SHADE OF MANKIND *** Brazilian Crustcore Apocalypse *** Interview, stand of play April 2012 ***

Hey folks and dear readers, what's up, everything good and fine?!? Here is a lot of trouble going on... even trouble isn't the correct term.. maybe... but really not much time to spend free I call my own these days, two full jobs to work for a living, heating up my sport schedule again after I cured an injury and a little influenza, moving together with my great girlfriend (okay, she moved with/to me in my appartment and so we finally made out of it our first appartment), etc. pp., and so really a lot was and still is to do these weeks and during/over this month and so that's why it's this month a little bit quite up here but with the interview with the amazing SUFFER THE PAIN (check it out) and the two pretty detailed reviews of the albums of STALKER and NONE OF THE LIVING REMAIN the quantity wasn't much this month, but I think the quality was and is by far more than ''just'' okay. But anyhow I'm very sorry for the delay of this up here, but currently I have really A LOT to do and I'm very damn short on time (as mentioned above), plenty of work to do and so it was quite up here and this here and now is just coming up this late online here and this is nothing else than the next new interview up here and it's one with the almighty SHADE OF MANKIND from Brazil and Rodrigo (best greetings mate) made out of it due to his answers and all the effort he put into his work on this interview a GREAT read. And especially because of him I'm very sorry for the delay... Anyway: SHADE OF MANKIND are an awesome new Crust-/Grindcore band with huge doses of Death Metal and some healthy Holy Terror Hardcore impressions in it, and a lot is going on in the SHADE OF MANKIND camp these days, but this you can all read in the interview by far better. I'm really looking forward for more by them to come!!! And I'm damn happy and very proud that I can present this interview here and now to you and if you're into really heavy and extreme musick you need to check SHADE OF MANKIND desperately out if you still don't know them by now. One last word, before we finally start with the interview: Rodrigo is how far I can say it by now a GREAT fine young man who really has a lot to say, making his own mind and speaking it out even the views are maybe for some weak-hearted pretty radical stuff but fuck this guys and it's always cool to become known to guys who have some pretty equal views on politics, society, humanity/mankind, etc. pp., epecially when it's about all the fucked up ''-isms'' out there. Also he showcases a great taste in music(k). So, yes, Rodrigo, man, THANKS VERY MUCH for your effort and time you've spend on making out of this interview a damn great read!!! THANKS bro!!! And to all you readers, I wish you a lot of fun and pleasure reading through this interesting and grapping interview, and take some time on it, because it's damn long... So, yes, enough of the talking, now here it is, th SHADE OF MANKIND interview!!! Cheers!!!

*** SHADE OF MANKIND ***

(Brazilian Crustcore Apocalypse)

01.) Hey Rodrigo, how are things over there across the ocean, everything’s fine these days? First of all THANX a lot for doing this interview and SORRY for the delay caused by me and the fact that I simply didn’t got it done earlier!!! Okay, starting it finally off, here we go: At this very starting point of the interview please tell us some stuff about you, who are you, age, hobbies, work, interests, family, where do you live, etc. pp.? Classified inside view stuff like this, you know the deal J !!!

Here we go, my name is Rodrigo Luz, I’m 20 years old now, most of people know me as “Roderick Hellion”…
I live in Porto Alegre, RS, South of Brazil. I’m studying journalism on the PUC University. Hobbies? I think no other than make, hear and talk about music….

(I hope that’s not a teen zine interview,hahaha.)

02.) You do study journalism with a focus point on cultural aspects/studies, if I don’t throw anything across right now right here. That’s pretty interesting, if ya ask me. So, okay, this may be a little bit off topic if the topic of this interview would be strictly music but fuck it anyway, my blog, my interview, I make the rules, I set the topics, haha J !!! So, yes, please tell us some stuff about it, what is the focus point of your studies to get one day your examination and graduation. The word’s up to you, there you go.

Well, I don’t study focused on the cultural aspects, but I try my best to approach on this aspect. I hope  to work on some Metal oriented magazine, or else, work on a cultural agenda of some newspaper, who knows?

03.) Okay, back to the topic that is for now again defined as music: You’ve told me already that certain changes are going on in the SHADE OF MANKIND camp but let us go with what was and this had been SHADE OF MANKIND as a one man band of you in which you alone played all the instruments. How did this came to happen back then, why hadn’t been some good guys around to give you at least their support? And since when do you play ALL the needed instruments and then you also managed it also to sing the lead vocals?!? Much respect from me for/to you!!!

