interview with power metallers Aphelium (Venezuela)

In issue number 35 of Metal Bulletin zine there was a review of power metallers Aphelium (Venezuela) and it said:

Aphelium (Venezuela): demo

These two songs are very impressive, due to Aphelium’s knack for assembling all the elements of power metal so well. The songs work at a speedy rate, with air-raid-siren singing, and build up and up to the catchy chorus, with bit of a symphonic feel, and lots of sing-along moments. “Cleopatra” is in Spanish and “Fate of a Promise” is in English, but the band does well in both. I prefer the Spanish because the Spanish just sounds better, but the English song rocks, too. If you don’t speak Spanish, it’s ok, the song “Cleopatra” is so catchy, you’ll be singing in Spanish and you won’t even know it. -- --

Marcos Velásquez--Bass

Yohan Alvarez--Drums

Ismael Mendonça--Guitars

Joan Pabón--Vocals

Cristhian Zambrano--Keyboards

-- -- --

Now here's an interview with Aphelium!!

Greetings, Aphelium! Metal Bulletin zine here. Tell us, how is life for a power metal band in Caracas, Venezuela in 2013? Are metalheads in Venezuela becoming fans of Aphelium? What do fans and zines, and webzines say about your demo?

Joan: First of all, we'd like to thank Mauricio for this interview and say hello to all the Metal Bulletin followers.

Ismael: Greetings from Venezuela! Life for any Metal band is not easy in the beginning, but when you love Metal, you go on, no matter how hard it is. Even though Caracas has one of the most important Metal scenes in Venezuela, it is difficult for Metal bands to endure throughout the years, since there's hardly any support from producers. There are some producers who make great efforts in order to help maintain the local scene, but it is not enough. This could be explained by the fact that Metal culture is not fully developed in our country.

Marcos: About the fans issue. Well, we are really beginning our road as a band, we don't like to talk about "fans", we prefer the term "followers", people who like our music and support us. And we are thankful with all those people who have been to our shows and who have downloaded or bought our Demo.

Joan: So far, our Demo has had excellent reviews, which makes us really happy, since we've put a huge effort in our music. Local pages like "La Movida Metal", "Hermanos del Rock" and international pages like "Sorrow Eternal" and "Metal Storm" have talked about how they enjoyed it, and have encouraged us to keep on working on our music. Of course, we'd love to have more songs in it, but that's all we've been able to record until now.

What is more popular in Caracas, power metal or death metal? In the U.S. in certainly seems that death metal dominates. Is there a heavy/power metal scene in Caracas?

Yohan: There is a Heavy/Power Metal scene in Caracas. Nevertheless, the situation you describe in the U.S. is similar to what happens in Venezuela; Death Metal seems to be more popular than Power Metal.

Tell us, what are your earliest memories of metal music in Venezuela? A show, a video or a friend who was a metalhead?

Ismael: The first time I listened to Metal, I was like 14 years old and I was at my cousin's house. We were watching the MTV's top ten and I saw a music video of Rata Blanca's "La leyenda del hada y el mago". I loved the song but I didn't know what it was all about. The other moment that made me love metal even more was the Stratovarius show at "La concha acústica", a venue in Caracas. I really enjoyed that show because Stratovarius is one of my favorite bands, and also, "Metempsicosis", a Metal band from Caracas which is currently inactive (and one of my favorites), was going to perform as the support band for Stratovarius.

Marcos: Undoubtedly, the Motorhead concert. Lemmy Kilmister is a badass motherfucker! Watching him was priceless!!

Joan: When I was around 8 years old, I remember I saw an Iron Maiden video on TV. I had no idea what it was, but I really liked it. Several years later, I started listening to Rock music thanks to a friend in high school and I got the chance to discover the song from the video (which was Man on the edge!). I also remember my first Power Metal album. I saw the Cover and, at first, I thought it was a game or something. I decided to buy the CD because the guy who was selling it told me I might like it, if I liked fantasy and Classical music. When I got home and pushed play, I discovered music I had never imagined, Epic and wonderful; it was Rhapsody’s Dawn of Victory!

Yohan: If you're talking about Venezuelan Metal, my earliest memories are related to Metempsicosis. My brother showed me that band and I've always regretted not being able to see them live, since I was too young to go to their shows. I had their first record, "Alpha", which was a huge inspiration to me and made me realize I could have a band, a record and fill venues! Another memory I have, is the first concert I went to. My brother took me to an Iron Maiden concert! I was very young, and that was the moment he taught me what Metal was and I started to love it!

Cristhian: In my case, it was when I was14 years old. One day my neighbor showed me "BYOB" by SOAD and I was amazed by the melodies in the verse. The next day I bought the Mezmerize album.

Are you too young to know about Arkangel and "Represión latinoamericana"? Is that band interesting to you?

