quinta-feira, 6 de julho de 2017

Interview - Sepultura: 33 Years and Living a Great Moment



Living a great moment and completing 33 years of activity, Sepultura will finally release the much anticipated documentary "Sepultura Endurance", where we, from Road To Metal, have had the honor of checking at first hand details of this important record, in an event exclusively for journalists, on May 30th. Prior to this, the band released "Machine Messiah", what is still getting positive reviews. (Versão em Português)

After the closing of the press conference, we had the opportunity to talk with the band, where guitarist Andreas Kisser took the lead, and, among other things, told us about the repercussion of the new work and the joy of seeing the history of Sepultura be shown in movie theaters. Check it:


RtM: Sepultura has been enjoying a rewarding career, culminating in a new album and the release of the long awaited documentary, showing the band on the road in recent years and portraying what happened during those 30 years. To face this is like a travel back in time, but only better?
AK: Absolutely! When we go to remember the past, moving the pictures, heaps of files and ends up finding things that we did not remember. This happened during the documentary, which celebrates the band's 30 years, an important brand. We did a special tour, we released the single "Under My Skin" celebrating that brand, and we traveled the world playing a lot of old stuff. And that set us up to do the "Machine Messiah". Meanwhile, in parallel, the film project was rolling, had no plans and no specific date to release it. Suddenly, Otávio (Juliano, director of the movie) arrived at one point and said, 'I have the film right and ready'. There were a few things missing here and there, so much so that in the Lollapaloza, and the interview with Lars Ulrich was placed. It was the last interview and the last thing that was added in the material.

RtM: From there, did you understand that the material for the film was really ready? And so nice coincided with the release of the album, is a great way to celebrate so many years of carrer.
AK: Otavio felt the film was complete, O2 Play came in to make the distribution plans, we made the preview in Los Angeles and things started to happen. So the 30-year career, the new album and the film, in fact, was not planned for this correlation. Of course, Otávio was following the whole process: changes of drummers, record companies ... Anyway, following all this! Then it culminated in this coincidence! The "Machine Messiah" came out, was very well received by critics in general and by the fans; We did two tours: one for Europe and one for North America. 

Now let's go back to Europe to do some festivals, Rock In Rio and finally ... And the film came out at an opportune moment, shortly after the release of the album, because if it came together it would conflict. And it is coming on time! June 14 is the Sepultura day (the date of the official release happened), where the crew can watch the movie. In addition to the film, they will watch two mixed songs in 4K, from the show of 30 years in São Paulo.

 "It's kind of unbelievable to put our documentary in movie theaters, because I watched AC/DC and Led Zeppelin movies in theaters."
RtM: What is the feeling of living this moment and seeing this movie ready?
AK: It's kind of unbelievable to put our documentary in movie theaters, because I watched AC/DC and Led Zeppelin movies in theaters. And having this possibility of putting a Sepultura movie in the cinema, especially for this generation that has never seen the band, is another language that we can reach people who would never listen to us, but who are interested in the format of the documentary, history and, who knows, interested in the music and career of Sepultura.

RtM: And "Machine Messiah" has been growing, with several positive reviews, regarded by many as a potential new classic. Do you also think that its success is due to expectation, and what fans expected from an album of the band ?
AK: What the fan expects, with all respect, doesn't matter! If we think about everybody, we will not leave from the same place, because there are so many opinions and expectations. And we are among the people! Whatever we set, let's be together! And this is what is for good or bad, so much so that we risked. We always risk from "Chaos AD", "Roots", "Tambours DuBronx", "Machine Messiah" ... We put violins and some business, but we do it with dedication and naturalness, because doing the same is a lot boring too. So we try to bring all these influences that are assimilated in these trips around the world: 76 countries, 33 years, every year a different place ... You can even visit the same country, but you are playing in a different city. And all this brings influence! So I do not know ...

RtM: Another thing I would like to comment on is that I realized that since "Kairos" (2011), you have been putting more that "live" energy to inside the studio, with heavy riffs and adding new and even unusual things, Sepultura's identity aside as well.
AK: I guess it's not since "Kairos". In "Kairos" we managed to transcribe this thing from live to studio from Roy-Z, but we've always been worried about having this more organic stuff, not relying heavily on the computer and the issues, but actually playing. And "Machine Messiah" is that, it has this same performance thing. I do not think there was any editing on the battery, it was one or two things that really let the thing flow. Many parts without 'click', things that are more of the same people, looking for that pulse. And that's what happens live, because live is always a surprise, and that's interesting.


