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English Version BLEEDING DISPLAY is an imminent Lisbon-based Death Metal band. Back to the Grave and two band members gathered shortly after their performance at the III GAIA METAL FEST [review to be added] in Vila Nova de Gaia on September 6 2003 and had a rather long conversation about band-related issues and other less obvious matters. In the course of the event quite a number of strange occurrences took place. The following is an attempt at transcribing what has been said. Morgana Back to the Grave
– Tonight we have, live and in the flesh, the Lisbon-based Death Metal band
BLEEDING DISPLAY. First and foremost, would you care to do the presentations?
Sérgio – I am Sérgio, vocalist. João – I am João, guitarist. The absent members are: Juca (drums) and Alex
(bass). BTTG – How did the idea of creating the
project BLEEDING DISPLAY – now firmly set as a band – first appear? Which
conditions were necessary for the band to reach firm ground? Sérgio
– Quite similarly to millions of other Portuguese bands: we started out for
fun. There were line-up changes and we eventually started writing songs. In
the meantime, an opportunity came to perform live. This was where we saw how
much people really started to appreciate our work, so we grew ever more
interested and keen on our music. After 4 years, we shall try to move on with
the band, give loads of concerts and write more songs. BTTG – In a
mini-interview granted to the German webzine «Smalltalk», João admitted to
this being a very satisfying line-up. How would you characterise this
symbiosis? João
– In my view, our present line-up is the ideal line-up: 4 people, very close
to each other and friends to one another. It does not only have to do with
studio work, rehearsals or writing songs – it is more about friendship,
hanging out, having a blast.
BTTG – That is to
say: the band is essentially friendship + work? João – Essentially friendship + fun. Sérgio – Yes, quite naturally, because if you
do not get along with the people you are playing with, things will hardly
work out. So much so that it is perfectly possible to watch certain bands
gathering, having quite promising future perspectives and then, after a
couple of concerts, they break up – and no one really knows why. I would say
it has to do with divergences between the band members. BTTG – And then,
there is no proper environment… Sérgio
– Oh yes, of course. And then there is no proper environment. Want it or not,
it is always necessary to find ‘the proper environment’. BTTG – In relation
to how ‘work’ gets to be distributed, does each member have differentiated
functions within the band? Sérgio
– Insofar as lyrics go I am very selfish. I might be a dictator, but I am the
one in charge of the lyrics. As for the music itself, we all contribute with
our opinions and help create the songs: João comes up with an idea, Alex
comes up with another one and so forth. Sometimes we reach an agreement;
sometimes we do not. BTTG – You are the
lyric-writer, so which influences would you claim to have? Is there any genre
of (not necessarily bloody) literature that has made a lasting impression on
you? Sérgio
– Absolutely nothing. We have nothing to do with satanic, gore stuff, killing
little children and the likes of. Our lyrics report mostly to social
criticism à la NAPALAM DEATH, but
our approach has more to do with criticism towards the church and all
religions as a whole. In my opinion, religion is the main reason behind wars
and many other problems. BTTG – One might
say that the ‘love-the-next-man’ dictatorship is generating so much
intolerance. Down deep, it is but pure hypocrisy. Sérgio –
Of course it is all hypocrisy. And it is all about money too. I also write
about self-esteem, about the human existence. The concept behind «BLEEDING
DISPLAY» is not the absolutely out-dated gore concept that inevitably invokes
killing, ripped corpses. I deeply respect the bands who tread those paths,
but all we do is criticise all forms of fanaticism: the church AND the other
extreme (Satanists who burn churches). Or at least so they claim to do. BTTG – In that
case, what is the deeper meaning behind «Bleeding Display»? How does this
phrase mirror the band’s aspirations and essence? João – There are two concepts behind «BLEEDING DISPLAY»: one of them is very straight-forward and the other one is much more subjective. The «Display» we are talking about here is a bleeding mechanism – the image it evokes is that of a person with a switch. If you press «ON», it leads to a bleeding – this is the more direct concept. The other concept provides for another kind of
bleeding, notably that of the thought, the soul – representing Pain, Agony. BTTG – I would
like to ask you a quite controversial question in Portugal these days. What
is the meaning of the concept «Underground» for you? Looking back at what
there was a few years ago and associating the view with your very own
perspective of what the scene lives through these days, would you say the
«Underground movement» has sort of
stagnated, disappeared, increased in proportion and/or quality or simply
transformed into something else?
