Interview Fernanda and Prika (face to face)

Hi guys, we’re Aux Portes du Metal which translates into At Metal’s Gates, a French Webzine. We’re into metal from Rainbow, Black Sabbath up to Cannibal Corpse and beyond.

Fernanda : Well that’s cool. That’s me, I like everything metal.

In case some of our readers don’t know you yet, what would you tell them? Your influences, where you’re from?

Fernanda : I always say we play the music we like to listen, thrash and death metal, si if you like the old bands and stuff like that, you’ll like Nervosa. As a band we all agree on bands like Slayer, Sepultura, Pantera, Vader but the band that influenced me the most to have a thrash metal band was Nuclear Assault. Dan Lilker is not the bassist who inspired me, it’s more like Steve Harris and also Geddy Lee from Rush, Geezer Butler from Black Sabbath, Steve di Giorgio from Death and Sadus.

Prika : My influences on guitar are Jeff Hannemann and Kerry King from Slayer, Gary Holt from Exodus, Alex Skolknick from Testament. But I also like guitarists like Jimmy Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, it’s different from metal but I love them also. I love blues, I love the feeling of blues. 

Fernanda : We’re from Brazil in case nobody noticed. We live in Sao Paulo, we also love playing in Belo Horizonte which is in the same state as Sao Paulo, and it’s a huge metal scene over there.

Tell us about the line up?  Is it the same as in the previous album?

Fernanda : we just had a previous drummer record the EP and she left before we released our first album.  Pitchu joined in just after the recording, so it’s the same line up since the last album.

I read you recorded your last album in the US? What value does it add?

Erika : it was like a dream come true for us. We were touring there and it was a great opportunity for us.

Fernanda : Just like she said, we had this tour going on and I think we all agreed to take the new album to another level and I think recording in another country, especially in the US, because they have great producers, many great albums were recorded there. Most of the bands that influenced us recorded in the US.

Agony is your new album. How did you come up with this name? What’s the concept?

Fernanda : we always write about human aspects and everything, because we like to write things that people can connect and identify with. The themes we address are worldwide, not only Brazil. When I look at intolerance, evil. We talk about the human aspects, the harm that society does to itself. The result of all this harm is precisely agony. When society is chaotic, agony is the result.

So this new album, how does it stand up to the stuff that you’ve done in the past? What’s better, would you say?

Fernanda : I think this album is different in many many ways. I think it’s more mature in the first place. I believe the songs are better written. Pitchu contributed as she is very technical and she pushed us all. We were listening to a lot of death metal back then. SO I think the album is more aggressive, faster, it’s rawer. There’s better quality of production, more straight to your face. I’m in love with this album. 

Prika : I think the experience we gathered from touring a lot last year contributed a lot to our writing.

What has been the welcome so far on stage for the new songs?

Fernanda : With this band, it’s been like that every time we hit the stage, people are more surprised. They’re paying more attention to the first songs and with this album which is more more aggressive it happens even more. The show is starting with two super fast songs.

What is your favorite track from the album and why?

Prika : this is a very difficult question for us. All the songs are good. (she cracks out loud in laughters) I can mention 5 songs.

As long as you don’t tell me 12 (number of songs in the album)…

Prika : Well, I can say Cyber War because it’s my favorite guitar solo, Wayfarer because it’s a different song, Intolerance means War because it’s very aggressive and in the face, and Failed System ; and Five : Hostages. It was a difficult choice (she is getting energetic and keeps going)  and I like Deception, Arrogance, Guerra Santa, Theory of Conspiracy, Surrounded by Serpents, Hypocrisy, and Devastation.

Fernanda : my list is shorter, of course I love all the songs but my favorite one would be Guerra Santa because it’s the song we have in Portuguese, it’s actually more difficult for me to sing it and make it sound good. I like the energy in this song, it calls for a moshpit.

What bands from Brasil or South America would you recommend?

Fernanda : we’ve got many big bands that everybody knows, Sepultura of course, Ratos de Porao, Torture Squad, Claustrophobia, Jack Devil, very good band, Krisiun of course, and lots of all-girl bands

Prika : Sarcofago, Chakal, Vocifera and Valhalla, Indisciplined, Pandora, Girly Hell, a lot of good bands.

Obvious question : you have established yourself as a real force in metal, so I’m wondering have you ever had people dismiss NERVOSA because you’re a female band?

Fernanda : we never cared for that. At the beginning it was always difficult with stupid people because it was pure prejudice. We always focus on the people who supported us. We’re not here because we want to show off or whatever.  We’re here because we’re metal heads and because we love to play metal, that’s all.

Any advice you want to give to people who would like to achieve the same success?

Fernanda : I guess, don’t give up on what you believe, no matter what. Don’t let people bring you down or discourage you. Stick to what you believe is real. That will make you happy and that’s what we’re slowly achieving. 

Prika : and make it what you love.

I’ve seen you got quite a heavy touring schedule in Europe. Any places you’ve never been before? Until when will you be touring this year?

Fernanda : exactly, in this tour leg, we’ll be playing in Italy, we’ve never been there before. A couple of weeks ago, we played in Bosnia, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia. We’ve never been to Canada and we’ll there for the first time as well as on the East Coast in the US. We’ll come back to Europe in September with Destruction and Flotsam and Jetsam. We’re gonna play lots of new places like Dublin, Portugal.

So for once speaking Portuguese will be convenient.

Fernanda : Exactly, and right after that it’s probable we’ll do a tour in the Baltic States and some Russia, maybe Ukraine.

Are you playing any festivals this summer?

Prika : We played Tuska already, and one in Malta, one in Italy, in Switzerland also.

Well, guys thank you very much for your time, is there anything you might want to add?

Fernanda : No, just keep supporting metal, since metal is alive because each and everyone of us is doing so.