Interviews: VANENO

We have had the opportunity to interview the Sludge Metal band VANENO from Portugal. Check out the interview and follow the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

1. Where did you get the idea for the band name, you planned it or came out just like that? 

Hey! Thanks for having us here! VANENO is taken from a Portuguese slang word that is used to describe one’s feeling when he/she feels angry, furious, pissed-off and downright violent. We felt that the rawness of those emotional states described our music, so we just rolled with that.

2. Why did you want to play this genre? 

Well, heavy music was always there throughout our lives. It has shaped us as listeners and musicians, so when we joined forces, the most natural outcome would be to play something that we could all relate to.

3. Did you know each other before the band was formed? 

Some of us have known each other for more than 20 years, and we shared common friends with the members of the band. This made everything easier in terms of forging a strong friendship within the band. Alex was the only person that joined the band without knowing anyone of us, but he fitted perfectly, and together we share the same strong bond.

4. Each band member favorite band? 

That would be quiet a list, since we can spend days talking about bands and it’s pretty much impossible to mention only one without doing a disservice to all the others (laughs)! Instead, we can mention some amazing bands that roam our scene and that you should definitely check! Bands like: Colosso, Process of Guilt, 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 mention a few!

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs? 

When we create our music, we’re just focused on creating something that we all like and that works for VANENO. Sometimes it’s a riff idea or a song idea and that serves as a trigger for further song development. Other times we just jam together, and we end up creating a song in that session. It depends really.

Alex: Lyrically, the inspiration usually comes to mind whenever we start composing new songs. Nightrider is the best example since I was watching Mad Max one day and felt that the character from the movie shared the same energy with the song.

6. Where was your last gig? 

Since the release of “Struggle Through Absurdity”, which was released during the pandemic, we haven’t got the chance to play live. With the pandemic, gigs got cancelled for everyone. When gigs started to be booked again, it also meant that many upcoming undergrounds bands got benched since most of the venues prefer to have more established bands that can bring more people, and in consequence more money. Things are, at least, looking a bit brighter for the future so let’s hope that everything is really going back to normal.

7. Where would you like to act? 

Alex: Anywhere our sound may suit the best. Really, I would like to have a chance to go abroad of course. On our local scene the biggest doom/stoner festival here in Portugal is Sonicblast, so it would be awesome if we ever get the chance to get a gig there. But or any other metal festival.

8. Whom would you like to feature with? 

Alex: Bands who have inspired us. I have mentioned High on Fire in the past, so yeah, I will keep my word!

9. Whom not? 

Alex: I could mention some bands, but I'd rather not spread any hate. But for example, I would hate to share the stage with bands like Imagine Dragons or similar bands because we just don’t fit together (laughs).

10. Any of you has ever suffered from stage fright? Any tip for beginners on how to beat that? 

Alex: I have and still do. The thing is just to go with it. If you are just starting, it's probably not going to be amazing, and you’ll not get as much feedback from the crowd as you’d get from a better-established band. But you just got to roll with it and do your best on stage. As soon as you hit the stage, you’ll also get that weird anxiety feeling turned into adrenaline and a 45-minute gig feels like 5 minutes have passed.

11. What bands have inspired you the most? 

Alex: For me, and vocal-wise, I 'll have to say Pantera. But many other old and recent bands have and still inspire me to this day. But Pantera is at the top.

12. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for? 

We haven’t received any weird requests (laughs)!

13. What do you think of your fans? 

We can only express our deepest “thank you” to them, and to everyone that support us in any way, whether you’re a fan or not. The smallest appreciation towards our music already means a lot to us, and we’ve been fortunate enough to have received positive vibes/praise for the work that we’ve done until now.

14. What do you think of our site?

We think that you represent a key part in promoting and sharing information related to heavy underground music. Not only “Breathing the Core”, but also many others, maintain this “labor of love” for music that ends up helping tremendously the underground community by providing common platforms that help disseminate information that otherwise would be out of reach for the regular heavy music fan. And this gets even more important, since many of the “industry platforms” that sometimes advertise for music genres which are traditionally underground, are gated behind debatable criteria which goes against what the heavy underground music is.

15. Something to add?

We’ve just released a live performance of our EP “Struggle Through Absurdity”, so in case you haven’t checked it yet just visit our Youtube channel, get yourself a beer and crank up the sound! We hope to see you all sooner than later in a venue! Cheers!