For those who haven’t noticed the groundswell caused by Brazil’s Nervosa, start following the band’s Facebook page for starters. Although the band formed in 2010, the group quickly released their debut album which was aptly titled 2012. Fans of Sadus, Aura Noir, Sodom, Obituary, old-school Destruction and any like-minded fare should pick up their new Agony record. Unlike other bands who are afraid to tackle the rougher socio-political issues facing our country and their own, Nervosa relish in their keen abilities to cause a veritable shitstorm. Metal Insider caught up with bassist / vocalist Fernanda Lira to learn that Brazil, like any other country, needs some work (and fast).
You came over and played a lot of smaller shows in the U.S. that were, for the most part, booked rather last minute? Any successes you’d like to mention?
I think the whole experience in the US was incredibly positive for us. Not only recording the album there, but also the whole tour was a completely new thing for us. Our objective with the tour was exactly this: play smaller shows to promote the band there and also to get to know how touring the country is. Most of the gigs were packed and the feedback was amazing, I actually think it couldn’t have been any better. Because we were there already, everything worked out when we were invited last minute to play the 70,00 Tonsof Metal cruise, which was probably the most remarkable experience if the tour along with the opportunity we had to visit many tourist attractions like the Grand Canyon, for example!
Agony is finally coming out in the states. What are your touring plans for it?
Agony is available worldwide via our Austrian label Napalm Records. I hope people will be as surprised as we were with the final result. It’s way more aggressive, rawer and faster than our previous album. We will start the tour to promote it now in June/July in Europe and then in August we go straight to Canada. We start the U.S. tour on the East Coast. We already have twenty dates confirmed for this last leg of the tour which can all be found in our website and Facebook. There will be more confirmed soon!
Brazil’s economy seems on the brink of disaster. Furthermore. airline tickets to Sao Paulo or Rio from the U.S. went up drastically in the last couple of years. Thoughts?
Unfortunately, we can’t deny the country is experiencing the worst political and economical situation in over a decade. This is really sad because us Brazilians work really hard and pay one of the highest tax fares in the whole world. It‘s clearly caused after years of corruption from politicians from both wings (right and left) and because of the awful administration‘s lack of experience in economic matters. The future of the country is darker than ever. But we have to stay positive, right? I really hope this whole thing is solved soon and we can be back on track.
How much does it cost the band to get here from Brazil given the exchange rate (1 USD equals 3.62 Brazilian Real)?
It’s always a struggle to tour outside of our continent and this terrible exchange rate is one of the reasons. Airline tickets are close to 15% of the costsof a tour and are already a huge cost to us. This is one of the reasons there’s not many more Brazilian or South American bands are touring and getting heard around the globe. It’s hard enough to make a living. And if you decide to have a band, getting instruments, recording, touring and more is three times as costly when the economy is broken and the exchange is so ridiculous.
The new Vice President (also part of Petrobras scandal with current ousted president) has cut support for the arts. Did your band lose government subsidies to tour?
They had this brilliant idea of replacing a corrupt government for another corrupt government and one of the first steps he took was merging the national culture cabinet with the education one. This caused a huge ideological impact on people (and that’s why people are pissed as the cabinet is still there yet merged with the education one). It gave the impression that the new government doesn’t actually give a fuck about people getting culture. Uneducated people are the greatest reason why corrupt governments keep on being perpetuated. We didn’t have any resources cut because it’s really hard to get this kind of support. Not all music genres get it, and underground bands hardly get a chance. But I’m aware this can affect us and other artists in other ways in the future.
Nervosa will be supprting Destruction and Flotsam & Jestsam. You must be stoked.
I am definitely happy and thankful for being a part of this killer line-up and tour. Everyone knows Schmier and Destruction are a huge influence to me. They’ve been one of my favorite bands since I was a teenager. It’s really a dream come true.
Favorite tracks on new album?
“Arrogance” and “Deception” are my favorite ones on the album by far because they are the most distinct ones. They have the perfect blend of death and thrash elements. I love that.
Are you going to bring any special stage production?
Not a whole production, but I can guarantee a completely different show from the last tours. We will be playing almost all of the songs from the new album which are way more aggressive. The show is going to have much more energy.
Which country has been most receptive to your latest?
All countries we visit are very receptive, special and unique in different ways for us, but the Latin American countries we’ve been visiting so far – Colombia, Peru, Argentina and especially Mexico – have been great and super welcoming.
What’s your favorite American food?
The whole Denny’s menu and Wendy’s hamburgers. Ha!
Is any Brazilian president a good role model?
None of them. The right ones didn’t care at all about social matters. The left ones did but sucked at economic administration. All of them have been corrupt with no exception. None of them represent me and what most of the people expect from good and ideal governments.