BTTG – I strongly
consider that the Portuguese «Underground», in purity and essence has had a
tendency to decline and it will hardly be the same again – if ever.
Nevertheless, you can clearly denote a reawakening of the movement as far as
bands and, more slowly, initiatives (festivals and so on) go. Sérgio – I might add: so long as there are people like us or you, I
think the Underground will never die, unless I marry some witch who does not
let me out of the house or something along those lines. [laughs] Anyways, I think I will always be the same supporting person,
for the sake of other bands, organising concerts. In a way, we like to play
concerts, but we also like to see bands who have their worth live but are too
lazy or something and simply do not move. We like to tease those bands, to
make them (re)act. We are honestly a bit tired of always having to ‘push a
bit further’, because some of the bands refuse to cooperate with us
afterwards. Like I said: sometimes it works; others it does not. But I firmly
believe that, as long as there are people like me and João, the «underground»
scene will never die – quite on the contrary. João – Thank you very much. [laughs]
In fact, I believe Portugal is the kind of country where all bands are
Underground bands. Except perhaps for MOONSPELL, there is not a single band who
is widely recognised abroad. The bands know each other and there are very,
very good Portuguese bands – but they all are still Underground. One of the
very good aspects about it is that most of the bands know each other, work
together and want to evolve together. There are always those who make the
exception, who would rather go backwards. But the devastating majority is
always trying to help each other out – by lending material, et caetera. We almost play for each
other, for pleasure. Sérgio – The thing in our country is that nobody wants to take risks and make a firm bet. And given the fact that there is not a firm attempt at organising gigs, there is always something bothering. I have just seen the police here, checking out what was going on. You see: long-haired creatures wearing black clothes, there you have it – there is always a tendency to eliminate the ‘problem’ from the source. And even today’s youth – I can see that from my 4-year younger brother – is completely flooded with MTV. And all they have to say [about metal] is: ‘Ah, I have no patience for it. That is nothing but noise…’. BBTG – In a way,
they allow themselves to be absorbed by the mass culture and end up losing
some of the critical spirit which should characterise them – if nothing else,
for their age bracket. Sérgio – Of course, that is the whole problem. João – Personally, I think it has more to do with
the person, with their mind, temper and upbringing. In my opinion, by
watching TV and only listening to more easily accessible music makes people
very limited, because it is all a matter of self-indulgence, sloth. Usually,
these people do not want to know themselves or to evolve. BTTG – You have
previously mentioned some upcoming Portuguese bands. Amongst these, would you
like to name concrete examples? Sérgio
– I would say every band we have played with so far is absolutely brutal in a
way, because they seem to have the technicality, the feeling, the commitment, the will to rehearse and play live. I
could you give you some examples… MORBIUS, AGONIZED, NECROSE – these were the
last bands we have played with in festivals [Acampa Rock, 2003.08.15 – to be added soon - M]. We have simply
adored these bands. As for bands from Lisbon, there are several: CRONAXIA,
GROG… BTTG – Of course… the eternal and omnipotent GROG… João – There are very many good bands in Lisbon. Sérgio – And great bands too. Down deep, people should stick together and leave rivalries aside, once and for all – who cares if Joe is dating Ben’s girlfriend, or who cares if X is better than Y at playing some instrument. And then there are also those who refuse to go to other bands’ concerts, because Z has a better guitar – all these are futile rivalries, and I think music should have nothing to do with it. I simply cannot understand this kind of things. BTTG – I gather from your words that most
seem to be more concerned with what others might do and have than with
themselves or with their band. At the moment BLEEDING DISPLAY are on
mini-tour. How did the opportunity come to play live under such
circumstances? João
– It all started with a person from the North of Portugal I am in contact
with – he plays in THE HOWLING, a very good band. They had already been
invited by a Brazilian band [ANTIDEMON
– M] to play in Spain and, in the meantime, our chance came: there was room
for one more band and they invited us. Of course, we accepted straight away.
