Like hot and cold, heaven and hell

You gotta love Brazil for never running out of metal bands. In fact, most believe that Brazil IS the metal scene for the whole of South America. The reason why is a mystery; blame the water, too much soccer, the chicks in bikinis, or the annual carnival at Rio - whatever. Bottom line is, there's enough raw power in this country to energize the world (and we're not just talking biofuels here.) From the smelly bowels of their underground rises X-Hatred - whose crappy English grammer has been edited for the reader's benefit - a quintet who meld the heavy "core" shit with melody like everyone else these days. They have a demo out called 'First Punch' that you might wanna listen to. Here are members Jander and Nilo filling in the details.

A.M.: Hello X-Hatred. Which members of the band are participating in this interview? What about the other guys?

Jander Duarte: Hi! I'm the drummer and will be doing this interview together with our bassist Nilo Oliveira. The line up is completed by vocalist Marlon Alencar and guitarists Jabah Reivax and Paulo Thunão.

A.M.: If your EP is 'First Punch' will your debut album be called 'Second Punch' or 'Knockout'?

Nilo Oliveira: Probably not. To tell you the truth, any title in the same vein as our EP would be just funny, which is not our intention. If we do carry on with a 'Second Punch' it would be dull, obvious, and not creative.

A.M.: I hear Pantera's Southern swagger, Lamb of God intensity, latter-day Sepultura anger, serious guitar solos, and the no-nonsense approach of Hatebreed. Are these bands the sum of X-Hatred's influences?

Jander: As the five guys of the band listen to different styles of metal and music in general, these bands you cited would certainly be some of our influences. But we're also into stuff like D.R.I., Rainbow, Accept, Mastodon...

Nilo: And many other styles, like Brazilian music and jazz.

A.M.: Who have given 'First Punch' the most positive feedback so far?

Jander: The internet has been an important tool in spreading our music to different places around the world. The majority of our feedback so far has been positive from countries even beyond the United States, England, and Mexico. Within a short space of time we've reached metalheads from as far as Turkey, Iraq, Nicaragua, etc.

Nilo: I also want to mention the amount of positive feedback we've had from Malaysia through our Myspace, which has been very good indeed.

A.M.: How about your parents? What do they think of X-Hatred?

Nilo: Initially, as any metalhead would experience it, our musical tastes were received with a very peculiar reaction. But after 20 years of it, however, everyone in the family is supportive of it.

Jander: Or at least show respect for what we do.

A.M.: The truth is, 'First Punch' is badly under-produced. Where was it recorded? Did you have to spend a lot of money for the studio?

Nilo: A very clear production in the style of power metal bands would probably harm the energy of our music. This is actually the first time we hear a negative commentary about the production of this demo. Considering that you're relating it only to the technical aspects, therefore, in case that the focus of your commentary is only aesthetic, you're certain, therefore we don't prioritize this in X-Hatred.

Jander: I think that for a demo the production is very satisfactory! This record was made in a studio here in our city called ME Estudio. When we finished the process, clearly that comments had appeared of the type "we could have put more volume on vocals final mix, or had a better concern with the drum's sound." But in the end of the day I really like this raw and direct way that was registered.

A.M.: What was the band's work ethic for the recording of 'First Punch'? Was it all recorded in a matter of days or did it take a lot of time?

Jander: We wrapped everything up in four days. Although current recording technology allows for thousands of technical adjustments, in our case what you hear is exactly what you get. The sound the guitar made from the amp goes straight into the mix.

Nilo: The four songs on the demo were recorded with a $300 investment.

A.M.: About the songs now, who does most of the writing in the band? Do all of you contribute to the composition of a song?

Jander: Our method of composing is very spontaneous. Most of or songs were born from jams in the studio out of an odd riff or drum beat. Then we all put in our two cents, make suggestions and such. Though sometimes the process can be hell becase of having five people with five different ideas.

A.M.: How many times does the word "fuck" occur in your lyrics?

Jander: What's the fuckin' problem with the fuckin' lyrics of this fuckin' band, you might ask? Hahahahaha! Nilo and I wrote the majority of the lyrics; this is another of our peculiarities because we have different ideas as to how to approach our writing. We're like hot and cold, heaven and hell. But this method is important to us because it makes for distinct handling of some lyrical themes.

Nilo: While the personal differences between the members of X-Hatred could tear other bands apart, we use these in a very useful way by making it enrich our songwriting. This actually comes from a lot of solid respect and friendship between the five of us. Well, at least it has worked so far, hahaha!

A.M.: How often does X-Hatred play shows? Do you have a dedicated audience already?

Nilo: The original idea was to be a band that didn't have any delusions of being "professional" or "making it." We're not really focused on shows and records; rather, we're around to have fun because this is what we like to do. Not doing music as a profession actually gives us so much freedom over what we write and compose.

