BODE PRETO – INTERVIEW

 

Hey, maniacs, probably you have already heard about Bode Preto during the last years, because they have really managed to call the attention of the underground scene around the worls with their brutal and raw brand of death/black metal, something really unique and powerful, especially if you have the oportunity of seeinf them playing live. Well, after a strong first EP (“Dark Night”), they released their debut, the acclaimed “Inverted Blood”), and now are spreading their third relase, the bestial “Mystic Massacre”, certainly one of the best releases of this decade. So, if you really wish to dive in the depths of the extreme music done with intelligence, passion and tons of brutality, stop doing everything right now, and take some minutes to read this interview. I assure you won’t repent!

 

A Noite Mais Pesada do Ano ~ Belo Horizonte/MG 10.12.2016 ~ Photo: Igor Arruda

• Hello, Josh, how do you do? It’s a pleasure to interview you again, my friend! I think this is the third time I have the opportunity to talk to you, am I right? 

Greetings my friend, everything is fine here. Yes, it’s the 3rd interview that I have the luck to answer to you.

• First of all, I have to say that, for me, it’s a great honor to have this easy access to you, because, to a certain extent, you are becoming a legend of the present extreme underground metal scene. However, you don’t act like a rock star or something like that. So, how do you feel about this and what do you think about people who are in the underground scene, but behave as if they were the new Metallica?

That question took me by surprise, as you are the one that is legendary here. I feel inspired by interacting with people like you, that have deep knowledge about the underground and wisdom to discern what is contributing from what is disrupting that spirit. About the people you mentioned, they are missing the point and it’s a pity for them.

 

 

• Well, in 2016 you released one of the most powerful albums of the year, the mighty “Mystic Massacre”. How has it been received by the old and new fans, as well as the specialized press?

Mystic Massacre was very well received by people that already knew the band and got good reviews from the press. It was a step forward and an affirmation of our intention, that is to keep on fortifying our name with consistent material.

• I notice that Bode Preto has a huge acceptance abroad, from Malaysia to Mexico, from Chile to Poland, am I right? Which are the reasons that could explain this international recognition? Would it be the hard work you do to promote the band, the musical/lyrical aspect, the Brazilian origin or any other peculiarity?

That’s right, we have been receiving messages of support and been interviewed by zines from such different countries. I think that all aspects that you named have a parcel of contribution to that, and I believe that the stronger is the music itself. We have clear intention to communicate with metalheads from everywhere, that may count as well.

• I’m saying that based on the fact that, although you have only 3 recordings, all of them have several different versions around the world. Could you tell us a little bit about these versions?

We have been producing our stuff by ourselves, so we can license it to different labels. Right now we have a 3 year agreement with Iron Tyrant Records (Italy), that started in January of 2016, but we keep all the copyrights. We got some offers to be ‘signed’ by few labels, but they wanted to have the rights over our records ad infinitum, and for that they would have to make a better offer. The best versions were the Inverted Blood LP, by Unholy Prophecies (Germany) and all material from Iron Tyrant, but there were also nice Cassette Tapes from Goatprayer Records (UK) and Narrowards Distro (Malaysia), Inverted Blood CDs by Ketzer Records (Germany) and the Brazilian versions of all 3 recordings by Death Noise Productions together with Läjä Records.

 

 

• By the way, do you have any kind of control about the sales of all these different formats? Do you know if the label owners find it’s profitable to have Bode Preto in their roster, even to release something that was already released before?

We get to know how many copies are produced. I believe that if the label is organized and does their work well they will manage to get some profit, it depends on how they promote the band that is already getting recognition by fans, they have to make it possible for new people to discover it and be able to buy the records.

• I think the first time I heard about you was after that participation in the Terrorizer’s compilation. How did you get this feat and how was its impact for Bode Preto?

It happened in the very beginning of the band. I got in contact with Louise Brown, then editor of Terrorizer, and she immediately reacted after listening to our music and invited us to be part of they next CD compilation. 

• Well, it seems that Terrorizer’s editor has loved your music, since you were invited for a second participation in edition #116. Why did they call you again?

Then we had some impact on people like José Carlos Santos and Miranda Yardley, who is the editor now. They appreciate the rawness of the band and have been supporting us since then. José also writes to Loud! Magazine from Portugal, where he wrote more than once about us. I see the importance of being able to communicate in a clear way with them, not as ‘the editor’ or ‘the journalist’ only, but as fellow metalheads that are interacting about a new band. That’s how I approach people about Bode Preto, some like the band, others don’t show interest, it’s like that.

 

Praia dos Ingleses ~ Florianópolis/SC September/2016 ~ Photo: Natália Miranda

• Talking about all your releases, how do you see them in terms of evolution? I’m not talking about “evolution” in the sense of getting each time better, but in terms of aesthetic conception. I guess each release has its proper context and motivations, do you agree?

