal. We will start a job to fill a gap and, with that, look for new opportunities. But without forgetting what we have already done, of course. Now it is about focusing where we haven’t yet arrived. We dream big, yes, and nothing can stop us. Whoever wants to accompany us, I guarantee it will be wonderful. The focus is not to limit yourself. It is true that this new cycle is audacious, yet it is full of hope. Rock Meeting is betting its chips, with both feet on the ground. May the new challenges come. We are ready!
SUMMARY 2020
31 06 11
05. AXTY
NEW SONG IN NOVEMBER
11. JOHN WAYNE
FROM PURGATORY TO PARADISE
23. NÃO OUÇA VOZES ALHEIAS MELODY AND WEIGHT
23
31. COSMOS
INSTRUMENTAL PROG/DJENT
55. NUCLEAR
THRASH COME FROM CHILE
63. MARENNA-MEISTER
RELEASE ‘OUT OF REACH’
72. AVERNAL
MADE FROM ARGENTINA
55
GENERAL DIRECTOR Pei Fon EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Felipe da Matta DESIGN Alcides Burn Canuto Jonathan GRAPHIC PROJECT @_canuto STAFF Augusto Hunter Barbara Lopes Bรกrbara Martins Bruno Sessa Fernando Pires Marta Ayora Mauricio Melo Paulo Apolinario Rafael Andrade Renato Sanson UIllian Vargas
45 SPIRITBOX EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
CONTACT contato@rockmeeting.net
WWW.ROCKMEETING.NET
ARTICLE . AXTY
BY PAULO APOLINARIO // PHOTO PROMOTION
AXTY evolved from a solo project by guitarist Felipe Hervoso to a Metalcore band that mixes heaviness, melody, and elements of other styles
T
he sound of AXTY has its own personality, a sound that makes it clear that the band is not afraid to take chances. The band brings a mixture of heaviness and aggressiveness in line with clean vocals and melodic guitar lines. And even
within the Metalcore universe, AXTY still adds elements of Trap, a contemporary Rap subgenre, creating a positively unusual mix. “We definitely fit into Metalcore, with all this line of verses with a more melodic scream and chorus. However, as we are all very
eclectic, it is possible to notice influences from some different styles, such as Trap”, declared Felipe Hervoso, vocalist and guitarist. Now, the band is preparing for the release of a single in November this year and an album scheduled for July 2021. “You will
ARTICLE . AXTY
notice the difference that the new members made in the band and a good evolution in all aspects”, anticipated the guitar player. AXTY started in 2016, as a solo project by Hervoso. At the time, the guitarist was fighting a battle against anxiety and depression, finding music as a form of therapy. Hence the name, as an abbreviation for the word Anxiety, along with the release of the first self-titled EP. The compositions aimed, through the guitar lines, to convey what Hervoso was feeling. These are technical, brutal works, but without losing the feeling. Despite this difficult period in the guitarist’s life, he cur8 // ROCK MEETING // OCTOBER . 2020
rently guarantees to be well and that, in addition to the help he got for music, he also sought help from a professional. “Music has always been my safe haven in this regard. However, unfortunately, for a long time I thought I needed to stay in limbo to continue composing, to continue inspired, which only made my situation worse. I went to therapy, I managed to face the fact as a disease that needs treatment, and to-
day I am much better ”, commented the guitarist. Still in 2016, with the need for expansion and the desire to form a complete band, drummer Lohan Vidal was invited to join the project, which started a new phase in their lives. The two members consolidated their ideas in the duo format, defining the direction that the band would take in terms of sound and language. As well as, in the message they wished to convey to the public, bearing in mind that the objective has always been to expand the debate about anxiety and how it has become such a problem in society. In addition to the lyrics and the sound, the band also brings in its clips a visual identity that opts for softer lighting and neutral colors. “We like to work with contrasts and this combination of metal with a more ‘calm’ music video is something that has always captivated us. We also believe that, in this way, we can reach a larger audience, not only through music, but also through music vi-
ARTICLE . AXTY
deos”, explained Hervoso. However, until 2019 AXTY was an instrumental project. According to the members, it was at that time that the need to insert vocals into the songs arose, with the aim of expressing, not only through instrumental, but through words, the band’s 10 // ROCK MEETING // OCTOBER . 2020
message. From then on, Felipe Hervoso became vocalist, in addition to guitarist. In August 2019, still in duo format, the single “77” was released and, in March 2020, “Dark Eyes”. These compositions opened a wide range of musical possibilities for the band, which gave rise to the
idea of further expanding the project, through the entry of new members. The band was thus completed with two new members, guitarist Guilherme Pagani and bassist Jonathas Peschiera, both chosen not only for their musical skills, but for the ideas and ideals compatible with the project.
INTERVIEW . JOHN WAYNE
BY PAULO APOLINARIO // PHOTO RAFAEL ANDRADE
Photo Julio Barbosa
P
urgatório is the name of the most recent album released by MetalCore band John Wayne. The work is part of the band’s endeavor to represent the work of Dante Alighieri in his representation of Paraiso, Purgatory and Inferno. If Dante’s “tour” always had a guide who explained in detail what was going on, John Wayne went his own way, experiencing heaven and hell during these 11 years on the road. In the meantime, the group has already faced problems with record labels, but now it has found a balance between art and business. With full creative and commercial control, John Wayne is increasingly able to bring true sound that speaks directly to fans. Founded in 2009, in the city of São Paulo, the band has three studio albums: Tempestade (2012), Dois Lados (2015) and Purgatório (2019). Before the production of the first album, however, the group had already released EPs and singles that were well received by the public - such as Aliança, from 2011. Currently, with a more mature view of music and the market, John Wayne bets on ambitious compositions, as the Purgatory. The material makes it clear, right from the start, the band’s commitment to creating a technical work, with refined artistic references, but without losing its footing on the ground of the best mosh pits of the Brazilian undergroud. With more than a decade on the road, John Wayne actively participated in the national Hardcore and underground movement.
12 // ROCK MEETING // OCTOBER . 2020
How do you see the evolution of the scene in the last decade? Rogerio Torres: The band started in 2009. The scene was very different at that time, there was a movement starting here, everything was heated up. The shows were always packed, because everything was new, although Metalcore
was already a reality in the United States at that time. At that time there were a lot of good bands, but their quality in terms of show, recording, video clips was low, and we include ourselves in that. Today, after 11 years, I see that the thing has evolved violently for the better. The quality of the content is very high.