The support I had was more from friends of mine or people who already were playing on other bands, so I said to myself: “fuck that shit, I’m gonna do one man on these bitches!”, so I started composing, studying a bit about home recordings, learning to mixing, mastering and etc.
Later I proposed “well, I’m going to make my album, and then I will search people who are interested to do this kind of music, so they will know in what they’re messing with. No one trying to do more accessible stuff for big audiences (that was the reason for me to left my other band).

About the instruments, the bass I borrowed from a friend of mine (and later I bought it, hehe).The drums are programmed (that was the most difficult part),and the guitar is a old Yamaha pacifica I have for composing and writing my stuff, the vocals? I started as a singer, so it was no big deal for me at the moment…

04.) Like I’ve already said, things have changed, so introduce your new proper band mates to us and tell us fom where do you know them and how did it came to happen that you all made out of SHADE OF MANKIND finally a full and proper band? Ah, and are there any other bands or projects beside SHADE OF MANKIND? Btw, did you’ve already played live and if so tell us about how it went and felt?

The guitarists are André Freitas (former member of SCREAM NOISE and FACAO 3 LISTRAS, two Grind bands that already stopped activities) and Fernando Cezar Junior (from my former band, DAYS OF DECAY, now they changed the name to HATRED), on the drums there’s Vinicius Rodrigues, a good friend of mine, it’s the first time he’s playing on a band, the dude got some freaking talent.

Fernando is playing on HATRED, André has now a Deathcore band called ASHES (I don’t like Deathcore, but they’re worth hearing!), I have another band called VIRUSKORROSIVUS, with members of two great Porto Alegre Crust bands (GRITOS DE ALERTA and LIVING IN HELL), there’s another project I’m making with a friend of mine, it will be more New Wave Synth Rock/Pop oriented, don’t await any brutality from this one…

Oh yes, we’ve recently played our first show live, it was on march 31^st. We had the honor to open a show for TEST, a Grindcore duo from São Paulo , was a great show and a fun experience,it’s not everyday you make your first show with one of Brazil’s greatest bands.

05.) This may be also a good point for you to tell us a little bit more about the history of SHADE OF MANKIND so far and when and why did you decided to start it all back then? Your turn J !!!

As I said on the beginning of the interview, I left DAYS OF DECAY because of some discordance on the band sound, they wanted to do a more accessible Metalcore oriented sound when I was interested to mix with more extreme stuff. So I left the band and started S.O.M. as a project, later I would start to find people to play on it, but Fernando and Vinicius were the first names on my list, both are great friends of mine, later Dudu Paiva (from ROOTSNR and ASHES) told me about André wanting to play on a Deathgrind band, since him studies at the same university than me we started to talk and he entered on the band, before he enters, there was another friend of mine who played on one rehearsal just to help us.

06.) How many releases do you have already put out and in which ways, ‘’just’’ MP3-Downloads or also already CD-R’s/CD’s, Tapes, Vinyl? And if so how and where do we can get your stuff from? Ah, and what about future plans, when can we expect some new SHADE OF MANKIND stuff?

Until now, only the “FALLOUT“ Demo/EP, which has 50 copies to being sold on Brazil, unfortunately for those who live overseas, it’s only available for download. Recently I recorded some covers for a Tribute EP, which will be only released to download, just for personal realization and pay a homage for bands that inspired me as a musician. Now the band is starting to compose songs for the first full length, I’m planning to find a label to sell some stuff overseas or maybe some Vinyl LPs, but first we need songs to later discuss the formats they will be released.

07.) Your music is truly just GREAT and EXTREME, HARD and BRUTAL stuff. The foundament, to judge by your great “FALLOUT” album, is without a single doubt ultra heavy Crustcore with loads of Grindcore in it and also an undeniable and just awesome Death Metal influence especially of old school Britain Death Metal and the legendary BOLT THROWER and BENEDICTION in their more early days. A great and outstanding mixture if you ask me, and delivered just fantastic, point and fact. Beside BOLT THROWER and BENEDICTION I’ve also written in my “FALLOUT” review that DOOM, SKIT SYSTEM, EXTREME NOISE TERROR and NAPALM DEATH as well as Holy Terror Style Hardcore like INTEGRITY and IN COLD BLOOD seem to have strongly influenced you. Can you go with this or what? If not, righten the wrongs here and now. Anyway, beside this all, from where do you get your influences anyhow and what was your start into the world of extreme music and which bands carried you in it and may have retained their importance for you? And from looking back to the current situation, which bands influence you today the most and why in which ways or forms?