RtM: Already at the beginning, the album presents novelties, being that the title track (opening of the album), is marked by clean and atmospheric melodies, something that is not common in the disks of the band. And track after track, we perceive different nuances, going from elements of brazilian music and even orchestrations. Has daring been a determining factor in making "Machine Messiah" an important record?
AK: Without a doubt! Opening the disc with a song like "Machine Messiah" was really a new thing, though, since Derrick joined the band, he uses melody in his voice. If you remember right, on the disc "Against", we have "Common Bonds", which is a song that has enough melody. In "Nation" we have "One Man Army", "The Ways Of Faith", "Water" ... "Grief" from "The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be The Heart". There's a lot of stuff Derrick experimented on with his voice, but we never opened a record with melodic music like that. And the intention was to make an intro as an opening of an opera, an 'overture', where you will create an expectation of what comes after that.

RtM: I think you got it your try!
AK: I think we created that expectation, because the listeners listen to this song and says, "Fuck ... What's next?" And that was the intention, really, to create that expectation, because it's an album that you you have to listen from beginning to end. And after you listen to the entire disc, you go back to "Machine Messiah" and feel the sense of the song within the context of the disc.

RtM: In addition to the innovations, it's important to highlight your  versatility, Derrick, 20 years already in the band, and with the clean vocals that you added in several parts of the album, something that was much noticed by the fans and critics, fell super well in the songs which require this side.
Derrick: Since when I joined the band, guys always wanted to do different things. When you have songs with vibe and aggressiveness, it's cool to experiment with a soft and different voice. With me it is always important to use my voice, depending on what style of music. I've always enjoyed a cleaner voice, but it depends on the music and the vibe. And it sure is always interesting.

"Something that we can not do, is to supply everyone's expectations. I like to say that the Sepultura fan expects the unexpected from us."
RtM: Every song has its personality, like "Phantom Self" and "Iceberg Dances", that put us in new experiences. But "Silent Violence" and "Vandals Nest" are songs the kind of fans most expect, being great to perform live. Following different directions, but also without forgetting traditional elements is one of the important factors so that the fan does not lose interest?
AK: Like I said we do not think about what the fan is thinking, with all respect. It's not a neglecting thing, but it's something that we can not do, is to supply everyone's expectations. I like to say that the Sepultura fan expects the unexpected from us, because we do not even know what we're going to do next, for example. We are very focused on what we are doing now, will collect more information and everything ... And we always have criticism, it is never unanimity and I do not expect it to be, because the criticism both positive and negative is always welcome. And that's what makes us change and grow.

RtM: The sound is another factor to be mentioned, because the one who took care of the production part was nothing less than the swedish Jens Bogren, who also worked on the recent album of Kreator, having an impeccable resume, repaying his ideas in bands like Soilwork , Paradise Lost, Opeth, Arch Enemy and even Angra. Was his role on the record a determining factor, further reinforcing what was prepared for you before entering the studio?
AK: Perfect! No doubt! We prepared a demo and went to Sweden, Stockholm, and there we started to prepare the ideas together with Jens before recording each drum song. It was he who suggested the violins, from the Tunisian orchestra, which opened up new possibilities, especially for guitar solos, with those conversations between the violins. Jens is a very technical producer!

 He mixed and mastered everything! I think we had a very happy choice to have gone to Sweden and worked with him. And it opens up new opportunities for the future. Maybe we will not continue this process ... But as I said, we are very focused on what we did and very satisfied with the outcome of everything. And a record that's cool to listen to, because Jens really got to put guitar, bass and all the instruments in a fantastic way!

RtM: The context behind the album is about the evolution of technology and how significant it is these days, but it gives us a warning signal as well, because it can turn a weapon into some hands, and we can not either depend on everything through it. Was it easy to work in a context, seen in everyday life and in the experience of humanity?
AK: It was easy, because we are human, speaking of humanity ... (laughs) We had this possibility and privilege of traveling to the world. At the same time that we play in a country like Armenia or Cuba, which does not have much technology, and goes in the United States, Germany or Japan, you see the difference of technological influence. But I think "Machine Messiah" wants to show or discuss a certain balance, not get so machine and lose that human sensibility of talking, exchanging an idea, using the brain and developing the intellect. Not that we are against robots, but that it is a thing of balance and discipline.


RtM: After all this, the beginning of the tour of dissemination of the disc, which began in Europe alongside Kreator, who also released new album in the same month. And most of the shows were sold-out, meaning the fans really keep hugging the band. The tour also went to the United States, where you played alongside the Testament. Tell us a little about how these shows were.
AK: The tours were fantastic, we played a lot of new songs! In a set of one hour, we played five new songs, which is something that we have not did since "Chaos A.D" practically. And it's very good that the crew has answered, listened to the record and knows the songs. It was two very important tours for us, because we played for an old-school crowd, because a lot of old-school people, because of a lot of things they had, kind of forgot about Sepultura. So it was interesting to play for this crowd, both with Kreator in Europe and with the Testament in the United States. And it was all very positive! We came back very motivated and ready to go! We're going back to Europe in the European summer.

Interview: Gabriel Arruda
Editing/Revision: Carlos Garcia





   


   

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