The quality of the compositions has also evolved. So, I see that in a way, even though many bands that started with us have ended, the ones that remain today are a reference and this is really cool. And about Metal, in general, how do you see the dynamism of the genre
INTERVIEW . JOHN WAYNE
over the years? Metal has evolved. Many subgenres
emerged
that
brought a freshness that the style needed. These changes are necessary. If Metal remained conservative and without any variation of style, to begin with John Wayne probably would not exist. So, this dynamism, the emergence of new bands and subgenres is essential for the metal to remain firm and strong for many, many decades yet. 14 // ROCK MEETING // OCTOBER . 2020
From the point of view of sonority, do you believe that you have undergone a major change since the beginning of your career? Certainly. When we started, we were essentially a Deathcore band and our main influence was Suicide Silence, a great exponent at the time. On the album “Dois Lados Parte I”, released in 2015, you can already hear a considerable change in sound. We were more on Metalcore with hints of Prog / Djent. We already
started playing with 7-string guitars, which changed the band’s course forever too. And this change was necessary, although it was not intentional, for the band to reach the present moment. With the entry of Guilherme in the vocal, we had another turning point there in 2018, a change that brought another sound to the band and opened new possibilities. For me, “Purgatório” is the peak of the band, the best job we have ever done, and this is unanimous within
the group. Today we are a legitimate Metalcore band, with several different influences, but still Metalcore. I am very proud of that. This evolution took 11 years to happen and we are looking for that. In recent years, the band has been working on a great project inspired by the work of Dante Alighieri, which already has the albums Purgatório and Dois Lados (Part 1). Could you talk about how the idea for this project came about and what to expect in the third and final part of it? In late 2014 we started to plan the release of a second album. At the time we already pre-
dicted that, launching singles and EPs would be the future, where the public consumes much more the shorter and more frequently released content. So, the initial idea was to release two EPs in one year. The idea of two EPs gave us the insight of “two sides”, good and bad, light and dark, where one would talk about a theme and the other would be the opposite. Everyone bought the idea and so we started to research possible themes for that. That is when I read Dan Brown’s “Inferno”. I had read “Divine Comedy” years before and that gave us the idea of launching something with Hell and Paradise. There, the idea, and the whole concept were formed. In the end, “Dois
Lados - Parte I” was not an EP, it became an album, complete, with 10 tracks, but the concept remained. In 2018 when we were discussing the release of the next album, already with Guilherme in the band, we thought it was not yet time to release “Paraíso”. I don’t know, I just felt it. It was then that I remembered that the divine comedy is not two books, but three. There’s purgatory in the middle, which for me is the most interesting of them. Once again, the concept of the next record was defined. There is no escape from the last one, it will have to be “Paradise” (laughs). But I am VERY excited to write it. The theme, although it seems
INTERVIEW . JOHN WAYNE
“cute”, is not. Quite the opposite. It is pretty cool and brings incredible reflections. Still on Purgatório, the band had a campaign in Catarse that broke the stipulated goal. How was it for you to receive the success of this financing? The campaign was the biggest madness the band has ever done and also the project that gave more work and demanded a lot of sweat from all of us. All the work involved was massive. We gave ourselves 110% to the project and we believe that this was the great differential for it to have worked so well. But of course, without the help of our audience, this would not have been possible. We have a very solid fan base, there is love, there is a passion from the crowd towards the band and vice versa. It changes everything. The crowd didn’t just want to help launch an album, they wanted to help build the band’s history in a campaign that would be forever in the hearts of all of 16 // ROCK MEETING // OCTOBER . 2020
Fotos Julio Barbosa
us. It was a race against time, it was painful, tense, feeling on edge, but in the end, it was all worth it. Thank you very much again to everyone who took part in this, we can never thank you enough. The song Aliança is an important milestone for John Wayne, what was it like recording Part 2, especially in relation to Guilherme Chaves’ participation and the partnership with Yuri Lemes and Milton Aguiar? The band’s greatest hit of all time is undoubtedly “Aliança”. It was released in 2011, before we even had a record. We did it without any pretense, we just wanted to gather friends and make a sound. Only that. The repercussion was gigantic in the underground scene, something that no one expected. We always wanted to release part 2. That was always on the agenda. Seven years after the first, when Guilherme joined the band, we wanted a different and bombastic way to launch him on the stage. It was then that we decided that it was the perfect time to launch “Aliança, Pt. II”, because we were sure that the music would blow, unlike part
INTERVIEW . JOHN WAYNE
THE EMERGENCE OF NEW BANDS AND SUBGENRES IS ESSENTIAL FOR THE METAL TO REMAIN FIRM AND STRONG
18 // ROCK MEETING // OCTOBER . 2020
I, that we had no idea of the proportion. The Alliance consists of calling a vocalist who represents the hardcore and one who represents the melodic voice. The first was like that and we wanted to repeat the formula in the second. Milton Aguiar and Yuri Lemes were names quoted to do part I so you can get a sense. We had wanted to record with them for a long time. Particularly me, I had a dream of recording a sound with Yuri, who for me has the most beautiful
voice in Brazilian rock. A vocalist without equal. It was a very natural invitation and the two agreed immediately. The rest is history. Alianรงa part 2 is the most heard song on our Spotify and second on our Youtube, second only to part 1. We are very grateful to Milton and Yuri who made it happen and did their best in the project. This sound was good for the 3 bands, it gave incredible visibility to everyone and this is the great thing about the collab, it is not promoting just
one, but everyone involved. fluences is The Black Dhalia It worked! Muder. He enjoys a lot of “rotten” music, as he calls himWhat did the entry of vo- self and that brings a more calist Guilherme Chaves extreme hint to us, who are a add to the band? What Metalcore band. This combiare his influences? nation was more than perfect, A lot has changed. He is a guy it married incredibly well. who has a huge range of timbres of voice, brought many And for the band, in gennew possibilities. He is very eral, what have John technical, he studies a lot of Wayne’s current influscreaming techniques, he is ences been? What have obsessed for that and for me you heard? that is what makes him differ- We have always been influent, an excellent vocalist. He enced by the Metalcore and is a guy who enjoys extreme deathcore scene. Suicide Sisound. Among his main in- lence, Bleed From Within, As
I Lay Dying, Killswitch Engage, Parkway Drive are some of the influences. But, each one has its own background. I come from a more power metal school, for example, so Angra, Evergrey, Edguy, Helloween are my great bands in life. Denis and Júnior are already from the national hardcore school, so the guy’s beach is Dead Fish, Garage Fuzz, Full Heart, Street Bulldogs, etc. Edu is the metal guy, his thing is Machine Head, Pantera, Slayer, etc. That’s it, this mixture of the influences of each one makes this very
INTERVIEW . JOHN WAYNE
crazy magic that is the sound is our ritual, it has always of John Wayne today. been like this since the beginning. And every major release How does John Wayne of single or working songs aluse social media to pro- ways accompanies audiovismote your sound? How is ual material, that is, it comes planning for fan engage- out with a clip or video lyric. ment? We have always enjoyed using We have always been very visuals, images, videos, and active on the networks, ever photos to publicize our work. since My Space, Orkut, we This makes a lot of difference have always been close to the and it was certainly one of the fans. We are very accessible. differentials that brought us All of us. So, all we are going here. to launch is natural to use Instagram, Facebook and You- What has the band been tube. These are the main me- doing to stay active durdia that we work with. Every ing the pandemic? major release of the band is We continue to feed social always done on Monday, this media. We have a very new 20 // ROCK MEETING // OCTOBER . 2020
album, which was released at the end of last year, so we are still in the phase of publicizing Purgatรณrio, which was cut short by the pandemic. We were unable to tour this album. Too bad. We hope to resume the stage early in 2021. Thinking before and after the pandemic: what was it like and how is your relationship with the public? What have you done to keep this flame burning? Nothing has changed about it. We are still very close to our audience. The internet makes this possible, so we have abused this resource since the
Really thinking about the current market, there is a growth of independent record companies out there. In Brazil, is this movement strong or is it necessary to look elsewhere? In undergound the record company is practically useless. We already had the experience of having a contract signed with one and it sucked. Nothing was done that could help the band in any expressive way. The band that has a small or even medium size,
Foto Julio Barbosa
beginning of the band. We always have lives to talk to the crowd, exchange ideas about relevant topics and keep close to them. We believe that after the pandemic, everyone will be thirsty for shows, so everything will be back to normal. The shows will not end. We also believe that the bid for lives is here to stay, although it does not replace the experience of the show, there are people who do not enjoy agglomeration, do not like to show in person, so this will be a way to take the show to these people. The technology is there for that and I am in favor.
