ABANTESMA interview 2006

South America relentlessly unleashes hordes of death and black metal bands dedicated to the underground. Their hard way of life makes them produce raw and honest extreme metal. ABANTESMA is one of them which recently released a 2nd demo of sick metal of death, nothing innovative but deadly enough to skullcrush some posers, he!he! Here is a chat I had with skin beater Carlos.

-Blasphemous hails Carlos! Please introduce the ABANTESMA entity. Tell me how everything happened, why you created ABANTESMA and what’s the meaning of ABANTESMA?

Carlos Polleze: Hell-lo Jim, first of all, thanx a bunch for your support. So, ABANTESMA was created to express our felling about this dying world. We choose to play Death metal because we love this kind of music. ABANTESMA is an old Portuguese word, it means ghosts, spirits of repugnant appearance, when a person see it, that person fells repulsion.

-You play brutal and fast death metal in early KRISIUN vein but you definitively don’t limit yourself in full non stop blast beats shit, you have some pretty good catchy parts. I would underline one song from your demo (Vanquish) in which you slow down some parts and use some riffs that really create dark feelings. It reminds me some SADISTIC INTENT and old MORBID ANGEL stuff. Do you agree with this statement? Which bands are praised by ABANTESMA?

Carlos: Yeah! MORBID ANGEL is a big influence, especially to Fernando ( guitars and vocals ). About the SADISTIC INTENT, man! That band is very nice, they rules too. I can say another bands that we like, for example: SARCÓFAGO, CORPSE GRINDER, DEICIDE…another thing about the Vanquish song, it is my favourite song, I’m glad for your underline and comment. Thanks guy.

-We can witness that death metal dominates mostly the brazilian underground scene since the explosion of KRISIUN. Do you have any interest in that band? What are the most respected bands in your country?

Carlos: Look! The bands here in Brazil know how to do extreme music, its natural since the 80’s, bands like SARCÓFAGO, VULCANO ….were the firsts here. Talking about the Death Metal after the KRISIUN explosion, I think it’s normal we see a lot of bands trying to be a new KRISIUN, but it’s not good, it’s terrible, this kind of situation happened on the past too, with the SEPULTURA. KRISIUN is a great band, I have some cds in my house. Brazil have showed very nice bands to the underground word, I can say some names, like: CORPSE GRINDER, MENTAL HORROR, IxSxOxYxF, VULTOS VOCÍFEROS…

-“The Plague against them all” was recorded in late 2005. What is the differences between this demo and the previous “Gods, Hate, War” from 2004. This last one seems to spread your name successfully in Brazil, am I right? Why there was some delay about your “Gods, Hate, War” as stated in your bio? Was it line-up troubles?

Carlos: I think the great difference between the first demo and “The Plague…”are the songs constructions. We are playing more, we are using new times in the music, new techniques.
Yeah man, we had some problems in the line-up, nothing serious, only bass players.

-Do you start your promotion outside Brazil with this second demo? What is the feedback regarding ABANTESMA so far? Any bad review saying it’s not original or something else? What are the fucking trends infesting Brazil musically (nu metal or electro metal…)?

Carlos: No, all reviews that I’ve read are always saying good things. Since the first demo I have been in touch with another countries, but when we released “The plague…” my list of contacts around the necrounderground world increased and I begun to spread “The plague…” outside of Brazil firstly, because I had some trades to be doing overseas and when “The plague against them” was released I was sending for it persons, fanzines. About the fuckin’ trends… here in Brazil the most popular style now is the Emo (do you know? NdJ: Yeah, better call it homo, ahahah!). Nu metal is another bullshit that infested some heads, it’s sad but it’s true.

-Gilberto Gil is minister concerning music and everything about culture. I don’t think he loves death metal ah! ah! Does this guy help people doing music more widely? Does it give more importance to all musical movements?

Carlos: (Laughts) I think he doesn’t like. Well, his work here is with another kind of situation. I see some things about his work actually like minister on TV, he is a popular person of Brazilian culture and he made his carrier playing and releasing MPB discs…his life doesn’t have nothing with metal music, and he doesn’t have link with extreme music, actually, I think it’s good…because if he would like mind in this…he’ll do bullshit, because he doesn’t know the real meaning/proposal of this kind of art, or of the artists of metal music.

-It seems a full length album is on the way and I guess you are looking for a label. How have been your investigations so far? Did you get interesting contacts? Does this new release contain songs from the demos or is it new material?

Carlos: Well, we are writing and rehearsing the new songs, we’ll put those four tracks of “The plague against them” in our future full disc…I have some interesting contacts overseas, but to release a disc isn’t so easy, I am working hard for it…as in Brazil as overseas. Only time will tell.

-Do you have any contacts with the neighbour countries of Brazil? Peru, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia… Any interesting bands to mention? Is there support within each others?

Carlos: Sure, I do. I have been in contact with Peru, Chile, Bolivia…I will take a demo from a Peruvian band called GORE. I have a Black metal band from Bolivia, called BENDESAR. I have here in my house a demo from a Peruvian band called RITUAL too.

-Carlos, you are playing drums in ABANTESMA, which drummers would you name as references? When did you start playing drums? What is your actual drums material?

