Atmospheric Black Metal
In the Country of the Virgin Forest comes a great Christian Band called Death Poems. We met UndarkGoat(guitars, screams)in the Net, 2 years ago. We rapidly became good friends.
TBS- Tell us how your ancient band Peacemaker got started. Undark- Well... the ministry of the Peacemaker band began here, in the end of 1995, in São Paulo; the band played in several places of Brazil among 1995-1998, but unhappily the band Peacemaker ended. At the Death Poem's current line-up, just Jeremy(bass/vocals) and I(guitar/vocals) are old members of Peacemaker. Besides the proposal and the sonority of Death Poems are very different from old Peacemaker; therefore in anything they are compared.
Why the name Death Poems ? The first name of our band was "Ordinance"; even so the ideas went maturing;... we wanted a name that in fact had a relationship with our musical identity and our proposal. The name Death Poems is a mention to the revelations of the book Apocalypse(Rev.2:11), besides doing songs addressed to the devotion, and the worship; our letters speak, tell more about revival, spiritual warfare and escatology.
What bands have influenced your sound ? As whole musician; we appreciated different musical tendences, and different bands. Our kind of music is melody, brutality and morbidity. At first, our sound is an amont as obscure; even so we used several voice styles, as the shrill, the guttural, gothic and even opera; with a medieval proposal. We liked a lot to hear christian bands as: Schaliach, Extol, Paramaecium, Desolate Eternity, Anaemia, Virgin Black, Saviour Machine and Veni Domine... even so it's easier to compare our sonority with secular bands like Amorphis, My Dying Bride and Cathedral; our sound is very similar, only this. Even so, Death Poems maintains its musical identity; different and original, as we said tied up the Medium Age.
Have you released something under Death Poems ? Not yet. We are in studio recording our first demotape entitled "Devotion"; the demo should be released in October '98; was already disclosed as soundclip of one song through the internet. You can hear it at our website.
Do you project to release another demo or an album ? Yes, as we said the intention is to release this demo in October and to record our first album in '99.
Are you planning some gigs ? Jeremy and I play together since May of '97, when Jeremy entered in old Peacemaker. The band Peacemaker left the stages during six months, because of modifications of the line-up of the band. Death Poems made a pre-premiere in July in a city of São Paulo and we will make our premiere in August at The Big Stream Rock Fest '98.
What are your favourite bands ? Our favourite bands are: Extol, Schaliach, Antestor, Deuteronomium, Anaemia, Desolate Eternity, Paramaecium, Saviour Machine, Veni Domine, Necromanicide, Corpse, Possession, Mortification & many other extreme bands of the Christian Metal scene.We also appreciate bands of the brazilian scene, big friends and our brothers in Christ as Necromanicider, Trino, Inherithance and Estado Sitio.
Were you all christians before you started Peacemaker ? Well... Jeremy and I were born and grew learning on the word of God , in christian families. Fabio accepted Jesus more or less three years ago, even so is already a servent of God vivified by the power of the spirit. We think that doesn't import how long you serve, but the one the one who God serves. We are servent of the only God, the only who was never defeated, and it will never be. The salvation is for free, and for be called Son of God is enough to clamour for His name. God has a plain for life of each one of us, it's enough you look for it, later it is to improve everything that we are to the honour of Jesus Christ's name, He's The Only Master.
Any final comments ? Here in Brazil still exists some prejudice against the chrisitan metal, still more now then we assumed a visual more expressive as: pseudonyms and make-up. We wanted to say that the music's just a vehicle, it's like an empty glass. If you place pure water and to drink does well, but to place poison you die... another very important thing is that the light doesn't have communion with the darkness, and the Christian Metal is a very clear portrait of this. It's not just a music, but a great spiritual battle. Some people just play Metal for doing music, that is badly. Our convictions should be focused in Jesus Christ and to His work, nothing beyond it. For Death Poems it's important that the people jump the whole time, or be agitated during our shows for us, that it matters, it's that they are touched by the power of The Holy Spirit of God. Every honour belongs to Him. That is clear, and above every definition related to our work. "Live today as if Christ returned tomorrow".