Axecuter may not be the most known band from Brazil, but they should, because since the first time I’ve heard their music, this band blew my ears up and I’m still in shock since then! They go deep into the roots of the 80’s metal, bringing up the best influences from true metal warriors like Manilla Road, Piledriver, Omen, Tank or Venom, for instance, certainly causing shivers to the old school freaks. Unfortunately, they are on hold now, but Daniel Danmented is already looking for new soldiers to make Axecuter bang heads and break necks again!

1. First of all, thanks a lot for your participation here in OMM and also for delivering us a fuckin’ awesome music release after release! The word is yours, Danmented!

My pleasure for sure, it's great to know that you like our music! I know that Metal in Poland is really important, congratulations to everybody involved with OMM and I thank you for this opportunity and support.

2. Well, to start this interview, I have a fundamental question: is AXECUTER active or not? You made some people so sad when you announced your end this year, including our editor, Mr. Leszek, who is a big fan of your work...

Thanks indeed, brother! But unfortunately I can't give you an accurate answer right now. I am not sure if the band will continue and I am really the saddest person because of that, believe me! Axecuter is an important part of my life, this band means A LOT to me and I don't want to stop. I am trying to get new members, let's see what happens.

3. Why have you decided to stop the activities some months ago? Lack of personnel?

Yes! It's been very very hard to get someone who really fits with our sound and our concepts. Some drummers and bass players I met couldn't play the old songs properly and I couldn't imagine those guys helping me to write new songs keeping our style. Poor musicianship or lack of skills, I would say. I also met people who play very well, but they know almost nothing about old school metal. I just can't bring to the band someone who is not a big fan of 80's metal bands.

4. Did you already solve this problem? At least, it seems that you are back, with a new release going on, the 7” ep “Raise the axe”. So, how is the line-up now?

Not exactly... Our new stuff consists of a compilation CD (“Anthology”) and two 7”EPs (“The Axecuter” and “Raise the axe”), featuring the last recordings with the original line-up. We recorded the whole “The Axecuter” and only the drums tracks for “Raise the axe” during the “Metal is invincible” sessions (our full-length CD) back in 2012. In 2013, we invited The Demolition Man and Mantas to join us in the Venom cover and we finally finished “Raise the Axe”. We also recorded a Cirith Ungol song exclusively for the “Anthology” CD.

5. I’ve heard that T. Basstard (also in Offal and Lutemkrat) is not playing with you anymore. What happened?

In fact, T. Basstard (former bass player) left 2 years ago because of his lack of time for real dedication in the band. We had 2 bass players for live performances after that. Baphometal (former drummer) recently decided to quit because he isn't interested in rehearsing, travelling and playing live, he is very disappointed with the whole metal scene and this new generation of pseudo fans, he'd rather stay home with his records (in his own words). Despite that, both are great friends of mine, what is the most important thing! We created something very special together, I am very proud of everything we've done, but I can't count on them in the band anymore.

6. Talking about this new ep, the cover surely is one of the best that I’ve seen in years, independently of agreeing or not with its content. I’ve noticed that it has raised a lot of controversies. Can you talk more about that? By the way, who had the idea of doing the cover?

Yes, we know that many people may like and many people may not like it. First of all, it’s important to say that we did this cover picture to express our despise about modernity and trends. Many bands are trying to sound "metal", but we laugh at them. Of course many people will disagree, but we’ve got the guts to show our opinion. Baphometal and I had the idea and we produced the picture together. Yes, we are narrow-minded! No, we don't think that all metal fans should be a big family, haha! The cover artwork for “The Axecuter” also shows a controversial image, we did it for our own pleasure, pure debauchery!

7. In terms of covers, I can’t simply make this interview without asking who had the idea of doing the cover of “Metal is invincible” and who chose the “models”? I think this cover is simply hilarious, especially because I know both “models”...

Baphometal had the idea (yes, he has mental issues, haha!) and we asked two friends of ours, they promptly accepted. We wanted a strong image with a strong concept, not a regular album cover which people forget after seeing it. But of course it has a little sense of humor, we like mixing anger and humor.

8. Despite being a new band, all the members have a great experience in the underground scene. Can you introduce them to our readers?

We started Axecuter because we wanted to do things that we love in the old bands and we couldn’t find in new bands. Our interest wasn’t to get drunk or get all the women around, we were focused in the music. After playing in several local bands with different styles, we wanted to create something to honor the old metal spirit. Baphomet is a very experienced drummer and he is a great songwriter, the best I've played with. T.Basstard is also a great musician with an awesome taste for music in general. I’ve also been studying music and I've been listening to Heavy Metal for so many years that I am nothing less than addicted to it. That’s why I don’t know if Axecuter will see the light of day again, this line-up is very special and somehow irreplaceable.

9. You also have a good amount of releases for a young band. Why do you think you have this advantage? Having good contacts in the underground must help a lot in this sense, am I right?

