FUNERATUS interview 2009

Not the most known Brazilian death metal band, FUNERATUS released an EP “Vision from Hell” on Blood Harvest Records. I took the oppurtunity to send a bunch of questions to the band to know more about their future plans and to introduce you to their vision from Hell!

-Infernal hails all in FUNERATUS! We didn't have any news from the band since your 2nd album "Echoes in eternity" from 2004. And you came back from hell in 2009, unleashing the "Vision from Hell" EP on Blood Harvest records. What happened to the band during those 5 years? Did the band have to slowdown its activities or put them on hold?
Hail! These years we’re in activity here in our country working, with less concerts but with a lot of practising in our studio, because we wouldn’t want to release another “Echoes in Eternity” or “Storm of Vengeance” again, so we were searching for new notes in the bass and guitar, also another beats on the drums to develope a kind of Death Metal that we like to do, that we enjoy to do. So I guess our new album will be much more agressive than the others, with all the elements that people likes to hear in a brutal music.

-The "Vision from Hell" EP is a foretaste before your third album is being released. Do you have any concrete plans for a label to release it? Could eventually Blood Harvest Records get it out on CD or LP?
Maybe so, maybe not. We didn’t talk about with them yet, so at the same time we’re focused in the recordings first, we want to play the best that we can do for the album becomes great. So after we’ll be done with our part in studio, we’ll talk with every label which ones we’re in touch, to choose the best way to release it.

-What can you divulge concerning this upcoming album (number of tracks, title, etc...)? What can we expect from this new devastating sonic onslaught?
The album must have nine or ten songs, and we didn’t decided a title for it yet. Two of the songs from the EP “Vision from Hell” will be part of it, the title track and Indian Healing. We hope that the ones who enjoy the brutal death metal music, with a Brazilian pinch, realy likes that, because was made with a lot of effort, will, fight and devotion to the extreme metal.

-FUNERATUS plays in the typical Brazilian death metal style: fast death metal with ripping riffs and blasting drums. I find influences of cult bands such as early SLAYER, POSSESSED, MORBID ANGEL (Altars of madness) or early KRISIUN. What are the bands/musicians that influenced FUNERATUS?
These ones that you told are really part of our influences, for sure. We also listen to many kind of different musics, me actually. So just to name ones, there are AC/DC, Motörhead, Venom, Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble, Deicide, Nile, Behemoth, Vader, Sepultura (old), among others.

-KRISIUN was among the first bands to play this particular style of fast death metal. Later on, bands like FUNERATUS, OPHIOLATRY, QUEIRON, HORNED GOD, MENTAL HORROR created their own vision of this style. Why do you play this very particular style of rough death metal? Would you say it's typical from the brazilian scene, is it something natural for you?
I think so man, it’s like Florida in U.S.A. with such a might bands as Morbid Angel, Deicide, Cannibal Corpse that are in the vein of the brutal death metal, but which one has its particularity to play the style, so that’s great such things. We enjoy our latin groove in death metal, also those bands that you named in the question, it’s our interpretation of extreme metal for sure!

-FUNERATUS performs with three members. Do you ever think to add a second guitar player, especially for live situation? Or do you like the power trio state like the mighty MOTÖRHEAD (eventhough they were four for a short time 1986-1995)? What are your favourite MOTÖRHEAD records?
We like to play such a “power-trio” as Motörhead, Venom, etc. It’s also so hard to find a person that wants to play serious in a band, because it’s a lot of work, things that you must leave to do just to study your instrument, rehearsal with the band, to play live. So our formation is good the way it is, we are a family. For me, the best albums of Motörhead is: Overkill, Ace of Spades, We are Motörhead, Inferno, Sacrifice, Orgasmatron, 1916.

-On the "Vision from Hell" EP we can't say that FUNERATUS softened its music. The 3 tracks are a bit more brutal and remain uncompromising in speed execution. Have you ever been tempted to play slower tracks or add doomlike parts in a song? What do you think about bands like NECROS CHRISTOS or FUNEBRARUM who played on darker and slower paces?
Well, our new album will have an intrumental song which will be slower than we usually do. I haven’t heard anything from these bands you talked about yet, but I like the extreme Death Metal bands with speed, power and brutal stuff. I’m not against the bands that play slower songs, and it’s good to put some parts slower and darker. Which music has its history, and the musicians must play for it, independent of velocity, dificulty or anything else.