Foto Filipe Nevares
INTERVIEW . JOHN WAYNE
nowadays, is much more business to remain in the independent scene without a doubt. The band needs to learn to manage their career alone, learn to promote and thus have all the control. In my opinion this is the best and healthiest way to have an undergound metal band. Make no mistake, the record company will not invest in your band to the point of taking you from the unknown to the mainstream overnight. It will not happen, sorry to disappoint you. The power of the record company today is infinitely less than it was 22 // ROCK MEETING // OCTOBER . 2020
30 years ago and as a result, they have less and less money to put in artists, so, that little money they have put in artists who are more likely to make that money multiply. Their goal is to make money, nothing more. It is a business. Do not romanticize it, there is no glamor involved, just business. Finally, what can we expect from John Wayne in this last quarter of 2020? Success and thanks! We continue in the process of publicizing purgatory. We hope that by the end of the
year the pandemic will be relieved so that we can continue working on it. Record more clips and generate more material for the crowd that accompanies us. On behalf of the band, I want to thank you for the space granted here, from the heart. Thanks to the Rock Meeting team who were very helpful to us. Many thanks also to all our fans, who accompany us and give us absurd support. We do not see the time of the pandemic being controlled so we can meet again and do shows, which is what we love to do. Cheers to all!
INTERVIEW . NÃO OUÇA VOZES ALHEIAS
POR BARBARA LOPES // FOTO GABES DUARTE
N
ão Ouça Vozes Alheias, formed in 2011, unites post-hardcore/metalcore with heavy metal, creating an heavy and melody sounds in an authentic way. Check out our interview that talks a little more about the musical scene, influences and, of course, more about the band. The band has a super peculiar name! Where did it come from? Victor Mendes - That name says a lot about what we want to say: the judgments, the looks, the prejudice, things that we abhor, so basically, Não Ouça Vozes Alheias (Don’t Listen to Voices of Others) means, go ahead, don’t let anyone get in the way of your wishes and dreams . It was a chat between Victor (guitar and vocals) and Will (vocalist) that resulted in that name. Why did you choose to keep the lyrics in Portuguese? We always wrote in Portuguese, when the band was set up in 2011 we didn’t even think about the option of singing in English, we believe thar our message is better reproduced in Portuguese! The themes of the lyrics are well related to different types of feelings, sometimes in a tone of outburst, sometimes in a tone of criticism. In addition to everyday life, what motivates you the most in the lyrics composition process? Everything that can be part of our lives, and the
24 // ROCK MEETING // OCTOBER . 2020
people around us. It is a constant exchange of experience with friends, family etc. Problems, bad experiences, good experiences, it all results in lyrics of self-help, advice, redemption, which always serve us members too, lol. Criticism depends on the world and how things are going, there is always reason not to remain
silent in the chaos of the society we live in, no? Criticism is part of every artistic movement, whatever it may be. Now, regarding instrumental composition, we realize that it is also a well explored area - with more marked, heavier, more harmonious times
... How does everything happen? What are your influences? The band is formed by musicians with peculiar tastes, each comes from a different school, different roots, but in the end it all comes out in the form of metal, sometimes we don’t even understand the connection, lol. In short,
INTERVIEW . NÃO OUÇA VOZES ALHEIAS
WE WORK HARD DO BRING INNOVATIVE CONTENT
everyone is a metalhead, we are always updated on Metal trends and its subgenres, Hardcore, and even Pop, Rap, R&B etc. Recently we released a playlist of each member in our profile on Spotify… whoever checks that playlists will hear what is playing on our phones, then you will see that everyone here is crazy, lol. What attracted you to the post-hardcore/metalcore? What was the reason that made you choose this subgenre?
26 // ROCK MEETING // OCTOBER . 2020
When we started writing together, Post-Hardcore was on the rise in our headphones, as was Metalcore, and a whole host of Heavy Metal bands that at the time were still our musical flagship. These 2 subgenres brought the possibility of using 2 elements that we wanted to be part of our sound: heaviness and melodies. Hence the choice. The versatility of Metal has already brought us many good references, the most modern version
has a promising barn. What is your perspective for this scenario? The perspective is to help leverage the Brazilian metal scene. We work hard to bring innovative content, not only musical, but also with a concept related to what we are doing, to draw attention with the message in the visual and musical aspects. We have bands on the national scene beside us, which are composed by incredible musicians, and that make an animal sound: John Wayne, Human Kraken, Bayside Kings, Project 46,
District Zero, Aurora Rules, among others. Great bands, great music, there is no way not to get excited, lol. Every band today needs to understand the dynamics of promoting their work, how do you work on this question? It is a complicated point today; advertising has become easier and also more complicated with the advances in technology. Quality material, made by good professionals, with a well-studied and well-founded dissemination is the least
we think of bringing, using social networks as a tool, and marketing campaigns made for your target audience, all of this is extremely important. The pandemic affected us in countless ways, and the form of musical consumption was one of them. How do you imagine that we will consume music (not only listen physically or digitally, but also in person) and look for new artists going forward? We believe that the forms
INTERVIEW . NÃO OUÇA VOZES ALHEIAS
that were created or adapted to work in this pandemic have great chances of being maintained even after events return and so on. Consumption has remained very similar even before the pandemic: streaming, social networks, etc., all of which are being used as the main source of many artists. How do you see the national and international phonographic industries? Do you believe that there is “space” for bands of more modern scenes or 28 // ROCK MEETING // OCTOBER . 2020
the desire is still for “classic” and mainstream? It is a complicated issue, we understand that there are several factors that cause great phonographic industries to not give so much space to the Underground, but everything is based on style, which is consumable by the mass, the styles that are part of the culture, especially in the Brazil.
labels? Technology has made the band today self-sufficient in terms of music production, marketing, recording, post-production, etc., so, doing things “in house” makes us more relaxed to work in the way that we find interesting, the speed of work, etc. For us, independent works much better.