Yeah, you’re right about the British Death Metal influence, BOLT THROWER is one of my favourite bands, so as DOOM, INTEGRITY, EXTREME NOISE TERROR and SKIT SYSTEM. I have a lot of influences and the imagery and sounds of bands like DANZIG, GISM, WORLD BURNS TO DEATH, CELTIC FROST and INTEGRITY.

Now with the new members, the influences just got bigger, and I feel more open to more experimentations, from the songs that are already done for the next work, there’s hints of Black Metal, Sludge Metal , a more brutal like Death Metal in the veins of VITAL REMAINS, Crustcore and even Japanese Hardcore (CROW and DEATH SIDE don’t stop playing on my mp3 player).

08.) Holy Terror styled Hardcore and especially INTEGRITY seem to be very important for you, not only because as already above mentioned clear influences are to be recognized in your musical work with SHADE OF MANKIND, but also your artist name that goes RODERICK HELLION sets this clear and comes close to the mighty DWID HELLION. How and why did it came to happen that you decided to pay to this masters and the outstanding style they’ve created in big parts of and by their very own? And what means this style (sound/music, aestehtics, lyrics, etc. pp.) of (Hardcore) music to you and do you remember when and how you did come first in contact with it? Can we expect this influences to remain and maybe we can see you some day doing some Holy Terror Hardcore by your own? Which bands of this style do you prefer beside the godfathers of INTEGRITY? And talking about INTEGRITY which phase do you like most, the early phase or their maybe most notable phase from “SYSTEMS OVERLOAD”, “HUMANITY IS THE DEVIL” and “SEASONS IN THE SIZE OF THE DAYS” or their current works and what are your thoughts about the INTEGRITY 2000 thing going on back then? Beside Holy Terror Hardcore, which styles and bands/albums out of the musical genre of Hardcore do you like else and are maybe influences for you?

Well, first of all, I live in Brazil, the land of humility, and more and more I see some people around me using the philanthropy and a mental escape from the shit that our country is getting through. Looks like people say they care about the poor children, the sustainability not because they care, but because it’s cool to say that you want to change the world, to make a utopia, words of love and peace has never been more useless than now. We are in the age of words, we are in the age of inspiring speeches, encouraging phrases to cheer up our children, but what about the actions? It’s just some mental self masturbation to say that everything is okay, that the conformism will make the world goes around to soon everything works fine.

I’m against this moral enslavement, I’m against fighting for the rights of people who don’t fucking care about their rights, we need more individualism, not in the way of “I’m the center of the world” but in the way of “what I want? What can I do to change ? What I think of the world around me?” I see more and more collective and plasticized views of the world and reality, every speech is a cardboard piece of illusory shit. I think chaos must arrive, that those wretched card boarded minds will be wiped out from earth.

Now that I finish my ramblings. Let’s talk about INTEGRITY, I first heard of INTEGRITY in like…2008/09, I think, was because I was into Sludge/Post Metal at the time and Dwid Hellion made vocals for an album of THE OCEAN, so I searched about this band. Later from 2010/2011 I started to hear ROT IN HELL, GEHENNA, RINGWORM, PALE CREATION, the list goes on. But my favorites are ROT IN HELL, GEHENNA, INTEGRITY, recently I’m hearing a lot of VEGAS, too. Oh, and I met IN COLD BLOOD when you mentioned them on the post, looks like a modern Hardcore version of SLAYER, loved it!

Favorite INTEGRITY Phase? Well, that’s a hard one, I love almost of them, I can say that my least favourite is the INTEG2000 and the album “TO DIE FOR”, not the kind of songs I will see myself hearing it over again and again. But "SYSTEMS OVERLOAD", "CLOSURE" and "THEE DESTROY ORR" I hear almost every fucking day, but I think this recent phase doesn’t have enough releases to I make a comparison between the classic albums….

My influences out of Hardcore? GARY NUMAN, of course! I’m too much into Synth Pop, since I saw the movie "DRIVE" I’m getting more into it, I’m constantly searching bands from "VALERIE COLLECTIVE" and other stuff, COLLEGE, KAVINSKY and TESLA BOY are my favorites of the New (redundant?)  - New Wave era.

