[Interview conducted November 2003]

At the time bands like Deicide and Morbid Angel emerged, it was hard to imagine anyone could take death metal to a substantially more extreme level, yet acts like Krisiun have done just that.  Their inhumanly fast and unrelentingly brutal music has earned them worldwide respect, as has their ceaseless touring.  After the somewhat sterile Ageless Venomous, Krisiun returned with the more well-rounded Works of Carnage and vocalist/bassist Alex Camargo explains what made it so strong…

The new album has a much bigger, heavier production.
We felt that we had to come out with something different.  We missed a little heaviness on the previous album, but this time we wanted to approach some kind of balance between the clearness and the heaviness.  It has to be heavy, the bottom has to be there, and we were very satisfied with the results.  The songs are shorter, faster, more dynamic and more straight-forward - that was the main thing that we were looking for this album.

You have maintained a level of heaviness and speed on each album – is it important for you to keep that aspect of the band intact?
Yeah, we don't feel like we have to compromise or please people, you know.  We just want to play metal and that's our main approach.  We want to stay brutal.  It's not a competition or something, it's just natural for us, the speed and the brutality.  It's been like that for years.  We've got to change and bring up different things here and there, but we're not going to change our style.  As you say, that's something that has kept the band intact and we want to keep our integrity even if some people don't give a fuck about what we are doing.

Does that make it challenging to write a new album each time?
As I say, it's just natural.  We record albums and go on tour and as soon as we get home again we start to write songs.  We live together, so it's been a smooth process.  Moyses [Kolesne, guitar] has got his ideas, Max [Kolesne, drums] has his ideas, and I got mine, we set them together and go for it.  It's no big deal.  We feel like we've still got the vibe, you know, still hungry for metal.  Each album is a different step.  We love that, we love being on the road, we love recording albums and delivering to the kids some decent metal.

What led you to choose Works of Carnage as the album title?
The title was no big deal, it just came out.  This apocalyptic vision has been our background for years and we feel like we have to write something that has to do with the music, so 'Works of Carnage' we just felt that would suit it better.  The lyrics are not going to change, we're still talking about evil things, which is a reflection of the shit that is going on all over the world.  All this religious war and crap that is going on, so we feel like, let's bring it up and show the people that we're all going to be fucked up if we don't…  We've got to please ourselves, not some religion or gods or whatever.

What is your take on the war in the middle east?
It's hard and I cannot speak for Americans, but it's a big mess.  You've got to defend yourselves; you've got to defend your country.  I think that the shit that happened on September 11^th was really shocking, I think the Americans did it right by going for it and defending themselves.  Of course, there are a lot more things going on behind this, but my point of view is that you've got to defend your country; you've got to defend your people.  At the end, I think everybody's losing.

What made you decide to keep the snakes from Ageless Venomous in the cover art on Works of Carnage (along with the pentagram)?
The whole concept was from this Polish guy Jacek, he asked us for the lyrics and it came out of that.  We gave some ideas here and there, we wanted something evil and shocking, and I think he came out with this thing and we were very satisfied with that.

I saw you on the Dimmu Borgir tour and was blown away by how much more intense you guys were live.  Is it important for you to tour a lot?
Yeah it is, man.  I think the more you tour, the more experience you've got.  Sometimes we don't have time for a sound check or whatever and we've got to be ready, got to sound tight and get along with your band mates, it helps a lot.  Sometimes you fuck up here and there, but we just try to deliver the shit raw and you've got to be ready.  It's not like in the studio where you fuck up, you have the chance to make it again and again, so we practice a lot at home and we love going on tour.

A lot of bands have a hard time touring the US due to financial reasons, but you guys have managed several tours here.
There is an economical fucked-up situation, but you've got to make it happen somehow.  When you play in a band, it's not just about playing music - you've got to think and make things happen and go for it.  Brazil is a rough country, but you can make things happen somehow.  It's pretty much up to the label - if you don't have a label, you're not going anywhere.  To hook up and make it happen, you've got to get in touch with people, you've got to speak your mind and deliver your music.

Tell me a bit about the live DVD..
Actually, it's been delayed a little bit because we've got this problem with the old label.  We played some old songs and the old label owns the rights to those songs, so it's been a hassle between our new label and our old label.  Due to this delay, we're going to add one more show and make sure it comes out with a good quality.  Aside from that, we'll have some extra footage from the road and from the recording process of the new album.

Will you be doing a live album as well?
No, just the DVD.

Was it difficult at all getting recognition outside of Brazil?
Mmmm… it used to be.  It's getting a little better, not just for bands but for the people.  We've got a new government and the economical situation is getting a little better.  The kids, they can afford better instruments now.  It was rough back in the day, but it's getting a little easier.  As I said, Brazil is a different country, it's filled with ups and downs, you have some rough shit going on, but you can make it happen.  If you go down to south Brazil, it's different - I know what you guys see on TV is pretty much about the fucked up things we've got down there, but there are a lot more things to see and appreciate.  It's not just about misery and roughness, you know.

Having been around for 13 years now, are you happy with how much you have accomplished so far?
Yeah, man.  I'm happy with what we've accomplished, but I feel like there's still a lot more to do, you know.  We still feel thirsty for blood.  We fucking love playing metal and each album is a challenge.  You make mistakes here and there, but you just go for it and we're very satisfied with what we've accomplished, especially for a third world band playing brutal music.  As I said, there's still a lot more to do.  Every time, we still get new ideas and we've still got the vibe, which I think is the most important thing.  Still got the feeling and still waiting to make things happen and have a lot more to do.

Having been around since near the start of the death metal explosion, what is your take on how the music has evolved?
One thing that is very exciting is meeting bands that used to influence us.  Like, we had a tour with Morbid Angel, with Cannibal Corpse, and we just finished one with Deicide.  We're still learning and to see them was a great experience.  It's a very exciting thing because you can never know enough.  Being on the road with such great bands was a great thing for us, it was one of the greatest accomplishments that we've reached so far, hanging out with these people and to share the stage with such great bands.

Did it also push you to make even better music?
Yeah, that's it, you get inspired, to see those bands playing, you're like, 'Oh man, we better do a good job!' 

Do you still get a thrill discovering new bands?
Yeah.  Sometimes, you get tired of hearing copycats or whatever, but I still get a thrill.  You never know, sometimes some great band will show up.  But I'm not concerned with only metal, not just the scene and brutal death metal.  It doesn’t matter if you play black, thrash, or old rock 'n' roll stuff - music is universal.  I've got open ears for all types of music.

What kind of stuff do you listen to outside of metal?
We grew up listening to these bands like AC/DC, Motörhead, ZZ Top, and we still listen to that.  Each one of us has got different things, like Moyses has got this classical approach on guitar, Max listens to some jazz, some Brazilian Latin rhythms.  Just so we don’t stagnate and listen to the same shit.  Like you can pick some different stuff and bring it up in your music, at least try to get something different and new.  We listen to blues, jazz, old rock 'n' roll, but metal is the main thing and we listen to a lot of metal.  Metal is metal, that's our religion.

Where are you guys on tour at the moment?
Today is a day off and we're heading to Florida, we're playing there tomorrow.  We've got two shows left and then we're done.  It's been a great tour, we fucking love going on tour with Deicide.  We heard a lot of shit about those guys and how rough they could be, but they've been so cool with us.  We had a great time with Deicide and Hate Eternal as well.

http://www.krisiun.com.br/