Carlos: Give me to think…. I begun to play drums because of Dave Lombardo, and them, I knew Mike Smith from SUFFOCATION, Tony Laureano. But I like to see other drummers playing for example, Neil Peart, Mitch Harris. When I bought my own drums I had 18 years old, but I begun to drill my motive coordination since my 14 years, always playing air drums listening some discs ( haha, its true man), or doing blasting beats exercises on the arm of the sofa. Here in Brazil the musicians have a natural feeling to play the songs, we have our own style. We have a natural groove running inside our veins, and then, after I’ve bought my kit, was only to make some thinks, rhythm, that I learned on action. Now I have an Odery Drum and different brands of cymbals and a double pedal from Mapex and my first pedal too called Turbo.

-In the promo pack you sent to me, you add some flyers of past gigs. You play two times at Metal Devastation Fest. You play with the mighty MYSTIFIER and many local bands? How were those gigs? Usually how many people came at gigs? Are you supported by local metalheads?

Carlos: It was nice. MYSTIFIER is a legend of black/death metal music, was a pleasure to play with them. The gigs were very nice, I don’t remember how many metal heads came at... but in general , here in my state the number of people in shows are, at about 300/400 metalheads today. Yes, we are supported, we are the first brutal death metal band from here, my state. The real persons are always giving a support to the band.

-You also send me flyers of a brazilian zine called Metal Discharge? Are there any cool zines in Brazil? I guess you like that kind of zines but what do you think of webzines? Don’t you think that some of them play the game of labels who releases so much stuff, that all those webzines would make you think everything is great? Don’t you think they are a bit responsible of musical saturation?

Carlos: Yes, there are. We have a lot of nice fanzines here. Saying about the webzines, I like too, but my favourites forever will be the fanzines. Some webzines are nice, I send stuffs for it too, but the majority of my packages are sending to the zines. I don’t know if all the webs play the game of labels, I can’t generalize. Here in Brazil, we have some mags, for example, unhappy it have been payed to say nice things about some bands, and when you listen the cd, man! That’s sucks…that’s ok, the real fans of underground music aren’t idiots, they know the truth. This kind of situation you said, about webs, or zines, or mags, be playing the games of labels…is only to get some empty heads, not the maniacs of the underworld like you, me …or other real bangers spreaded around this fuckin world.

-Your hometown is Serra in Espírito Santo (South East Brazil). How is life there and in Vitória? You seem to have an important scene? Can you tell us few words about CATACUMBA, DELICTA CARNIS, WOLFSHADE, WARDEATH, EVICTUS and AWAIT ROTTENESS?

Carlos: These bands above are from my state, they play in a festival with us here some months ago. The scene here in my state is growing. Some years ago we had nice and important bands, and now we have a new generation keeping the flames of Espiríto Santo alive. When ABANTESMA released the first demo, some reviews in Brazil said that, finally, after many years a surprise came from ES (my state). About the life here, well, is nice, we have beautiful girls, beaches, but…the violence is present too, off course, the misery, in general man here is very nice to live, I can assure it for you, but I can’t close my eyes to the misery in my country, children working or living on the streets. It is a sad reality, unhappy.

-In your credits, we can read you thank killer bands like CORPSEGRINDER and HEADHUNTER DC. Are they still active? And what can you say about MESEMON ECROF and FUNERATUS and their music style?

Carlos: Yeah! CORPSE GRINDER is alive, they are from MG, another state near mine, I love this band, and about the HEADHUNTER, they are recording a new stuff. Well...the MESEMON ECROF is another nice Death Metal band from my country and FUNERATUS too.

-What are the latest releases that desecrated you soul? Which bands will you forever worship as they made of you a metalhead? And which ones make you vomit?

Carlos: Celebration of Hate from CORPSE GRINDER was a good release. The band that rules in my mind and made me a metalhead, was SARCÓFAGO, I’ll praise forever their releases, they are the kings of extreme music, the pioneers of brutality. I hate all that bullshit bands of Glam, hard rock, nu metal…they make me not only to vomit, but to shit a lot too.

-How is it being a metalhead in Brazil? Are you like an alien among common people? Do you have any troubles with bastards, religious cunts or authorities?

Carlos: Is normal. When I started to listen Metal, I remember my friends saying to me: “ Guy, its not music, it’s noise, that singers are screaming as a crazy idiots..” but… fuck off them, I am here. I don’t have any kind of trouble with authorities, or a “blind” fanatic.

-Can you say some brazilian words I would tell to my worst enemies?

Carlos: Write it there man:
1-Vai tomar no cú
2- Foda-se!
I am always saying it here, especially “Foda-se” that means like: Fuck off.

-OK, I think it’s all for today! Thank you very much for taking the time answering my questions Carlos. Add anything I may have forgotten. Evil luck to you and keep spreading the plague against them all!

Carlos: Hey Jim, Thanks again for the support in your fuckin’ fanzine. I want to thanks everybody that have supported us, zines, distros, bands, hellbangers …around this dying world . I love to be in touch with maniacs of underground, stuffs traders, zine makers…
Keep in touch guys!!! Take care. See ya soon!

http://www.myspace.com/abantesma