09.) Crustcore and also good old Grindcore are going pretty strong from North- to South America these days, at least it seems so with a lot of good to great bands recently emerging from there like you with SHADE OF MANKIND by yourself from Brazil, like WARKRUSHER from Mexico and the U.S.A., HATROSS from Colombia, HELLCHARGER from Mexico, KRIGBLAST and DISASTROPHY from the U.S.A., just to name a few. Do you know the named bands? If so, what are your thoughts about them? Beside this, which bands do you would recommend to us, the readers and me, and how is the scene working together and structured? And are you with SHADE OF MANKIND already a well-known part of the scene and proud of it and how was the feedback for your work so far? Are there any links between the Crust/Grindcore scene and Hardcore in general in Brazil? Btw, your thoughts in general about music and politics?

I don’t know none of these bands,I will check them out, haha. Well, around Brazil there are great Grindcore bands like FACADA, TEST, EXPURGO, TERRORISMO?, HOMICIDE, LIVING IN HELL, SOCIAL CHAOS, FINALLY DOOMSDAY, and even on the Hardcore/Metal bands from my city that are releasing material and I truly recommend it, they’re SISTEMA DE MENTIRAS, NATURAL CHAOS, MOTERIX and IMORALE, all of them are recording their first full lengths this year.

SHADE OF MANKIND - feedback? I think it's more loud overseas, in Brazil we have one of our songs on a digital magazine collection ("HELL DIVINE"), but I saw no feedback from it, just recently some people know about us because of first show with TEST.

Grindcore and Hardcore links on brazil? I think these scenes are more reunited than the metal scene, it's rare to see Death Metal bands playing with Black or Thrash Metal bands, only some bands like NATURA CHAOS and MORTERIX want to mix up with other styles.

On Hardcore shows here, normally there’s an melodic HC band on a show with Old School Hardcore and Grindcore bands, there’s not so much radicalism on these parts, if they don’t like the band that is playing, they go outside and wait the show to end to see the other band, pretty simple…

Music and politics? It’s an delicate point, I don’t want myself to involve my music with politics, I don’t like anarchism,communism,facism,… the only ISM that I like is GISM. But there’s some fights because of right winged Hardcore/Oi! bands and even an Anti- Oi! movement, but if you know the place where these kind of stuff happens, you just don’t go there. There’s a great dichotomy around here on politics, and the media feeds this kind of political ideology warfare. And about me? Like Eduardo Marinho (painter) said: “I like politics but I hate political parties”.

10.) I’ve also written and do think so that EXTREME NOISE TERROR and NAPALM DEATH in their grinding and also ‘’crusting’’ heydays seem to be very important for you, music- as well as lyric-wise. Am I wrong with this impression? What are your thoughts about this legendary pioneers and which albums, phases and albums do you prefer? Also this bands had always been a great linking chain between Hardcore/Punk and Crust/Grindcore as well as (Death and Thrash) Metal, if you ask me, and also with this they were or are pioneers you can’t honour enough. And what do you think of ‘’newer’’ Crust- and Grindcoreacts, like for example WOLFPACK/WOLFBRIGADE and DISFEAR or NASUM and BRUTAL TRUTH? Would you say, that this bands also have an influence on you?

Music wise? yes, and there’s TERRORIZER, too (at least “LIVE (TO OBEY)” was an homage to Jesse Pintado on "WORLD DOWNFALL"),but lyric wise I don’t know, like I said earlier, don’t wanna be so much political on my music, I try to do a more apocalyptic and internal approach on my lyrics. My favourites NAPALM DEATH albums must be “FEAR, EMPTINESS, DESPAIR” (first of them I heard) and “UTOPIA BANISHED”, and "FETO" has a special place on my heart, too, now EXTREME NOISE TERROR, of course, it will be "PHONOPHOBIA" and "DAMAGE 381". Love NASUM, they’re a big influence on one of my “FALLOUT” songs ("INHUMAN RIGHTS"), and on the new songs we’re composing, too. WOLFPACK, DISFEAR and BRUTAL TRUTH is the kind of bands that I prefer hear than play.But I think VIRUSKORROSIVUS (my Hardcore band) will do a cover of DISFEAR some day....

11.) Beside Hardcore and Crustcore as well as Grindcore also Death Metal, especially of the Old School Britain style like early BOLT THROWER and BENEDICTION is a huge influnece for your work with SHADE OF MANKIND, to judge by the music presented on the “FALLOUT” album. An organic thing by looking at the roots of BOLT THROWER and BENEDICTION and maybe Britain Death Metal back then in general, even today at least over here in Germany it sometimes seems that a lot of guys in ‘’both worlds’’, ‘’camp Metal’’ as well as ‘’camp Crust/Grind’’ seem to have totally forgot about it. Is this close minded scene thinking also known to you from Brazil or is it there maybe all a little bit more united in a positive sense of the word? Which part plays the Death Metal influence in and for SHADE OF MANKIND and will it play in the future, because if I understood you correct then you want to or will move more into this direction in the future with/of SHADE OF MANKIND? Btw, your favorite bands and styles of Death Metal back then and now? Beside Death Metal, what kinds/styles of Metal do you like to listen to as well, for example, what about Black Metal?

