Hanna Tsepesh: Hello Hugo and João!Welcome to THE GATES OF METAL and thank you for accepting the invitation for this interview !For the first question i would like you to tell us a little how everything started with Simbiose and also to tell us the names of the band elements and what do they play for our readers to know you better...you 2 are the vocalists right?
João: Hi! Thank you for this interview, i am one of Simbiose vocalists and the rest of the band members are: bifes on bass,luis on drums,nuno on guitar and paulo in the second guitar, about the begining of the band hugo is the best one to speak about that,ehehhehe...not me, i only arrive in 1999.
Hugo: Hi, thank you for this oportunitty!!! Yes i'm also one of the vocalists. The band began in 1991 by the will of some friends to practise some riffs in one garage. Inicially was nothing special only for diversion. Bands like Doom and Extreme Noise Terror was at that time the engine for this project with wheels. Until the date we gave more than 300 concerts, tour from europe, brasil, several releases in K7, vynil and cd and we also played with some international bands like R.D.P., Driller Killer, Extreme Noise Terror, Lobotomia, Tankard, Colera, D.F.C., Agathocles, Olho Seco, Sin Dios, The Varukers, English Dogs …
Hanna Tsepesh: You have nothing to thanx my friends the pleasure is our! What are your bands of reference?
João: ohhhhh...so many! I listen to lots of music styles from punk-hardcore to metal passing through grind! But i will say 3 bands that i really like a lot: napalm death,ratos de porão and extreme noise terror.
Hugo: Mainly the band plays crust, essencialy for having this bands of reference in this same style. But everyone of the band listen to lots of kind of music like , HC, punk, metal, crust, grind. In the deep everything will be the inspiration for the sound we create, sometimes more metal, other times more punk but always spin around crust. To be honest the quick and agressive music it's always our reference.
Hanna Tsepesh: As you know sometimes certain people without a bad intention mix styles, and the style that you play and sing sometimes it's mixed up with others from what i hear and read...so, not to remain any doubt can you clear up to our readers as well for the fans and future fans the style of Simbiose?
João: The Simbiose base is crust! Crust come's from the punk people who wanted to play metal,eheheheh...but obviously the influences are a lot in the end we mix other styles!Hugo: Exact,tagged by crust. It comes by mixtures through time, the kind of sound it's symbolized by the beat, by the kind of riffs and by the vocalized way and even by the lyric content. In some country's it's one kind of a life style, in clothes and in the social attitude. To understand more the better way is to listen the bands, read the lyrics, to see some concerts, search in the internet, myspace, youtube, etc. But crust has a culture and there are lots of thing yet to discover.
Hanna Tsepesh: Thank you so much for the explanation, i think now our readers and you fans can undertsand what Simbiose is about! In what do you inspire to create Simbiose lyrics?
João: Not in soap-operas(eheh)! The inspiration it's all around us, the reality in general! From what we see until the way we face life, we try to pass this social critic to teh lyrics...
Hanna Tsepesh: (ahah) Soap-Operas i can bet that they don't come from there!
Hugo: In reality, lots of times for hard and cruel words might sound the reality suits to one superior violence. Animal exploration, animal experimentation, right extreme, politics, social issues, church, religion, environment, domestic vilolence and even about tiny human feelings and hypocrisy. People talk about the human dark side, we were already criticized by that but crust is right that and it makes scence. Not about flowers, the beach, the rainbow friendships or the bats and vampires or a pact with the devil or blood from the virgin or porn shits...no!!! It's all about the human son of the bitch!!! Anyone talks whatever they want to talk, everyone has the wave and the scene. We respect that and it's good to have the scene and ideas for everything. We have ours!
Hanna Tsepesh: Exactly i also agree with you Hugo, everyone has is scene and by that we have to respect people!I think that things could be extremely boring if there was only one music style! Gladly that you exist and you also have this strong vision for what you pretend to Simbiose!!! Since the begining of this year (if i'm not mistaken) you were in Brasil on a tour. I visit your blog and your tour diary and i found really interesting what you write as well some parts really funny (ahaha)! I would like you to tell us how was the experience for you 2, how this oportunity appear and in the end that you tell us one moment really good and other one not so good...
João: This tour take place because for along time that we have invitations to perform in Brasil, this year we were there because the album"Evolution?" was edited in Brasil and than we travel there with the minimum conditions...A bad moment - In the first concert the brasilian police don't let us play(ehehhehe ), Good moment: to play in the Verdura Festival in São Paulo.
Hugo: For me is one dream come true, since i was a young boy that i've been in contact with people from Brasil, by correspondence, by vinyl and k7 exchanging with bands from there and that create in me lots of curiosity and expactation about the brasilian underground, extremely rich in diversity and lots of bands, zines, organizations and concerts. To be in there personaly and to feel and of the environment was brutal. You can't compare it with other place of the world. Good Moment - The drink is strong and the the simplicity of people and the human heat is amazing (you can't even compare with the brasilians from here), Bad Moment - We catch the summer more cold from the last 20 years in Brasil. The day in Riom de Janeiro was a shit because of the weather and becasue of that the concert was cancelled.
Hanna Tsepesh: Yes,to depend on the weather it's hard! I'm glad that everything was ok and people from Brasil liked you and treated you like you deserve! Talking about your new album "Evolution?", i most say that is not the sound that i'm used to hear a lot, but you conquered me because teh album is amazing!!!Congartulations to you 2 by the strong voices and the rest of the members by their equaly amazing instrumental! I also think really interesting the theme that you use in your lyrics and some musics are in portuguese, i most say that i loved the song "Mundo em Guerra" it's amazing really,congratulations!!! But for those who didn't have the chance to listen to this excelent album "Evolution" i would like you guys to speak a little about it...João: The "Evolution?" is for me our best album! Everyhting was ok on studio and specially we show what the band is about on stage, and it was a big step...about the musics i think that Simbiose acustom the crust fans with metal and fast (ehehehehe).
