Interview with legendary black thrash metal band from Colombia - WITCHTRAP.
Answered Witchhammer (drummer), thank you!
Recenze/review - WITCHTRAP - Hungry as the Beast (2024):
Ave WITCHTRAP! Greetings to Colombia, hope you are well! I am, because I just got back from work where I spent the whole day listening to your new album "Hungry as the Beast". I'm working on the computer and my headphones were still in my ears. I'm literally fascinated by the energy I feel from the record. I don't think you can tell me the recipe for where it comes from, but I'm sure you'd be happy to describe how the new record was made? Has the way WITCHTRAP composes changed in any way compared to past albums?
W/ Hey Jakub, I’m glad you like our last album “Hungry As The Beast” and let our music gets blow your brain in pieces by the energy we spread on it. There's not actually a recipe or so, we just want to do the music we like inspired by the great music form 70's and early 80's and let play it at 78 RPM with enough fury and anger as we can. About the About the recordings session it was totally differentc in comparisson to the previous albums. I mean, in the past albums, Eps and so, we always had all material written and composed, but this time we only had some guitar riffs and guitar structures. So, we took them to make a sketch with no idea what would be the drums, bass, solos, and lyrics and we started to compose every arrangement on each song during or while we were starting to record them. We thought that it was the right time for the band to have a new album out, due to the good things we realize it was happening with the feedback from fans and live performance about the band. So, we took this idea to begin the recording sessions, besides we were thinking that it would be like great bands like Judas Priest or Iron Maiden made it in early 80's when they rented the studio without any idea what to record. And let me tell you something, this experience was absolutely enriching and full or leaning for us. Now we know we know each other as we have been for more than 20 years together making Metal from the heart and the feeling we have at the heart of the band.
Personally, there's one thing I like most about "Hungry as the Beast" and that's the melodies. Clear, distinct, relying on interesting riffs, the songs gradually graduate, they have drive and power. To me, these are the things that make good music great. I wonder how you know when a song is finished? Who has the final say? And then how do you feel about their live presentation? Does there have to be chemistry between you and then the fans? Do you also have ideas that you then scrap?
W/ Well, it’s kinda hard tough, basically all is based only on we (B. A. Ripper and me) each contribute with 50% on the album music, for example on this “Hungry As The Beast“ each put 4 songs, once we share the riffs and guitar structure, we start to make arregements and a writting lyrics after the music is fixed and done, but the song ends when Ripper & me think the structure is done including arregments, about production and mixing it takes what it derserves until it sounds great for us, we try to make that our music sound like each isntruments sound clear but enouhg rough and the take has gotten the essence we wanted in our music,you know, not over produced at all but enough clear as 80's or 90's was for the listeners and fans.
By the other hand, performance it’s other thing different, we wnat to give a lot of energy and make our fans enjoy the show, leaving on their faces a big smile and satisfaction with the good fury and desplicent evil show we do at stage, you know fans and the band must have a sinergy on live performance just like a love relationship, I absolutely agree chemistry its a fact between band and fans.
I know a lot of bands that have lyrics to songs just to sing something. What I always liked about WITCHTRAP is that they have an idea, a meaning, an opinion. How do they come about? When does the inspiration come and how do you fit them into the music? Personally, I think writing lyrics is an insanely difficult discipline and on the new album "Hungry as the Beast" in particular, they're great. I often think to myself, yeah, that's exactly right, that's how I feel too.
W/ When we write a song, we first create the main riffs, and depending on what those riffs make us feel we start to have the ideas for the lyrics.
On our early records, writing lyrics was difficult because our English was lacking, and most of those where constructed with dictionary language. However, with time we got better at it.
It can be a hard process and it will alway require a new level of dextertity and mastery, because you shouldn’t just write for the sake of having a rain of words to fill the song, it needs to be artistic.
On „Hungry as the Beast“ we tried our best to give to the lyrics that poetry touch, and the results were very satisfying. One thing that inspired us and led us to create those type of lyrics was studying those created by excelent lyricists such as Rob Halford and Ronnie J. Dio.
You're from Medellin. I found out that 90% of Colombians are Roman Catholic. Wikipedia even states that 21% of Catholics have witnessed an exorcism. Here in the Czech Republic, where we are almost all atheists, this is almost incomprehensible. How has the Church influenced you? Have you ever been banned from concerts? How is black thrash metal perceived by the mainstream society?
W/ I think all Colombians are catholic indeed hahaha. I have never knew about an exorcism or so, you know google has a lot of bullshit on the web.