I think the extreme Metal scene, at least on my state, is very closed and dull, these guys still think that we’re on 1995, a bunch of MAYHEM/NARGAROTH wannabes on the Black Metal side and some KRISIUN/CANNIBAL CORPSE spawns on the other, at least the Thrash scene shows some variations, bands like SACRARIO, DISTRAUGHT and DECIMATOR do some stuff very different from the scene in general. There are some bands drinking of the Swedish Death metal veins too, like BLACK COFFINS and INFAMOUS GLORY.

The S.O.M. Death Metal influence lies heavily on BOLT THROWER, CELTIC FROST and Death/Grind bands like TERRORIZER, NASUM, ASSUCK and etc. But our new material will have some more Brutal approach (for those who like SUFOCATION and VITAL REMAINS, but with much more less technique, hahaha) and maybe some Doomish kind of Death Metal too, not sure yet.

My favourite Death Metal subgenre? The more old school, bands like OBITUARY, BOLT THROWER, BENEDICTION, ASPHYX and some Swedish stuff like DESULTORY.

Black Metal? Damn, hear a lot of bands, but i’m more into the old school, BATHORY, HELLHAMMER, VENOM. But  I’m a great fan of the "ROSS BAY CULT" bands, IMPALED NAZARENE, URN, ENDSTILLE and some Blackened Crustcore bands like MURDERESS, MARTYRDOD, LIFE IS HELL. The rawer, the better!

12.) What are the topics you deal with on the lyrical front. It’s all very dark and sinister, as far as I understood it, as well as critical and cynical on the state of the world and mankind. But also not any clichè stuff, thumbs up for that. From where do you get your inspirations and topics for your lyrics, just turning on the T.V. or reading through the newspapers?

Well, if you saw the new S.O.M. logo, there’s an Process Church cross inside the Chaos Star, what the fuck that means? You’ll know it right now: You see, during the history of the earth, we all have some “final judgements”, the ice age, the dark ages, Inquisition, Tsunamis, Millenium Bug, and we’re always have this weird fetish to preview an end from the mankind.

I see that all these happenings where not the end, but a metaphorical vision of the “change”, every time things are changing, we said that chaos is becoming installed, just see the Crisis on Europe at the moment. Do you think that Europe will just vanish with all their history? Of course not, is the chaos showing the need to change, the need for a new era, from chaos (which is the natural order) the human order will rearrange. So the symbol is a meaning that every final judgement we have is just the instalment of chaos, to then start a new era.

I write chaos, I write about the change and the cleansing of these morals who are enslaving the mind of men, I write about the need to destroy the oppressors of those who weakens the world.

My whole life people judged (and still judge) me as a freak, as a plague for what “society” think is right, as I grown up I try to fit in this “society” but it never worked, so we: the misfits, the outcasts, the weirdos, the independents, the anarchists, we are the plague, and we need to infect the world with our virus, the virus that will destroy and annihilate those wretched morals.

We are the pack of wolves that will see far from the cliffs the downfall of these puny people that judge, humiliate and brainwash the others.

I don’t want to change the world for people who don’t care about it, i will live in this world with my rules, and my convictions and help those who care about something on their lives, not just say bollocks to look pretty, humanitarian, good looking by the “society” or to have a promotion of their jobs, we need to live for ourselves, not to create altars of selfishness and illusions to the masses, creating false images of what we really are. We must embrace our failures, our defects, our fears and show the people that even with that, we will not fall down to their fucking submission.

What inspired me to do that? Some of Boyd Rice stuff (even though he’s kinda of a Crypto Facist, which I don’t like…), Dwid Hellion, George Carlin and the lyrics of LIFE IS A LIE, they’re worth checking out, too bad they broke up, the world needs more artists like them….

13.) What are your general thoughts if you think of the world and the state it’s in as we see it today? Climate and economic/fiscal crisis, war from the economy to the military way in the middle east, crimes, rape, violation, murder, diseases, overpopulation, etc. pp., the list could go on for quite a long while now?