How is the search for record labels that support your style? Is it better to keep an independent label or look for bigger
“Preso no Existir” is still being finalized. Did we get this or any other release later this year? What does Não Ouça Vo-
zes Alheias have to show us by the end of the year? Well, all our plans, including “Preso no Existir�, were hampered in the face of the pandemic we are experiencing. We are striving to produce some new content and finalize what we have on hand to launch, we will certainly be able to launch something more this year, but it is being difficult to assemble material and respect the pandemic. For now we are focused on respecting WHO standards, as well as those who can, should do #stayhome. Thank you so much for talking to us! Feel free to leave a message for our readers. We are immensely grateful for the invitation, the space, and the work of media such as Rock Meeting, which hosts the space and the opportunity to publicize our work. We thank everyone who shares, likes, and encourages us to continue working, composing, filming, doing what we do best, writing what needs to be said and turning it into a song. Together, we are much more Voices. Thanks! \m/
INTERVIEW . COSMOS
POR BARBARA LOPES // FOTO PEDRO HENRIQUE
C
osmos: a Brazilian instrumental power trio composed by Rogerior Torres, Edu Garcia and Bruno Ladislau show compositions that oscillate between heavy and ethereal, in a peculiar djent sound. We talked about the origin of the band, the current Brazilian Metal scene and the release scheduled for the first quarter of 2021. Check it out! First of all, you are musicians known in the scene, how did you gather for an instrumental music project? Is there any possibility of some tracks using vocals? Rogerio Torres: Actually, Cosmos was a project started by me, alone, in my home studio, in January 2016. It wasn’t my intention to transform the project into a band to play live, I just wanted to record my ideas and spread to the world. I was always an instrumental prog lover. I was very influenced by the band Vitalism, which was formed by the same way, as a solo project of my friend Ed Garcia and later became a full band to play live. I released two EPs by myself, composing, producing everything and in 2018 an opportunity appeared to play a gig in São Paulo with Vitalism and Linen Cent. Then I started to think about possible members for this gig. Firstly, I thought about my friend Edu Garcia, who’s been my mate in John Wayne since 2013, a great drummer, who’s an instrumental and
32 // ROCK MEETING // OCTOBER . 2020
prog fan. The second was the bassist Felipe Fifas, who now plays in A Última Theoria, a huge musician who’s very influenced by progressive and virtuous metal. With this power trio we had our first gig and then we consolidated the band with a joint tour with John Wayne band between
September and December of 2018. At the end of this year, Fifas decided to leave the band and then we chose Bruno Ladislau as bassist. He’s one of the greatest bassists of the country, because he played with huge music names like Paul Gilbert and the glorious André Matos. Then, this is the
band formation until now. About putting vocals on the songs, we don’t have this intention. I can’t say that it would never happen, because we don’t know what can happen tomorrow, but this is not in our plans. We want to keep the band roots and make instrumental music for the ones
INTERVIEW . COSMOS
WE HAVE TO WORK EVEN HARDER ON THE EMOTIONS AND SENSATIONS OF THE LISTENER
who love this style, and always try to reach more fans to listen to this genre that is so rich in great musicians. About the name Cosmos, what was the reason? Is there any special meaning? In the beginning, the name of the band was Rogerio Torres and my first EP would be called Cosmos. As if it was a really solo career. But the people started to like the name Cosmos so much and always asked me: “What’s up, Roger-
io! When Cosmos will be released?”. Then I understood that people would like a band name. So I gave the name to the band before the first EP’s release. I’m a huge astronomy appreciator. I really like to search about this, to understand more about this subject. Between all the options, Cosmos was the one I liked the most. It’s simple, short, easy to remember and represents a lot. On the other hand of what people may think, when I chose this name, I haven’t discovered the bright doc-
umentary from Carl Sagan, at first sight. It’s progressive, Cosmos, as incredible as it but it’s modern, it’s young, may seem. there are kids making a brutal sound, very well arranged What did attract you to and with a style never seen prog/djent to create a before in heavy music histoband in this style? What ry. Then, I had the idea that was the fundamental in the future I’d like to make reason to invest in this something like that. When I sound? knew Vitalism, I saw the same I was always a progressive innovative spirit of Periphery, metal fan. Dream Theater, but powerful because it was Symphony X, Opeth, Pain of instrumental. Touching peoSalvation, etc. I’ve been lis- ple without saying a word. It tening to these bands since I motivated me a lot. In the end was a teenager. But in 2014 of 2015, after all the tour from I listened to Periphery for the album “Dois Lados - Parthe first time and it was love te I” (“Two Sides - Part I”, in
a free translation) from the band John Wayne, we took a little break and then I decided that it was time to create something new, a new project. And that was how Cosmos was born, in January 2016.. The compositions are hamonic and go from soft and joyful vibes to heavy and denses ones. How is the composition process and which are the band influences? I believe because we’re instrumental, we have to work even harder on the emotions
INTERVIEW . COSMOS
and sensations of the listener. Keeping people’s attention is getting harder, so music has to be interesting, unpredictable. Our two EPs, “Cosmos” and “Redshift” were 100% written by me. The awesome part of having different influences is because this mix gets so interesting. I really like deathcore, metalcore, slam, which are heavier styles, with lots of breakdowns but I also like power metal, power prog, the famous melodic metal, which brings me inspiration for the melodies. So, gathering all this heavy and melodious influences result in this mixture of beautiful and denses vibes at the same time. We know some tracks with featurings of other musicians. How is the selection and the recording process? Do they compose or are just guests? 36 // ROCK MEETING // OCTOBER . 2020
In the first EP, I tried to make it fully with participation. I wanted to create a movement. Bring musicians that I like to play in the project, including two excellent (women) guitarists, what to me was a completely differential. All who participated were already old friends, except Ed Garcia, that I met because of the invitation for him to join. All could create their parts. I gave them the base and they freely created their solos. I want everyone’s identity in that album. Ed was who had more participation in the compositions, because he came to my house and we wrote a lot of stuff together in the track “Eclipse”, because it’s “his” track. This EP was a mark in my career and all involved collaborations were so good. The public freaked out with this huge collab made in only one work. Talking about that, all these tracks and “Redshift” have videoclips. Do you believe that video clips still create visibili-
INTERVIEW . COSMOS
ty for the band? Why did you want to do it? Nowadays, in my opinion, it’s impossible to release a song with audio only. Video is so heavy that it’s impossible to release without it. The public consumes visual content a lot. So pictures and videos are ex-
tremely necessary for engaging and spreading the band’s range, besides being an amazing material, a wonderful record that will stay forever. When I released the first EP, I remember that Metallica had just released an album and all the tracks had videos. All of
them. I thought it was so innovative and I wanted to do the same. Up to a point, we released the five EP’s tracks, all with videos and that made a big difference, for sure.
tival Instrumental, being the only Metal band. So, how do you see this modern scene inside Metal? Why did you choose to follow in this style? It was a nice victory to us. Even not reaching the prize, just being among the ten fi-
nalists between hundreds of bands, it was already an enormous success, even more being a metal group. We chose to play metal for passion. I think that it’s necessary to do what you love. If there’s love, there are great chances of achieving success.
I have grown up listening to heavy music. It’s my nature, I love it and I’ll die playing this. There’s no chance to change and I’ll never play anything else or change the style, because it wouldn’t be true, wouldn’t be by passion. That’s why we are different, for me.