I agree with you, and it has to do with the time that passed in between them. For me, the evolution is the capacity of doing more precisely what we intend to achieve. Learning more about the technical part, for instance, working better with images or being able to add something new to the sound but still keeping the identity.

• Despite these differences among them, I notice that there is a coherence in your work behind Bode Preto. Could we say that this happens because you are the brain that conceives all the artistic work alone or are there external influences coming from the other members present in each recording?

Each person that contributes with the band brings something in particular, the difference is the time involved on that, I’m all the time active with Bode Preto as it is my main dedication and I will keep on taking good care of it.

• Well, I started talking about art because, according to my conception, extreme music is an art form too, although some people disagree with this idea, preferring to say that underground metal should not be seen as art, because art is a privilege of an academic elite. How do you see this issue? Can metal be an art form too?

I understand that creativity is born out of attention. Everyone has the power of imagination, and it can be used on daily life. What is called art I see as a vital necessity of processing and expressing the thoughts that are not directly connected to logic. The awareness of that form of existence is more important than the product. If you live that way and gather skills to produce specific objects, they will be a result of an artistic existence, becoming pieces of art. Dark is the night for those who do not control the fire.

 

 

 

 

• By the way, all your three releases bring very interesting covers which are details of art paintings. What’s the connection you see between these art works and your work in music? 

Those paintings could be used for free hehehe. I can see that they needed time and dedication from the artists to be done. They were connected to their time but also to intimate and timeless feelings, that’s what we aim with our music. I always liked the cover of Theatric Symbolisation of Life (Agathocles), so you can see the influence.

• Man, when someone listens to Bode Preto, it’s impossible not to notice that you have a long history in the underground. Can you tell the readers a little bit of your experiences before forming Bode Preto?

The first time that I played a gig was in 1995, I was 17 years old and it was with Monasterium, a doom/death band that recorded some demos and a full length CD; we were together until 2000. From then I started working with physical theater and mime performances (I even went to Krakow in 2004 because of that) and I also had other projects not directly related to Metal. I keep on working on performances, but less often than before. Adelson has a longer story, coming from The Endoparasites, Grave Desecrator and Diabolical Force.

• What about Monasterium? It seems this old band is still remembered by many metal freaks nowadays. Is there any possibility of a reissue of its complete stuff? It would be great, indeed...

It's Interesting that yesterday the former bass player talked to me about that. But I don’t know if they want to give it the proper attention and time. I would rather copy the original individual tracks from the ADAT tapes and pass it to someone to do a decent mix and master and a different artwork. For me to work on that would be a distraction from what I could be doing with Bode Preto.

• Bode Preto is a band that doesn’t play live a lot, especially because its members live far away from each other. Did this affect the band in a negative way? Would you like to have a stable band that could rehearse and play live more frequently?

In the beginning it annoyed me, but nowadays I prefer it like that. I had to stop working with Adelson and from now on I'm going to work with guest musicians. If there’s a proper and spontaneous conjunction of people and circumstances for us to have a stable line up, I will go for it.

• Well, since we are talking about the line-up, some weeks ago you told that Adelson Souza, the drummer who recorded both full-lengths, is not in Bode Preto anymore. Why did you take this decision?

Adelson has contributed in many ways to Bode Preto, mainly with his drums skills and profound knowledge of the underground, but also with contacts around the world, bringing the attention of people like Alan Moses, Ketzer Recs. and Goatprayer Records to the band. But as long as we would meet to play gigs  he always had to be taken care of because of drinking issues. So, it was clear to me that it would not be possible to go on tour with him. Of course, we talked about that several times until I realized that it was too heavy of an issue for me to deal with, because what Bode Preto needs is a drummer, not someone that needs that much of care.

Berlin ~ Germany 2013 ~ Photo: Endrew Stepan/Starspawn Pthy

• Have you already found a substitute for him? Can you reveal his name? I’ve heard you were looking for a new bass player too. Did you find one?

At the moment I’m focused on the line up for the coming European tour, supporting Impiety. I have been talking to a drummer and a bass player but for now we prefer to work in silence.

• Well, since your first recordings, your music seems to be very coherent, keeping that old death/black aura intact. Which are your personal influences when you compose that heavy mass of hypnotic noise? 

The mothership, Black Sabbath hehehe. I also love bands like Venom, old Morbid Angel, Sodom, Beherit, old Paradise Lost, Rövsvett, Impaled Nazarene… 

• Despite the apparent similarities among the songs, a careful listener will surely notice that your music shows a lot of personality and I’d undoubtedly assure that Bode Preto sounds different from other bands of the genre. How do you get to this result? 

I’ve been focused on writing material and not paying attention to what’s going on with other bands, with few exceptions more connected to the friendship side. I keep away from distractions and I’m constantly busy with learning how to play the guitar in a way that sounds better to me. Now that we already have a basis, the records, I’m even more focused on how to develop it, instead of searching for external influences.