Well, we've always wanted quality, not quantity. In terms of having an advantage, I really don’t know, never thought about that. We worked very hard to write good songs, to write interesting and meaningful lyrics and also to record all of the songs with the best performance we could. We've written to many people and labels until we receive positive responses, that was a hard work as well. As we've never wanted to be “the new sensation” in the metal scene, we’ve never paid for promotion of any kind, specially for our releases.

10. By the way, can you talk a little bit more about each of these recordings? Is there anyone that you like more? Why? Which of them was the most successful?

“Bangers Prevail” (2011) is our first EP, released on cassette. It’s not a demo tape, as some people still think. It was re-released in the same year by another label, including a Vulcano cover. It was very special for me to record this song, a feeling that only a big fan can have.

“Innocence Is Our Excuse” (2012) is our first release on vinyl, it was recorded after T. Basstard departure, but ended up being released before our CD. The cover picture is our homage to Saxon.

I think that “Metal Is Invincible” (2013) is our best release, it’s my favorite because it has more songs, hahaha! It was a big thing for us to release this on LP format, we are very proud. CD version includes a Manilla Road cover, featuring Mark Shelton on guitar and vocals, it was awesome and remarkable for us!

“The Axecuter” (2014) has 2 re-recorded tracks from “Bangers Prevail”. We decided to release this EP by ourselves (VSF Records is my fictitious label, hahaha! VSF stands for “vai se fuder” or “fuck you”)

We recorded “Raise The Axe” (2014) in different sessions between 2012 and 2014. We had an incredible experience sharing a Venom song in the studio with The Demolition Man and Mantas.

We've finally got a deal with a Brazilian label to release our stuff: “Anthology” (2014) features our previous EPs and also an exclusive track.

I don't know which is the most successful release, all of them were well accepted by metal fans, I guess.

11. Almost all of your recordings have been released by the French Infernö records. How did you get this deal? Was it good for you in terms of distribution and so on?

Things were difficult in the beginning. After a deal for a cassette EP and a full length (CD and cassette), IR helped the band to become more known. Other labels signed us after that and helped us as well, we are very grateful to all of them.

12. What about Mindscrape music? It seems that their only release is “Raise the axe”. Why did you decide to release the ep by Mindscrape?

T. Basstard is the owner, he started this label this year. He is planning to release more stuff soon, so watch out. We released “Raise The Axe” basically by ourselves. “The Axecuter” was also released by ourselves with my “label” VSF Records.

13. Personally, I like your previous releases a lot and especially because they make me travel to the golden age of metal. What are your influences and why did you decide to choose this path to express your ideas?

Thanks a lot! You're right, we really want to keep the spirit of the best period for Heavy Metal. Our influences are basically Venom, Exciter, At War, Picture, Omen, Motorhead, Judas Priest, and many others. We chose to play this kind of music naturally, that's what we like to listen, rather than crappy modern “metal”.

14. How could you define the modern metal trends? Is the front cover of “Raise the axe” enough to explain your position towards contemporary forms of metal which are more commercial?

Not for being commercial, but for being crappy songs indeed! Kiss was always a commercial band, but their songs are great! We could make the same cover with many different versions, replacing all the CDs and still would be the same message. If an album like “British Steel” was released this year, it would be a great album anyway. If “Roots” was released in the 80's, it would suck anyway. The year of the release makes no difference, the music itself is what matters. We don't like some mixtures, that's all! If we wouldn't mix beer and/with milk, we wouldn't also mix Heavy Metal and RAP. Why should we listen to Tom Morello if we already have Glenn Tipton? No, we are not open minded and we are not interested to shitty metalcore or j-metal, fuck that!

15. Well, I’m a veteran, so this kind of music sounds natural to me. On the other hand, how are the young metal freaks receiving it? Do you get positive feedback from them too?

We know many headbangers around 20yo who support Axecuter and they think modern metal sucks, they are into the old classics, their spirit are old, haha! On the other hand, many people think that Axecuter sucks, because of our music or our statements. In this case, we just don't give a fucking fuck! We never wanted to make money with this band, all we did was mainly for ourselves.

16. What about the specialized press? Are their reactions positive towards Axecuter?

We received very good reviews, this is awesome! But we also received bad reviews written by people with modern ears, we don't care! They laugh at us and we laugh at them, mutual disrespect!

17. I’ve seen that a compilation released by Rising records brings some covers from Cirith Ungol, Manilla Road and Vulcano. Is there any criteria to choose these covers? Did you start playing covers just like many bands do?

We've always played covers from bands we really like (playing live or recording in the studio) and also from memorable albums for us. Also, our criteria is making covers from not obvious songs, we would never play “Countess Bathory”, “Breaking the Law” or “Black Magic” (although we love those songs, of course)

18. Besides these bands that seem to influence your work a lot, which other bands would you mention as personal influences or simply as bands that you like too much?