The Brazilians are also great, we loved them. In Spain we played in
Pontevedra, Vigo, now we are in Vila Nova de Gaia and afterwards we are
heading back to Lisbon. BTTG – It was
precisely because of this festival [II
Gaia Metalfest] that I eventually had the opportunity to interview you
guys personally. Bearing you impressions abut this particular festival in
mind, what is your general overview on most of the festivals that have been
organised in Portugal of late? Sérgio
– I hope someone else hears or reads this: once and for all, do not charge so
expensive tickets! Because the Portugueseman is the kind of people who is not
very fond of spending money on whatever is worth it, but at the same time
does not mind wasting lots of money, some 18 to 20 Euros, in order to get
drunk. But he immediately thinks that watching a band live and supporting is
not quite worthwhile, get it? Once and for all, lower the price of the
tickets! It is a bit like the CD’s thing: give me a reason for a CD to be so
expensive. Nowadays, with the technologies available, with the Internet, with
much easier access to music, why is it that there are still CD’s costing 15,
20 Euros? Why the bloody nonsense? And how do they expect people to pay 12,5
Euros for concerts like the one tonight? Are they waiting for miracles to
happen? BTTG – Principally
because people do seem to be aware of the fact that many of the bands they
would like to be supporting are not being paid for playing live. And what is
more, you pay a load of money to watch a festival with but a couple of people
attending it. In the end, your impression of the event will be severely
influenced by all of it. Sérgio – There is not a single band who does
not enjoy playing live for [many]
people, for an audience which claps and moves. And it is also annoying to see
tickets so expensive. But it does not make any sense at all to blame the
organisation, because they are partly trying to come up with something
different, out of the ordinary. At least, let the information about the
events be more disseminated – that is the most important thing of all. Let it
be «THE Gaia Metalfest». But it does not work out, because they must start
from scratch and, very slowly, start pulling up the standards and, above all,
promoting their activities as far as possible. In this particular case, there
was not the publicity that should have been; there were no explanations,
nothing. Once again, the price of the tickets was not of much assistance
either and I honestly think the venue is not the most appropriate – I am not
from around here [Oporto Metropolitan
Area], so I should know. For what I see, the access to the venue does not
make it any easier – I have got no idea how the public transportations are
designed for this area. The problem is, there are fewer and fewer venues
available. João – But, on the whole, there are quite a lot of concerts and festivals in Portugal. And many of them have lots of people. In fact, if there is an ‘underground concert' with slightly better-known bands, there are always people watching, be it in Oporto, Lisbon or in the Algarve. There are naturally exceptions, but this is always a good sign. BTTG – However,
what is essential for the success of a festival is not only the selection of
bands, but also the promotion. As regards this festival, the alignment was
confirmed a week before the event, which obviously leads to next to no time
for appropriate promotion. Sérgio
– Personally, I do not even know half of the bands who are playing with us. I
hope I do as of tonight and I hope I can hear their music. As a matter of
fact, there is a band playing and I am not recognising any of their songs. BTTG – These are
HEAVENWOOD. João – Oh man, and I am not watching them… I really dig those guys! Sérgio – Next time. What I do feel is that
bands appreciate being contacted, giving concerts – but they also like to be
warned beforehand, so that they can have some flexibility of choices, in
order to have time to warn friends, dad, mom, granny, uncle… whoever might
show up at the concert. The occasional publicity if far from being enough.
These days, you simply must invade as many people as possible: telephone,
send SMS (we should know – every time we perform live means a load of money
(from our part) spent on messages, fliers and posters). And you cannot forget
that most people only decide whether or not they want to go to this or that
concert in the last minute. This is our audience: ‘Hmmm… let me see if I have
nothing else to do… Ha, ok, let us go.’ BTTG – It is like
the same old story: the intention is a good one, but there seems to lack the marketing strategy, if you want to
call it that way. João
– Most definitely. BTTG – And now for
a slight change of subject… What are, generally speaking, your reference
albums and bands? Sérgio – I can only speak for myself here. I am a bit biased to talk about this, because I like several styles of music. In a way, I shall never grow tired of music, because I need music when breathing, when sleeping, even when I am in the bathroom. One might say I really need music. But coming back to metal, my favourite bands (I will to mention any album) are IMMORTAL, DYING FETUS, SEPULTURA [a band which left a big impression on me (first metal band I have ever heard)]. As regards Black Metal, I would go for DIMMU BORGIR. There is much variety to my choices. João – As
for me, I do not listen to that many metal bands at home, probably even less
than I should – but I do listen to metal bands at my workstation. Reference
bands start with IRON MAIDEN, definitely, include the great CARCASS (forever
in my esteem), DEATH and Chuck Schuldiner – all this relates to older bands.
