Chad Bowar: How has the band’s sound evolved from AssassiNation to Southern Storm?
Max Kolesne: I’d say that Southern Storm is more straightforward, more aggressive, more brutal and faster, and yet it's more catchy and varied than AssassiNation. And the production is definitely heavier.
What inspired the CD title Southern Storm?
The fact of being from Brazil, South America inspired the title. The country we come from always has a strong influence in our music, that’s what maybe differs us from many bands out there. I think Krisiun has this raw, dirty aggressive approach and it has a lot to do with being from South America.
You worked with Andy Classen again on this CD. What is it about his producing style that you guys like?
Andy Classen has the same vision we have. He likes the sound to be natural, fat and raw, but clear at the same time. He pushed us a lot during the recording takes, always looking for the best performance with the attitude and feeling of each musician.
When you decided to do a cover song, did you pick Sepultura first, and then decide on a song, or was it always going to be “Refuse/Resist”? What is it about that song that you like?
I think it’s more interesting to hear Krisiun playing a slower song from Sepultura than a faster one from Beneath the Remains or Schizophrenia. That would be too obvious I guess. It's like a surprise for many people, and of course refuse “Resist” is a killer song full of hate and attitude. Also, last year during the AssassiNation tour, we did a few shows in Brazil with Andreas (Kisser, Sepultura’s guitarist).
He played “Refuse Resist,” “Troops of Doom” and “Decimated” from AssassiNation, with us, so we knew already how to play the song.
What are your upcoming tour plans?
We will start touring in South America, then Canada and Europe until the end of this year. Next year we will bring the storm to the States.
What are your favorite countries and cities to play live?
It’s hard to respond to this one. Most of the places where we play the maniacs are always hungry for the brutal assault. It can be in small places, bigger places or festivals, it doesn’t matter. We are an underground band, but we have a strong following around the world, and most of the places where we play in South America, Europe and the U.S. we always have a great time.
Where haven't you played yet that you’d still like to get to?
Australia, and some countries in Asia.
What was the first concert you attended as a fan?
Alex (Camargo, the bands vocalist/bassist) had this band with some friends a long time ago, and he was the drummer, and I was probably their number one fan. I remember they did this show in a college, and everybody was just standing there watching. I was the only one headbanging in the crowd. Shortly after that Alex’s bandmates became a bunch of wimps, and decided to make a new band of pop rock. Moyses (Kolesne) was already going crazy with the guitar and I was always hitting things and playing air drums in front of the stereo, so we thought of the idea of trying to start a band.
Do you remember the first show your band played?
Oh yeah, we played in a school early in the morning for kids. I remember that after the first song most of them left the place with their hands covering their ears.
How did you get started in music?
Alex was the first one. One of his friends in school played guitar and was looking for a drummer , then Alex took it over, even without knowing how to play. Then this guy taught him how play the basic beat, and they started their band. That’s how everything started for us. Then me and Moyses basically started on Alex’s influence.
Was there a song or album that inspired you to want to perform music?
Many albums. I remember I used to spend hours in front of the stereo playing air drums to albums like Back In Black, Defenders Of The Faith, The Number Of The Beast and many other classic metal albums.
What’s your single all time favorite CD?
I don’t have one favorite, but one of them is definitely Slayer’s Reign In Blood.
Is there a Krisiun album you think is underrated or didn’t get the attention it deserved when it first came out?
I think that Ageless Venomous didn’t get the deserved attention because of the bad production, especially after Conquerors Of Armageddon, whch got a great response from the fans. There was a big expectation for the next one, and we worked really hard on the writing process, and musically Ageless Venomous was a big step ahead for us as a band, but unfortunately the production didn’t came out really good. I think the biggest mistake was to record that album without a good producer, but from mistakes we always learned a lesson, and now we know that a good album is not only made of good songs, we need to have a great sound.
How is the metal scene in Brazil these days?
Really strong. We have a good following here, and usually we play for a lot of people in nice places. There are also many good bands here. Brazilian people love metal.
Anything else you’d like to add?
Thank you for the support, and thanks to all the American maniacs who have supported us. We’ll see you soon in the States and we will bring the storm of pure brutal extreme metal to devastate and kill all the posers and trend followers. We are death metal to death, Krisiun never wimps out, we’re always fast, brutal and true.