Joan: Arkangel is one of the most influential Heavy Metal bands here in Venezuela. We think the way they expose our reality in "Represión Latinoamericana" is remarkable. And it is interesting how some things they describe in their songs haven't changed much.

Arkangel has songs in Spanish, and you have songs in Spanish and English. Do you think that you will continue in both languages?

Ismael: Our songs are mainly in English. However, language is not something we worry too much about, since it depends on the "feeling" each song has and on what we try to transmit through our music. We would like to keep that workflow, so we are going to continue writing in both languages.

How did Joan Pabón find out or realize that he could sing? Does Joan feel more confident and relaxed singing in Spanish? How long has been singing in English?

Joan: When I was in elementary school, I got into a choir where I got to sing some Christmas carols, I'd say that's when I realized I enjoyed singing. I grew up in a family where no one listens to Rock music (most of my relatives are from Colombia and they listen to traditional music, which I've never liked), so it was quite a shock for them when I started to listen to this genre and, later on, started singing as well. I feel great in both languages, I think it depends on the context. In terms of composing, there are songs which definitely sound better in English, and some others which I only feel related to in Spanish. I started learning English when I was seven and I've been singing in this language for the past twelve years.

Did Joan sing Venezuelan pop music when he was a child? Since you are from Venezuela, did you rebel against the music of José Luis Rodríguez "el puma"? I suppose that it is almost impossible to avoid his music in Venezuela? Or is that not true? He was very famous in the 80s, but now only old people like his music?

Joan: I used to sing jingles and stuff like that, but besides that, and Choir music, I've never liked Pop music. The music of "El Puma" is not something one can't avoid in our country, as you might think (Thank God!). He was, and still is, very famous indeed, but, just like you said, mostly older people like his music. A Venezuelan singer who is definitely one of my influences is Torre de Marfil's first vocalist (Torre de Marfil is a Power Metal band from Caracas).

Was Aphelium formed in 2008? Does it feel like a long time since 2008? Do you have enough music for a full album?

Ismael: Aphelium was formed in 2008, but it was founded in 2006 under a different name. It has been a long and difficult road for us, but it has given us the chance to learn a lot, and after all these years, it is a pleasure for us to be doing what we love. Having the chance to be part of this interview for an international page is a proof that our efforts have finally started to bear fruit. We do have enough songs to record a full album and we are currently working on the pre-production of our first album.

Do you think that Aphelium will have songs about contemporary social issues in Venezuela: like the violence that a lot Venezuelans are so tired of, or the economic uncertainty? But fantasy is a popular topic in power metal!

Joan: In Aphelium, we try to talk about issues in a metaphorical way. We don't use the fantasy topic in its literal form. Through our lyrics and music, we try to deliver a message or an idea which anyone can relate to in their own reality. Our lyrics reflect our way of thinking about different aspects of society in an Epic or philosophical context. They are mainly stories with a moral and, most of them, bear optimistic messages.

Do you guys ever talk about politics? Do you consider yourselves in favor of capitalism or in favor of socialism? Can socialism function if the capitalist class still has the power, like in Venezuela?

Ismael: We don't talk about politics in our lyrics. Aphelium doesn't seek to be a means of political expression but a way to express our own ideas and some problems we think are more important. For example, we talk about the climate change in our song "La nada", "The nothing" in English. Loosely based in the Neverending Story, but with a real life twist, because we think mankind's thoughtless actions are destroying our world today just like "the nothing" was destroying Fantasia in the Michael Ende’s story. As you might know, here in Venezuela we have a somewhat unstable political situation, but we don't take part in this conflict because we think politicians are all the same, they only care about their own interests. Regarding the Capitalism Vs. Socialism issue, we don't think a socialist party nor a capitalist class has the power in our country, the current government is the one that has the power.

Lastly, how do you imagine Aphelium in ten years? And what are your objectives in the next couple of years, now that you have a demo finished? Is Reverbnation or Facebook better to know what is happening with Aphelium?

Ismael: Right now, we are trying to keep the same active rhythm we've had over the last years. Ten years from now, we hope to have increased significantly the reach of our music. Our dream is that, in the near future, a lot of people throughout the world feel inspired by our music. We have some planned objectives; for example, we are currently working on our first album material and we hope to get more gigs, in our country and internationally. Regarding Facebook and Reverbnation, we consider that both are essential tools nowadays. Facebook is ideal for connecting with your followers and know firsthand about their opinion on the band and their expectations. On the other hand, Reverbnation is more focused on the music and lets musicians keep statistics of their musical activity in social networks, so it's extremely useful to know how good we're doing with the band. We think these are the best tools for new bands like us, so we'll keep on using them in the future.

-- Aphelium www.facebook.com/ApheliumBand www.reverbnation.com/aphelium