Interviews: Höwler

On this new occasion, we have had the opportunity to interview the Thrash Metal band, Höwler from Costa Rica. Check out the interview and follow the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

1. Where did you get the idea for the band name, you planned it or came out just like that?

After one or two rehearsals, I presented the guys with a list with several names, apart including Höwler there were Dark Times, Disorder, Dungeon Breath, Pendragon, Ironside, and Warpzone, among others; in the end, we decided on Höwler. The idea of the name has its roots in werewolves and their howling when they transform, a howling that represents freedom, stopping pretending and being oneself, showing what one really is deep inside and leaving aside the chains that society imposes on us, of course, always without harming others. It also represents a cry of struggle, to express and denounce what is wrong around us.

2. Why did you want to play this genre?

We all listen to a multitude of musical genres, but Heavy Metal and Thrash Metal are the genres that marked us in our adolescence and what motivated us to create music. Personally, singers like David Wayne, Carl Albert, Dio, Rob Halford, Geoff Tate, and James Hetfield left a great impression on me, when I discovered them I said to myself "I want to do that".

3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?

I started singing in bands around 2004-2005. In 2007 I was in a band called Creeping Trolls and around that time I met Renan (guitar), who played in a band called Metalness, which later became Inhaler; at that time we played in many concerts with other emerging thrash bands. Meanwhile, Jose (bass) and David (guitar) started to learn music and got together with several friends to play the covers. Creeping Trolls disbanded in 2008 and in 2009 I met Jose and David through a mutual friend and joined the project, at which point the band got serious and Höwler was born. During the following years, we played all over the country, many times together with Inhaler and other bands of friends, until at the end of 2012 and the beginning of 2013, both Höwler and Inhaler were going through moments of instability (several members left the projects) and in the end, we decided to merge, leaving Höwler as the name of the band, as it was more renowned locally. A few months later we started recording our first album called Back to Madness, which we released in 2014.

4. Each band member's favorite band?

Charlie: Metallica and Megadeth (I can't choose between them).

Jose: Metallica

David: Metallica

Renan: Megadeth

Gonzalo: Ghost

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

What inspires us is mainly denouncing the things that are wrong in our society, whether they are situations such as social inequality, political abuse, or the destruction of the environment, for example.

6. Where was your last gig?

Our last concert was on November 4 in our country, in San Pedro, together with several bands of friends. The concert was called Thrashed to Death V.

7. Where would you like to act?

We have played in several Latin American countries, and now we would like to play on big stages in Europe, the United States (on the west coast, mainly), and Canada.

8. Whom would you like to feature with?

Metallica, Exodus, Megadeth, Testament, Municipal Waste, and Havok, for instance.

9. Whom not?

There is no band we dislike or don't want to share the stage with.

10. Have any of you ever suffered from stage fright? Any tips for beginners on how to beat that?

I don't think any of them have suffered from stage fright, but I think that as long as one loves to perform, one will always feel nervous before starting the show, it's normal. The advice I can give you to not let yourself be dominated by this nervousness is to perhaps practice well beforehand to be completely sure that what you are going to do is right, and seek support from your bandmates, as long as everyone works in unison and enjoys what they are doing, everything will flow and fear will disappear.

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

Metallica, Megadeth, Pantera, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, and Judas Priest

12. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for?

Maybe it could be the time we played at a festival in Honduras. After the show a fan approached Jose and asked him to give him the shirt he was wearing, maybe this doesn't sound strange, but the really strange thing is that the shirt Jose was wearing was a really old shirt, torn, faded, sweaty, dirty and it wasn't even from Höwler, if I remember correctly it was a Judas Priest shirt.

13. What do you think of your fans?

Our fans are as energetic, wild, and passionate as we are, we appreciate their show of affection both for the messages of support they give us and for their presence at the concerts.

14. What do you think of our site?

First of all, I think that the work you do is very important for little-known bands like us, since, in our country (and the Latin American region in general), the traditional media have no interest in talking about us or supporting this type of music. Thanks to you and other similar media, our music reaches more people around the world. Secondly, I find your site very professional and I like the way you present information, both visually and in terms of style.

15. Something to add?

I just want to thank you for taking us into account for this interview and I hope that people who didn't know us like our musical proposal. You can find us on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Bandcamp, and all digital platforms. Thrash Metal never dies!