When one mentions Brazil metal music pehaps the first band to pop into anyones minds would be Sepultura. But Brazil is steeped in extreme and dark metal bands. One of those bands is Power From Hell, a Brazilian band that has been around for over two decades. The band started out in their earlier days as a black/thrash/speed metal band but lately have been leaning more towards black metal both vocally and musically we talked with the band founder Sodomic to learn more of the bands career.
Interview by DJ JET
All photography by Victor Dinardo
What was it like growing up in Brazil and at what age did you find yourself attracted to metal music? What was it about this type of music that sparked your interest?
Sodomic - Brazil is a perfect example of complexity, in the same country you have a beautiful landscape with some of the best beaches in the world, mountains, forests, etc... and at the same time it is one of the most dangerous and violent countries on this planet, with huge death rates and murders per year, extremely corrupt too, so life here is a challenge, a person here can experience many emotions and feelings in the same day.
I started listening to rock and roll at 11 when a friend of my dad's gave me an AC/DC vinyl "Who Made Who" and at 14 I started watching MTV Headbangers Ball and there I had contact with extreme metal for the first time and the rest It is history.
When did you start playing guitar and was it the first instrument you ever played?
Sodomic - My first instrument was the acoustic guitar when I was 12 years old and when I was 15 I got my first electric guitar and here I am.
What is it about guitar that you like?
Sodomic - I respect every musical instrument, but most of us grow up listening to iconic guitar riffs in rock and roll, metal, punk etc... so the guitar sound has always been special to me.
When did you form Power From Hell and what were goals and reasons for starting this band?
Sodomic - PFH started in the early 2001 at first with the proposal of only releasing records as the main influence of the band at the time "Bathory" and it was like that for 10 years releasing some cult albums like "The True Metal" and "Sadismo" without any live activities until 2014 when the band played their first show and the rest is history.
How would you describe your music?
Sodomic – Black metal…
When listening to your music your songs are mostly about provocative subjects like anti Christianity , Satan and sex. Why did you pick anti christian lyrics and what are your thoughts on Christianity and organized religion as a whole?
Sodomic - I was just a kid (18 years old) when I started the band so I didn't have big intentions behind it but the main thing for me was to sound like Bathory and the lyrics followed suit, which was natural for me in that time, years later reading more, with a more mature mind and observing the world around me, I realized that anti-religious things were the right way for PFH and for my personal life.
Would you consider yourself a satanist?
Sodomic - I've been trying to improve my knowledge over the years, in the past I was more "active" in some practices, nowadays I'm exploring more the theoretical aspect and reading many things, analyzing, we are talking about something that takes a lifetime to develop and to have a real knowledge and spiritual maturity, the study never ends, it must be constant.
What would you say is your most provocative song and why?
Sodomic - The most provocative songs will be on the new album coming this year, stay tuned and you'll know why.
How does your onstage/artistic persona differ from the person you are in everyday life? As in how do you separate the man from the art?(similarities/differences)
Sodomic - I consider myself an introspective person, even on stage my behavior is like that, and I particularly believe that to make this type of music called extreme metal (especially Black Metal) the people involved need to have a strong tendency to see the world through a gray prism, I tend to appreciate more and believe more in bands that have introspective individuals like me, so answering your question what am I on stage I am in my daily life.
What were the early days of the band like? When you first started out and were playing some of your first shows(where was your first show, crowd reactions etc
Sodomic - As I said above, the band was just a project releasing albums without live activities for 10 years, in 2014 we did our first show in Medellín Colombia and it was amazing. But before that, our routine in the early years was me writing the songs alone at home and when everything was ready we would get together to practice and record the albums, that's it.
Over the years and from album to album how would you say you have progressed as an artist?
Sodomic - I believe that evolution is a natural process in all aspects of life, no matter how long it takes, in music it's the same thing, if anyone listens to the first album and checks out the last album from 2019 you will see how the band has progressed in every way and our next album will show that even more.
Being the main artist and creator of Power from Hell, what have been some of your biggest challenges over the years along with some of your biggest triumphs?
Sodomic - I have all the same challenges that everyone has playing in a Black Metal band in this world especially in a poor continent like South America.
About triumphs I think the biggest one was being able to get here making my music with 100% integrity and true to my instincts even with so many “enemies” out there trying to destroy and attack Black metal bands these days, because unfortunately we see so many "extreme bands" doing and acting in a shameful way just to fit into some sort of agenda to be "accepted" or to avoid the "famous cancel culture".
Explain to us the album cover art throughout the years. Your latest album recorded in 2019 seems to be a totally different artistic vibe in the cover art than from previous albums.
Sodomic - Actually when I was working on that album "Profound Evil Presence" in parallel I was also writing the last Anarkhon album (my Death Metal project), so I was immersed in Lovecraft's universe at that time, that's the reason why that cover art was so different from the previous albums, and I also believe that the cover art is the first sign to show a change in direction for a band, so that 2019 album was a perfect example of that.
Power from Hell has also done quite a bit of touring. Do you have any pre show rituals or warm ups you go through before a show?
Sodomic - Nothing special before the show, just the regular guitar warm-ups backstage.
How important is stage presence,and corpse paint for your band while performing?
Sodomic - It's 1000% important, it's part of the live ritual, I believe that a black metal concert can't just be a regular show, the audience needs to feel a dense energy hovering in the place.
What do you wish to convey through your live shows?
Sodomic - As I said above, we tried to create a dense atmosphere especially in recent years when the band has taken a new direction in albums and on stage, and that connects us directly with the audience.
In the fall of 2021 you started touring a bit after the lock downs, what were those first shows back like in the "new normal"?
Sodomic - The European tour between Sep/Oct 2021 was awesome, 30 shows in 20 countries, we had a lot of support, each night was special, we hope to come back to Europe in 2023!!
We see you are writing a new album. Is there anything you can tell us about it as far as what we can expect when we listen to it and if you will be doing anything different in both the writing process and production?
Sodomic - The new album is almost done, we finished the recording process at the end of January and now at the beginning of February we will start the mixing process, the album will be released worldwide via Debemur Morti Productions in 2022, but no release date yet. People can expect the most extreme PFH album in lyrically and sonically terms.