We are addicted to Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Tank, Black Sabbath, Manowar, Saxon, Bathory, Slayer, Autopsy, Death, Dark Throne, Kiss, Twisted Sister, WASP and many old masters. We also like new bands such as Bullet and Armour. As personal influences, I would say Cronos, Mille Petrozza, Bruce Dickinson, Gary Moore and Randy Rhoads (for myself). Cozy Powell, Phil Rudd, Clive Burr and Dan Beehler (for Baphometal). Steve DiGiorgio, Jaco Pastorius, Brian Bomberg, Sean Malone, Cronos and Timi Hansen (for T.Basstard).

19. I know you also have another band called Imperious Malevolence. How do you arrange things in order not to have problems with both bands?

Yeah, I joined IM in 2010, some months after we started Axecuter. If you do something you really love, you always manage to do things. It was never a problem for me neither for the bands.

20. By the way, can you tell us more about Imperious Malevolence? How is it going now?

This band is going well, we released a new album a year ago and two promo videos. We've been playing nice gigs, the band is really active.

21. To me, it always seemed that Axecuter is more a side-project than an official band. Is that true or do you treat it more like a band itself?

I've always wanted it to be an official band, but any band demands a lot of time, money and some stress, unfortunately the guys gradually have lost the interest in rehearsals and live performances. That's why we ended up being concentrated in our recordings, that's our best contribution for the metal scene.

22. Anyway, as I know, you don’t perform too many live shows with Axecuter. Why? Would you like to play live or is it enough recording and distributing your music the way it is done today?

Unfortunately, we haven't played live so much, you are right. We've never wanted to play poor gigs, we'd rather play less but have a decent venue. Playing for drunk or “yoohoo” people was never our main goal. But I really enjoy playing live, if I can get new members I'll try to travel to play with Axecuter more often.

23. When we were young kids, I remember there was only the pleasure of playing the music and taking part of the scene, even being completely broke in terms of money. Nowadays, however, we see many people complaining about the lack of dedication of the younger fans, who are more interested in listening to music in mp3 gadgets or cell phones than buying the physical stuff. What do you think about that?

 

We have always played for ourselves, we've never been worried about sales. We are basically metal fans, our relationship with metal will always be as an addiction, not as pro musicians. We still enjoy buying stuff very much, but if some younger or older people deals with metal only behind a computer screen, it's too bad for them. I can only laugh at this situation.

24. At the same time, there are also those freaks who are ONLY interested about buying and selling stuff for a high price, sometimes charging prices that are too expensive for most of the common fans. Isn’t it a contradiction?

Sure! We despise this kind of vanity, fuck their status! There are lots of crappy albums being sold for exorbitant prices, we would never buy them, hahaha!

25. We know that the Brazilian scene was always well received abroad, especially after the astonishing success it did – and still does – in the underground. Do you think there is anything special about Brazilian metal that justifies this love for what is done here? Or could we blame it on the “exotic” aspect of our underground in the eyes of the foreigners?

All I can say as a metal fan (not as an Axecuter member), is that Brazilian bands have produced many many great albuns in different styles, which are admired worldwide, but you can’t compare Brazil to Germany, England or USA.

26. Do you think the scene in Brazil is still strong? What are the main differences comparing the past with the present?

I think it’s solid, but I wouldn’t say strong. Mainly because of the audience that pays to see cover bands but doesn’t see bands who write their own music. It is a shame when you play for only 50 people in local gigs. Many people go to gigs to get drunk or get laid, they really don’t care about the music, it is a big “make believe” scene. That’s why Quorthon decided not to play live with Bathory, and we think he was right! Also, because some gigs in the underground are still very amateur, we have the same problems nowadays: improvised stages, equipment, light system and technicians. It is still hard for a Brazilian band to improve their performances and to grow with such difficulties. But many people don’t care, as long as the beer is cold...

27. In your opinion, which is the most accurate definition of a headbanger? I mean, what is to be a headbanger? Is there a formula or any rules to be one?

I can’t tell to other people about rules, but maybe a headbanger is a person who truly loves Heavy Metal and puts music in the first place. You don’t have to wear black all day long, you don’t have to be drunk every weekend, you don’t have to buy every metal stuff just to pose or to impress your friends and so on…

28. Man, what do you think for Axecuter in the future? Should the band go on or is it something unpredictable so far?

Unpredictable for sure… I really want to keep the band alive, but it depends if I get the right guys.

29. Well, Danmented, simply thanks a lot for this opportunity of interviewing such a good and true metal band! I wish you good luck and hope that we can keep the pleasure of listening to new stuff coming from you. Would you like to leave your last words here or saying anything that I forgot to ask you? Thanks!

I thank you! It was a loooong interview, about 666 questions, haha! Hopefully people will read it all… Please watch these teasers and leave a comment:

http://youtu.be/fb-QlJWE0B8

http://youtu.be/HvACMuvCJoE

http://youtu.be/yVTwlXeNzSo

Bang your head and worship Metal!!! Cheers from fucking Brazil!

 

Cristiano Passos