The same I told up there, shit is happening and great part of the world don’t want to adapt themselves, recreate things, just see that right wing politics are rising up again on Europe because of immigrants, why they just beat the shit up of those corporations that recruit immigrants? The outsider is just there because the Corporation stood him a job that he can’t get on his land, he’s a victim of the situation. People are hating the wrong targets. There’s this bullshit of  “traditions”, what fucking traditions? We change our lifestyle in a scale of 10 - 20 years, the people always readapt themselves to reality.

Looks like we’re still kids enclosed on an adult-like carcass. People just want to stay on their moral confinement, they don’t want to think any more, just talk, talk, talk and talk to see if others hear them and please their stupid desires and satisfactions.

Next question!

14.) After talking about some general topics of the state of the world and perceptions on it, why not also some words about politics and the situation in South-America in general, as far as you can talk about it. Looking at it from the ‘’total outside/-sight’’ it seems like the political and social situation is heating up with governments proclaiming often to be left or socialist or maybe better socialdemocratic ones and using sometimes pretty extreme propaganda language and acts of this kind but then acting total different and far more reppressive and exploiting, and then there’s also a strong and pretty radical far right opposition to it with all the typical=negative effects that a political situation like this do have on the societies and the social environment of the meant countries. Like I’ve said, just a outside-view, impressions that you get when following the news over here when they report about what’s going on in South-America. Does this reports carry at least some few portions of truth, and what’s from your point of view to tell about the political and social situation of and in South-America and how does this reflect in or effect on the subcultural underground scenery, a strong left/right divide to be noticed?

Socialism? Left side? AERIUHEARIERAIUHAEIUAEHEAR (needed to do the Brazilian MMO laugh on that one…), let’s explain things up here…

1-Vote here is Obligatory.
2- Great part of the Brazilian population is Analphabetic. So there’s little people who knows history, even history of  earlier candidates (check José Sarney and Fernando Collor De Mello).
3- Politicians are wicked motherfuckers and know where to strike for more votes.
4- The politicians here are more conservative than any other thing,since great part of the Brazilians are Evangelic,and if you see the points 1 and 3,they can’t lose votes.

5- PT is more socialist than Hitler was jewish….

How does this reflect on the underground scene? Well, not too much, just that there are more politicized bands than on other countries, I guess. And great part of them are more reformists or anarchists, but there are one our two RAC and right winged extremists bands here, but they’re very unknown and the police is chasing their fucking asses, so as the AFA from here…

15.) Okay, back to your music and your “FALLOUT” album, so let us talk about two or three songs a little bit deeper, kicking it off with the intense and outstanding “I AM”. Sinister, dark, atmospheric and intense and more of a collage- or sample-track/song. Cool and total different, compared to all the other tracks. Maybe your most by Holy Terror influenced track? Can we expect more of it to come in the future? What was your aim with this one and how do we have to understand the title of it?

On this song I was thinking on some basslines, and “Amebixian” song, when I was composing it I tought “I need to put a sample on here”, so I tought of this Manson interview when he said “I am nobody….”. So there’s the title and “meaning” of the song.I think the most “Holy Terror” I get there is the Manson speech, I am a great fan of AMEBIX work, it was more an homage for Rob Miller basslines (like in the song "DAYS", don’t remember if this song was released before or after this song was recorded, but is the same kind of feeling).

16.) Next one up is the angry and bitter, grim and evil, pure aggressive slasher “PRO-LIFE BULLSHIT”? Eh, some problems with bigot religious lowlife fanatics that think that personal freedoms are nothing for anyone else expect themselves and especially not for women… J ?!?

The fun fact is one of our guitarists is catholic and he sings this song live on the band, but he’s a great friend of mine and know very well with who he’s playing with. But he agrees on the idea of the song, even if he doesn’t approve or not, the lyrics are mine, I deal with their “consequences”. Yes , this song was based on George Carlin speech about the “pro life” people. I think the consciousness of the woman who aborts a child is totally of hers, not of the people around her to judge. We all have or motives to do these kind of acts, who knows if she was raped? Or if she gives birth to the child there was a risk of both die? Or even if she can’t raise a child with the life she has? It’s her body and the kid is on it, I prefer she “kills” the “baby” before it births than after, like  some “catholic mothers” did to “protect their children from sin”.

17.) Next one damn interesting is the one of the title “INHUMAN RIGHTS”. Do I got something wrong with the great title or does it speak for itself?!?