Well, in someway the fact that I have stidied in the primary and high school in a catholic college, was a point of growing up in kinda way rebel against to that religious statement, I rmember I use to be against all the bible teachings and in the high school, I have to validate at the end of each scholler year about that matter year after year, so those Incoherentic theories written in that book mades me question agsint the teacher at 9th grade, that's why I was fired from that school hahahaha. So at the same time I was got hocked into Metal and realize the Metal music, it was according of the plenty ideas I had in my mind against religion since some time ago. In 80‘s and 90’s the society wasn’t the real problem although it was too, but specially in some part of our family , and the cops that persecuted metalheads all days, and later the stupid factories' manners, that it was impossible for a Metalhead to find a job due to our way of dressing and long hair.
Our scene we use to hung out in some corners and parks of the city to share and home taping and trading the few records of Metal, or talking about how society, religion and politics were against the people and us, this shit that made us feel kind of agry and feel a lot of rage and courage, I think that’s the real fact that made us stay stronger into Metal.
Today, things has changed, in one way now we aren’t like a drugs addicts from their point of view, anyway they see to us like a good people that only enjoy extreme music, although still a small part of the society keeps all tha crappy shit against us, but being honest in early years it was a real pain in the ass for each metalhead here in Colombia.
A long time ago, when I was still in primary school, a friend of mine once drew the logos of metal bands in a notebook. It was during socialism and I was in detention because of it. Still, it was a beautiful time, you were young and discovering new bands at the turn of the eighties and nineties. VENOM came to me then and then of course our TÖRR. How did you experience your beginnings? Can you tell our readers a little bit about how albums were recorded in your country back then and what it was like in Colombia? Please reminisce.
W/ oh man those years were amazing and wonderful times for sure, I remember how hard was to find a Venom, Sodom, Slayer, even Metallica or Iron Maiden record to do a home taping, you know Colombia isn’t the Rock’n’Roll culture at all, here is Vallenatos, Cumbias, Salsa, and all that crapy music that I actually hate so much, this shit sounds in everywhere, in the downtown streets, the buses, the taxis, the neighbor in their high speakers on high volume, it’s absolutely boring and frustating, So, for example: in the whole city were like 4 or 5 copies maybe less of each album that some maniac got it beacuse their families traveled to USA and brought some copy of any Metal band, and that record could run around the whole scene to each one can do a home recording. So we used to trade records for some few time or days to spread the voice of any good great album or Ep when it arrived to the scene.
About how we recorded our own albums of bands from Ultra Metal I mean bands such as Parabellum, Astaroth, Reencarnacion and Danger amog others, actually it was a pain in the ass for all of them even to us, we use to handcrafted our drumkits and even to build our own distortion pedals with some friends that has some few electronic knowledge done by our self and beleive me or not in some cases we built our onw guitar as well same as we did with the drumkits, about the studios were so expensive to pay but some of those bands tried to find economical resuerses to pay these recordings, unfortunately in Colombia at the recording studios the sound enginneers of that time had nothing of knowlege how to record Metal and that's why those bands sounded like raw and nasty, so it was as it was done, and all this stuff has his enchantment and high value not only for us as patrimonium of our music even for international undeground scene as well.
I keep telling everyone and it's clear that once upon a time there was rock and heavy metal and then thrash and black metal. Without the basics there is no evolution. Staying in the past, what musicians actually brought you to music? Is there anyone you still admire today that you'd like to meet and thank for inspiring you?
W/ Acutally I‘ve hung out with couple of Metal icons such as Schmier, Mantas, Abbadon, Katon, Dolan, Tom Angel Ripper and they are so humble and kind to me and really nice guys for sure, total respect and I really love these guys. But about the musicians I would like to hang out for at least to share a beer are passed away: Lemmy, Cliff, Wendy Orlean Williams and Dio. Maybe In Hell I will meet them, if there is a existance after life.
I always take each band as a whole. Not just their music, but their performance, how they treat their fans. Honestly, a band can play like gods, but then I come to a show and they're arrogant and a few slaps and that's it for me. What I've always loved about WITCHTRAP is that you guys are civil, laid back, heartfelt, go-getters. How do you perceive the fans? It seems to me (from what I've seen of the videos) that you enjoy every show immensely. Am I right?
W/ Fuck Off Rock Star attitude, first of all we consider to each one of us as just a Metal fan, we love to go to metal clubs or bars, we go to Metal gigs and festivals to see emerging and local bands and fo course some of the greatest bands we love, so having said this, we think we are just like you or each Metalhead overthere is, we buy physical stuff vinyls, CDs and tapes, and we know we are exactly as a Metalhead that listen and enjoy of our music. So, being among the Metal crowd that come to see us, to share some words, to drink some beers and talking about Metal and so, that 'is one of my favorites times. I mean, when I have had while I'm touring or playing, it's absolutely amazing to feel the love from them to our music but at same time we (they and me) are starting a new frienship, that's something I love to the core even all members in Witchtrap do on every gig.
