EMQ’s With Victor Augusto
What is your name, what do you do, and can you tell us a little bit about how you ended up doing it?
Hello everyone. I am Victor Augusto, the Brazilian reviewer of Ever Metal. I work in the Air Force as an Air Traffic Controller. When I was about to go to university, I realized that the way I was living was totally unhealthy. I had to wake up at 4 am to get a bus and cross the city to study, without safety and money, so I decided to try the military contest to have a regular life and job. The fact that my father is a pilot in the Air Force influenced me to choose Air Traffic Control as work and here I am. 15 years working on it.
What Country/Region are you from and what is the Metal/Rock scene like there?
I live in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil. The Metal scene here is full of great and insane bands despite the fact the city is not so big. Most of the bands are new and have to work extremely hard to reach a good level of success, but they do great concerts to amuse us. The concerts are made by the bands. Sadly, we don’t have a lot of fans going to the concerts, but the few ones that go are amazing.
What is your favourite latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)
“Quadra” from Sepultura is an incredible release. For me this is the best 2020 release so far, but I must mention the beautiful single “Saturnalia” from the Italian band Deathless legacy and “Amarre” from the Argentine band Granada. Both demanded a lot of work and study to understand the concept and write good reviews about them.
Who have been your greatest influences, in music or in life?
Andreas Kisser from Sepultura is the guy I want to meet someday. He is not only a great guitar player. He suffered a lot with Sepultura after Max Left the band and he, with all other members, struggled for a decade to keep Sepultura alive. He not only did it well, but he put Sepultura on an incredible level. He is a very polite person even when people bother him asking dumb polemical questions about the past. He shows a true passion for the music and for Sepultura. For me, he is an example in music. For my life, I have few close friends that are more important than my own family to help me be a better human.
What first got you into music?
My brother’s bullying (laugh). My older brother is a person that listen to one single song that he loves the entire day. It could be the best song in the world, but after 24 hours listening to the same music you can hate it (laugh). He showed me Rock and Heavy Metal when I was just 8 years old, even he tortured me listening to the same record all long day for a month. But if he didn’t do it, I would have never known what heavy metal is.
Which current bands or musicians would you like to see collaborate on a record?
Andreas Kisser in a Kamala album. They know each other and Kamala is a Thrash Metal band that is growing fast in Europe.
If you could go to any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
I am not a festival guy. I am more the guy who has fun at smaller concerts. I have much more fun watching festivals on TV, drinking beer on sofa, but I believe Wacken Open Air is the dream of any metal head. I wish someday I could go to Wacken and enjoy the trip to visit the rest of Europe.
What’s the weirdest music related thing you own?
I have a doll that was the first doll my wife had when she was kid. This doll was left in a wet closet and is full of mould that I cannot clean. I use it to do funny movies to promote my radio guest slots. The doll always appears threatening if I can’t tune in to the radio show.
If you had one message for your Ever Metal readers, what would it be?
I would say you are reading the most passionate writers about music.
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
Despite the fact I miss Jeff Hanneman a lot, considering Slayer is my favourite band of all time, I would bring Ronnie James Dio back. I love his voice and everything he did in Heavy Metal. I miss him since he died.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
My answer will be restricted to the Brazilian industry that I know a lot. All the philosophy of “pay to play”. At least in Brazil, if you pay tons of money, you will have success in the music industry. For Heavy Metal, things are harder here, but the bands that get more space in the main magazines or media also pay the best promoters and they are not always the best bands. There are too many egos, too much money and other issues involved. So, to summarize, I wish that the bands who are the most passionate and write the best music were more successful. That is the most important thing.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
It is hard. I have at least 20 albums that I can’t live without, but I will name the album that made me love Heavy Metal. It is not the band’s best album, they are not even my favourite band, but it was the album that appeared first in my life and made me love it. I am talking about Manowar – “The Triumph Of Steel”.
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?
I am still the CD guy because it was what I had when I was kid, but I think you must listen to what is easier for you and good for the band. Digital streaming is the best option nowadays. Easy to hear on your cell phone and it gives some return for the band.
What’s the best gig that you have been to, and why?
Another hard question. Probably the Heaven and Hell concert. The reason is that I am such a fan of Dio, and I paid a lot of money to see this concert. Many problems happened that day, but I could see it. The day was May 16th of 2009. Exactly one year before Dio’s death. The concert was perfect and for me it is my fav one.
What do you get up to when you’re not writing?
Work, drink, brew and watch something related to aviation or Formula 1. Nowadays, I write reviews or record spoken reviews/interviews for radio around the world and this is the biggest part of my life. I do love it.
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
If you like to have a good chat and hear good heavy metal music, you are totally invited to my house anytime. I brew at home and I can do awesome hamburgers (huge). Considering I am from Brazil, I wish to have dinner with my reviewer’ friends of Ever Metal, someday. I love them!
Jaffa Cakes? Are they a cake or a biscuit?
Ahhh. I don’t know. I don’t have these in Brazil, but if it is good, I will eat it!
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
I am so proud to support Heavy Metal around the world on Ever Metal. Music is a huge part of my life since I was 8 years old and I love the way all reviewers/photographers work on Ever Metal. It is like my second family in a country miles away from mine. Thanks people. I love you!
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