Interview with death metal band NOCTURNAL HOLLOW from Venezuela.
Answered JR ESCALANTE, thank you!
Translated Duzl, thank you!
Ave NOCTURNAL HOLLOW! Greetings to the Venezuelan underground. I hope everything is fine with you. It should be because this year you have released a sixth full-length album in your band's career. I have to admit it has literally blown my mind. It is dark, energic and as if it cuts by the sharp edge of the knife. I can hear from the record you did a really good job and you added a big portion of the talent, too. How do you perceive the new album in comparison to the previous one? Where did you want to move and in what are these two records different?
JR ESCALANTE: Greetings and thank you very much for the opportunity, very pleased that you liked our album. This one TRIUMPHANTLY EVIL was particularly the most produced of our career, where more details were taken into account without letting the intensity of the music change, and that is precisely the difference between this new album and the penultimate A WHISPER OF AN HORRENDOUS SOUL was compoused and recorded in 2 months, very fast…we had never made an album so fast, in the same way the two are very similar for their direct and raw energy.
„Triumphantly Evil“ includes all attributes of good death metal. For me personally, it represents the record, which I really like to listen to. How did you produce it? How look the writing process of new material in the case of NOCTURNAL HOLLOW?
JR ESCALANTE: There was no secret formula or a different way of working, we practically did things the way we know how to do it best ... I compose the song and meet with the drummerfro rehersal, and a new song is born, that happens when you have a connection with your bandmate, we are just Gerorge Knive and myself in the band. We have been playing for 20 years now, not only in Nocturnal hollow but also in other bands and the connection and communication is automatic, everything flows very fast.
I found out that the mix and mastering of the new record. I have to confirm that the sound is literally killing. It still makes me add volume to the player. Sound is cruel, raw and at the same time dark and organic. In which studio did you record it? How did the recording process look like?
JR ESCALANTE: It does not mean that when the album is raw and basic it an easy process to make it, sometimes the most basic ones turn out to be more difficult since you try to capture the original sound that the microphones capture to the instruments and transfer it to the studio to produce them in that way, simple and direct, without much details . On this occasion we recorded with Dan Urbina at UNIRECORDS STUDIO, sound engineer and friend of many years, in fact he was the one who mixed and mastered our first DECAY OF DARKNES album in 2011, since then we have not worked with him and the result was very satisfactory.
An important part and a kind of extra bonus for fans today is the physical CD. You released the new album at CD through issued themselves productions, and it has a corpsy cover art. Who is the author? Do I explain well the picture when I would think it is a body in a considerable state of decay? How did you choose the motif and how does it relate to the music at the record?
JR ESCALANTE: We have worked with John Quevedo Janssens for quite some time, an artist who is currently at a first-rate level of creation, a great artist and childhood friend ... a lifetime! Basically I tell him what I want for the artwork trying to translate the visual part into the music and he takes the ideas and then gives me an amazing final result, as it is in this case, an infernal and chaotic artwork, same as the music of this new album.
I have been wandering the underground for over thirty years and I still go to Venezuela for music with certainty. I think we have a similar nature and taste when it comes to metal. I like your bands a lot and I monitor your scene carefully. Maybe I envy you a little, because we only have a few death metal bands that are worth it. How do you explain that black and death metal are doing so well in your country? How do you perceive your scene, fans, labels?
JR ESCALANTE: Honestly, we are going through a bad economic and political moment and this reflects the reality of those of us who live in Venezuela, the scene is quite beaten, there are almost no concerts and companies that promote them ... that particularly fills me with strength instead leting me down, is not easy but this is already part of our lives and we cannot let it die. There are more Death Metal bands than Black Metal, the latter there are very few, I take this opportunity to present my next Black Metal project called CROOKED GOD .. the mix and master are ready and really excited about the result, we could say that It is one more band that adds to the Venezuelan scene.
You play devastating death metal influenced by, among other things, the Swedish and American school. Today, the band can't avoid comparisons, but I would like to know how the idea to start NOCTURNAL HOLLOW was born, who was and is your metal idol? Where do you want to move your band? Are you attracted to large foreign festivals, for example, are you willing to go on tour with a more famous band?