A.M.: Can you name some of the places the band has performed in? Which dates will you always remember as some of the best the band has done?

Jander: At the moment we're scheduling our first shows as a band. As mentioned previously, this kind of thing wasn't in our plans and is only a consequence of the 'First Punch' demo. It would be a waste to have music as strong as ours and just keep it to ourselves.

A.M.: How about your worst concerts? Got any horror stories to tell?

Jander: Thankfully we haven't had a worst gig yet with X Hatred and besides, everyone here is a veteran of the underground scene and we always deliver some of the most intense performances around here!

A.M.: At what point in your lives did you become aware of the Brazilian metal scene? Where was the first concert you watched of Brazilian bands?

Nilo: Since childhood I've always been impressed by the aesthetics that went into heavy metal, like KISS with their makeup and the covers of Iron maiden albums. But my first real immersion into the genre would be Metallica's '...And Justice for All' album. What can I say? It warped my mind and ruined the rest of my life, hahaha! The first shows I watched was of the legendary Brazilian hardcore band Ratos de Porão in the 90s.

Jander: Music has been in my life since I was young, maybe 9 or 10 years old. The truth is I was never your typical metalhead because what I'd listen to back in the day was the Ramones, The Clash, Dead Kennedys and lots of Brazilian rock. It all changed when I first listened to King Diamond's 'Abigail' which paved the way for Obituary, Metallica, Sepultura, Korzus, Slayer, and tons of other bands. I always tell people I'm only a 75.5% metalhead, hahahaha! The first concert I ever attended was a local one of the singer Lobao, who now hosts his own program on MTV today. The first metal band I saw live was Viper and it was an amazing experience.

A.M.: Where do you buy your CDs, metal t-shirts, high top sneakers, whatever - basically the stuff that make you look and live like metalheads?

Jander: Considering how easy it is to download these days, I still go out there and buy the CDs and DVDs of my favorite bands. There are a couple of stores I patronize and for tees and clothes in general I just settle for any nearby hypermarket or department store.

Nilo: I really don't care about looking like a metalhead. I think our being metalheads is found inside of us, in our minds, and if you put too much into "looking the part" you're just hopping onto a trend. I do buy CDs and band merch a lot though, but in no specific stores.

A.M.: So many great bands visit Brazil, from Iron Maiden to Exodus. Have any of you caught a foreign band live lately?

Jander: This year we had the pleasure of seeing Iron Maiden and Heaven & Hell here in Brasilia, but when the band is good, we're like any fan. We go to São Paulo or Rio De Janeiro (about 1.200km from our city) to catch Exodus, Dream Theater and even Elton John, who has a lot of fans in our band.

Nilo: Unfortunately, getting to see a band play live here is tied to commercial considerations. What I really support are the underground shows because the mainstream is bt the tip of an enormous and indestructible iceberg.

A.M.: What's the number one beer in Brazil? Here in the Philippines it's San Miguel, how about down there? You like drinking it? Do you have an embarrassing story?

Jander: I think there's no unanimity between the five of us as to our favorite beer here in Brazil. I personally prefer Bohemia whereas Marlon doesn't even drink while the rest will go for whatever's available, hahahahaha!

Nilo: Generally, anything and everything that's available to drink.

A.M.: What else is going on in your lives aside from you individual commitments to the band?

Jander: As none of us lives off music, we have regular professions. Between the five of us are careers in administration, public office, and computers.

A.M.: Considering how busy (or lazy) you guys are at the moment, do you still find enough time to practice?

Jander: We have our own rehearsal studio that gives us the flexibility to practice at least twice a week.

A.M.: What are the rest of X-Hatred's plans for 2009?

Jander: To get the word out on our 'First Punch' demo until the end of the year and play shows in support of it. We already started writing for the new EP with several new songs that'll likely come out in January 2010. This next record will have a better recording quality to please the very demanding tastes of metalheads in the Phillippines.

A.M.: Unfortunately, this has to end X-Hatred. When are you guys hitting the stage again?

Nilo: Our show to release the 'First Punch' was held on July 12 in a place called Blues Pub. The party will include our performance and the participation of the local bands Isolate and Bootlegs. After this, we'll destroy some ears in a city called Ceilândia in center of Brazil.

Jander: Thanks a lot for the interview and the space for spreading of our work! We look forward to the opportunity to visit the Phillippines and play for the metal fans over there. We invite everyone to our MySpace: www.myspace.com/xhatredband. Check it for updates, show schedules, and new songs.

X-Hatred (from left ot right): Nilo Oliveira (bass), Marlon Alencar (vocals), Jander Duarte (drums), Jabah Reivax (guitars) and Paulo Thunão (guitars).

Interview conducted by Miguel Miranda.

08/01/2009 19:15