38 // ROCK MEETING // OCTOBER . 2020
You were one of the ten finalists of Samsung E-Fes-
Love for metal allows us to music. That’s a fact. We all break more and more walls. had to adapt to the new way of doing things in our busiThe band started the ca- ness. Nevertheless, we love reer as a parallel project the stages, the public and the for the internet, and re- human heat. Nothing replacsulted in a small tour that es it. There’s no possibility of passed by six Brazilian being just on the internet. The cities. Now, in a pandem- presential concerts are necesic moment, do you believe sary. While pandemic doesn’t that are “back to the ori- cease, we’ll do the possible to gins”? How do you intend be present on internet, we’ll to keep the way of spread- use such time to create new ing your music? things, but after this gone Pandemic brought a new work we’ll go on the road again and model for all who work with do what we love, that is to
take the stage and play for the people. With all of these changes we’ve been through, how do you see the way that people consume music? Not only about buying media (physical or digital), but public behaviour, ways of presentation, search for new artists... This pandemic situation had a negative impact on the music industry. Unquestionable. However, I’ve seen that our
INTERVIEW . COSMOS
visualization and numbers of subscribers on YouTube rose up. That’s because people are staying home and consuming more digital material. That was the good part, despite the all the negative part, of course. So, I believe the streaming consumption will grow more and more, as well and bands will have to 40 // ROCK MEETING // OCTOBER . 2020
produce increasingly more new material in a short time. I believe that the era of fulllength-with-12-tracks is falling behind. I appreciate creating “huge” full lengths, but people don’t consume it like this anymore. Some bands divide those tracks and release one by month or by a couple of months. So you’re always
feeding your public with new stuff without throwing it all once. It’s showing effectiveness. Regardless of the pandemic, this is a reality. I believe that the lives (streaming) are a reality too and even when people can go out safely from their homes, they’ll still exist. We had noticed in the previous years a
considerable decrease of presential public in concerts, so lives can feed this public that wouldn’t go to an event. It’s a great tool. I am in favor. phonographic industries? The press release says The fact that we were among that “Cosmos has been the ten finalists in the Samhelping to break Brazil- sung E-festival award was ian instrumental music one of the proofs that we are barriers and taking the breaking barriers. We weren’t style to other countries the first and we won’t be the worldwide”. How does last instrumental band in Brathis process happen? zil. There are countless others How do you see the na- that are thrilling. I hope there tional and international will be more, but we arrived
with a new proposal. We are a heavy, massive band, an instrumental that I have never heard before. Even Vitão Bonesso, a great broadcaster and metal critic for over 30 years, told us when we were interviewed on the Backstage program. He said that we are the heaviest instrumental band he has ever seen. We are different, that’s a fact and this is what detaches us on the scene. We are neither better or worse, just different and that’s how it will carry on. In Brazil, as I said, there are many awesome bands and artists doing instrumental music, but I believe that 100% of them are independent, as
INTERVIEW . COSMOS
we are. I see that in Brazil the market isn’t so big that it can attract record attention, who could invest in some group. There is Sumerian Records in the United States, that invests a lot in these progressive and instrumental styles. What helps us is that there is no language in our music. As we don’t have vocals, we don’t have idioms. So there’s no barrier if an international record wants to contract us, but it’s not something we keep thinking or aiming. 42 // ROCK MEETING // OCTOBER . 2020
We just do our work with the best possible quality and if someday it keeps someone’s attention that offers us a proposal, who knows. Let’s see! Ainda sobre a indústria Still about the record industry, is there a demand for record labels that support your style? In Brazil, none. Worldwide, few. This is a style that is so underground yet. It’s a genre that doesn’t generate a lot of revenue for
the record companies, so there isn’t a big investment, a big market. It’s changing a little, but I believe that it will take a while until we reach an audience that calls the attention of the great entrepreneurs of the phonographic industry. Meanwhile we’re doing our best here in the independent scenario. A new material is being created, expected to release in the first quarter of 2021. What can we ex-
pect from what’s being developed? Will Cosmos show us something new this year yet? We’re creating, no hurries, no pressure, it’s been a while. We have wonderful ideas to be recorded. We’ll stay heavy, dense but yet with our melodies that touch people. This is our style and it’s what we can do best. It’s possible that we can have a single until the end of the year. We’re working to deliver the best Cosmos’s work so far and with great
musicians that are with me you so much, from the heart. this time, you can be sure that Be sure to follow us on social there’s a lot going on. media, listen to our work on digital platforms. It makes all Thank you so much for the difference in our career. talking to us! Feel free to Every like, every share or leave a message for our comment changes everything. readers. Surely. We who thank you for the For all who like our space. You guys from Rock work, we want to thank for Meeting have been doing an all the support that is always incredible job, bringing nice given to us, we’re so thankful bands and artists, giving voice and be sure that 2021 promisto musicians like us who are es new EP, lots of shows and working day after day to keep lots of good stuff for everyone! standing on the scene. Thank Thank you so much!
MAIN . SPIRITBOX
BY PEI FON // PHOTO KYLE JOINSON
S
piritbox is fresh, it has just over three years of existence, but it makes an important noise in the scene. It has stood out, not because there is a woman who ‘screams’, but because of the technical and sound quality, the emotion that the songs are played with and this is due to the interpretation of its vocalist, Courtney La Plante. Besides her, the powertrio is formed by Michael Stringer and Bill Crook. With some EP’s released and singles, the listener delights in songs that explore the human experience in a modern, versatile sound that only Metal can provide. We talked to Courtney about many things: music, collective and individual experiences, pandemics, projects, Brazil and, of course, the future. For now, now, you can write down the name of this band, it’s a sure bet! Spiritbox may even sound new to the Brazilian public, for example. Still, the current form of dissemination has changed the consumption of music. How do you plan each single of the band? Courtney La Plante - We were very ambitious in 2018 and decided to record a five song EP and release each song as a single with a
46 // ROCK MEETING // OCTOBER . 2020
music video. Rather than creating one or two music videos and end the build up, continuously releasing new songs and videos every few months allowed us to keep riding the upwards wave and reach out to new listeners. For the last two years, we have been putting out singles with music videos as often as we can, when time
and money allowed us to invest in it. Plans have changed a lot this year due to the pandemic, but we are still finding ways to create music and videos to keep reaching out to new people and entertain our constant listeners. In our situation “playing it by ear� has allowed us to stay adaptive and flexible.
This powertrio drinks from many musical strands and flirts a lot with modernity. When did you stop everything and decide to create Spiritbox? Michael and I left our band in 2015, and immediately went home and started working on new music. It took us a long
MAIN . SPIRITBOX
time to develop and prepare but 2017 we put out our first EP. “Holy Roller” has been getting a lot of buzz since it was released. In a short period of time, there were already thousands of hundreds of listeners. And it is already almost 2 million reproductions. Do you believe that ‘you did it’ with this groove? No way! The hard part has just begun, now we have to use this platform we have been afforded and show people that we deserve to stay. I have been in, and known many bands that had one or two popular songs, but that is not sustainable. The people who fall in love with you over one song are usually disappointed when you do not con48 // ROCK MEETING // OCTOBER . 2020
tinue to create the same song over and over, if that song differs greatly from the rest of your catalog that can be a problem. We are so thankful and excited though, its a song that brings us a lot of joy and we are excited to have fun and play it on tour again someday. In fact, “Holy Roller� was released during this pandemic period, was it already recorded or were you recording when you could? How did this process happen? This song was just meant to be a fun track on our upcoming album, and we decided to play it on our first tour we went on in march, before it was even fully done. We kind of just worked it out on stage every night, and had a great time doing so. When the tour was cancelled and everything was shut down, we had to cancel the recording of our album and live in lock down. So, we decided to do what comes naturally to us: Record this song ourselves, with our producer being there remotely over Zoom, and direct and edit our own music video. We were also very lucky to have
MAIN . SPIRITBOX
(HOLY ROLLER) IT’S A SONG THAT BRINGS US A LOT OF JOY
50 // ROCK MEETING // OCTOBER . 2020
someone colour correct the video and help us make it look even better. Not being able to purchase or rent props, gear, or costumes made things a little bit more difficult than normal, but this is what we have been doing for the better part of three years anyway. The first song I heard was “Holy Roller”, but it was “Blessed Be” that made me stick to the sound you make. It is interesting how passionate this song is, you really feel what the
song is saying. If that was the intention, congratulations! Thank you, I am so happy it comes across that way, and I feel that is the crux of the band. Still on “Blessed Be”, it starts very calm, the voice enchants the listener and keeps him in the music. The chorus sticks to your head a lot. Suddenly, the narrative changes, the quiet revolt takes on the most visceral form, it is
as if the patience is over, still “This is my home, I’m waiting here for you”. You shouldn’t lose hope, is that it? I have heard a lot of people say the song sounds hopeful to them, which is really cool, but my interpretation is the opposite, that this person is completely dependant on someone else and its very unhealthy. It is a sorrowful song to me.
ing “Holy Roller” played on a radio. What does this mean for a musician? Is it something like ‘this is what I work hard for’, for example? It is even more than that, its one of those things that I really never ever even envisioned happening for my band. We don’t really ever think of that being within reach for us, so its very flattering. It has been great to peer into the world of radio.
