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SHAMAN
SHAMAN just released it's 2nd CD, which once again is bringing forward some great Melodic Hardrock. We talked with bandleader ANDRE MATOS, who seems to becoming more popular with SHAMAN in his own country than back in the day with his former band ANGRA...
Can you tell me something about your musical
background?
I grew up with classical music, played piano at a young age. Later went to the
music university. As a teenager I really got into 80s metal like Iron Maiden,
Black Sabbath and Judas Priest, also progressive rock like Genesis, Pink Floyd,
Yes and Rush. Nowadays I am really open minded to any kind of music for example
the World Music of Peter Gabriel is doing at the moment. From the newer metal
bands I like Rammstein, Paradise Lost and Evergrey a lot.
About Shaman. While Angra is a mix of Helloween,
Dream Theater and Classical music, Shaman is rather heavier and less
progressive. Also your singing is different. In Angra you mostly sung high
notes, in Shaman your singing is much lower, do you agree with me?
Definitely, I was really tired of the fast and virtuosi stuff and want to go
back to the early beginnings of Metal (Sabbarh/Maiden), when there was more
emotion in the songs. But we really want to keep the atmospheric feeling in the
songs. When I was young I really liked to sing fast Speed Metal songs as in my
VIPER days (Andre’s first band in the eighties), but now I’m getting more mature
and want to sing more diverse. I don’t want to sing high to whole time, because
then the listener will get really bored with the record. The last couple of
years I am really training to sing differently. I think it really worked out on
the new CD.
I agree with you, Angra has built up a name in
Brazil and Europe. With Shaman you had to start all over again. How is it going
with the popularity?
In the beginning it was really hard to rebuilt the name. But after many gigs in
South America and doing the soundtrack for a famous Brazilian soap opera our
popularity especially in Brazil is now even bigger than Angra in my days. In
Europe we have to work on it in the coming years.
I read you had to change the name a little bit in
South America. Why was that?
Some months ago a company with the same name in Brazil informed us to change the
name. We didn’t want to take another name, so we thought about to add a letter
to the name. First we thought about an extra n at the end, but eventually it
became an extra a. So the pronouncing of the name is still the same.
How is your relationship with the members of Angra
at the moment?
I don’t have any contact with them anymore. We don’t have fights with each
other, but the split of the band was not a nice thing. Before the split we were
no longer friends with each other. There will also be no reunion of the classic
Angra line up.
On the new CD is cover song from SISTERS OF MERCY.
An unusual choice for a Metal band. Who came up with the idea to do this song?
Sacha Paeth (the well known producer of the new CD) came up with the idea. When
he was in Brazil with us, he came up with the idea during breakfast with me.
Sacha has just worked with them to remaster some old songs. And he thought it
would really suites with the rest of the album. I was really cool with it, but I
didn’t knew how the other guys would react. So we rehearsed the song in the
studio and it sounded awesome and we decided to record the song for the album.
So
these were the more standard questions. Now I want to ask you some short
statements about Brazil and your comments about them: -European metal bands are
very popular in Brazil but not in the States
For the USA it is that they mostly like American or
English bands, maybe it is because they don’t like English with accents. Only
SCORPIONS made it big time. Americans are also more in straight ahead songs then
classical influenced songs. Even for the Beatles it took a long time before they
had success in the States.
-There are many Brazilian metal bands, but only a
few are released in Europe, do you have any names of bands whom you think that
can make it in Europe.
GLORY OPERA (see reviews), they opened for us when we were doing a headlining
tour in Brazil. A very talented and professional band. And COURSES a Thrash
band.
-There is a big gap between rich and poor people in
Brazil.
Unfortunately there is, our fans are coming from the middle class like I am. We
are not popular with the really poor and really rich people. I think music
brings all sort of classes together.
-Brazilian metal fans are more passionate than
European fans.
European fans are used to see many concerts for years. Only the last years bands
are touring Brazil. So people are really curious and enthusiastic to see all
those big bands.
-Brazil has the best football of the world. (Your
favorite team).
I think so, we are five times World Champion (LOL).
You know all Brazilians can play football, the drums and speak Spanish. My
favorite team is Corinthians from Sao Paulo, my heart is with them.
-Brazilian bands always sing in English, unlike the
bands from Spanish spoken countries.
I don’t really know, all the countries in South
America get English on school. Maybe for Portuguese speaking people it is easier
to learn other languages.
-Brazil has the biggest rain forest in the world,
but it is decreasing.
Yes, it is because of the big black market from mostly foreigners. Japanese
people are coming for the wood, Americans for the water etc. When you hear about
this, it really makes you angry. The problem is that our government don’t have
the means to fight this, maybe we have to let the army protect the forest. Once
we did a concert in the capital city of the Amazone, we flew two hours only
above green forest.
Finally I have some short questions for you:
Favorite singer: Freddy Mercury
Best album:
AC/DC-Highway to hell
First concert: Rock in
Rio (1985) with Iron Maiden and Queen
Favorite European country:
Holland, best mix of the Anglo Saxon and the Latin countries.
Favorite food: Seafood
Favorite drink: Wine
Favorite movie: Last
Temptation of Christ (Martin Scorcese)
Do you play any kind of sport?:
Football with my band members, I am the goalkeeper of the
team we are the Champions of the MTV football tournament in Brazil and Flying in
the mountains
Most important person in your life:
My grandfather
Studio or touring:
Touring
Any chance Shaman will tour Europe?
The coming months are fully booked in South America, hopefully the second half
of the year we can come to Europe as support act of a big band maybe Helloween.
Thanks for the interview and see ya on tour.