interview: Gutted Souls

Gutted Souls doesn’t fool around. It’s death metal with a brutal sound and a highly critical perspective of the politicians in Brazil. According to the band, crooked politicians rule that South American nation. How better to express their critique than brutal death metal? You don’t have to ask Gutted Souls twice! They have a new album that they have already recorded and about which they are trying to get the message out to you: Oligarchy and the Illusion of Freedom. Hear a new song/lyric video from the album now at their Facebook page. The band’s vocalist and bassist, Iron, is the one answering the questions.

Hello, Gutted Souls! How is Rio de Janeiro for Gutted Souls?! Is your new album ready to go now?

First of all, thanks, Metal Bulletin zine for the opportunity for us to speak up. Rio de Janeiro has lots of local bands, and bands from all around the world love to play here, however you don't have many places to play, only a few producers and it's not a very metal-friendly place so to speak. It's not the best place to start a metal band, but you got to work with what you got.

Yes, it's true! We have our first full album ready, but delayed due to some production problems. It will be certainly out this year. Musically this album will be a collection of the ideas the band has since 2011, to close this cycle. Lyrically it will speak about the danger of pathocracy, the cancer that rots our world. The pathological rule of the few.

Metal Archives says that Gutted Souls started in 2001? But Gutted Souls changed the name many times? Why?

True. We started in 2001 as a very death/doom influenced band, and as the sound changed, and it changed dramatically over the years, we changed names to reflect the change. Looking back, we took it a little too far, I guess. But back then we never thought we would end up on Metal Archives, we were just kids making music in the style we loved.

Who are the members of the band now? Who began the band?

Iron, the vocalist is the only remaining founder of the band. Right now the line up is the same since 2011.

Iron - vocals/bass

Wellington Ferrari - guitar

Leandro Xsa - guitar

We had a bassist, but he has since left, and we are on the look for a permanent drummer.

Does Gutted Souls play shows in Rio de Janeiro and in Brazil in general?

We do play live, not as often as other bands, but we do. After the release of the album, we are planning a small Brazilian tour to spread our music. Our main objective is to take our music to Europe and the US, as we feel that we are more understood in these parts. In our homeland, our brand of death metal is not much in fashion right now, people are stuck in a retro thrash vibe.

Brazil has many metal bands, a lot of death, thrash and black metal. When you were a teenager, did you go to metal shows in your city and decided to make this intense form of music?

When I was a teenager (Iron) I used to go see the local bands. We were already listening to Sepultura, Sarcófago, Cradle of Filth, Satyricon, Nuclear Assault, Katatonia. Bands all over the place in terms of sound, and we had no experience fine tuning what we listened and what we wanted to express in our music, so everything had its time in our primitive music. Then one day, I saw a local band called Poem’s Death. It was glorious 90s-inspired death metal. Then I understood what we wanted to do, to play. We wanted to just play f## 90s-inspired death metal. We delved into the bands with tapes and those “Death Is Just the Beginning” series, and that is our story. We recorded a demo tape under the monicker Necropedophile, and all of those 90s death metal influences are there. Check it out.

What type of support is the most helpful to your band?

The musical scene has changed a lot with internet and all, but some things don’t change: buy the CDs or the format that the bands choose to spread their music, go to your local shows, support the few radios that still exist, and more importantly, spread the music around, don’t hoard the art. Show to your friends, let it live in our world. We need more metal.

Do your lyrics deal with real life topics?

Our lyrics are political in the sense that they aim to inform about the reality of pathocracy, an organized system of thinking akin to an infection, were pathological figures like pssychopaths and charachteropaths end in positions of power in companies, science, religion and government. The rule of the wicked. We do not expose leftist or right wing ideas, since we believe that the whole system is infected and corrupted. I write also about some philosophical reflections

Brazil hosted the Olympics, but some people did not like that the money was used for the Olympics while there is poverty in Brazil. What is your opinion?

Corruption is rampant here, the system is almost totally twisted to benefit the corrupt. It’s really not a right or left thing, you have crooks in either side. We are headed for some really ugly times, with fewer opportunities for young people. I really think it’s a good time to leave the country, if you can. Or at least look for the few places with more opportunities, like São Paulo.

Are there radio stations in Brazil that play metal music?

There are a few online radios, like Cangaço Radio Rock and Roadie Rock, and some traditional radios that play some metal, but in general the support for metal in radios is very, very low. Younger bands have to work very hard to have a voice, and rely mostly on YouTube or Facebook for promotion.

Do you have other news?!

Well, we soon will release our new album “Oligarchy and the Illusion of Freedom.” We are looking for labels willing to release it, so if you or any of readers know, just give us a shout. Also, we already started working on new material, so 2017 probably will see two releases by us, one full play and perhaps a single in the end of the year. Thanks for opportunity again, and the metal flame burning!

facebook.com/GuttedSouls

guttedsouls.bandcamp.com

THE END