Second assault by Warfect. The Swedes arrived destroying the eardrums, what a live-show! Thrash Metal in its purest form. Another band that we saw for the first time and that left us absolutely stunned, so brutal! Looking forward to seeing them in action again as soon as possible.
Interview we did with Diva:
1. Tours are back, how's it going?
Very good! We did not expect that everything could be done, some shows were canceled and postponed for the summer. But it's not bad at all. A month and a half on tour, in total we have about 7 days off.
It's amazing! From the first day a lot of people are coming. There were many locations where I think the first concert was held after the pandemie.
2. New line-up in Nervosa and the it emerged during the pandemie. How does it work, considering that you live in different countries?
Well, it's complicated. We have a language that is “Nervosese”. We all speak very bad English, so we mix English words with Portuguese, Spanish, Italian. A very interesting mess! In the end things stick to us from each other, but it's a lot of fun because you learn a lot from each site and in the end we have things that are not so different. Being languages with a common root makes it very easy.
3. On the tour you are focused on the new album, tell us a little about the composition and recording process.
It was a bit tricky going through in the middle of the pandemie. We wrote the album in three months, each from her house. Prika had a lot of things already written, a lot of material that she hadn't released and that fit very well.
There were days when she sent us a riff and she wanted each one of us to put her part and other days the drums, others part of the lyrics... It has been very dynamic.
Once in the studio and with the help of Martin Furia, who produced both the previous album and this one, we changed a lot of things. Since composing in the distance is not the same as being there all together. And since we didn't know each other that well, there were some things that sound good at first and then you change and improve.
Already from the studio we noticed that energy. Although we did not know each other at all, we felt that we had known each other all our lives. It's very rare to live but it's great because if you don't notice that, the band doesn't really work. It's like a relationship, many hours together, different personalities...
4. You all have parallel projects, which one is the main one?
Right now it's Nervosa, because it's a band that plays a lot live. And you have to meet deadlines. I have my other band Bloodhunter in which we also have a record contract but it is not at an international level nor does it have a fixed deadline to release an album a year, it is much more affordable. The same thing happens to Mia, to Eleni too, but she's more into recording things for other bands, she's not as involved as Mia or me.
5. In which festivals are we going to see Nervosa this summer?
We have an interesting hodgepodge. At the Exit in Serbia. The Time To Rock in Sweden... I don't remember all of them, but the truth is that the year is going to be very intense and the summer looks like it too.
6. What do you think about playing at the Obscene Extreme Festival? Since with the previous line-up it was the first European festival in which they played.
In my rehearsal room when I started singing there was a poster with Nervosa from the edition in which they played. And the festival looks crazy. They played there and since then this band has achieved many things. I think people still don't realize it. They have been climbing and working hard to get to the point where we are now.
7. How do you see the future?
Shiny!! I think we shouldn't be in a hurry to do things too quickly and we should enjoy what we have now. In addition to these times of so much uncertainty in which we live...
For me it is a blessing to be able to tour Europe in these conditions.
Hopefully it will be very good, following the line in which we are.
8. You are in Napalm Records, one of the biggest labels in the world of extreme music. Any advice for bands just starting out?
I think I'm not in a position to give any advice (laughs). But it is true that I reflect on what has happened to me and I would say that I always work hard, study. There are many people who think that only learning on their own is enough, and this is not the case. You have to work hard and you have to be humble. Because then there are many people who, when things start to go well, forget where they came from.
It is a combination of everything, being clear about where you want to go, everything you are going to have to work on and not forgetting where you come from because you never know where you might end up.
9. After these last two difficult years for the music world, how do you see the scene?
Well, it's a very good question, because in theory we should be like everyone else, putting our shoulders to the wheel to move the situation forward and it is true that depending on the sector it seems that we are increasingly separated. That is the feeling I have. Each struggling to survive but on a very individual level. Each one is so involved in their difficulties that they are not capable of doing things together to get ahead.
This tour has a bit of that spirit, doing a co-headliner tour in which both bands have the opportunity to headline it every night, and this is a sign to show that we want to collaborate, be united in these moments because the scene; we are all, we have to try to recover that spirit.
10. Any funny anecdotes you want to share with us while you were on tour?
From bathroom clogs, falls on stage... There are fun things and others not so much. There was a concert where we had some technical problems and it occurred to us to start telling jokes; Italian, Spanish, Portuguese classes... (laughs). We did what we could, we have discovered that we have something there, if the music is not going well we can think of putting on a good humorous show!
11. The relevance of social media?
It is a very important tool although I have to admit that I personally hate them. I do what I can to keep up to date since it is your showcase to the world and your way of connecting and spreading the word.
As a fan I also buy more merchandise than music. I buy a record when I really like the band a lot and I want to have it because of the format or whatever, but normally if I go to see a new band I buy a t-shirt, or a patch or whatever. thing to help. The merch is the way to help the bands to survive and more in all this time in which it has not been possible to tour.
12. Nervosa’s favorite song to play live.
We're realizing that people like “Venomous” a lot. It's the song that was part of our audition to get into the band. One of the parts was to compose a song together and this was it. People also like “Time to fight” a lot because it's very Motörhead and the lyrics come in handy for everything that's going on.
13. Anything else to add?
I just want to say thank you very much! What a joy to finally be able to do an interview in Spanish! (laughs). A pleasure to be here and meet you and I hope you enjoy it tonight and that we see each other in many more.
Thank you very much for your time and for the amazing show!! See you soon!!!
