Interview with ALTAR OF SIN

This is an honour for me to include this interview with ALTAR OF SIN in my zine as their last album " Tales of Carnage First Class " was a really good one in my ears!!!

-Infernal hails to the infernal and hellish Spanish thrash metal war machine, what’s up in Spain ? …. Do an introduction

This a deal with the devil and we are his damned watchdogs from hell, we are making war since 2003, over 10 years of intense and evil Metal and this is the moment for play loud our last album “Tales of Carnage First Class” recorded at September 2011 at Fireworks Studios (Valencia) undoubtedly the best work by the band where they blend quality with the wildest savagery… which will mean another step forward for the band in their aim to expand the infernal hybrid of Thrash/ Death. Bang your Head! And I hope the readers like our music.

-What were the most important bands that defined the soul and stronger tendencies of ALTAR OF SIN ? What were your stronger influences and most important records……..the first one when I listen to your work I was surprised !!!! your work remember me a great names like MYSTIC CIRCLE, DESTRUCTION, DESTROYER 666 ,VENOM !!! ,possessed !!! celtic frost ?

You got it man! We are deeply  linked to the old school tendencies, it is our pride and philosophy talking about music, we leave back all the modern shit…for me the great old school death metal is the best as the Sweedish as the American trends, and also the good work made by the German thrash masters like the first Kreator lineup and Sodom, also Slayer…moreover what I name as the roots of all, I mean, possessed, venom, bathory and celtic frost. In addition the pure cult like disaster or destroyer 666, finally all of it converge and turn to the Altar Of Sin Thrash/Death Metal style.

-Who founded ALTAR OF SIN and how many of the original members are still present in the current line-up?

We are making ALTAR OF SIN since 2003, Goyo Hammerhead (previous drummer of Voice of Hate and Profundis Tenebrarum) on drums and me on guitars, from the beginning we both always have been in the band's line-up along these years.

-Do interviews mean anything to you? Do you have to have a special state of mind when answering one ?

Hell Yeah! This is the best way to allow all our fans to know something more about us and our music. I love answer interviews with one cold beer first for adequate provision to express the first thing that comes to my mind.

-When did you started take contact with the extreme metal scene? What attracted you? Why was it better than the "regular" music?

I started to listen extreme music since 90’s, such times when heavy metal looked to disappear, thus I hold to the classic metal sound as that played by Accept or Judas Priest, since then it was when I found out bands as Slayer, Sodom, Napalm death or Sepultura, it is also proper to mention Pantera, which was the band what young people as me in 90’s we love listen and play hard. Forthcoming, these kinds of bands turned to me as favorite ones, nonetheless, I listen the true punk in that epoch what it took me to explore the grindcore. At the end of this process, I was going to appropriate the Death Metal as that what better represent myself, and I took to my pedestal the most brutal and evil bands, I mean, those including a special aged taste as the rum and wine are, leaving back the fucking melody and tiny sounds in the music. Bands as Celtic Frost, Venom, Slayer and Sodom became to be the most representatives in my personal likes and extreme sound.

I have to say that I never liked the virtuous bands, I have always preferred, taking about whatever music is, maybe played by people as me whom can be able to transfer to others some kind of feeling when they are listening it, no matter if it is a evil feeling, sometimes you only want to retrieve energy, violence and destruction, always bringing to you strength and looking to go ahead. In other words, I declare myself as a noise lover whom practice cult for it!!!

-Do you see limitations in how much you can evolve with the musical framework of the band?

For me, I don’t find limitations ‘cause this particular kind of music is what I like to play, moreover, when I try to play other kind of music, then, the limitation comes to me.

-What philosophical concept behind the name of ALTAR OF SIN?

Altar of Sin is the name that all of us agreed which represent our ideas and philosophy, as fingerprint, what represents all of sins we like, what states the hate and brutality in each performance. It is like a state of trance, a time off this world, who attend our performances and who don’t care back home bleeding know what we are talking about.

-What are you doing in daily life? How do you earn your money ?

As the music still don’t gives for feed us, in my case I work as responsible of systems management, finally I had to study something else as alternative for living jajaja, we can’t be all the day listening and playing metal, and having beers. The others Altar of Sin members also have their alternative works. Additionally, I would to say that nowadays for becoming a metal musician, so much money is required and sometimes, it is difficult to earn it.

-In what part of Spain do you live? Is it attractive for tourists? What can you recommend ?

We live in Valencia, Mediterranean coast, which is the most visited and attractive city in Spain, talking about the number of tourist who come here, ¿Have you heard about Benidorm? I highly recommend the beaches surrounding Alicante City, this deserve to be visited when you come to Spain. We are people from the coast, we preferred more girls Bikini-like dressed and having topless than girls Viking-like dressed.

-Describe ALTAR OF SIN  in one word ?

CARNAGE!  

-How is the metal scene in Spain ?

Well, full of all, for all the likes, certainly following a fashion trend nowadays, there are appearing thrash metal bands type Bay Area, almost when you hit a rock, a thrash metal band jumps from it, it is not the Altar of Sin style, nonetheless they are just music trends, we have our own circle forming by extreme metal allied bands which we like to share the stage on scheduled events. What I really hate it is the commercial level that actually present the underground music scene, I mean, it is so crowded and infected by promoters which only looks and wants to take advantage of the local band wishes aiming to succeed, thus promoters requesting money to the bands for playing and make a tour, What the fuck is it??????? This what I’m telling you is the worst of the metal scene, I have a particular case…Although, there are some people that are not looking for their benefits, instead ‘cause they love metal.

