Chemicide has been delivering high-intensity thrash since 2011, evolving their sound while staying true to their roots. With their latest album Violence Prevails, the band continues pushing boundaries.
1. Chemicide
has been delivering blistering thrash metal since 2011. How has the band's
sound evolved from Radioactive Annihilation to your latest
release, Violence Prevails?
I could say
that we’ve become better musicians but I’d be lying hahaha. I think that it all
comes down to maturity, and I’m not saying we’re mature, I think we are maybe
finally understanding what we want to do and we’re getting better at
transmitting that message. As band you gotta keep making things interesting and
diverse, if you keep doing the same thing, not only the listener will get bored
but the musician will too.
2. Your
previous album Common Sense received high praise from the
metal community. What were some key lessons or influences that shaped Violence
Prevails?
Well, I
think you just gotta be honest with your work. This album brings a lot of
personal thoughts and the way I feel most of the time but it also tries to
paint a picture with the hopes that the person who’s listening to the album,
will relate.
3. You
recently signed with Listenable Records. How did this partnership come about,
and what does it mean for the future of Chemicide?
We were on
tour last year actually and while we were traveling from Belgium to Germany we
we got an e-mail from Laurent who's the head at listenable records and we we've
been talking with him for a while, he had been interested in signing the band
and he was interested mainly in our past catalogue. So when we finally got the
tour dates, we asked him could go to a show in Belgium but he couldn't make it
cause it was a bit, busy for him at the time. So unbeknownst to us, he sent two
of his employees to the show, and we played the as we you know would normally
would, very intense, very fast and to our surprise they were on they were part
of the crowd. When we got to Germany we saw the e-mail that he was super
excited about the band, that he wanted to do a multi album deal with us and
that he wanted to sign the band immediately, so as soon as we got home from
touring, he just told us to sign the contracts and you know, start working
together for the new record. It's been a super interesting ride, you know? they've
been very supportive to us, it has been something that we have never
experienced before, coming from a country like Costa Rica, so it's just very
overwhelming in a good way to have a support team behind you, helping you out
with everything you can.
4. Thrash
metal has seen a resurgence in recent years. How do you see Chemicide fitting
into the modern thrash scene, and what sets you apart from other bands?
Been doing
this for almost 18 years now or maybe 19 we left our youth and the band so it's
not about really fitting in it's about being honest with yourself and try to do
music that could bring a message out to people and so they can relate to it
right. We always want to make sure that we're doing what we like, doing things
that we think could send a good message to people, and I think, When people
read the lyrics that I write they identify themselves with the situations that
I'm going through. So it's not about just me, I think that what I write about
is on very personal level to a lot of people, and I think that being honest is
the most important thing that you could do to stand out in this music world.
5. Your
music has always carried strong themes of resistance and social
issues. What messages or topics are explored in Violence Prevails?
Yeah, this
album is no different from that. I explore things that are happening at the
moment, not only in my country but all around the world. I think that
corruption, greed, depression and many other aspects are always present and I
try to explore that at very deeply in this record. The thing is that as
musicians, I feel that we have an obligation with the listener to not only
convey this message, but help them feel that they're not alone.
6. You
worked with Martín Furia, a seasoned producer and member of Destruction,
for Common Sense. Did you continue this collaboration for Violence
Prevails, and how did it impact the recording process?
Martin is
an awesome dude. He has been intrinsic to the development of the sound that we
want as a band. Common sense was the initial step to develop that sound but
with violence prevails he was just on a roll, he understood exactly what we
wanted, the big drum sound, the modern twist with the guitars, the reverb that
I wanted for the vocals, and he had so many good ideas that it was a no brainer
for us to keep working with him. We recorded this album in about two to three
weeks, and Martin just kept on sending us different versions of the mix of the
album and he was never satisfied really, he just wanted to have the best
product out there so every time that he thought of something, he just sent it
to me and he was like: dude, why don't we try this dive bomb? Why don't we try
to scream differently here? So at the end, all the suggestions made the end
result a lot better and that's the reason why this album is very different from
common sense but at the same time a great continuation of the process that we
have with Martin.
7. Touring
has been a big part of Chemicide’s journey, with past tours across Canada and
Mexico. Do you have any upcoming tour plans for Violence Prevails?