Roller”, draws a lot of attention, not only for the faces and mouths (which are a separate attraction), but for the attributed technique. Do you have any vocal routine, classes? What care before, during and after? Its just one of those things I do not really think about, it just comes with doing this technique for over ten years. But this year I will be working with a vocal coach and even a Courtney, on the other speech therapist to help me day you posted a video Courtney’s most recent get in the best possible voshowing your joy at hear- playthrough, for “Holy cal shape to resume touring
MAIN . SPIRITBOX
educational watching vocal coaches react to my performance and explain what technique they think I am using. Courtney, are you aware that you have become an inspiration for many girls who want to sing? How was your beginning with music and singing? That makes me so happy and proud, thank you! I hope other women and really anyone who has felt left out of the metal scene can hear me and know that they have just as much of a right to be here as anyone else. The beginning was hard for me, sexism and misogyny were rampant. These problems are still a part of our community but it is getting better. next year! About vocal techniques, how is it for you to change the technique in a short time? One hour is a scream, in the same second a fry, then a clean vo52 // ROCK MEETING // OCTOBER . 2020
cal. How is this transition made? The breath...? I couldn’t really even tell you what a fry scream is, in my mind, my technique barely changes as far as screaming, I feel like it always the same. It has been really
As we are from Brazil, have you received messages from our countrymen? What do you know about Brazilian bands and from the public? I do not know a lot about Bra-
zilian bands, but every musician knows that Brazil has some of the most dedicated fans in the world. Everyone I know that tours a lot is always so excited to play in Brazil and meet the fans there. The Brazilian public’s receptivity to Modern Metal has grown a lot, both on concerts and on digital platforms and social networks. Animal Leaders, Jinjer, Periphery and others have a great reception here. Do you think,
at some point, to reach this market? Yes, the only thing holding us back (aside from the pandemic of course) is needing an invitation!
We only did singles because‌ we could not afford to do a full album and there was no demand at the time, haha! Now there is a demand from our audience, they want a full length, and we have trying to deliver since April, but we have to keep pushing it back due to covid. As soon as we are able to meet up with our USA producer, we will record it!
The first full album was released in 2017. Since last year, you are releasing new material. Is there a possibility of a full of new release, or will you keep the dynamics of singles? Can we still expect Following the dynamizasomething for the rest of tion of Rock / Heavy Metal, a lot of good bands bethe year?
MAIN . SPIRITBOX
came known. How do you evaluate this versatility of sound, from Modern Metal? I think a lot of the modern metal I enjoy is having a Nu-metal revival, and I like it! I enjoy groove and feel over constant shredding. Which bands can you name from this batch of new generation of Metal? Who do you bet on besides yourself? (lol) We love Loathe, Make 54 // ROCK MEETING // OCTOBER . 2020
Them Suffer, Erra, Entheos, Crystal Lake, Dayseeker to name a few. The pandemic has created havoc in many areas. Everything stopped in the world due to the coronavirus. What are you doing to maintain the fan base, even the jobs? Has Patreon been a platform that helps musicians? Patreon has been amazing in allowing us to stay connected to our fans, we are able to sha-
re everything we are working on and it brings us closer together. We all still have our jobs, so we are very fortunate in that aspect. For us, aside from the tour that we were able to get half way through before Covid cancelled it, we have only really existed online, so we are back into our comfort zone. We cannot wait to get back to touring though. As soon as that moment passes, we hope to see you in Brazil. Thank you. Stay safe!
INTERVIEW . NUCLEAR
POR AUGUSTO HUNTER // FOTO SEBASTIÁN DOMÍNGUEZ
T
he Thrash Metal Scene has been always accurate in South America, being, in my point of view, very rich and showing a lot of bands that, make music within a lot more quality than some giants ones. Nuclear is an example of that, within a new album coming, called “Murder Of Crows”, we have a nice time chating about your new album and the scene in general, check it. First of all, thanks for the time for chating, now, you´re saying that Murder Of Crows is coming more Death / Thrash Metal, why you choose that way? Matías Leonicio - Well, as much as our previous albums were more related to Thrash, we’re all fans of the old Death Metal - that kind of music we listened to as we grew up. I think it was a very natural process during the writing sessions of “Murder Of Crows”, the music turned to something heavier, angrier and heavier and the final result was that mixture you can listen in the new album. Maybe as we get older, we have that need to put more heaviness and harshness in our music. Thrash music puts the aggressiveness on the table, but Death Metal puts something darker, so we felt we needed both sides in this release. We’re very happy with the result Is accurate to say that Nuclear is Always trying to change your ways, but staying
56 // ROCK MEETING // OCTOBER . 2020
linked to some roots? Leonicio - Absolutely. Since “Apátrida” EP (2012) we’ve added more hardcore and punk elements to our music and “Formula For Anarchy” (2015) is a very good example of that. We like Thrash, as we like Punk and Death Metal. As explained in the past question, in “Murder Of Crows”
you’ll find more Death Metal, but the Thrash vibe will be present too - even some more elements that we took from Crust Punk and other kinds of extreme music. This album is pretty daring from our point of view, compared to our prior releases. We think it is always good to put some new challenges in music, and this
album is a proof of that. I’d say this album is more aggressive but darker, it reflects a lot of personal things that we’ve endured during all the writing and recording process. Just some month before Covid-19 explodes in the world, you were in a European Tour within
INTERVIEW . NUCLEAR
WE ALWAYS TRY TO BUILD A DIEHARD FANBASE EVERYWHERE WE PLAY
58 // ROCK MEETING // OCTOBER . 2020
Abbath, can you tell us how it was? Leonicio - The tour was very good. 22 gigs across Europe in 12 countries, during winter, alongside huge metal acts such as Abbath, 1349 and Vltimas. The audiences were great, everything worked in a great way. For us it was very important to play for the very first time in UK or Sweden, also to play a round of six shows in Germany or come back to Poland or Czech Republic. As you said this happened just days before the pandemic ex-
plosion and in some way, we were very lucky to complete the tour. We know that tours after ours were canceled with musicians affected by Covid-19 or things like that. The pandemic hit fiercely to touring and to everyone involved in. No one knows when the live music will return as we knew it. But is pretty good how some bands are back in the road as Vader playing shows in Poland or Destruction in Switzerland. We can’t wait to be back touring again, that is a fact. In the mean-
time, just patience waiting for prised in Europe when guys things to be solved. come to the shows sporting a t-shirt of the band or when Now guys, how can you having chats after shows asktell us about the link be- ing for a signature. In some tween your fan base and way, our vision is letting the you, throught the new music speak itself, and that is tech around? respected by the fans. Leonicio - It’s strong, very strong. Despite of technology Spotify, Deezer, Apple and many platforms, social Music and all helps a lot media and stuff, the best place the bands to get new listo interact with our fan base teners, can you tell us are the gigs. We know there the importance of that to are no concerts nowadays, but you? we always try to build a die- Leonicio - They’re imporhard fanbase everywhere we tant, but as a complement. You play. We are always got sur- cannot build a career in the
Metal scene by just uploading music to the net or posting on social media everything you do from waking up to go to bed. You have to play live, you need to play live. Nothing is compared to the experience of a gig. And Nuclear is a live band. As simple as that. How can you guys, describe for us in Brazil, the Metal Scene in Chile? Leonicio - A very strong scene, a lot of good bands and very brutal crowd. In a very underground way, the Chilean scene remains alive
INTERVIEW . NUCLEAR
Chile, bands have more chance to work in your material? Leonicio - I think it is pretty much the same as in other parts of the world. This is a very independent scene and musicians can´t see music as a professional activity due to the inexistence of a culture industry around metal. Everything is about “do it yourself”. The same in most of the countries in South America. But I think this encouragIs accurate saying that, in es more and more to all metal since the mid-eighties. From Thrash to Death Metal or from Grindcore to Black Metal you’ll find very good bands in this side of the world. Maybe we don’t have the same “industry” around Metal as other countries, but here is passion, compromise, and it is still growing, a lot of young bands are working hard releasing really good stuff. That’s very important to keep the Metal scene alive.
