VANENO (Portuguese Sludge Metal band from Lisbon) – interview for KICKASS FOREVER via Angels PR Music Promotion #vaneno
Interview conducted & submitted by Marian Nicolaou (THANK YOU!) via Angels PR Music Promotion

1)      Welcome guys! How things are going about VANENO?

Hey! Thanks for having us here! Things are looking good for us. We’re stoked with the end result of our EP and we’ve actually just released also the video for “Nightrider” a couple of weeks ago. With the current lack of live shows, we’ve been writing new music and we’ve also some short-term plans that we want to fulfill so we’ve been keeping ourselves busy!

2)      Are you satisfied about the first feedback for your new EP “Struggle Through Absurdity”?

Alex: It’s been really great so far! We’ve been having some amazing feedback, even from people who aren’t that much into the metal scene. Overall people can’t help but feel our raw energy through the songs, which is what we aim for. So yeah, even with the pandemic and no live performances it has been awesome so far!

3)      After releasing your first EP you show that you are a really promising and unique sludge metal band! Are there any plans for a full album in the near future?

Thanks! Well, we haven’t yet decided how the next release will look like. There is this “tradition” that after having an EP as a first release you should release a full length. But things have changed and have drifted away from that concept, which sometimes back in the day seemed more of a music industry rule more than anything else. We’re definitely considering all options for our next release, but when that time comes, we will choose the one that just feels right to us.

4)      How can you describe your sound?

Antonio: That’s something a bit difficult since we don’t actively think of it when we’re making music. Being a five-piece and each one of us having almost a different musical background, I think all of that ends up actually blending into our sound. If I had to come up with a “standard” definition for it I would probably say that we have a Sludge Metal sound with elements of Stoner, Death, Hardcore and some elements of Doom.

Alex: We’ve been defined has some guy doing some angry bench presses while our EP is spotting him, to someone who said that one of our songs was like being on some shady neighborhood while some guy high on meth is yelling at us about our failed marriage, or something like that (laughs). But like I said I’d would describe it has pure raw energy like a punch to the guts.

5)      What are your musical idols?

Antonio: There are many guys that I could mention here for what they bring to the table with their guitar playing and I like many guitar players from all sorts of musical genres. But in all fairness, I can only mention the one that made me want to pick up a guitar in the first place: Dimebag Darrell!

6)      Tell us a few words and special moments about the recordings of your stuff.

The recording process happened smoothly, and we feel that Pedro Mau (Wells Valley, Kneel) had a big role in making things run like they did. Due to everyone’s life, we had very limited time to make things happen and we made the most of it.

Pedro is a very focused and knowledgeable person and knew exactly how to capture the band’s sound and rawness to make us sound the way we wanted in the EP, and that shows when you listen to it, so our props go to our brother Pedro for that! From the band’s perspective we just focused ourselves in giving him the best performance!

Speaking about special moments, we think that everything was special, and even more being our first recording! It was something new and challenging for the band, and it felt that we had come full circle with something that had seen its absolute beginning almost three years ago.

7)      What is your opinion about the use of internet? Is this helpful about the bands or they are just being lost into a sea of information?

Alex: I guess it depends. Because of these pandemic times, it has been probably our only way of getting some reach out there, so yeah I guess that in a way there is some good if you can manage to swim on that so called sea of information. There’s also a high probability of getting lost in that sea of information since there are so many good bands out there and for the regular listener most of them go under the radar, especially new bands that don’t have their fanbase well established yet just like us. It’s a double-edged sword but at the end of the day it’s a very good tool to allow bands to promote their music.

8)      Any live plans for the band?

We have some plans down the road and it’s something that we’re currently working on, but unfortunately the pandemic will have any last words on that. We’re starting to see some dates being announced here and there in our country and across Europe and we’re actively working towards scheduling some dates for ourselves, but it’s still not entirely clear how live gigs will work in general, or if venues will be forced (again) to cancel/postpone shows due to some unplanned restrictions. For now, this “live shows are returning” scenario still looks a bit fragile due to everything that is still happening and while we’re working on that, we don’t like to be overly optimist about it.

9)      What is your biggest dream about VANENO?

Alex: I personally don’t have any big dreams for us because that would be fantasizing about stuff, but I’d be lying if I don’t tell you that I do it occasionally! I really wish we could do some small tour around Europe or get picked up by a major band and touring around many different places with them. All I want for us it to have the chance to play live!

10)   How did you get started with music? Any special musical studies?

Alex: I actually went DIY. When I was much younger, I wanted to play bass but then I got to know these guys who needed a singer, so I went for a shot with no training at all. I started to watch some tutorials on YouTube including the “Zen of Screaming”. After that it was all about years of singing and practicing.  The rest of the guys, they pretty much went DIY like me. Some of us have some musical studies, but funny enough those guys are not playing the instrument that they have studied for (laughs)!

11)   What do you think about the Portuguese rock and metal scene? Are there any new bands that you love?

It’s a very prolific scene and we have really good bands here! Not only new bands but also bands that ended up leaving their mark on the Portuguese Music Scene.

Bands like: Colosso, Soul of Anubis, Bas Rotten, Mau Olhado, Centopeia, Wells Valley, Mordaça, Kneel, Quartet of Whoa, Simbiose, Prayers of Sanity, Clockwork Boys, Patrulha do Purgatório, Confront Hate, We Are the Damned, Devil in Me, Men Eater, Mata-Ratos, Crossed Fire, Kon, for the Glory, My Master the Sun, Burning Man, Rat Attack, Kneeldown (é uzultras crlh!), Grankapo, Challenge, Miss Lava, Mindlock, Switchtense – just to name a few.

12)   Congrats and good luck about your work, guys! The last words are yours.

Thanks! We hope to see you guys someday on a venue! And be sure to follow us on social media to check the latest about VANENO! Cheers!

Band Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VanenoBand

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vaneno_band/

Bandcamp: https://vaneno.bandcamp.com

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC91f4NQHOgG0iEnqQNzlpFA

EP – Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1YaY0f8gik

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4TiVk3NP0UEAILtrHbdP4Z?si=JVWwJLO-Qnexw6xiyNUrdA