Yeah, of
course. We've been on tour very heavily in the past few years, And as a result
of that a lot of people have been introduced to Chemicide. 2023 and 2024 were
great years for the band we played a lot of shows, we played our first two
European festivals in Netherlands and Slovenia then we came home and we opened
for destruction in Mexico and we played at the end of the year the the the
biggest festival in Latin America called rock al parque and last year we went
back to Europe and we played like 7 different shows we played in Netherlands
again festival called pit fest and we went to Germany and Belgium we played
another festival called MUR and and flammen as well. So, this year will be no
different. We will go back to Europe to play shows over there, a couple
festivals as well, we will also try to make it to North America once again,
play some shows in Mexico, Canada and hopefully the US. So I think this year
will be pretty busy for the band as well.
8. The
band has a reputation for relentless energy and intense live performances.
What’s your approach to delivering a killer show every time?
To me, as a
band, you always have to play the same show. What I mean is, that regardless if
it's one person or if they're 1000 people or 10,000 people in the show, you
play with the same intensity and aggression. I mean, all these people are there
to see you and play, they're paying a ticket to see their favorite bands play
live so for us, that are traveling from so far away to most of these shows, we
want to give it our all in every single presentation, so we always bring the
same intensity, the same aggression, the same velocity and we just feed off the
people and their energy.
9. With
thrash being a genre built on speed and aggression, how do you challenge
yourselves musically while staying true to your roots?
You have to
evolve, you can't always play the same beat in all of your songs and expect
people to keep listening to your music. We try to be honest with our music, and
we do what we like but we know that we have responsibility with the listener as
well, so we always try to make things different and not have the same thing
over and over again. That's the reason why this album, specifically, is so
versatile and so different from the others, because, before we were too young
and we really didn't know what we wanted and as time passes on, you learn what
you want and you learn how to do it better so you bring that intensity and that
aggression without compromising the sound that people love.
10. You've
had success with both independent releases and label support. What are the
biggest challenges and advantages of each path in today’s metal industry?
We were
independent for one album really, our first three albums were released under
small label from Canada called PRC music, so we didn't have to like do
everything on our own as far as releasing the album itself but then again it
was a small label, so You still have to do your work. Unfortunately, in 2020
PRC music closed its doors and we were for the first time without a label. So,
when I was writing common sense, fortunately I had met a lot of people on tour,
and they had introduced me to a lot of underground labels that could help us
release the album, So I wasn't really worried of how I was going to release the
record, I was more worried of how I would write this record for it to be better
than the other ones. So, that's when I reached out to concrete records in
Mexico and Quéchol, who's the head of the label, help me develop this
distribution partnership with a whole bunch of underground labels all across
the world and that was the beginning of putting the record out everywhere on
our own. Now with Listenable it's a different story, I don't have to do
anything of that, they have been extremely supportive, they have a whole team
around us, they have their own distribution, so for me, it's just a relief. I
was doing this all on my own, and now I have a whole bunch of people helping me
out, sending CD's, vinyls, cassettes, bundles everywhere, and I don't have to
stress about it anymore, I only have to think about music and touring
11. Chemicide
has built a strong global following. What’s been the most memorable fan
interaction or moment in your career so far?
We've had a
many memorable interactions with fans but I would say the two that come to mind
first would be in Netherlands. When we went to into the grave, we were playing
with a lot of bands and we are not as popular as some of these bands. We were
playing with municipal waste, testament, ginger, angela's a patria and we were
asked to go to a signing booth, to sign autographs for people. To our surprise
,there was a line, of like I don't know 300 meters, maybe? of people waiting
for us to sign their CD's, T-shirts, anything you can imagine, and there was
this dude that had a tattoo of the band's logo on his arm and that was a first
for us because we've never seen anybody with a tattoo like that. And then, as
the day went on, we met the municipal waste guys and they were so cool. I met
Tony and I was just talking to him and this little kid approached us and he
wanted to take a picture, so he said: hey guys, could I take a picture with
you? So, I stepped out and I took his phone And right when I was about to take
the picture he said: no, I don't want a picture with municipal waste. I want a
picture with Chemicide, and it was very humbling and was funny because, I mean,
these dudes have been around for like 25 years and this little kid now wanted
to take a picture with us, so it was a very surreal moment
12. For
fans who might be discovering Chemicide for the first time, which song or album
would you recommend as the perfect introduction to your sound?
I would
recommend violence prevails, of course lol. And from this album, I would
recommend either do as I say or prey of failure.
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