More recent bands belong to a certain new wave of extremely technical Brutal
Death Metal: DYING FETUS, ORIGIN, CRYPTOPSY. Actually, I am not really into
other styles of music. I like a bit of industrial – I love old and recent
SAMAEL and I do like Doom Metal… a lot. BTTG – My Dying
Bride… João – Oh, MY DYING BRIDE are ‘the’ band.
Felt from the heart. Sérgio – It are people’s moods that lead them into hearing such songs. João – And I would like to point out that I really like NICK CAVE. The
guy is completely freaked out. Sérgio – He therefore inspires you! [laughs]. Of course, all of the aforementioned bands are also part
of our references. But I cannot remember each and every of them. João – SUFFOCATION! We forgot SUFFOCATION. BTTG – Why not
DEITY OF CARNIFICATION, now that I mention it? Sérgio e João – Tschh… DEITY OF CARNIFICATION!... Sérgio – We have not mentioned these guys
either, but they are also very good at what they do. João – Great ‘tuguese, members of the «Horda Cadavérica» [Cadaveric Horde]. [laughs] Superb. BTTG – From the
granitic city of Guarda! The matarroids and the gandarroids. [laughs] Sérgio
– We still have not played live with them. We have to. BTTG – Back to a
previous question about literature, which you ended up not answering: do you
read for pleasure or do you not read at all? Which authors and/ or works of
literature would you individually elect as the ones which exterted more
influence upon you? João
– I like reading. Unfortunately I cannot read more or more often – partly due
to lack of time, but sloth might have something to do with it as well. I
really like [H. P.] LOVECRAFT, of course – everybody does; TOLKIEN – I
already knew The Lord of the Rings long
before all these movies came to light… BTTG – I honestly
prefer The Silmarillion. That is
where it all started. João – Yes, yes. It is true, as a matter of fact. I also like
[Patrick] SÜSKIND – Das Parfum is a
classic. Sérgio – That book is at my place for a year now and I still have not made it to the end! I have got the Portuguese translation, still I cannot seem to read it through, because I simply lose my patience. And then it is like: «Tomorrow I read it, tomorrow I read it…» and so the story goes. BTTG – You will
see, as soon as you start delving into the story, you will embark upon a
journey through the aromatic essence of the book. Sérgio – I have reached the part where he
is reaching adulthood – now it starts to get interesting. The problem lies in
the fact that I sometimes lack the patience for reading. João
– There is another one, of course: the grand BAUDELAIRE, who wrote Les Fleurs du Mal. There is also
GOETHE’s Faust GOETHE, amongst
others. As regards Portuguese writers, there is FERNANDO PESSOA, et caetera, et caetera. BBTG – Do you know
EDGAR ALLAN POE? He is one of my absolutely favourite writers – if not THE
favourite. He has created all those macabre atmospheres, all the
hyper-acuteness of the senses. All these are recurrent motifs in his tales. João
– I could not say I know much of ALLAN POE. I have read several tales, but I
cannot name any. However, as a writer he exerted great influence on a lot of
people. Especially within Metal! In fact, the writers that most ‘metalheads’
read end up being the same, always [Do
allow me to disagree with you on this particular statement – M]:
LOVECRAFT, TOLKIEN (whom everybody knew before the movies), et caetera. BTTG – Almost
everybody, yes. In the meantime, TOLKIEN seems to have become the next big
trend within metal. But on to cinema, is there any particular film which has
caused an impression on you? Sérgio – Of course: ‘Braveheart’. Hail
Scotland. João – Hail lots of things. Sérgio – ‘Spartacus’ os alsomuch to my liking, as are most films
within the genre… more ‘epic’ – I am a big fan. I am not referring to modern
day ‘epic movies’, because it is basically bullshit, there is no charisma.