A band it's something, beacuse the fans give all their support to the music that they do. So the fans deserve to be as closer to them, no matter what happens, fans are everything. I mean, thje fans are loving the music you create for satisfying your self, that's more than enough to understand that the fans are the bigest thing happens to an artist.
How do you perceive contemporary metal? Do you have any favourite bands? I don't know about you, but lately it seems like everyone is playing faster and faster, crazier, more incomprehensible. You stand under the stage, nod your head for a while, what great musicians they are, and then you don't remember anything. Then he goes home and prefers to listen to good old Saxon.
W/ Yeah, Yeah, I like some good bands from nowadays indeed and specially bands from my country they are still trying to keep the real feeling in Metal alive.
I have some similar thoughts about that, although I would like to add something more, the real problem is the trend nowadays is create music with high levels of techninsim, You know, the drummers are playing hihg metronome bits on blastbeats but the groove have been lost in some way, I think they seems being competing betweem them of whom is playng faster to uncrest other musicians, I find this boring and stupid to be honest, I think they are satisfaying their egos and it goes against the musicality, the feeling or the groove in Metal, that's why there so great bands and musicians, but there aren't great songs.
You're a memory now. Times have changed a lot since the '80s. You're kind of a legendary band, you have a lot of fans, you get invited to gigs. Still, there's a lot that's different. Nowadays you have the internet, new technologies, a lot of people listen to music in the style - download, listen and then either forget or delete. How do you look to the future? Will metal be just for old people anymore? And how do you see the changes as a musician? And where is WITCHTRAP heading at the moment?
W/ Certainly, we don't know what is gonna happen, but in our way to see the movement, probably the Metal scene will turn slowly to only local bands and all the bands while the time is running will stop of touring around the world, but maybe only if a new band with enough charisma to make to all of us and the scene around the world rejoin, just like the early days, besides with no the intervention of main stream labels trends, then the Metal scen will raise again, like a New Renaissement.
About WITCHTRAP, you know we're not pretencious at all, we just will keep doing what we do since the begining, although right now we have found our mature about how keep doing as we wanted to sound and create our music. So, new material of course, it will come and try to spread and playing in other countries as much as we can to all the die hard Witchtrapmaniacs and new Metalheads that hans't still listen to our music that we know there are thousands, this way they can take their chace to hear the Metal noise from Colombia.
I'm sure you still have some dreams, goals, milestones you want to achieve as a band. Can you reveal them to us? You're black thrash veterans, you're recording great albums, you can still hear the enthusiasm for the music. You tour, you play festivals. Is there anything else missing from the puzzle?
W/ Nah(no), there is no missing nothing, we are living our dream, we have gotten more than we ever thought in our lives about having a band, we have even played in many countries, more than many bands in South America have done, this is something that we infintely appreciate deep inside in our minds and heart. Our music is listened by some underground maniacs all around the world, we know they are not a million, but they are truely Headbangers and it means all. So, if the success of being recognized come to our band, it's welcome for sure, but is not our main target, we are gonna keep doing as it goes and it is perfect for us.
We're coming to the end, so I'd like to try a more philosophical question. How would you define the style called black thrash metal? What is this music for you and why did you choose this style?
W/ To tag a band or giving a style it’s a big mistake that many of us into Metal do, but if can define Black Thrash Metal, I think it could be like this: Speed music, Catchy riffing, Aggressive voice, Evil lyrics, and No trendy music, Keep it as classic as it was done 40 years ago.
About WITCHTRAP we play Witching Metal.
If you would merge in a boiling cauldron a band with the following characteristics: NWOBHM together some Punk and Satanic lyrism then you would have Witching Metal, we are not Black Thrash Metal, we are Witching Metal.
What is WITCHTRAP going to do in the next few months?
W/ We have been palning some locals shows and showing to the witchtrapmaniacs our recent album “Hungry As The beast“ besides we have being looking for some tours in South America, US and probably Europe ofr next year 2025, we will see what happens. And of course we are conmposing new song, you know, this madness never stops.
Thank you very much for the interview. You don't even know what it means to me. A boyhood dream come true. I wish you many more great ideas, sold out records, sold out shows and may your private lives prosper as well. See you at the concert! WITCHTRAP RULES!
W/ hey Bro, we are tottaly thankful on you to provide us this space to show something about our band and we have been doing throuhg the years. So, belive me this means a lot to us as well, having in mind our words will runs throught the Metaheads overthre in ou country and area because of you, that’s fucking awesome.
Thank you for your good Metal wishes and of course we will meet again.
Stay Evil, Stay Ugly, Stay Metal.
Hugo “Witchhammer“ Uribe & WITCHTRAP
Recenze/review - WITCHTRAP - Hungry as the Beast (2024):
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