Transcription

Hecatombe - From the airport straight to the world

The southern group is promoting their latest project, the DVD Crossing No-Fly Zone, which was recorded in an airport and is promising to take them far away.

After ten years, Hecatombe (coming from the State of Rio Grande do Sul) is ready to conquer the world with their music. Possessors of a heavy style, with a lot of personality and not usually heard in Brazil, the band had already a few works released: the demos Nightmares (2000), Demo 2002 and Hate ‘n Rage (2008), which had a big responsibility in opening many door to the group.
The track “Dust to Dust”, out of the latest demo, got out of the boundaries of Brazil, being broadcasted in important radio stations of the genre in the United States, playing in shows of KNAC, UCLA, Nvasionradio, Pixie 103, sided by great names such as Metallica, Slipknot and Avenged Sevenfold. That brought to Hecatombe a huge visibility in foreign lands, as a group of German fans created an internet page supporting the band.
After all that, they participated of the contest Cocaine Rocks Contest, which was a big festival created by the American company Redux Beverages, owned by Raymond Herrera, of the infamous band Fear Factory. The good news was that Hecatombe got to the semifinals and reached the top ten, out of more than 160 bands of the whole world.
Now, Boll3t (drums), Wood (bass), Mark (vocal) and Caldo (guitar) got their first DVD released on the second semester of this year, titled Crossing No-Fly Zone, which is promising to bring a brand (and good) face to the rock of this Country. The DVD has a show of nine songs, recorded inside a Caxias do Sul’s airport hangar, plus two official music videos of the tracks “Not Enough” and “Owned by My Own Desolation” and a documentary about the band.
Thrilled by these results, the members from Hecatombe told us of Comando Rock everything about these projects, the history of the band and to where they intend to fly in a while.

Comando Rock: You are on the road for more than 10 years. What changed during this period, about the lineup, songwriting and music style?
Boll3t: Being together for ten years is something very important and that makes a big difference in our relationship. The only change in the lineup was that we used to have two guitarists and now we have only one. The way of songwriting and the band style grew together, because we always think ahead of where we wanted to be.

You have already released the demo Nightmares in 2000, the Demo 2002, later the demo Hate ‘n Rage in 2008 and now the DVD Crossing No-Fly Zone this year. What are the main differences that can be perceived between the old and the new records?
Caldo: The main difference that you can see in Hecatombe from these days is the maturity in the songs and in the work methods, like promotion and presentation, besides everybody’s musical evolution.

You have record the DVD Crossing No-Fly Zone, which had a live show, studio songs, two music videos and a mini documentary of the band. How did you come up with the idea of producing this DVD?
Wood: The main goal in producing this DVD was to show the energy and the intensity that Hecatombe has on a live performance. As we were producing an audiovisual material, we decided to show our fans other segments of our work, like studio recording and something from our personality.

The live show was recorded in an airport. What was the motive of choosing this location? Is there some relation between the lyrics of the songs, or stands for something else?
Mark: In 2007 we did a photo shoot for Hate ‘n Rage at the same hangar and we dug the location. In everything we do, we always try to run away from the conventional, seeking originality. When we planned the DVD, the decision of recording at the hangar came naturally. The location has a relation with Hate ‘n Rage, which is themed based on anger and hatred, and we used the war as a way of representing it, through the planes and airport, which was a trending topic in 2008.

Why didn’t you use on the DVD the theme of the location?
Mark: The planes and the hangar by itself were more in tune with Hate ‘n Rage. To the DVD, we used the hangar for its industrial aspect and for the physical space of the environment.

Tell us more about the recording process, and how was it, how did you decide which path you would take, and some interesting or funny story that happened during the shooting.
Wood: Since the day before, Hecatombe and crew were involved on the scenario assembling and fine tuning for the recording. On the process, more than 30 people were involved and that demanded an immense organization. We started the recording around 10PM and we did two takes of each song. Around 3AM, the cops showed up, demanding that we stopped playing. We took a break and we ignored them completely. After a while, we repeated the process. It was funny, because the crew got pretty worried about the police, and even more by our lack of concerning.

What’s the feedback of the audience towards the DVD?
Caldo: Great. We are receiving many compliments and great reviews, from the fans and from the press in general.

On the DVD recording, the guitarist Emmanoel was still with the band, but before the DVD’s release he left the band. Why did that happen?
Boll3t: In a band as ambitious as Hecatombe, the dedication must be absolute. You can't get where we want to be if the dedication is not complete.

What do you do to keep in touch with your fans, both from RS and from around the Country? How important is that to you?
Boll3t: The main tool is our official website, where we can keep constant contact with our fans and we can always keep everyone aware of our actions. This contact is extremely important, because the communication is the great differential these days.

You state that the music you make has an own style and you can’t find a definition. What are the main influences that you have?
Wood: We listen to everything and we think that’s extremely important to be able to do something different, unique and original. We aren’t strongly influenced by any artist, because we want our work to be significant to the world music scene.

You are reaching great success outside Brazil. The songs are playing in USA radio stations, there’s a fan group created in Germany… What is the reason for this success abroad? Is really harder to get recognition in Brazil?
Mark: This is everything due to the dedication we put in our work. We have a great acceptance because we are always seeking originality. The biggest problem in Brazil is the lack of professionalization of the scene, because abroad we can see many promoters, venues, record labels, managers, specialized radio stations and thousands of publications like Comando Rock. Here we have many fans and a lot of people that are into rock. We are lacking of better structure.

Tell us about the band contest Cocaine Rocks Contest, that you took part.
Caldo: It was amazing for Hecatombe, because the contest was created by a big American company, Redux Beverages, owned by Raymond Herrera (Fear Factory) and B-Real (Cypress Hill). We did a strong promotion and we were able to reach the semifinals, which was a top 10 between almost 200 bands of the whole world. This recognition showed that we are on the right path.

Regarding to shows, the band isn’t used to leave RS to play? Aren’t you planning going to other states of Brazil or even start touring?
Boll3t: Yes. We are getting in constant touch with promoters and bands. The problem is the feasibility. We are working to solve those questions and planning a tour around Brazil pretty soon.

Some of the members have some other projects related to music? If that’s so, is it easy to conciliate with Hecatombe’s?
Wood: Yes, as it was said before, the problem is the lack of professionalization of the scene in our Country, which makes it impossible for an original work band to be self-sustained. On this case, the side projects unfortunately become a necessity. The big difference is that we all work with music exclusively. We have a few side bands, we teach our own instruments, we produce other artists and we do other things inside the music business to be in a constant evolution, applying this knowledge to improve Hecatombe’s work. If you get organized you can conciliate everything.

What do you think about the metal scene in Brazil?
Mark: We like the work of many people here, I believe that metal in Brazil is evolving and getting more professional, and that should begin with the artists, which are the cornerstone of the scene. We like to valorize whoever tries to break boundaries and to be constantly beating their own work.

Do you have plans to release another album with new songs? Or will that take long?
Caldo: We want to release our official debut album as soon as possible. We are always writing new material and improving the old stuff. We are making very good contacts abroad and we want to travel pretty soon to the United States to produce, to record and to promote the album, as well as touring.

How do you wish that things could happen to the band? How do you guys see yourselves in the future?
Boll3t: We keep working arduously so this future becomes a consequence of our work. We are writing new songs and promoting our work constantly to record this debut album and start touring in Brazil and abroad as soon as possible. In the future I see us every day more dedicated towards our goal, which is to convey Hecatombe’s message to everywhere in the planet.