-The tracks from your demo "The baptism" and those from the split with DESCEREBRATION has been gathered in 2003 by Mutilation Records on a LP limited to 200 copies. First, why was it so limited back then? Second, could it be repressed one day or will these tracks remain in oblivion? How do you consider this old material today, are you still proud of it?
The idea of limited copies cames from Mutilation Records, because it was a strategy from them at that time. Here it’s hard to press LP’s because in Brazil only one factury still works with a LP pressing, so it’s expansier than a normal release. We won’t repress it again, because it’s an old material that doesn’t represent what we do today, so we prefer to release new albums instead of repressing old releases. I can’t consider if I’m proud of it, because I wasn’t in the band when they recorded it. But I can tell that at this moment, the live versions from the old stuff it’s better than in the recordings, with more power, speed and feeling. From the split “Upcoming Apparition” we still plays Feast of the Undead and Universatan, which one is always asked in every gig that we do here.
-Our worldwide metallic scene is saturated with bands, it's impossible to listen to every fucking record with care due to the relentless flow of releases. This is partly due to the ease to spread music thanks to internet, plus it's easier today to record a demo with a computer and put some tracks on the web via Myspace. What's the position of FUNERATUS towards this? Do you try to follow the metallic actuality or you don't care and stay faithful to your classic albums?
We really care about the new ways to release and spread music in the world. We have a nice myspace layout, a good website and we’re always trying to follow the music business scene, at our limits, of course. Nobody can stop the downloads on internet and the wave of mp3, so it’s necessary to get known about this age we’re living, with new ways to work in the music scene.

-What's the state of the actual metallic scene in Brazil? Metal music seemed to be more accepted as before except maybe more extreme music like death or black metal. Which bands are worthy to be heard and supported according to you?
As everywhere Brazilian scene is saturated with many bands, some goods others no much, but it’s rolling. Here we suffer a lack of support from entrepreneurs for more concerts here, but in other hand the government has been doing some laws that support the culture and art, and that’s good. Anyway, we still face prejudice from the society to heavy metal, that’s why we don’t have more professional bands wich lives with the money earned from music here in Brazil. I think that the only band that lives with just the money from the band is Krisiun, these guys today are greater than every single Brazilian Metal band. Hails to them!

-One good thing about FUNERATUS is that you also keep running a well-designed website in addition to your Myspace page. Your website got lots of pictures and informations. Today more and more bands only have a Myspace page and that's it. You seems taking care of the band's promotion in a serious manner. Why the website is so important for you?
Thanks man. I guess that the website is the real identity of a band in the internet. It’s very important to have a myspace with a cool layout, updated with the fresh news from the band, of course. But the website it’s your domain, so for us, who wants to live with the music, it’s very usefull to have a great website with all the stuff from the band.

-I don't find too many interviews of FUNERATUS on internet except a few ones in portuguese. Is it a lack of interest from both the webzines or you? Do you answer to printed zines more easily? Are there good ones in Brazil like Lucifer Rising Magazine?
We answer to all printed zines, webzine, websites, magazines, everybody in the “press” of metal scene. The thing is that we haven’t been well promoted in exterior, because of a weak support from labels, also with our lack of time and will to do that. Now we’re prepared and focused to increase our name, our promotion, and very soon we’ll be making a tour in exterior.

-You played with MORBID ANGEL in September 2004 in Chile and in September 2005 in São Paulo. The time when David Vincent rejoined the band. How was the gig? Did you meet the guys of the band? I guess opening for such a legendary band is more than an accomplishment, right? Do you enjoy the albums with Steve Tucker as well?
Man the gigs were awesome. It’s always a great honour to play with the bands that you growned listening to them, so we enjoyed a lot it was a wonderfull experience for us; we learned a lot playing with Morbid Angel for twice. We talked with all the guys, drinked beers and smoked some joints with them. We just missed the songs that Morbid Angel composed with Steve Tucker, live in the concerts. I like so much the albums “Heretic”, “Gateways to Annihilation” and “Formulas of Fatal to the Flesh” and it was a disappointment some musics from these albums won’t be part of the show. Finally, it was a big experience and a hightlight of our career.

-Have you been listening to any killer stuff lately? Would you recommend anything to our readers? And the worst shit you unfortunately have heard?
From Brazil I may recommend bands as: Escarnium, Deluge Master, Obskure, Violator, Decomposed God, Pathologic Noise, Bruto and Goreslave; great bands! About the shit bands that are only in undegroung because of some angry stage of life, I’ll let it to myself, because doesn’t worth to talk about them.

-I let you end this interview with your own words, if you have anything more to add! Thanks man, death metal eternal!!
Thanks for your support Jim and Putrefactive Effect Zine, it’s great to talk a little bit with you and all the guys from France and Europe that are reading this interview. Well just wanna talk that in 2010 we are gonna release a brutal fucking great album and we’ll be on the road anywhere, so wait for us there, that we are gonna give our blood to make great gigs. Thanks again and death metal eternal!!!
http://www.myspace.com/funeratus
http://www.funeratus.com.br/