Metal Regards
Here is a new interview with Chile's thrash metal scene and play a very aggressive and violent form of old-school thrash metal anyone into the 1980's German and U.S thrash scenes will defintly like this band so defintly give them a listen today and buy their new release "Formula For Anarchy" through Candlelight Rec.
enjoy the interview and keep watching the site for more reviews and interviews to be posted soon
Patrick
fiendformetal@live.com
Interview with Francisco guitarist for Nuclear done by Patrick
1. Hello Francisco please introduce yourself to the readers? When did you discover metal music?
A. Hey Patrick, thanks a lot for the interview. My name is Francisco Haussmann and I play guitars in the Chilean band Nuclear. I would say the first metal music discovery for me was Metallica back in 1989. Some friends and I were hanging out in a friend’s birthday party and this person comes to us with a Master of Puppets cassette saying “Have you heard this shit?” I was 9 years old and I obviously had never heard about it. It was an immediate reaction to it! Once “Battery” started we began throwing chairs, jumping from one couch to the other and moshing. We got kicked out of the house, went to mine and kept on listening to it all day. Best birthday ever!
2. When did you first meet the other members of Nuclear? How did you all choose the name for the band?
A. It was back in the 80s. I am friends with Sebastian and Punto from 86-87. Since we were kids we enjoyed metal music together and in 1995 we began with our first project called “Escoria”. The remaining members were joining the band once Nuclear was already formed during the 2000s. The name was chosen after the destructive, unstoppable and powerful concept of Nuclear energy. Back then and till this day, Nuclear always has given 200% energy and commitment and we wanted a name to represent that kind of feeling.
3.What is the current line-up of the band? For the readers who have never heard Nuclear's music how would you best describe it?
A. Current line-up is Matias Leonicio on Vocals, Roberto Barria on Bass Guitar, Punto Sudy on Drums and Sebastian Puente and I, both on Guitars. I would say the best word to describe the band is intensity. We play a very intense thrash metal with a hardcore edge. We are no purists in the style so we like to add different elements, not necessarily thrash, to bring our music to higher levels of violence - punk, thrash, death, you name it. We like extreme music, not a particular genre of it.
4.Nuclear is getting ready to release their new cd "Formula For Anarchy" through the Candlelight Rec. how did the band come in contact with this label?
A. Candlelight got in touch with us during one of the European tours last year. We were in Czech Republic when we received the email from them. I am not quite sure how they knew about us, but we are pretty happy they did. It’s been a couple of months since the album is out and Candlelight has been very supportive - great people to work with.
5.How long did it take the band to write the new songs for this release?Does the whole band take part in the writing process or does one member usually write everything?
A. Usually it takes around 6 to 8 months to write an album but it could be longer if the band is on tour. For this particular one, it was around 5 months. We were in a tight schedule so we locked up in the rehearsal room and worked hard to get it done. The writing always starts with a guitar riff from Sebastian or me, or a lyric idea. Then we get together both guitarists and try to ground the ideas. Once we have the song backbone, we present it to the rest of the band. Songs always have modifications and new complementary ideas from the other guys.
6.Are their any tours planned in support of "Formula For Anarchy"? If yes where are some countries the band will be playing?Who are some bands you will be touring with?
A. We did a European tour this year supporting the new album during August and September. We played Brutal Assault Festival in Czech Republic, and toured Russia and East Europe. We played in Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, among others.
7.What have been some of Nuclear's most memorable shows to date?
A. It is actually a difficult question as we have had great shows in the past. I could name remarkable ones like the release party of Jehovirus album (2010), or Brutal Assault Festival a couple of months
ago. In-between we’ve had some incredibly supportive shows In Mexico. I’d say we are pretty happy about the reception of our music and the constant support by metalheads everywhere.
8.In your opinion what is the best and worst thing about the underground metal scene?And what does Metal underground mean to you?