JR ESCALANTE: Nocturnal Hollow was born with the idea of being a classic, basic and simple death metal band ... we released 2 albums under that formula, but from the 3rd album DEATHLESS AND FLESHLESS everything changed, included in the compositions the great Boss Hm2, bastion of swedish death metal and we liked it, we enjoyed it .. we followed that route and that style to date, particularly I have been more of European metal. My heroes which I keep listening today are Venom, Celtic frost, Slayer, Possessed ... that were my musical bases and influences. Soon we will take a radical course, we will definitely move to the USA in a couple of months, exactly Houston Tx ... From there Nocturnal Hollow will continue, this will allow us to expand in terms of tours, live shows and of course play in Europe very very soon .. those plans are already made, so we'll see you soon.
When I started my blog five years ago, I had a vision that I would try to support bands that are not so much popular, or they are lost in underground. To let the world knows about them. I think I'm doing quite well, at least according to the responses. How do you approach the promotion of your music? Do you rely upon the label or do you send the CDs for various reviews by yourself? For example, I buy albums that I really enjoy. What about you? Are you also fans who often support your colleagues? Do you go to concerts?
JR ESCALANTE: You are doing a magnificent job, since the last time I read a review of our band on your portal it shows that you have developed favorably, I congratulate you for that. I am a Hardcore fan of music and the art of metal, I enjoy the concerts and the energy that emanates from those meetings ... and of course I think that we must support each other, this is an art of heart and spirit, the economic aspect does not figure in any way, if you do not love it, leave it and do something else.
On the one hand, today the new band has a lot of opportunities to make themselves more known, but on the other hand, there are a huge number of groups and the fans are getting lost in this big metal sea. A lot of people just download mp3s from the internet and instead of to visit the concert they prefer to spit poisonous saliva on Facebook. How do modern technologies affect you as NOCTURNAL HOLLOW? What do you think about downloading music, google metalists, streaming music, etc.?
JR ESCALANTE: I think we have to take advantage of what this time is offering us, the infinite information on the internet, you can do things well such as supporting your favorite bands by buying their album and merchandise or simply be a semi warrior behind a keyboard downloading music without contributing anything, that’s not goog… but, how we controll it! Is frustratin some times... Hey,,,, everything is valid, but it is good to contribute, people do not imagine the money, effort and time to make an album ... the least you can do is at least buy their music digitally, that is a great help for musicians who do not have the opportunity to be funded by a label.
I like to ask the musicians what death metal means to them. How would they define it, whether it is more the philosophy and lifestyle thing for them or "just" relaxation? What does it mean for you? How do you perceive and experience it?
JR ESCALANTE: In this question I could write for a long time, I will try to be as specific as possible ... Life is based on experiences and experiences in which you give it the sense of how you want to live it ... the music and especially the Extreme metal is my engine, it has influenced my darkest moments and my happiest ones, its present in my criteria, it is definitely a way of life and in one way or another it molds your character, it gave me strength, it gave me character and strength ... it is part of life itself, there are no intermediates ... luckily in this short and only life that we are living I was able to enjoy the experience of being a metalhead ... I don't ask for more!
Finally, a classic but important question. What is NOCTURNAL HOLLOW planning in the upcoming months? Where can we see you at the stage and when will you visit Europe?
JR ESCALANTE: Infinite thanks to you for taking us into account for this entertaining interview, short-term plans ... working fully with my other band CROOKED GOD And waiting a while to follow the legacy of NOCTURNAL HOLLOW with another album, definitely moving and touring the USA and EUROPE. that is a must ...! We will also have to wait for this madness of pandemic to pass, but we must move forward, more music, more life!
Thank you so much for the interview. I wish a lot of success to the new album and let the number of your fans expand as much as possible. I will look forward to seeing you somewhere live again. I wish you a lot of success both musically and personally. I'm going to push „Triumphantly Evil“ into my head again!
JR ESCALANTE: Thanks again to you and your magazine .. and of courseand all the fans who follow and support the band. Greetings!
about NOCTURNAL HOLLOW on DEADLY STORM ZINE:
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