It speaks for itself, the so called “human rights” and ONU ain’t do a shit to help people, they just intervening on USA targets to say that they “can’t invade this country”, but they will do any fucking way, with their approval or not …

And even the case of the world need for “efficient workers” that don’t have feelings, don’t refuse orders, don’t think for themselves makes us think that our only right is to be “inhuman”, right? (no pun intended)

18.) *** Question excluded due to comprehensible "personal reasons"... ***

*** ... therefor no answer!!! ***

19.) Okay, things get now a little bit confusing, eh, but we just want to make sure that the readers follow the lines and what’s said here with open eyes and open senses J so back to your “FALLOUT” album: What about the artwork? An “atomic mushroom” J on the cover, as well as a total destroyed world and infront of it some ‘’plutocratic business men’’ wearing masks of birds to hide their faces, all in black, white and grey. On the backcover ruins of industry compexes or something like this, guys with gasmasks and ‘’animal-mutant-faces’’, some with weapons, and a slaughterhouse scene of slaughtered and hung up pigs. Also all in black, white and grey. Sinister shit, for sure. What’s the meaning of it and what message do you want to express with it, and what’s the linking chain between this artwork and the title “FALLOUT”? Ah, btw, who did the artwork?

The artwork was made by a friend of mine called Carlos Bueso. The birds masks represent the “plague doctors” (A plague doctor was a special medical physician who saw those who had the Black Death ),so that fits with what i said earlier for “we being the plague”, they’re an symbol of those who saw those with the plague within and take care of them(but i prefer use them as those who “quarantine” us from society).

The back cover is because my friend is a great fan of the game with the same name, so he just made an image of an apocalyptic world related to the reality of the game and of the music i made.

20.) The artwork could also be understand as the perfect artwork for your bandname SHADE OF MANKIND. Was this maybe also intended by you anyhow? And what is there to tell about your bandname anyway, why did you choose it and what do you want to express with it?

Originally the band was to be name “GHOST OF MANKIND” (ANTISECT song,with an almost karma-like chant,so profound, dark and destructive “war is oblivion and the ghost of mankind”). But there was a band with same name,so I changed to "SHADE..." (shadow is too simple, in my point of view, and don’t have the same impact if you see).

But the meaning behind it was the disappearing of the human being,with the constant “moral evolution” and the vanity of philanthropy, the human being is losing his humanity and becoming a puppet of the church, the “moralism”, the corporation, the state, the human as an individual thinking is becoming rare...

21.) Okay, next up a thing that I haven’t done since the days when I was doing a printed fanzine anymore, so here we go, tell us what you think about the following five bands and/or/respectively albums and one extra point:

a.)   NASUM – “INHALE/EXHALE“
b.)   BOLT THROWER – “WARMASTER”
c.)    SKIT SYSTEM – “GRA VARLD/SVARTAR TANKAR”
d.)   INTEGRITY – “THE BLACKEST CURSE”
e.)   BRUTAL TRUTH – “KILL TREND SUICIDE”
f.) Straight Edge

Cool topic,let’s talk about it then,i will be fast on these ones....

A.)    The “reinventing” of grindcore, showing that groove can make your song sound brutal, heavy and aggressive as fuck. Lot of my favourites songs of NASUM are in there.

B.)     Not my favourite album of theirs, but sure it is a lesson of how you do some epic and intense Death Metal.

C.)    One of the best guitar sounds on the history of Crustcore, so raw, heavy and massive. Great songs and Tompa is ripping his throat off on this album!

D.)    The real meaning of Metalcore, pure thrashing Metal with the rawness and aggression of Hardcore.

E.)     Never heard too much of this album, but BRUTAL TRUTH is always a blast, chaotic, intelligent, I remember the song “I killed my family”, which remembers me a lot of BLACK FLAG on the “MY WAR” LP, fucking insane!

F.) A way to live you life and not to be attached to the need of alcohol and drugs to socialize with other people, but now is poisoned by militants who wants to convert everyone who isn’t SxEx or Vegan, the  old story of the oppressed becoming the oppression. That’s our nature,folks....

22.) What are five albums you can’t go out, that you would take with you on the journey to a lonely treasure island, and what are records/bands that took you by storm lately and to which albums do you look forward to?

Five to go out on a treasure island? Need to be epic on those:

1- AMEBIX - "ARISE!"

2- BOLT THROWER - "THE IV. CRUSADE"

3- INTEGRITY - "CLOSURE"

4- DEATH SIDE - "BET ON THE POSSIBILITY"

5- GARY NUMAN - "TELEKON"

Bands that took me recently? VVEGAS, DEGRADATION, WARMASTER, TSF, HOAX, THRASH TALK, HEAD CLEANER, TESLA BOY, COLLEGE, LADYTRON….