• Do you have any kind of personal ritual or something you usually do when you search for inspiration for Bode Preto songs?

Not really, I got an acoustic guitar about 6 months ago and it made me play more often because it’s easy to just catch the guitar and start playing. I like to lay with my back on the floor and stay for a while paying attention to my breath, but it’s not a ritual.  

• When you were here in the South of Brazil for some gigs, I saw you recorded some drum parts for new songs. However, it seemed you recorded all of them as if you were in a jam, right? So, although it seems that your compositions are meticulously studied, do you also count on some hazardous jam session insights too?

That’s true, we spent 10 hours (3 sessions in 2 days) recording drums at AML Studios. It was great as the studio is inside a hotel very near the ocean. I see why Florianópolis is called Ilha da Magia (Island of Magic). I have a lot of riffs, Adelson is a great drummer and we had clear intention of how the songs should sound. We have a lot of material, but I’m doubt if we will use it as I’m not working with  him anymore. Maybe the best is to do something new with another drummer. I’m not too meticulous while putting a song together, it’s a mix of intuition and conscious choice.

• Can you talk about the participation of the mighty Goat, from VON, on vocals? How did you know him? Was he receptive and open-minded when you invited him to do those vocal parts?

In 2010 I had to go to Europe to develop and present a piece in Holland and Czech Republic, so I took the opportunity to go to Nuclear War Now Festival II in Berlin to meet with friends in Mystifier. I met Goat and Diego (Von Goat) during a scale at the Schiphol Airport of Amsterdam. We started talking and while in Berlin we took the bus together from the airport to the hostel. We kept contact during the festival and after that by e-mail. When I was recording demos to what became Mystic Massacre, Goat suggested that “we should do a song together”. I told him about the demos and sent him a CD. In the end he wrote and recorded vocals for 6 tracks, that’s what we will have on the EP. It will be called Dead Man Rise.

• I suppose you got very honored to have him on Mystic Massacre...Well, at least, I would get really happy to have someone like him in an Antichrist Hooligans album, hehehe. Do you intend to have other special guests for the next album?

For sure my friend, but I have to say that it felt the same to play with Andrey (AH), for instance. Because if I like and respect someone, it’s always an honor. About next recordings, I don’t know yet.

 Embaixada do Rock ~ São Leopoldo/RS 24.09.2016 ~ Photo: Cerise Gomes

• Many people may think your lyrics have a satanic tone or something like that, since this is the tradition of the kind of music you do, but it doesn’t seem that your lyrical stuff is so shallow after an attentive reading. Which are your intentions and main themes for lyrics? 

Each song has a theme. Seizures of Fear, for instance, is about the chronic fear that is nurtured in the population to keep us paralyzed, physically and mentally. Maze of Mirrors is a short song about the many distractions and false information that we are bombarded with everyday, stealing our time and vitality. 

• I’ve had the luck of seeing you live twice and I thought your presentation was one of the most insane and hypnotic things I’ve watched in my underground life. How do you create that atmosphere? Is that your real intention?

Thanks, my friend. Normally I’m busy trying to listen to what comes out of the stage monitor speakers and play together with the others hehe…the intention is to deliver what we have on record as much accurate as possible with almost no gap in between the songs.

• Let me tell you that I have the impression that, despite all the noise, your music seems to be as stoned as some old 70’s rock bands, exactly because of this atmosphere...

Sound is a huge part of what we do, choosing the combinations, tone and dynamic. That’s very important to me. I’m more a 50’s Rock’n’Roll aficionado, but I also like a lot of music produced in the 70’s. About the atmosphere, it’s our chance to create a different world, at least for a short time.

• As for the future, my friend, what are you planning for Bode Preto? First, I think you have to find people that fit the position of drummer and bass player, but after this, can you foresee how Bode Preto will follow its way?

I’m looking forward to that tour with Impiety, Asagraum and Wormwood over Europe, including a date in Gliwice - PL. We should have a new album next year.

• Hey, just out of curiosity, do you know the Polish scene? Could you mention some bands from Poland that you like?

I’m not someone who keeps on digging the underground for new bands. I know the most known Polish bands, but it’s not my taste. I saw Hervé Herbaut (Osmose Prod.) stating on the internet that “POLAND is certainly the best extreme metal scene today! In term of bands and sells!” I believe the guy.

• Well, Josh, we finish here! It was a big pleasure to have you in OMM pages, for sure and I hope that the Polish have the luck of seeing you playing live one day! Thanks a lot for being so gentle and easygoing. Any last message you would like to leave?

I invite the entire population of Poland to be at Centrum Kultury Studenckiej MROWISKO in Gliwice on the 6th of October…Hehehe! Thanks my friend, dziękuję!

Interview Cristano Passos

 

 

Poprawiony (wtorek, 18 kwietnia 2017 06:55)