- I really appreciate your album it’s raw and aggressive ,how was the secret of this result ,please tell us more about your latest hellish release " Tales of Carnage First Class "

The extreme metal has to be as its name says: extreme! Before musicians we are listeners and metal fans, we practice the metal that we would like to find when we go to the store looking for buy some album.
Since our first album until the release of the Tales of…it was clear enough what we wanted to play, and always doing what we like and enjoy with the best quality we can.

-In your first time debut when you started by your self production for distributed your music what did you do ???

Truly, I do not like to self-product my albums; instead I better considered focus on playing the music and the art, thus leaving all commercial issues to the discography label. Selling an album take a long time and it is not straightforward; we do not have the tools to sell CDs as a professional label can do it.

-I think your last recording quality is perfect but before you were record your music with a diferente labal ,which label would fit your music ? Ecatombe Records , Xtreem Music or ?

Hecatombe Records, edited our first Works, in September 2008 “Praising evil” was released what in advance included our first MCD “Altar Of Sin”, afterwards, in 2010, also Hecatombe Records edited “The damned dogs from hell”, both CDs were well rated, but the distribution was not as satisfactory as we expected, for this reason for the “Tales of Carnage First Class” we decided that the change of label was priority, thus was possible to work with Xtreem Music, well known by the traditional and particular support to Spanish Death Metal bands, since then, the albums has arrived where it has to arrive.

-Do you have some forthcoming releases? What are the plans for the future?, Any collaborations projected with other bands from other counties ( gigs, split CDs or other things)?

Yes, right now we are in a writing songs stage looking for our new album for 2014, in fact, we have played one song from it in our last performances, you can find in you tube by typing “In the temple of set”. We are also thinking seriously to get involved in international tours, Altar Of Sin do NOT STOP to play and release brutality, never!

-What's your opinion ,what is your réaction or you objection versus  the metalcore scene who invaded the death, grind ,thrash and black metal scene ?In my opinion it's a real shit and it’s sucks is just for kids and teenagers

The Metalcore is a fucking shit, as you said, …, it is not metal, is only shit, crimson shit for teenagers.

-Your new rhythm guitarist "Neura"  wearing  like warrior like Glen Benton with Vital Remains and Amon  at show I think it’s a good concept to give an  extreme apparence at show what can you tell us about

We have always following the old school lessons, Neura is older than us, when we came to the band of a second guitarist, since that first contact with him, we liked his attitude, wearing his medieval warrior armor. The day when he appeared to play in our band for first time, right away we became excited and since then, Neura is an important piece in the Altar Of Sin performances.

-Are you antichristian , Satanist or just atheist ?

We are atheists, but our attitude is belligerent and in opposite direction to all monotheistic religions, what it does not mean that we are not interested on mythology or in the old heathen religions in the European pre-christian epoch, as well as all related with evil and the christian world itself, we are our own Satans.

- Your last show where and when it was , give us more details about this and describe ALTAR OF SIN  gigs and what about organization and the audience? 

Right now, our last show was here in our city Valencia, in the first hammerfest where we could to share stage with the mythical band Impaled Nazarene, a reference for Altar Of Sin, about 200 people attended the festival, what is something low for the magnitude of the events performing there, anyway, it was a concert for memories.

-Any fav bands to get on stage with ?

From my side, I really want to have the chance of sharing stage with Sodom or Venom. Javier Destructor will get horny playing in the same stage of Mortician.

-What is your daily consumption amount of alcohol,cigarettes...... how many packs of beer did you destroy when you drink ?

Oh fuck! I’m trying to leave cigars, sometimes I smoke a pack (~20) by day, but when I’m going to play in a concert, I do not smoke…I should to smoke less, I try to get in form, practice sports but we love a lot the drinks, ¿Do you know what absenta is? It is a senior hallucinogenic drink that we often have a lot, a very common drink  in Spain, only hard people can keep stand up, in few words when we are in the rehearsal room we have huge amounts of beers. Now we control these things before to play in a concert, but it did ot happened some years ago before, during and after the shows.

-What are some of your non-musical influences ?

What mainly influence for me are the pretty women cleavages and asses jajajaja, I feel a great respect and a big nature defender and the wild life what surrounding us, these largely influences me in my life.
I also like to understand about history, I read many books from different history topics, cinema and literature, all of these things influences me, moreover what is strong and extreme.

-What is your occupations outside altar of sin ?

The life of a common Spanish headbanger 34 years old, right now, out of Altar Of Sin, one of the main activities I enjoy is diving, I’m back to my passion by the Sea.

-What kind of music do you play in your car? What car do you own ?

All kind of music really, but overall, in last days, I’m playing Black Metal as Inquisition, I’m absorbed by this Colombian-American band. Of course, the classics do not miss, and never going to stop to play in my car, such as Judas Priest, Accept, Running Wild, Venom.

-When you think of the people who enjoy  your music, is there any particular thing ??

I don’t often think about who is listening my music, if they are as me I’m sure that enjoy and have lots of fun, if not I don’t really care about them.

-What is your guitar arsenal (axe/strings, amps, effects) ?

I always play with my Jackson Flying V Signature Phil Demmel with EMG pickups and Mesa Boggie Doble Retifier amplifiers plus cabinet Randall. For guitar effects I often add a Metal Muff pedal, for the strings I use an interesting set, I buy a 7-strings Ernie Ball kit and I remove the central one, thus it allow to me to play with the thickest in order to give a most brutal sound, the thinnest one to play solos.

-Thanks for answering my questions bro. hope to see you on stage when I come to spain soon , any particular messages  or any closing notes , last words are yours 

Thanks for your interest, I expect that you and more fans continue our band for a long forthcoming time!
Bang your Head When the Metal is Loud!
Rock y Violencia!