60 // ROCK MEETING // OCTOBER . 2020
musicians to work harder. We have nothing to lose and if Metal in Latin America is not under a shitty mainstream metal industry, there are no limits to create extreme music. Can you tell us the process of recording your new album, do you prefer using a more digital gear or you keep yourselves on a analogical way? Francisco Haussman - It was a long and very
exhausting process to be honest. We started last year and we had to put it on hold due to the winter tour with Abbath. When we came back from Europe, the lockdown started and we had to hold it back again. We were just a few steps away from the having it ready, but the pandemic said otherwise. A few solos and vocal lines were missing so we decided to go ahead anyway. It took us nearly 10 months to have it ready. Now, about the digital or analogical gear, we always try to balance both. For some things digital gear works better but an analogical treatment of the sound always gives you something
extra. We used both for Mur- between crows and humans, der Of Crows. their behavior and how they both react when submitted The cover art for Mur- to extreme situations. Murder The Crows, who was der Of Crows talks about sothe artist and what is the ciety and how it collectively principal message in it? behaves when something is Haussman - The artist be- missing, difficult or when it is hind it is Gisela Brünker scarce. Pérez, who happens to be my cousin. She is a very talented We´re living on strange German-Chilean artist who times, within a lot of shit translated and put in a paint rolling through World´s what we told her and under- Politics, the health probstood about the album. A lems and all that, can you Murder Of Crows is nothing measure the damage in but a way to say a “Group of our scene on this moment Crows”, it has nothing to do and can you use it as a catwith assassinating birds. And alyst for new albums? the concept or message in it Leonicio - We’re measuris basically the resemblance ing right now the damage as
INTERVIEW . NUCLEAR
we don’t have gigs or tours, there’s a lot of people affected by this. Not only musicians but promoters, technicians, booking agents, merch sellers, just to name a few. Strange times but in some way necessary for us to learn that we’re not the center of the universe. This pandemic unveils the weakness of an inhumane social system and the ruthless economic regime that sunk our countries in poverty, corruption and ignorance. The 62 // ROCK MEETING // OCTOBER . 2020
for the chat. Leonicio - Thanks to you Augusto for the interview - I really had a good time answering to your questions. Stay on alert with our new album “Murder Of Crows”, which will be released on November 13th. In the meantime, you can take a glimpse at the first single “Facing Towards You” on Spotify or YouTube. Best Now it´s your time, leave regards from Chile and keep a message for all Rock supporting the South AmeriMeeting readers. Thanks can Metal!! Cheers fellas. damage is uncertain yet, but one thing is clear: this is inspirational to write more music. We’re facing death every day, we’re living leashed to political corruption, economic depredation and the devastation of the environment by big businesses. That is a big catalyst to create more brutal and uncompromising music.
INTERVIEW . MARENNA-MEISTER
BY JESSICA MAR // PHOTO EDUARDO AMAYO E ROGER CLOTS
M
arenna-Meister is the new project of singer Rod Marenna (Marenna) and guitarist Alex Meister (ex-Pleasure Maker / Alex Meister Solo). The band presented their debut album, “Out Of Reach”, on September 28th by the Danish label Lions Pride Music and brings 10 extremely powerful tracks with the 80’s Hard Rock and Hair Metal energy, and already available on all platforms digital and pre-sale on the band’s website. With the most intense vibrations, combining their experiences of more than 25 years dedicated to this style, Marenna-Meister promotes an exciting union between melodic and striking vocals, powerful riffs and guitar solos with tons of energy to be heard at full volume. “Out of Reach” guarantees a trip to the golden times, inspired by Danger Danger, Dokken, Winger and Warrant. The band has already released the lyric video for the track “The Price of Love” and the video for the single “(There’s So) Many Things” and to tell a little about this project, the composer, producer and renowned guitarist from Rio with experience of over 30 years of career, Alex Meister gave an interview to Rock Meeting, where he also tells how it all started, the influence of Hard Rock in the lives of musicians and all the news of this release. Marenna-Meister is a new band, can you tell us a little about this project? Alex Meister - Hello everyone at Rock Meeting and thanks for the invitation! This project was born in 2019, when I decided to end the work, after 15
64 // ROCK MEETING // OCTOBER . 2020
years, of Pleasure Maker and was thinking which way to go, being solo and taking on vocals, or associating myself with a new vocal. Then, in a conversation without commitment, Rod Marenna asked me: “When will we record a song together?”, And at the time I answered “now!”. Immediately I took a song
of mine, among several that I keep in a library, and sent. Two days later we had the first song ready! The band is a duo formed by guitarist Alex Meister and vocalist Rod Marenna. How did you meet and decide to create Marenna-Meister?
I met Rod completely by accident! I was listening to the web radio “Rock Melodic Radio - Dream Runners”, as I always had the habit of listening. And every now and then a song would play, a song I didn’t knew, and it played on HeavyHarmmonies.com. Once a song by Marenna came in, I looked it on the website,
INTERVIEW . MARENNA-MEISTER
Foto Barbara Martins
MUSICIANS WHO DECIDED TO JOIN FORCES AND KNOWLEDGE IN FAVOR OF THIS STYLE THAT WE BOTH LOVE
66 // ROCK MEETING // OCTOBER . 2020
and it was from Brazil to my surprise! I went to look for him on Facebook, and he was already my friend there! So, I sent a message praising his work after listening and stuff. Then it all started! (laughs)
immerse myself and fall headlong into work and breathe it 24 hours a day. Remember that before I started this job, I finished my old band, and just released the single “Just Thinkin ‘About You”, as Alex Meister. After that it was just How do you handle all ‘Out Of Reach’ in my head. the projects? Is it difficult Rod Marenna no longer has to work in two bands and this problem! He can split this split the time? in a different way than me. I honestly can’t work with two projects at the same time, in- We saw that the band folcluding for me, besides com- lows styles and influences posing, I also produce. Be- of the 80’s hardrock and cause of this I exactly like to hair metal. Why follow
this line? Anyone who knows me, and has heard all 4 CDs I released until 2019, knows that I have always done this style, and for the majority of my time rowing completely against the tide. I breathe Hard Rock, Glam Metal, Hair Metal, AOR 24 hours a day since I was a teenager. Of course I also listen to Heavy Metal! But my truth has always been this. And I think it will never change ... ‘The Out of Reach’ is the 5th CD of my career as a guitarist, composer and producer, being another consolidation of
what I’ve always done. The band’s album, “Out of Reach”, was released in late September, can you tell us a little about this work? This album brings the maturity of the work of two musicians who have always been dedicated to the style, each in their own state, me in Rio de Janeiro and Rod in Rio Grande do Sul. Musicians who decided to join forces and knowledge in favor of this style that we both love, for the public that has been lacking this sound
since the market change in 1992/1993. The composition of this work started in July last year, when we wrote the single “Follow Me Up”, released in the same year, and “(There’s So) Many Things”, which was saved for the album as soon as we signed a contract with Lions Pride Music. So, after Marenna finished the EP for the band Marenna, and I the single “Just Thinkin ‘About You”, we entered the studio in October and composed, pre-produced the album and in mid-December we started production that ended in the
INTERVIEW . MARENNA-MEISTER
first week Of april. Marenna-Meister managed to launch on an international label, Lions Pride Music, something very much desired by national bands. How was that contact? This is actually my fifth contract signed with an international label and Rod must be at least the third. This has been happening with us since our first albums, because this style was always exalted after 68 // ROCK MEETING // OCTOBER . 2020
the fall in the 90s in Europe and also with the consumer market in Japan. And at least here, nobody wanted anything to do with Hard Rock... our we found our way of getting attention from the foreign media through reviews in the press specialized in the style until we get the first contract.
