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Some might know the Brazilian band Hibria, others won't have heart of them. Time to learn a bit more about them!
You started back in the mid- / late 90's and released some demos, but your debut Defying The Rules wasn't released til 2004. Why it took so long? Haven't you got any offers?
Actually, it took so long because we thought we didn’t have the songs we wanted to release a debut album. During the years before DTR, we recorded and released our demos with new influences, and at certain point, we decided to 're-compose' some songs to finally release DTR in 2004.
You are from Porto Alegre. Is there a good metal scene? Or was it a problem to find the band members?
Porto Alegre is a city full of bands and the metal scene is getting better. Today we have more underground concerts with more new bands than in old times.
It seems that your influences are vary from traditional metal bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest to thrash bands and progressive ones. Was it your aim to create a mix of this right from the start? Or did you develop the sound through the years?
Since we went to Europe in 1999 for The Faceless in Charge Demo tour, which we played in Belgium, Germany, Holland, Poland and Czech Republic, we shared the stage with bands from other styles like thrash and death metal. It was a great experience and since then we started listening to these styles more frequently and knew other bands. That was very important for us to finish DTR and start the compositions of our new album The Skull Collectors, which was released last December.
What happened that the follow-up wasn't out earlier?
We take care of how the audience in front of the stage will react, bang and sing with us in each song we compose. If we can’t imagine that, the song is not ready. We did this in DTR compositions so our duty in composing TSC was to try to make an album that would make us as proud just as our first release.
The debut was done by Piet Sielck and this time the mix and mastering was in the hands of Achim Köhler. Why this change?
The previous works from Achim like Amon Amarth, Brainstorm, Pink Cream 69 and Primal Fear, made him the right person to work with us. I mean, he has worked with bands from different styles, so we thought that his background would meet our expectations.
Did it surprise you that your debut did so well in Japan? And it seems the new album The Skull Collectors is doing well in Asia?
Yes and we are very proud of it. Actually, Hibria's name has grown up on the word of mouth, and it's very important to us the acceptance the Japanese audience has shown towards our music. Even before the album came out, many headbangers left messages in our guest book at Hibria.com telling us about their expectations. TSC is also doing great and in a few days we will have the chance to do our first professional World Tour named Collecting Skulls World Tour with concerts in Japan (Osaka and Tokyo), Taiwan (Taipei), China (Hong Kong), South Korea (Seoul) and 14 concerts from coast to coast in Canada.
The Skull Collectors... How long did it take you to record? And have there been more songs to choose from?
I think we took something around 6 months to record everything. We composed just the nine songs and worked very hard to make them sound more contemporary.
Lyrically the album deals with things like economy problems, corruption and bad politics. How important is if for you to have a message? To stay away from the cliche lyrics?
Our lyrics talk about some experiences we have had in our lives or things we watched happening around us. I believe that the main theme approached on the album is about hate and revenge and how we deal with them in our lives... if we're part of the ones who keep spreading the violence received, or ,if we are able to forgive and not let it keep going.
Any person who listens to the songs and read the lyrics on the booklet can take his own opinion or even compare if he already lived the same thing. Sometimes a character in the lyrics could be anyone around us.
There is a video for Tiger Punch... Why this track? And who did realize the video?
Tiger Punch was chosen for the video because the lyrics summarize the story of the character and tell how he gets on that situation which he was an air force pilot and became a mercenary. The video was produced by a local company called Velha Àrvore.
Do you think about doing another video? Which song will you do / or would you choose for another video?
We didn't thought about it yet, but Reborn From the Ashes would be a great song to make a video.
In May / June you play some shows in Asia and Canada. Are you excited to play Asia? Or have you been there already?
Oh yeah! We're very excited to play for the first time in Asia and Canada. We always heard about the audience in Asia and now we'll have the opportunity to feel it live.
Any chance to see you in Europe later this year?
We intend to set some concerts in Europe probably in the second semester of this year, but nothing for sure yet. A good way of making this happen would be buying our CD and tell your friends if you liked our music. Tell the local promoters "I wanna go to a Hibria concert" That may help us a lot, ok? As soon as we get some dates, everybody can check them on our official web site www.hibria.com.
Talking about gigs... I know that soon you play at a festival in your home town, but what about other shows in Brazil? Or is it still tough to play shows outside your home town? Its probably not just the distances, its probably the amount of bands you can find in every bigger city, right?
It is a bit of everything. Sometimes getting an airplane to play in other city is too expensive. Brazil is as big as continent and nowadays there are many good bands playing different styles and trying to find their own spot. So the important thing is that more concerts are happening with good bands, and headbangers thank for that.
But it seems to me that more bands are now going to play Brazil? And partly other South American countries...
For sure! There are many people who listen to and like Heavy Metal over here. You can see many metal heads wearing black T-shirts from their favorite bands and getting crazy with the opportunity of seeing their favorite band playing live.
Do you think that with internet and the communities like MySpace and Facebook - or in Brazil Orkut - it gets easier to get attention? And keeping in touch with the fans makes a difference?
The internet today is a big allied to all bands in terms of contact and it's easier to spread the bands' name worldwide. For sure they help a lot! We have many channels to keep in touch with the fans. Our guest book and form at www.hibria.com and also myspace profile. Reading their messages is great and we always try to answer everyone.
You made a trip to Europe and played some shows way before you had your debut released. And how did you come up with the idea? It must have cost you a fortune, tell us about this experience!
In 1999 we made a tour in Europe and we played 29 concerts in 5 different countries: Germany, Belgium, Czech Republic, Poland and Holland. The idea came because here in our home town, Hibria gets a great support from the audience and we would like to know how Europe would react watching us live. So we worked very hard during some time to save money to go to Europe.
Some bands moved to Europe to have a chance to play more often and to establish themselves... Have you ever considered leaving Brazil? At least for a while?
We haven't thought about it yet but if we have the opportunity to work or record an album abroad, for sure it would be a great experience for us.
Any news to share?
Thanks a lot for the opportunity to get in touch with the readers of www.ice-vajal.com and we‘re waiting for your message in our guest book at www.hibria.com or myspace/hibria.
All the best!
Sounds like the band is hot to play, so check their website and go to see them live, if they come to town!
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