A. The best thing is for sure the die-hard fans out there, everywhere. Underground music lives because of them. There are tons of metalheads out there supporting, attending to concerts, buying CDs & merchandising from bands and that’s what makes this so great. The worst thing is the money problems a lot of bands experience. Bands usually don’t make money out of this so it becomes very difficult to keep on doing this forever. I’d say sometimes there’s a misconception about being an underground band – it means you play extreme music that most people out there would hate but it does not mean you cannot make a living out of it. It is all about how you manage the project. In my opinion, underground means no support by major labels, radios or zines, and because of that, it is the privilege to learn how to do things yourself, your own way.
9. Nuclear comes out of the Chilean metal scene what is your opinion of Chile's metal scene over the years?
A. It has evolved like any other metal scene. Back in the 80s and even great part of the 90s bands did not have access to professional equipment, there was a lot of disinformation and things were pretty difficult. Despite this, a lot of bands fought their way through and did amazing jobs. Of course it did not matter for the audience. Back then people used to pack every single venue and just enjoy music. Back in the day the country was under a dictatorship and obviously music and especially metal music wasn’t accepted, more over it was constantly banned. I’d say music and culture in general lost a great deal of time back then trying to subsist in such close-minded environment.
Nowadays things are at hand and many bands out there have released good albums. The main problem that affects us all is distance-related. Being the last country of South America and so far away from pretty much everything is not something that helps much. Big venues turned into several small bars and people have so many options to go see a band today. International acts get the attention of most of the local metalheads so it is hard to pack a place today. Many local bands cannot gather more than 50 people at their concerts. It is still a great through.
10.Who are some of your all-time favorite Chilean bands? Are their any new metal bands you feel the readers should check out soon?
A. At the top of my list I have 3: Poema Arcanus, Atomic Aggressor and Execrator. Poema Arcanus for their awesome taste in music and quality – Can’t think of any other band with such talent in Chile. Relentless career. Atomic Aggressor and Execrator for what they meant when I started listening metal music. I still can remember how these bands changed my point of view. In regards to new metal bands, you should definitely check out Lefutray, Conflicted, Impact, Carvakas, Mano Humana… just to name a few.
11.Francisco you handle the guitars for the band when did you become interested in playing the guitars?Are you self taught or did you take lessons when first learning?
A. I remember the exact date I became interested in playing guitars - It was July 1995. I was playing drums by then but for some reason it just stopped to be fun anymore. I wanted to play guitars, to write songs. I knew I had some great ideas but my playing sucked so I decided to go for it as a challenge. I bought my first guitar in January 1996 and I have never stopped ever since. I did not take lessons – I just tried my best to play some tunes from Metallica, Sepultura and Kreator and those were my very first steps.
12.Who are some of your influences/favorite guitarists? Besides the guitars do you play any other instruments?
A. I’d say by the time I started playing guitar, bands such as Sepultura, Kreator, Metallica, Pantera, Slayer, Benediction, Dismember, Entombed were the ones who influenced me the most. For instance, guitar players like Dimebag Darrell had it all: technique, passion and taste, but I used to listen to a lot of bands back in the day. I mean, when it comes to guitar playing, Randy Rhoads, Eddie Van Halen or Marty Friedman have always impressed me the most. However my guitar playing isn’t that neat as I like to add punk ideas to the thrash we do. Back in the day, I used to play drums. It lasted for a couple of years before I realized I wanted to play guitars.
13.Besides Nuclear are any of the members currently working with any other bands?
A. No, We are 100% focused on Nuclear at the moment.
14.Besides the Formula For Anarchy release coming out does the band have any other merchandise available for the readers?If yes where the fans buy the merchandise?
A. We have available some stuff. Some of our back catalogue is still available, DVDs, and t-shirts. Head over to http://webstore.sickbangers.cl/artist/nuclear to check it out.
15.Thank you Francisco for taking the time to fill out this interview do you have any final comments for the readers?
A. Well Patrick, thank you very much for this interview, I enjoyed answering it. Thanks to the readers of Winter Torment - I hope you guys enjoy this as much as I did. Check out Nuclear’s official website www.nuclear.cl – you can find the links to all our communities and music! Cheers!