Leave those ‘epic’ ‘Pirates of the
Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl’
and other such movies aside! [laughs] João – I actually think that is a good movie. Other filmes I might refer to… let me see, I am very selective and my tastes are a bit unorthodox there. I really like cartoons… BTTG - Manga?... João – No, Disney’s! I love ‘Pocahontas’ [laughs],
‘The Lion King’, ‘Tarzan’. Sérgio – But in his case it has mostly to do
with the drawings… João – Precisely. I work as a designer. And I like other films from Brazil, or ‘Fight Club’, both ‘Matrix’ films and every single ‘Alien’. ‘Alien’ is the real thing. BTTG – It is quite
understandable, then, if you are a designer. Had not GIGER designed the whole
thing… João
– Sure. For me, GIGER is the guy who… BTTG – Managed
through drawing to recreate a world of fantasy such thay it could be compared
only to Tolkien’s world of writing. João
– Yes, even though GIGER’s fantasy has a more sensual edge to it. It is more
obscure in a way and reflects thoughts, feelings. The guy is an absolute
reference for me. BTTG – Leraving
these imaginary subjects aside and moving on to a more concrete field of
action: How have the reactions to your promotional release Bleeding Promotion been so far?
João – Now back to your question, our promo –D has received better
reactions than we were at first expecting. Sérgio – Like I said: this does not even come close to being a demo! Our initial purpose was not to disseminate, it was more the kind of private consumption thing. However, we made an unanimous decision between me and João [laughs] that we should show our music to other people, so that they can at least have a general idea of what we play. This recording is from the very beginnings of the year 2002, but until we release something more official, we will keep o showing this. It turned out for the best: people – from all around the world – have been contacting us, saying how much they liked our songs and asking for copies. BTTG – You do make
a point not only of making yourselves known, but also to work hard in order
to reach that goal. I am not referring to the contacts you establish with the
media and individuals (that is João’s responsibility) – I speak of the many
concerts you have been playing lately. In fact, I seem to recall your
performance in Paredes, two weeks ago [Acampa
Rock]. João – That was the only time we left Lisbon in order to play live. And it was great. As a matter of fact, we have been very lucky for the fact that we always lots of people at our concerts. People like our music and ask for CDs. In next to no time we were playing abroad. Let us hoje this is ust the beginning… Sérgio – And I do hope we will always have this
will-power and commitment to our music – these are basically the chief
reasons why we move on. And will hopefully one day start making money out of
music as well. BTTG – Nobody can
really live out of thin air. Sérgio
– We are not being paid at all. In all the concerts we have played, we have
made like 19 Euros, which is obviously not enough. Now there is a proof that
we do what we do because we like it, not because of the money involved. BTTG – How about
future releases? Are you working on any at the moment? Sérgio
– We are currently doing concerts. It is therefore somewhat difficult to
think about hitting the studios or anything more concrete. But we do have a
couple of songs in perspective and hopefully until the end of 2003 we will
perhaps try to record something more straightforward and with higher quality. BTTG – Would you
like to leave a final message to the possible readers of Back to the Grave? Sérgio – I hope you keep supporting metal
and show up at concerts. Stop being lazy and, if you have a bang, support to
be supported. João – Before anything else, I would like to
thank you for the interview. Listen to metal, live it and feel it. And we
will be here to have fun. Sérgio – Above all, try to face the whole
thing as a rather natural stage in life: no stress, no rivalry, no pressure
whatsoever, because it is essential that you keep your feet on the ground. We
are fully aware that this is by no means going to pay for our ‘daily bread’.
But I do hope I and people in general can have some fun and make this a kind
of family. João – Forget not to visit the band’s
website: www.bleedingdisplay.com.
Sérgio e João – And thank you very much for the
interview.. By Morgana - Back To The Grave September 6, 2003 Photos - Cristiano and MysticCosmoS 2003 |
