Interview with Alcoholic Vortex
Interview with Alcoholic Vortex
Interviewed by Victor Augusto and William Ribas
About a year ago, my longtime friend of reviews, Master William Ribas, was responsible for introducing me to the Brazilian band Alcoholic Vortex. On that occasion, we both were very impressed with the band’s way of playing a direct and precise style of Thrash Metal. We also got very curious about the concept behind the album.
William interviewed them, where he could go deep into the first part of this trilogy, which deals with a space adventure of a Metalhead, named Warren Jackson, who was abducted when going to a metal concert. “Space Traumas Part 2: Attack Of The Yarells” continues this adventure, after Warren escapes to Nebulla, and starts a war against the Yarells.
This time, I decided to interview the band, but I still invited William to contribute with his interesting questions about the album. Thanks again to the vocalist Victor “Chuck” Rascal for being part of this interview.
Victor Augusto: “Space Traumas Part 2: Attack Of The Yarells” has just been released and it continues Warren Jackson’s saga, after he leaves for Nebulla, fleeing from his abduction. On the previous album, many sudden events happened in Warren’s life. Now he seems more adapted to the whole situation and is even becoming a leader in this fight against the Yarells. Could you make a kind of synopsis of this second part of the saga?
Victor “Chuck” Rascal: I don’t think he (Warren) had much of a choice! (laughs). In the events of the song ‘Space Surfing’ (in the first part), an infectious agent is injected into Warren and he is sent to Nebulla. When he arrives on the Planet, he is welcomed and informed that there is a hope of returning home, however, it doesn’t take long until a great pandemic ravages Nebulla (Warren was used as a biological weapon). Right after, the Yarells invade the planet. The events of Part 2 narrate, first, the events on the planet Yarell that lead its people to need to take another planet to ensure the continuity of their species. Then, it narrates the invasion itself and the post-combat, where an elite group of the Yarell army hunts survivors, tracking them by their heat. Finally, the last song narrates an already restricted group of Nebullians, in which Warren is included, trying to reach the underground portals that will allow transportation to a distant part of the galaxy where they will seek help.
William Ribas: Warren Jackson’s path seems to carry parallels with themes such as overcoming and resilience. How do you see these themes dialoguing with the challenges faced by the current musical scenario? And what is it like to connect Thrash Metal fans to science fiction fans?
I believe Warren fights for his survival, just as each band and its members fight to stay active. In this aspect, the problems that we struggle with are very similar. I believe that Thrash Metal communicates very well with Science Fiction, Horror, etc… With this, fans are more curious, interested in the story, asking for details and this exchange is what makes it even funnier to do this work.
Victor Augusto: Musically, the band kept to the very direct and precise Thrash Metal, sounding similar to the previous album. However, the compositions are more aggressive, as if it were a soundtrack of the events that now portray more action. Was it intentional or is the band naturally getting more aggressive?
These songs were composed in the same dynamic that we did Part 1 and at the same time. So, it is normal for them to sound similar. The difference is that the other members started to put their touches more often as time went by and this is the maturity of the band emerging over time. I believe that Part 3 should already have many more touches from the other members. The idea that the ambiance of the songs was thought in relation to the story is well founded, an example is ‘The Underground Passages’ which tries to reproduce the moments of tension through riffs.
William Ribas: Many Thrash Metal fans appreciate the raw and direct energy of the style. What is it like to adapt natural aggressiveness to a project that also requires a cohesive narrative?
It’s challenging, because it’s not always that the riff or super cool idea will fit what you’re working on, so you have to create ways to manage those ideas. You have the job of fitting the right idea in the right place.
Victor Augusto: The origin of the concept of Space Traumas, somehow, seems to be linked to the situation that you went through, in your near death with COVID, as you told us in our previous interview. At first, the sudden adverse situation ends up creating a moment of confusion in Warren’s head and life, which is no different from those who go through such a health issues as you had. However, Warren seems to be at a moment when he is strong and reacting. Is there any connection between this moment of Warren’s life and any moment of your life?
It was never the idea to mirror reality in fiction, the idea was precisely to write about fictional themes so as not to fall into the depressive idea of writing about real things. I’ve done a lot of that in the past and today I want to take a different path. But this can happen involuntarily, since the whole beginning, the central idea, and everything else, comes from the time I was recovering, and the dreams I had were too weird. Anyway, both Warren and I are in similar times of life, fighting problems and overcoming each other every day with the help of friends and loved ones.
Picture by Bruno Mota (@bmotaphotos)
Victor Augusto: “Space Traumas Part 2: Attack Of The Yarells” was released less than a year after Part I. How was the process of composing, recording and releasing this EP, while you were still promoting the previous album?
The songs were already ready, rehearsed, and in good shape. In fact, Part 1 and 2 were supposed to be just Part 1, but due to release strategies and costs, we decided to split it. Anyway, we are working on part 3, and we are already well advanced on it. We had to stop for a while to focus on the recording in November, but we are already resuming the work.
Victor Augusto: There are strong references and inspirations to films that involve action and fiction, such as the classic Star Wars trilogy. What was it like to make your version of a galactic war trilogy?
I’m passionate about Star Wars, like that kind of person who knows the names of the ships, planets and how many “parsecs” the Milennium Falcon has made the Kessel Course (laughs). So, I say that there is a lot of inspiration in this and it’s cool to bring it to life and make people discover something that was only in your head. Who knows, maybe it’s the start of a new activity in my life?
William Ribas: Which science fiction movies, books or games help shape the Space Traumas universe?
There’s a lot of Star Wars, there’s a lot of physics that I learned (or at least tried to learn) in Stephen Hawking’s books, where I learned the Twin Paradox when he gives a brief introduction to Einstein’s theory of relativity. Also, movies like Men In Black (M.I.B.), Independence Day, etc.
William Ribas: The band seems to have found a strong identity with Space Traumas. How do you intend to balance that identity with the freedom to experiment on future albums?
I think about letting it go. The songs in Part 3 will be different, but I think it’s positive that it reflects the essence of the musicians as much as possible, I don’t want to control anyone to follow a line or keep cutting their ideas off. All the members of this band have their different styles and approaches to playing. It would be a crime for me to cut any note they compose.
Victor Augusto: Thank you for your time. The space is open for final considerations.
I would like to thank Ever Metal for the space and opportunity to talk about the band. You do a fantastic job, and you can count on us, always. I would also like to reinforce that we have an open agenda, and we have merchandising for sale. It gives us fuel to reach higher places! Finally, thank you to each individual who likes and enjoys our band, we certainly do this to let you all be happy in some way!
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