Interviews: CHÜZO

On this new occasion, we had the opportunity to interview the Metal band CHÜZO from Canada. Check out the interview and follow the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

1. Where did you get the idea for the band name; did you plan it or come out just like that?

The idea for the band name was inspired by Sepultura; in the sense of giving an Anglophone English singing Metal band a Spanish name. The word Chuzo means spear in early 20th-century Spanish. We just added the Ü to the name to make it look different and unique, hence: CHÜZO.

2. Why did you want to play this genre? 

As a teenager in the '90s; I was very inspired by Nirvana, 90s punk then later Thrash Metal. I loved the idea of being a frontman who played guitar like Kurt Cobain, James Hetfield, and Max Cavalera. Max especially inspired me to play heavier music and to look for heavier bands within metal that were from around the world. The older I grew, the more I became a better guitarist; the more I just wanted to play riffs and nothing else. The Riff, for me, is the most important musical invention made by man ever! No sound in the world can beat the sound of a great riff. So, I guess it was just my love of the heavy-sounding riff that got to me first, to later go down that rabbit hole and never look back.

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

No, all members were introduced to the band later on after I created it (Cristian S).

4. Each band member's favorite band?

For Alex S, bass player, his favorite band is Novembre from Italy, Mischa’s favorite is without a shadow of any doubt; Rush. For Carlos, drummer, he has 2; Mudvayne and Slipknot. And for myself they are 3: Sepultura, Brujeria, and At the Gates.

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

It’s hard to say, but for the most part, it has to do with me looking for that riff that makes me feel good and finding those little formulas and tricks that make any guitar player sound heavier such as lower tunings and one very specific sound from a very specific distortion pedal. A while ago, there was a moment in time where I was genuinely uninspired and unimpressed by the Metal music that was coming out during the 2010s. As if no one remembered how to write proper riffs that were meant to be headbanged and grooved to. Everything in my part of the world at that time was either Metalcore, Deathcore or Djent; very repetitive, derivative and pedestrian. Until a band by the name of Nails released their album “You will never be one of us” in 2016 and all of a sudden, there was this new “genre” so to speak that became visible and that was massively inspired by the use of the legendary Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal pedal. I started digging in and I found a new universe of bands that were all writing their riffs with the HM-2: Disfear, Trap Them, The Resistance, Left Behind, Rotten Sound to name a few. And these bands all came from different genres as well, Hardcore Punk, Grindcore, Metallic Hardcore, Doom Metal. This little moment in time inspired me to pick my guitar again, which was already tuned to the tunning of “At the Gates, Slaughter of the Soul” album from 1995, and get an HM-2 and started experimenting with what I could do; what I would like to write and play. And I can assure you, the HM-2 is by far the most inspiring distortion sound ever made! That pedal inspires me very much as well as the fact that I was able to “skip” a generation or two within the metal scene that is now fully embracing what the 90s left us; classic metal riffing from classic metal albums and using these historical inspirations to reinvent the genres of their respective scenes. When bands like Harm’s Way play a cover of Sepultura’s “Propaganda” at a hard-core show; or when bands like Dying Fetus and Obituary play with Hardcore bands, there is a lingering feeling of satisfaction and vindication from within me that is telling me that I was right all along. My riffs and my style are definitely 90s worship and nowadays, I feel very inspired to write riffs for that 15-year-old Metal kid within me who is always screaming “The more it sounds like Sepultura, the better!”

6. Where was your last gig?

Coincidentally; it was Sepultura on their last tour here in Montreal last October 10 at the Olympia Theater. Great show! I got emotional at the end; it was the last time for Sepultura for me.

7. Where would you like to act?

When I started this band, it was with the vision of one day playing the side stage at the Heavy MTL fest here in Montreal back when it was happening before COVID. There hasn’t been a Heavy MTL since. Besides that, I would love to play Loudpark Fest in Japan, and The Metal Fest in Santiago, Chile. Donnington Download in England, Obscene Extreme Fest in the Czech Republic and of course, Wacken Open Air. That’s the dream!

8. Whom would you like to feature with? 

Sharing the stage with legends like Napalm Death, and At the Gates. More modern Grindcore bands like NO/MAS from Washington, DC Wormrot from Singapore and Rotten Sound from Finland. It would be an honor for us if Nails put us on a show with them.

9. Whom not? 

No comments, but many.

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

I would recommend stretching and breathing techniques; especially the breathing technique called the 4-7-8 (Empty your lungs first, then breathe in hard as much air as you can for 4 seconds; hold in for 7 seconds and slowly let go and blow gently out of your lungs for 8 seconds; repeat 3 more times, total 4 repetitions. Must be done in a quiet place if possible). If you have any gear to be worried about, make sure it's ready to perform, have your cables ready to be plugged in, batteries checked and your guitars tuned. And if you’re really anxious/nervous, use sunglasses or a mask on stage (No matter how many may protest your pretentious stage presence; fuck them, they are not the ones on stage suffering; YOU ARE!) and keep on repeating to yourself that it is just a jam/rehearsal with “friends” watching on a stage rather than the jam room. I hope any of these ideas can help.

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

Once again, Sepultura; then Brujeria, At the Gates, early Machine Head, Fear Factory, Slipknot, Napalm Death, Rotten Sound, Deftones, His Hero is Gone, and Nails. In short, Heavy Riffs, Boss HM-2, 90s Groove.

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

Nothing yet, hoping it stays that way.

13. What do you think of your fans? 

From the ones that I have had the pleasure of interacting with; I can tell that the person who has found my band has had either this surprised or unexpected reaction, as in they really like it and they are impressed with how good we are and why aren’t we more popular; or this very suspicious reaction as in: “You wrote this? You? You made these riffs and song structures? You?! But how?”. We’ve been around long enough that a very few select amount of people have come to our shows and they are the ones making to most amount of chaos in the mosh pit. I think it is flattering and humbling to know that our music affects people in a way that makes them happy to mosh and excited to see us. Little by little we have been garnering these types of moments, comments, and experiences with genuine fans who have genuinely liked our music and stage presence and who have loyally followed us through the good and tough times. I think they are awesome for the most part.

14. What do you think of our site?

It is an impressive website. I love the worldwide reach you guys have. One of the better websites dedicated to metal music and underground bands that I have personally seen. Very well done gentlemen.

15. Something to add?

Thank you very much for the opportunity to do this interview and track-by-track review and album Art review of our upcoming EP M.T.M.D. (Maximum Threshold, Minimum Decay). Hoping the people who have read this far if you are curious to check out our music you can do so at our Bandcamp at: https://chuzomtl.bandcamp.com/music and you can follow us on our Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/chuzo.band/

Thank you very much to everyone involved; Stay Heavy!