Rock in general has aged and lost its space in the media and by a large portion of the young audience. This is really unfortunate... Hard Rock has been experiencing a new wave with bands from Scandinavia since 2005 with the appearance of Crashdiet, and from 2008 onwards representatives such as Reckless Love, H.E.A.T. and Crazy Lixx, bringing a new How do you see the rock scenario with many bands, and metal scene today? Is where the Frontiers and earthe Hard Rock style still MUSIC labels are the main on the rise? ones. It is very different from
the market I saw in the early 2000s when I released Pleasure Maker’s debut CD ‘Love On The Rocks’. For someone who has never heard the band, how would you say the band sounds? Do you feel that you are an original band, even though you use so much influence from the hard rock greats? I say it is a rescue of the atmosphere and sound of the bands from the late 80s and early 90s, where I would highlight Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, Dokken, Winger, Warrant, Ratt, among others. I think that originality is something that almost nobody has. Everything is always some kind of re-reading. Nobody will reinvent the wheel for example. The important thing is to do well what you really believe. And that work is a great example of that. Did the crisis of the new coronavirus really hinder the band’s plans? What strategy have you created to deal with the crisis? This virus delayed the completion of the album’s produc-
INTERVIEW . MARENNA-MEISTER
tion by 2 or 3 weeks. But we managed to find a way around it. It hurt us to shoot our clips, one of which has already been released, from “There’s So Many Things”, and another that will only come out in late October. But the worst thing is not being able to do the shows that we had previously scheduled for November onwards. But for now, I’m only concerned with promoting the album in any way I can.
70 // ROCK MEETING // OCTOBER . 2020
What are Marenna-Meister’s plans for the future, when everything returns to normal? In fact, we are not doing so many projects until everything really normalizes. But the natural idea will be to schedule shows to complete the album promotion. But for now we will see how all the new work will impact the public to know what and how we will do from 2021.
Can you leave a message for our readers? We would like to thank everyone who is watching our clip and listening to our album on streaming platforms like Spotify! The pre-sale of the physical CD in a very limited batch and t-shirts is happening here in Brazil exclusively on our official website. If it’s up to us, we’ll keep that Hard Rock / Hair Metal flame alive!
INTERVIEW . AVERNAL
POR BARBARA LOPES // FOTO CLAUDIO FILADORO & LAUTARO MARTINEZ
A
fter 27 years of career, Avernal, a death metal band from Quilmes (Argentina), released its 8th album, called “Tzompantli”, during the first months of the pandemic. We talked to our hermanos about Latin America Metal scene, ways of music consumption and, of course, its release. “Tzompantli” is literally a skull rack, generally used on Mesoamerican civilizations, right? And the first track is called “Hilera de Cráneos”. How is the relation about this artifact and the album’s concept? That’s right, tzompantli is an altar of skulls, used to display the heads of the enemy. In this case the enemy is the state, the corrupt politicians, the murderous police, the complicit church, and the hegemonic media that is functional to the system. All of them are shown in our tzompantli. The track “Arquitectura Pestilente” is started with a radio speech excerpt. Whose is talked about? And how it can be related with the lyrics? The narration is an excerpt from one of Don Orione’s prophecies, he spoke of an uprising of the people against all corrupt poli-
INTERVIEW . AVERNAL
ticians, police or soldiers and priests who, having had the power to improve Argentina, did not. This was in the 30’s and what we did was record and use radio effects of the time. The lyrics talk about how this could happen if those in charge do not become aware, must stop the abuse and corruption, and must stop poi74 // ROCK MEETING // OCTOBER . 2020
soning our minds with lies. Why did you choose to keep the lyrics in Spanish? I feel that it is the best way to express myself. I like the way it sounds and I feel like it’s more aggressive in Spanish. You
guys
are “on the
road” since 1993 and certainly were present at some adaptations inside the Metal scene, like a modernization of the style. How do you guys see it? Do you believe that, somehow, you are into this kind of “modern Metal”? Certainly, we have been active
since 1993 and each Avernal album sounds different from the previous one, we always try not to repeat ourselves. I think that the modernization you are talking about is more due to technology, today it is easier to achieve good audio, and that is very well, I think that somehow we managed to have our own musical identity within the genre. What led you to death metal? What was the reason to go into this subgenre? Listening to bands like Carcass, Napalm Death, Cannibal Corpse and Sepultura, hearing those voices made me want to sing like that, and somehow my obsession with the mysteries of death led me to write what I write, basically everything I write is about death. And that’s what death metal is!
INTERVIEW . AVERNAL
DIGITAL PLATFORMS ARE A VERY GOOD TOOL TO SPREAD MUSIC
You are in lots of musical digital platforms. How do you think you can keep the divulgation of your music? Do you think about another medias? I think that digital platforms are a very good tool to spread music, anyway I am one of those who collects records, and we have always published also in physical format. I really do not know very well how to access more public, that time will take care of giving us the corresponding rewards.
76 // ROCK MEETING // OCTOBER . 2020
With all the consequences left by this pandemia, what you think about the people behaviour towards music consumption? Not only about consumption, but ways of presentation, search towards new artists... In our case, the pandemic did not stop us, and in the middle of this we released our 8th studio album. I think that in some people this caused havoc, and in other cases it made us look for new alternatives, take advantage of
the concerts via streaming, spread music through digital platforms. The secret is not to fear, not to despair, everything is channelled at some point! How do you see the Latin America Metal scene? The Metal scene in Latin America is very good, especially in musical quality, There is a high compositional and audio level in Latin American bands, I think there is nothing to envy to Europe or USA with respect to the music scene. With years of experience
and with “El Edén de los Gusanos”, a single mixed and mastered in Sweden, how do you see Argentine music industry and the worldwide one? The music industry sucks, in Argentina and anywhere else in the world, they look for something else, in metal and especially in sub-genres like death metal, the industry doesn’t look at it. Death metal will always be under, and that’s fine, I think bands are the ones that give life to the Latin scene, and also the identity to this whole scene.
Working as you said with a producer from Sweden is great, it was very good to hear an Avernal song mixed by the same person who worked with bands such as Entombed, Dismember or Grave, but the reality is that this last album was mixed in Belgium. Did an Argentine (Martin Furia), and he managed to make the band sound like no one else did before. How is the search of record companies in relation to the style that you guys play?
INTERVIEW . AVERNAL
We were always an independent and always self-managed band. However, this time it was only to share the album on the networks and we got several labels to be interested in our material. In Argentina, the album will be released by the “Grinder Cirujano records” label, in Mexico it will be released by “Concreto records” and thanks to a new
78 // ROCK MEETING // OCTOBER . 2020
lease in this year yet? This year we hope to see Tzompantli in physical format, and for the moment there will be no new material, last Monday, September 21, we did a transmission of a live show in the studio presenting the album and it was really good, so we Besides the visceral will see if this is repeated. Tzompantli, can we expect any other Avernal re- Thank you so much for friend from Brazil (Alcides Burn) the album will be released by a label with distribution in Brazil and Portugal, “Your Poison records / Helven”. But all this happened without our looking for it, the planets aligned.
the interview! Feel free to say something to our readers! I greatly appreciate the space and the interview, this will make many people discover us in Brazil and that is a great pleasure for us! I hope to visit your lands with Avernal at some point! A big hug to all!