Interviews: Revenge Of The Fallen

On this new occasion, we have had the opportunity to interview the Metalcore/Metal band, Revenge Of The Fallen from Portugal. 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?

The name of the band came up while demoing the first songs we ever wrote. We wanted to make a statement out of the music we were doing. Dealing with disappointing experiences with other musical endeavors and even experiences in life, personally or professionally, we wanted this band to be just it: a “shove it” to all the people who told us we couldn’t make it, to all those who ever told us we weren’t good enough or told us we were just a failure. The main idea was to purge our demons, to turn the bad, corrosive feelings we had at the time, and make music inspired by that flow. Eventually, someone told us about the Transformers movie, later on. It didn’t matter, because the statement and the music were already out.

2. Why did you want to play this genre? 

The main musical genre in this band is metal. There’s no way to escape that label. Although we do incorporate a lot of different subgenres and other genres as well. There’s always something else, something different, we can bring to the music we make, some exciting elements, and we are never afraid to take those risks. But to answer your question, it must have something to do with our upbringing. We all had older brothers, cousins, kinds, and friends that were already into metal music. So, being surrounded by that influence, it was easy to fall in love with the style and to declare it ours too.

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

Some of us, yes. Martín (bass), André (guitar) and Fábio (guitar) had already been making music for another project, and Fábio knew Carlos (drums) from their odyssey with another project. The only “outsider” was Cláudio (vocals), who we seduced to ROFT with a meme we made when we were looking for a vocalist. We had that Tobey Maguire/Spiderman crying meme and we wrote we had a full band, ready with rehearsal space and a dozen of songs, and we couldn’t get a singer. It was meant to get only a vocalist, but someone with a great sense of humour, and we were lucky enough to get it all, with Cláudio.

4. Each band member's favorite band? 

That’s a tricky question! Having people in this band that can listen to Burzum, Cannibal Corpse, or Lorna Shore at 8am and make dinner listening to the new Bjork album or to 80’s rock, all we can say is that we are massively influenced by many different artists or musicians. Let’s just leave it that way. We are not fans of one color, we do enjoy many, provided we have access to the full palette.

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs? 

Life does. It’s never one kind of situation or a person. We can make a song about the joy of life and second opportunities, as well as we can make a song essentially driven by dissatisfaction or disappointment with other situations in life. It’s something we feel pretty blessed about to be able to make something out of nothing. To make a great song out of inspiration from something most people would even care about.

6. Where was your last gig? 

Our last gig was actually at Fábio's birthday party, at a place on the south bank of the Tagus river. It was pretty awesome. We had a lot of familiar faces there, to celebrate the special date. We had a great time.

7. Where would you like to perform? 

Everywhere. There are so many beautiful places out there, cities and venues, we’d like to play! It would be very disappointing if we weren’t able to take our music abroad, and that’s why we are committed to playing some venues, in Portugal, Spain, and elsewhere in Europe.

8. Whom would you like to perform with?

Being influenced by many different artists and bands, there are a ton of names we could deliver from the tip of the tongue, but we once said we’d be very happy in our pants if we ever performed with the likes of Slipknot.

9. Whom not? 

We don’t have a blacklist, per se. Having that said, it’s pretty obvious that we would also never associate this project with some religious activities or political situations. We have to firmly believe in what we do, as human beings, even before as musician part. If we strongly disagree with something, as members of this society, we’re also transporting that to the musicians we are.

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

Sometimes, of course. It’s that kind of situation where our biggest insecurities show up. Are we 100% ready for this? Did we rehearse enough? Is that song really good enough and are people going to enjoy this or like that? Sometimes these questions come to your brain, and it’s ok, it’s normal - we’re only humans. But the thing is: if you book a show, it’s because (most likely) you recognize you’re up to it, and you’re ready. So all you have to do is, go up that stage, have fun with your peers, and deliver that shit. People will enjoy your show if you’re real and if you put all your energy and commitment into it. And always, don’t forget, try to have fun. Life’s a very short ride!

11. What bands have inspired you the most? 

Possibly bands that would be considered the least likely to become successful. Let’s consider Moonspell from Portugal or Sepultura from Brazil. They were pioneers in their music and visionaries at the same time. They made sacrifices to become recognizable names in the music industry, although coming from countries that up until then had delivered zero bands capable of doing what they have done. Also, bands that make crossover music, that have the audacity to mix different genres have a special consideration, from our perspective.

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

We’re lucky, in this project (the stories we could have here with other projects!) to have pretty decent and respectful fans, so we don’t have a very interesting and weird story or even a pornographic one. There was one bloke, right after the show, bleeding from his mouth from the moshpit, who wanted us to sign our album, on the outside plastic folder, because he said it would be worth more when we got famous. Headbang much?

13. What do you think of your fans? 

Apart from the guy we told you on the previous question, which will hate us forever now, we are very appreciative of the people who listen and follow us. Allowing us to keep on making music we love to do and to further defy ourselves as musicians, destroying any prejudices against certain musical genres, is something we aspire to do, and are forever grateful for being able to do it. And we promise we’ll keep on delivering, as long as we’re alive.

14. What do you think of our site? 

Well, one thing we’d like to acknowledge and say out loud: we’re very happy to see the support you give Portuguese acts, like Miss Lava, Nihility, MEDO, or The Chapter (amongst others). It’s good to see the good music we make around here get to be talked about all around the world.

15. Something to add?

Since this interview is so close to Christmas, SEASONS GREETINGS everyone!