INTERVIEW TO TORN FABRIKS! (WITH RICARDO)

Hi, old school thrash metal maniacs, after reviewing the powerful Torn Fabrick's new release, "Mind Consumption", a really great work of this Portugese band, let me present their exclusive interview for Timpani allo Spiedo and discover with us their story, their adrenaline addicted music, their message and future projects! Also, I recommend listening to the EP if you need an injection of pure energy! If you don't, may Thanos cancel you from existence snapping his infinity gloved fingers!

Hi guys! So, let’s start with your band’s birth. It’s a certain fact that pandemic has stopped many artistic genres including music. Many musicians surrendered to this dramatic situation, losing their creativity, you instead went against the tide, defining yourselves like a product of Covid-19. Is it an act of rebellion or a proof of iron will?

Well, it’s more a proof of iron will. I [Ricardo, singer/bassist of the band, also in Morbid Death. - Flavio] and Jorge are in the ‘business’ since the 90’s, as musicians but in different bands. One curious thing is that we never got to meet each other, personally. What happened was that I shared some videos of his band Earth Syndicate on my Facebook (FB) profile and he thanked me for that. After that, we started to exchange some messages and in one of them, he asked me if I was into Thrash Metal. I said yes and then he sent me some ideas that he had and I just loved them. Some days later, we already had some songs composed and we posted them on our recent FB profile and all that positive feedback wasn’t expected. With that, we started to take it more seriously but never losing the fun. Then Paulo came along. Besides being a drummer, he’s also a great producer. The truth is that he’s a multifaceted musician and in the beginning we didn’t know that, so it was a very good surprise for us.

Your stylistic choice is really remarkable, that is to revive the sound of old-school thrash metal, frenetic and aggressive with sharp riffs, groovy and melodic. Is it only an aesthetic and nostalgic tribute, or is it the renewed energy of that period that can involve again a new generation of headbangers who need, mentioning your song “Face It”, to “feel strong and free”?

Thank you so much! Those guitar riffs that Jorge had allied to our passion for Old School Thrash Metal just gave us the motive to do what is now known. We weren’t expecting all the recognition for our music. And, something great that happened and that we’re overwhelmed by, is the fact that we gain a lot of fans from all over the world. It has been incredible and surreal, all the good compliments that we’re receiving. In the first place, we just have to believe in ourselves and do what goes on our soul. Of course that we don’t please everyone and, in life, it’s just like that. For those that sympathize with our work, our music, we just do it for them because being in a band is not only about us. It’s all about the fans. We just want them to have a great time listening to our stuff. So, if we could bring some fresh air to the Old School Thrash Metal scene, that would be freakin’ awesome!

In your EP “Mind Consumption”, there is great musical technique, which describes an high level of experience. Nothing happens by chance, but I read that you met for fun. Can you tell us the facts?

I and Jorge just met online and until now, we didn’t yet meet personally. For curiosity, I live in São Miguel, one of the nine islands that form the archipelago of the Azores and its Portuguese territory, and Jorge lives in Almada, a city in the south side coast, near Lisbon. It’s 1427 Km of distance between us but using all available technology, it seems that those Km don’t affect us. As you can see, it is possible to do something despite the distance and we just took a chance in doing something that we like. By the way, Paulo is from Seixal and it’s very close to Almada.

A peculiarity of certain kind of thrash metal is speaking about politics, social and environmental problem, criticizing also the dark side of power. An example of this is “Handle with Care” by Nuclear Assault. Going back to “Mind Consumption”, are there some of these themes? And what’s your narrative or what is the story contained in your work?

That kind of message is related with the artwork of "Mind Consumption". Roger Esteves was the art designer and he took it to another level. It could sound a bit cliché, but we just use all those kinds of problems that are rooted in society as inspiration for our music.

Concluding the interview: what can we expect in the near future from Torn Fabriks? Can you anticipate us something?

We started to compose the next studio album, the successor of "Mind Consumption". Until then, we’ll continue promoting our EP because we know that there’s a long way to go and a Metal Universe to conquer. In the name of Torn Fabriks, I would like to thank everyone that supports us. We promise that you won’t be disappointed with our next album! Cheers!

FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/TornFabriks

BandCamp: https://tornfabriks.bandcamp.com/