Hugo: For me is the best album of Simbiose, but i also like the previous one, concerning to composition it's well ballanced but this one has one huge artwork, one superior production in all levels. There are really the stigma that "in english is to launch outside". I have one opinion that goes against Simbiose. You have bands of sucess well recognized that has lyrics 100% in swedish of japonese. Crust is that, free of frontiers, better i can say that crust break tabus and frontiers. You have brasilian crust bands the sing in portuguese and recognized all over the world. An why not one band from portugal to break that english concept??? In Spain they also sing in castelhano and i know band beeing launched in sweden stamps, do you understand me? Unleast our style it doesn't seem to make a difference!!!
Hanna Tsepesh: Yes, i understand very well what you are saying! And by that i stay surprised for you guys to have songs in portuguese and actually is not very usual! Those same songs are really strong with interesting themes!!! How was the process of the album recording? Did you have all prepared when you went on studio?
João: The recording process were a little complicated, 2 months before bifes and paulo went in the band so we work hard in the songs that were almost completed, we took a little time on studio and the final work i think that was greatefull!
Hugo: It seems that the factor of pression works well on the contrary with the previous album!!! There were already strategy's that we had planed before, fruits of previous experiments and worked very well in this album. The experience counts a lot on studio.
Hanna Tsepesh: Well people! I like your album and also the "rage" that you transmit during the songs, the album cover was something that also fascinate me and captured my attention and i think that is something not to stay outside this interview because the people who design it deserves this gratitude! My congratulations for this work, it's amazing! In my opinion the designer capture the essence and what the album want to transmit but i want you speak about the album cover and by the way that you tell us the name of the artist. Did you had any intention to call people with this cover?
João: I think Sonia show the actual reality to the place this world were we live is advancing, without any doubt she made this work very well, it was really what we wanted to and to were evolution take us to? And why evolution in this way? My congratulations also for this cover because is really interesting and is really important for the album.
Hanna Tsepesh: Yes you are right and by the way my congratulations to Sonia for her amazing work on the cover! It's brutal like your album!
Hugo: In the present days the image is really important for an album, if we want to bet a lot on that. We found the right person to represent us visualy or better, Sonia http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=92382900 found us. She add us and analysing her site i stay really impressed with the designs and covers that she already made to other bands like oi polloi, concrete sox, los dolares, etc. You can see that she lives the crust scene and for a long time she prefectly understand the spirit. I make her the proposal to work with us and immediatly she accept, the rest was to transmit the ideia we had for the album and to give freedom of creation. This is the result. A master piece. Of course the cover has to capture the attention for the image and the message and more, it's perfect to have one cover that you look at and "alone" tells you what sound you are going to hear i think the cover can transmit that.
Hanna Tsepesh: One little detail, that one from the "more fish" is funny (AHAH)! During this " simbiotic journey" (ehehe) did you have supports? In your town or by people? It's been hard for you guys to record the albums and to arrange necessary supportsfor that?João: Supports?Yes, yes...Everything we made until now was by our own and friends that know us and bet on us, the camera guys, culture, etc...they area shitting in what you do, this is one of the reasons that lots of good bands split up in Portugal!
Hugo: The only supports come from people that believe in us, like the records that bet in us along this years, from people that arrange us concerts and appear in there and buy us material. The society descriminates everything that is outside the regular parameters. "are you stupid? Bimbo? Sheep? Lamb? Don't you speak bad about us? What you do is for the majority or minority? Give money immediatly or not? Are you a rock in ths shoe? Well than us (city's, cameras, government, etc) support" ! It's a little in this way even if things become better concerning to marginality in the state and population in general.
Hanna Tsepesh: Indeed it's the sad and most pure picture of the society were we live in! I hope to be alive to see one great change in the mentality of the human kind like supporting more the national metal instead of criticize it! About concerts everything is ok? Do you guys have any dates and places to share with us?
João: The tour of this album arrives practicaly in the end of this year...we only have one date scheduled in september, ALENTEJO SEM LEI FESTIVAL.
Hugo: Since the begining of the album promotion it seems that the givem concerts reach our expectations, good ambience and lots of caos in concerts. In Portugal and outside, england and brasil.
Hanna Tsepesh: Really good and also good luck with that!!! One last question, what are the future projects to Simbiose? Are you already thinking about the ep releasing for the next year?
João: -SPLIT AGATHOCLES/SIMBIOSE-Albums re-ediction "NAKED MENTAL VIOLENCE","BOUNDED IN ADVERSITY"
Hugo: And probably one tribute song for the D.F.C of Brasil and other one for the portuguese music. We stop a little now, we already are working on new songs already thinking in a future album. But no worries lets see what future reserve to us.
Hanna Tsepesh: Thanx a lot for your answers! THE GATES OF METAL wish you a lot of success for this powerful album as well for future projects and concerts and continue to make us proud inside and outside frontiers!
João: Once again i thank you for this interview i wish you the best for your program and that people continue to listen to good music and support bands in all levels in concerts and albums, because only this way bands like Simbiose can survive...
Hugo: Thank you for everything. I'ts because of people like you that the flame of the underground continues alive, thank you all that supports and see you in concerts!
Hanna Tsepesh: Thank you so much for your words!
By: Hanna Tsepesh
