INTERVIEW with PANDEMONIUM

Underground still means underground, so if you are eager to find bands full of  passion, dedication and hunger for the underground, you should check out this young band from Montevideo, Uruguay. And with cool name like PANDEMONIUM you just can't ignore a good listen.  Read the following interview with Gabriel (guitars) and fall into the…

Tell us about the very beginning of the band, what was the motivation for you to form Pandemonium? 

Pandemonium is: Andrea - Bass / vocals, Mateo – Drums, Gabriel – Guitars. Pandemonium was born in mid-2013 when we met in a rehearsal, in an audience for a local band, there was a connection between us which immediately implied leaving that project and following our path as a trio with the following lineup: Heber  - Drums, Gabriel - guitars / vocals, Andrea -  Bass / vocals. That line up lasted more than a year but it ended up when Heber decided to end his cycle with us, perhaps the main objective was the need to bring something to the scene. We immediately began the search for a new drummer, we aimed to find a person who would fit into that idea of unity and fluidity. It took us until November 2016 to find Mateo whom for our luck was in search of playing a more extreme style, it was a perfect connection.

Why Pandemonium as the name for the band?

The name is taken from the book "Paradise Lost" (1667) by John Milton and at the time it just seemed a worthy name for an extreme metal band. (Oooh, so certain album from certain cult band from Switzerland had nothing to do with it? I´m disappointed ;) - Chris)

What do you think were the most important bands or albums that influenced you in the very beginning?

A few of them would be: Sodom - Obsessed by cruelty / Kreator - Pleasure to kill / Cryptopsy - Blasphemy made flesh  / Gutted - Bleed for us to live / Slayer - Show no mercy / Emperor - In the nightside eclipse / Immortal - Pure holocaust

Did you play any cover tunes?

Just once, at the "Metal invasion in Shangrilá II" in June of 2017, after being without playing live for a good time, we returned to stage with our current line-up, and the last track we played that night was Sodom´s Proselytism Real (great choice! – Chris).

Last year you released your debut demo “Resistencia” through Extreme Resurrection Records, please tell us about the demo.

The demo consists of 5 tracks, to depict the Uruguayan scene and its difficulties we named it "Resistencia". These 5 tracks go through our influences in some way, so we believe a harmonious sound was achieved in all of them, without being locked in a specific genre.

We are very happy to have been able to capture the sound of Pandemonium in such an integral way. Resistance is a rehearsal that wasn’t modified at all, one of many in our usual rehearsal room. We are very satisfied to be able to present ourselves in such a faithful way, and mostly in tape format with the tremendous support of ERR, For those who do not know Extreme Resurrection Records it is a local label, they release only 50 limited copies numbered by release, and are somehow responsible for reviving the local underground.

How do you describe the music of Pandemonium? What kind of sound do you want to achieve? Are you satisfied with the sound on the demo?

Pandemonium is fast, dense, dark and extremely aggressive, with strong lyrics and riffs, also with “clear” passages that generate this strange feeling of fear.

We are extremely satisfied with the sound of the demo, is the most faithful thing we could do, and we did it.

Andrea, I really dig your vocal style, which female and/or male voices have inspired you to sing this way?

Andrea - Honestly, I can´t say that there is only one voice that has inspired me, I suppose that everything I have heard had an influence on what I do today. First of all I'm a bass player, and I do what I can with my voice! I try to be dynamic and very aggressive.

I started doing some backing vocals, feeling a bit embarrassed, and suddenly I was singing a complete song, the development was step by step evolving to what it is today. In the end, the greatest inspiration were and are my bandmates, always supporting me.

Lyrically where do you draw the inspiration from for the lyrics? It´s great to hear you singing in your mother tongue, will you continue writing lyrics in Spanish?

Andrea - The three of us write lyrics, so inspiration may come through a thousand things. There are more thoughtful lyrics and others written in a more spontaneous way. The lyrics of "Caé Ya" (Fall now) was written and then recorded in the same rehearsal.

Something characteristic is the aggressiveness, hatred, frustrations, disagreement with what you see on a daily basis, in a way it is our answer to the reigning social schizophrenia. For me is the best way to express it, because it's never easy to sing what someone else wrote.

For us, it is fundamental to write in our language, which makes our message to be authentic.

How important are the lyrics for the concept of the band?

Essential! Something important is that the lyrics have to be understood by our local fans, the lyrics are what defines the band, besides our music.

What can you tells us about the current Uruguayan scene? Are there any bands that you respect for their attitude and/or music?

There is more than one metal scene in Uruguay, I can talk about the one we like and we feel part of it. It is a scene of a few bands very united, not for the pose or fame, neither to cash in, nor even less to pay to play gigs for friends. It is a self-managed scene, where there is unity. Radios, fanzines, with the crazy person who make their own patches, the children who like metal and also have the right to grow with that scene. As for bands that we respect: IDIOCONSUMISIÓN, DEFORME, PHERETRUM, COMEMIERDA bands that nowadays are, perhaps, the pillars of the Uruguayan underground.

How many gigs have you played so far? How do you describe your shows?

Since the beginning of the band until now...  difficult to say but maybe about 15 shows more or less. There have been of all kind of experiences, shows with almost no audience at all, and others in which the public has never stop showing energy, that's what is important and perhaps our main characteristic, to give a show full of energy and aggressiveness.

Have you considered adding new members to achieve a more full sound or are you content with the line-up as it currently exists?

Our sound is already achieved or defined, we feel much identified with the result, and we have achieved it in part due the good communication between us, which makes the work done quickly and satisfactorily for everyone. We have had only one line up change, since then it could be said that our sound found its identity at its maximum expression.

Would you name five classic albums to which you are continually hooked and five “new” albums that caught your attention lately?

Classics: Death - Human / Slayer - Raining blood / Obituary - Slowly we rot / Incantation - The blasphemous cremation / Cannibal corpse - Eaten back to life

New LPs: Pheretrum (Uy) - Alienated demons / Presumed death (Ita) - Defunct Existence / Ectoplasma (Gre) Skeletal Lifeforms / Deathly Scythe ...Will of death /  Deforme - Etchepare micronarcosis macronecrosis

What´s the strangest place and the most shocking place you have been?

That crown goes to an open air show called "BARROS BLANCOS METAL WINE" which is celebrated in the city of Barros Blancos (25 km from Montevideo). In its third edition we were invited by its organizer Andres Clavijo, vocalist of Idioconsumision, a brutal death metal local band, to what it supposed to be just some friends in the backyard of their own house, new year´s eve, although when we arrive we came across what seemed to be the true face of the underground, 12 hours of extreme metal.  Bands and  audience were just one thing, adults, children, curious neighbors, all in harmony letting themselves be carried away by the brutal sound... laughter,  drunkenness...even accidents that left scars to remember and laugh, a whole day to remember, driven by people that take metal seriously, true POISON FOR POSERS !!!

What are your current future plans?

We are working on what will be our first studio LP.

Thanks for your time, last words are yours…

And last but not least, a request, do not let your scene die, do what is at your fingertips to keep it alive, bands, fanzines, radio spots, blogs, etc. ...

Buy physical copies, and spread it to all around you.

Anyone interested in more information about Pandemonium contact Pandemoniumuy@gmail.com

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