I’m really looking forward for the new TRIPTYKON release and CONVERGE, too, I don’t remember any other albuns at this moment… There’s the new HIGH ON FIRE record that I don’t listened to yet.

23.) Okay, coming finally to a close, the last two questions for you to get yourself worled amd answered through, then it’s done, so here we go once again J : Are there any books or movies and authors that have some influence on your work with SHADE OF MANKIND, I ask not at least because of the samples you use on the “FALLOUT” album? And from which movies or so did you took the mentioned samples? Ah, and are there any philosophy concepts that influenced you, with your work as SHADE OF MANKIND as well as a person/character in general?

Like I said before, LIFE IS A LIE and INTEGRITY were two great influences on the lyrical part of this EP, but there’s some bits of Tom Warrior and George Carlin. About books, I admit, I don’t like too much to read, maybe because I think I have ADHD, can’t stay too much time reading or hearing someone talking to me on a long time.

The samples on the album? The “FALLOUT” one was from a cold war documentary with the same name, the samples on “I AM” were from a Charles Manson interview. And the ones on “SHADE OF MANKIND” are from the movie “THE BEYOND” from Lucio Fulci and the famous speech of Franklin Dealano Roosevelt: “The only thing we have to fear ,it’s fear itself!”.

Philosophy? I have my philosophy, my mind is a mess, it goes from Jürgen Habermas to Boyd Rice, Henry Rollins, George Carlin, Jello Biafra and Dwid Hellion…

And I think “Roderick Hellion” is a manifestation of my most radical, aggressive and hateful being of my mind, my artistic way to talk what I see it’s happening around me.

24.) Okay, final last question now coming through and it’s one about Brazil and living in Brazil in general, so yes, how is living in Brazil, tell us about with any aspects you want to do so, about the sides of light as well as about the shades of it.

The people are receptive, passionate and talkative, that’s what most of my friends that gone out Brazil feel the other countries don’t have, we always treat people like friends, more intimate and humorous, the mix of cultures on our art, we’re a very mixed people, there’s no way to deny that. The shades? Politics and economy, all of it. I would not talk about too much, just research on the internet, or wait for the World Cup, cause with this the world will know how fucked up our county is, and the fact that great part of the population don’t speak English very well, even those who learn on particular schools (80% of my English I learned on my own).

25.) That’s it, you’ve finally made it through this never-ending story of an interview, haha J , thanks very much for doing it and for your time and effort that you spent on it and put in it. The last words remain to you. Cheers!!!

First of all, thank you for the interview, it was a great conversation after all, it’s always good to see someone interested on my art and why I do it. I hope I answered all your questions without getting confused, and for those who read all the interview without taking a break, you’re a fucking champion, I needed to take at least 5 to answer these questions.hahahaha.

Thanks for all of those who support my work by downloading and spreading the word around, for those in Brazil who bought my demos, heard my music, spread the word and gone to our shows(at the moment it was only one, but I will thank those who will be the spectators of my nexts shows too,haha). Remember, we’re the plague and we will infect this world with our music, chaos must be installed, mankind must be adapted to the natural order of the real evolution, the one that starts within.

Soon more songs will be put out, if you can, check my and the other members projects: ASHES, VIRUSKORROSIVUS and HATRED. Brazil has a great scene, there’s a lot beyond SEPULTURA and SARCOFAGO. Check the bands I said on the interview, too. They’re worth it!

And for those who will come on Porto Alegre see the World Cup, good luck on trying to survive and maybe we can have some talk,who knows….

-Roderick Hellion, Apil 2012

Update: DAMN IT, AN EPIC FAIL OF ME: Roderick and his bandmates wrote a new and a very interesing SHADE OF MANKIND track, entitled "VISHNU'S PREY" and based on a historical speech of J. Robert Oppenheimer, it's an occut, sinister, atmospheric and damn intense and very interesting arranged and composed and after I don't get it done to post the "Soundcloud" ''sound-display'' (don't ask...) here and now I will give you the link and then damn make sure to check it out as soon as possible: http://soundcloud.com/roderickhellion/shade-of-mankind-vishnus !!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes folks, that's it, I think there's nothing lef to say, just check out SHADE OF MANKIND and support them where and while you can, point and fact. Just for the record, Blogger is currently again ticking me off and fucking things up, we will see how the presentation/posting now will work... hbopefully at least a little bit like I want it to do... (Update, one day later: It worked here more, there less like it was planned to be, thanks to Blogger that seems to quit its duty when a post becomes a little bit longer than the usual one...) And once again a big THANX to Roderick, and keep in touch bro!!! Cheers!!!