Interview with ATLANTIS
!!!BRAZILIAN HEAVY METAL!!!
We had a conversation with ATLANTIS.Enjoy!
Welcome to the FILTHY DOGS OF METAL Webzine.
Tell us a few things about ATLANTIS (Members, Starting Year etc).
Atlantis was founded by Tino Barth and Fellipe França in 2013 with the idea of playing Heavy Metal in the way the ancient lords of NWOBHM did. Rubens Lamin joined soon after and with this line-up, the band recorded their first EP, “Summoning the Witch”. In 2015 we released “Hotter Than a Burning Church” by Xalpen records, this time already with Bruno Eggert handling the drums and Jonathan Odorizzi on bass, to replace França, which had left.In 2017, França returned to once again take on the bass guitar, and now the band is on its tightest formation until now, which recorded the full-length debut, the homonymous “Atlantis”.
In 2019 you have released your single''Atlantis''. What was the feedback from your audience as well as from the press?
Our fanbase and friends were very pleased by the song, since we’ve been working on this album for so long that it might have aroused their curiosity hahaha. As for the press, we didn’t receive that much feedback, but also we didn’t promote the single as we should.Just a few days before we released another single, “Quest for Vengeance”, to announce our partnership with the label Classic Metal Records, which is going to release the album the next semester. This song is receiving a nice feedback from the fans and from people we didn’t even know!
Label or DIY and why?
Both of them have their pros and cons. With a DIY attitude, you have more freedom to make your own decisions on what you for your band, but having a label is also nice, for it can help you to spread the word more easily than if you were doing it all by yourself, just to give an example.
Do you prefer Vinyl, Tape, CD or Digital Format and why is that?
Vinyl if one can afford that in Brazil, maybe in the future our financial situation gets better so we can buy more vinyls.
Your music style is Heavy Metal. Which are your main influences (Favourite Artists / Bands etc.)
Well, obviously Angel Witch, and a lot of other bands from the NWOBHM movement such as Diamond Head, Praying Mantis, Witchfinder General, and Iron Maiden. A lot of bands from the 80s heavy metal across the globe, and some newer bands like Cauldron and Skull Fist that are seen as big influences by us.
Which things, do you think, a Band should sacrifice in order to succeed? Have you ever sacrificed anything in your life for a better future of your Band?
Aside from spending some weekends locked in studios rehearsing or recording, or hitting the road instead of being with our family and girlfriends, not that we remember. Of course we dream of playing on big stages and things like this, but we also have other dreams and objectives. One can chase more than one dream at once.We have a band mainly to unleash our fury and passion for metal, and to get ourselves a good time haha, like we sing in “Atlantis”: “Friday means freedom!”
Describe your ideal live show as a performance Band. Have you already experienced that?
In our point of view, the best shows are those where everybody is there on the front row headbanging to our sound. We don’t really mind whether the house is full or not, what really matters is seeing the people enjoying the music. We had some shows with few people on the house that were awesome, because the ones present were going insane with our show!
Which attributes, do you think, that a new Heavy Metal Band should have in order to gain identity and be unique?
We believe a band should try to avoid to rehash some known riff inside the same old song structures. A lot of people are doing that consciously, trying to sound similar to a specific style and end up becoming "worship" bands, where all the riffs are just variations of the same riffs and song structures by a specific band. In our case, of course that sometimes we do have a specific riff or progression that reminds us of a specific band, but we always try to make the overall song to sound as our own. One should always strive to create their own identity.
Do you believe that Bandcamp and other Digital Platforms help the new Metal Bands? Which, do you think, is the ideal way for a Band to promote its work?
We believe the best way to promote its work is by being on the stage showing their passion for heavy metal! If that is not possible, try to get in contact with our audience by releasing as much material as possible as well as trying to be active in social media to connect with our friends. Bandcamp is a great place for get to know new bands and also to help support both newer and underground bands; And for the Spotify kind of platforms, these major streaming services can help on promoting the band, but as for actual support these services provide,it is basically nonexistent.
Tell us a few things about the New Underground Metal Scene in Brazil (Bands, Fanzines, Webzines, Metal Clubs etc.)
Well, Brazil is a huge country. As we are from the southern region, it is not easy to play on all the regions; However we did hear from fellow bands that the scene on the north and Northeastern Brazil is really strong.We are eager to see that for ourselves! Of course the majority of the bands and concerts happen in the big cities like São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, and there one can find the biggest metal clubs and metal audiences.As for the bands, we could speak about them for ages, since the Brazilian metal scene is legendary, but we can cite some heavy metal bands that were really influential on us: Harppia, Azul Limão and Orquidea Negra were huge influences on the bands' themes and sound.
Do you know anything about the Hellenic Metal Scene?
We know that the Greeks are one of the most loyal and outrageous fans ever! The fame of the Greek audiences are very well known (Live in Athens by Iced Earth album comes to mind haha). So it should definitely be a blast to play there! Hopefully one day we might be able to play for you guys!As for the bands, Rotting Christ is a great black metal band, and the fast thrash from Exarsis got to our attention a while ago... We are always checking out new bands and this question actually inspired us to go check some more heavy metal made in Greece!
What are your future plans?
To release the self-titled album that contains the Atlantis single, and in the future release a couple more songs we have recorded. And of course to play as much as possible!
Thank you very much for your time & Keep up the good work! The closure is yours.
We would like to thank Filthy Dogs of Metal for the interview! And hope that heavy metal fans stay tuned in the near future for more Atlantis releases!!! Heavy Metal until the grave!
By Steve the Filthy Dog.
ATLANTIS CONTACT: