Ultimately exalted by the debut album of this Panamanian cult named Abatuar, some days ago I contacted via FaceBook its mastermind Cadaver for a very good interview. He is a very enthusiastic person and metalhead also because he runs a little label called PUS Records specialized in the extreme metal from Central American countries like El Salvador and Panama, as you will see reading this interview.
It's a shame that the extreme scene from these lands is almost unknown for the metalheads from the rest of the world considering it is perfect for every fanatic of the most violent, raw and chaotic forms of metal but, fortunately, bands of this kind like Abatuar are supported even by a European label as Dunkelheit Produktionen.
But now no other bullshits, and let Cadaver do the talking!
Hailz Cadaver! Is it all right? As first thing, do you want to tell us the story about Abatuar? And why have you gave birth to this totally sick project?
Hailz Flavio and thanks for the interview, I am doing alright, it’s been a quiet week in Panama. Well, Abatuar emerged in 2013 as a solo project to put together ideas I had spinning in my head and that didn’t exactly fit in the other bands I played with at that time, I like bands to preserve their integrity and sound thus I preferred doing a new band.
I wanted chaos and death with no restrictions or rules, just let the stench of putrefaction to take over.
Your debut album is the very first production from Panama that I’ve ever listened, and I think that the extreme metalheads of the entire world have discovered a metal scene completely unknown for them until some days ago! But how is the general situation of metal music in your country? And are there other amazing bands from Panama like you?
Yes, Panama is not popular when it comes to metal but we have had underground bands since the ‘80s and still have bands delivering good material.
The current situation is good, I think the best in years, now we have several local labels, more big gigs and festivals going on and also more bands recording. For current bands you can check Hatross, Atrofia, Ruins of Christendom, Fumigador, Antumia.
If you remember, what were the very first metal bands from your country and how were they important for your national metal scene?
For old bands to mention a few: Hammer Head, Abomination, Psicosis, Alamabre de Puas, Jefe de la Morgue, Demacrator, Enslaver, Deathless, Disemburied, Christ Snacks, Cementerious, Fuego Uterino, Schopenhauer. We had really good death and thrash metal with unique sound and also grindcore and noise pioneers in the region. They really left a great legacy on this land.
When and how were the recordings of the debut album? Are you happy with the final result or now do you have some things that you would change in a better way?
Recordings were last year around March so it took slightly over a year to come out, the delay was because the artist who was supposed to draw the art just disappeared for half a year but thanks to that we found the great artist Katiuzka from Temple of Kalighat Arts who made the cover for the album.
I am totally satisfied with the overall outcome and also regarding to the final sound because this was my first self-recording and mix and hearing from Dunkelheit when I sent him the master audio that the sound was good and no changes were needed, it was really cool jeje!
Your music is a mix between black/death metal strongly combined with grindcore and noise elements, playing all this with the classic bestiality of the Latin-American bands. So, what are your musical influences?
For Abatuar I don’t have a specific target musically-wise. I wanted to open the compass and avoid restrictions. The main influence are the lyrics and the music is a reflection of those chapter of death. I care more about what it evokes rather than the genre it belongs to. I find it more satisfying just letting the chaos to shape the music than composing among four walls. Some orthodox people don’t like that but I just don’t give a fuck. Of course death, black, grind and noise are the key elements that ties what I do to what I like.
Do you want to tell us something about the session musicians Tony Freire and Jr. Sucre? For example, I know that the latter one played along with you into the now defunct death metal band Aberrante while “Perversiones de Muerte Putrefacta” is the first Abatuar’s production with Tony.
JR is an old friend, an underground warrior of the Panamanian scene with bands like Aggressor and Enslaver. We played together in Aberrante and it was there when I told him about doing some leads for Abatuar and he accepted, he also plays in a killer band now called Hatross and I totally like his leads which remind me to Slayer but with the Latin rawness.
Tony is a great guitar player too and I started to work with him for the album and is a great person to work with and he helped me a lot with the guitar sound for the recording. He plays in Atrofia with Yigo Manzo, another band to check out. Yigo recorded the guitars for the demos and Tony then did for the album.
As I said into the review, you have a very singular way to play the drums. Hence, how was born this style? How long have you played the drums?
I have been playing drums for almost 20 years now… it’s been a while jaja! I just care about creating the chaos I want for the music focused on noise and strident speed. I try to push a rabid and savage attack out of the drums to accomplish the audible noise like hammers smashing a corpse. I am not a professional drummer by any means and don’t pretend or intent to be, I don’t care about technique, I am clear that for the music I like playing the noise I do is enough to me.
I really like the grind-gallop stroke that I use in almost all the songs, it just came out when composing and looking for different chaotic ways to express violence apart from the blast beat, that stroke was also in the demos and is part of Abatuar now.
Your lyrics are very frightful and far from the classic themes about Satan typical of black metal. So, what are your inspirations during the writing of your lyrics? Is it to correct to say that they are inspired by the dictatorships faced many years ago by many Latin-American countries?
Lyrics in the album are all about human atrocities based on historical facts of cruelty and massacre. I find reality is more disturbing than many horror fantasies. Lyrics are not only focused on Latin America (which there are few) but on the entire globe.
Serial killers, genocide, deadly regimes, human experiments and so on, I think I won’t run out of inspiration in a while jaja!
I wonder always why the bands with Hispanic origins sing often in Spanish and you aren’t an exception. I think the Spanish language add more wickedness and morbidity to the music compared with the ultra-abused English. But why do you prefer to sing in your native language?
I am not against lyrics in English and I am in bands with English lyrics and I even wrote lyrics in that language. However for Abatuar I just felt the Spanish fit better, as you mentioned I also think it adds more wickedness to primitive stuff.
How it started your collaboration with the German Dunkelheit Produktionen? “Perversiones…” is now the second production of yours released by this fantastic label!
Yeah, Dunkelheit is an amazing label and Bernd has provided a great support so far! The contact began when I sent to Bernd a promo tape of the second demo and he got interested right away, before that I had some agreements with other labels I sent promos to as well but none of those deals became a reality except for Dunkelheit.
Have you ever played a live gig as Abatuar or is it a simple studio-project?
No, never. As of now it remains as a studio project with no near plans to change that.
Now what will be the next steps for Abatuar?
There is a 7” Split coming with Costa Rican brothers Morbid Funeral to be released by Viceral Vomit Records from Costa Rica too on June this year, it will include some tracks from the album. There are also some negotiations to re-release the demos on vinyl format under Helter Skelter Records.
Once these projects are completed I will decide what to do but of course I want to continue spilling more blood.
Okay Cadaver, the interview is over and thank you to replying to my questions! Now feel free to say what you want. I have to say that I can’t wait for another assault from Abatuar haha!
Thanks again for the interview Flavio, this is my first interview with an Italian zine, all my pleasure! I want to let all maniacs out there interested to get Abatuar album or Panamanian shit can contact me at josze.quintero@gmail.com. I also run a small tape label in Panama called PUS Records and have some interesting things coming soon like the new demo of Christ Snacks (death/grind) (after 21 years of silence), new Fumigador demo (grind/noise), Aberrante (death/grind) digipack compilation of the 3 demos and Antumia (noise/black) with the participation on drums of Phil from Temple of Adoration zine.
Write and let the Central American spirit possess you!
FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/Abatuar-755185244585530/
No comments:
Post a Comment