Interview with OVERHATE
What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?
I think I’ve always loved music, and I have to say that the bands that made me want to play guitar and be the front man of the band should have been Metallica and Kreator. I remember listening to Master of Puppets and Coma of Souls for the first time and I think I’ve listened to those records for too long non stop lol. Then of course I started discovering other bands, and finding their discographies and all that, but definetly Metallica and Kreator were the first that got me inspired.
What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?
Reading, Exercise and Drinking keep being my side activities in a nutshell, you know there’s the occasional different day and all, but I guess it sums it up. Experiences are what most influence my creativity, because ideas come when I’m playing guitar normally. Good reads also get my creativity going.
How long has your band been around?
From November 2003, so far it’s been 19 years, this November, that is.
Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?
We are based in Caracas, Venezuela, and I can guarantee you that this is the best influence for your music if you play in a thrash metal band, specially by how the country is right now at this moment.
How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?
The name of the band was going to be originally the name for the debut album. It was an inside joke from the first lineup, you know, a bunch of young and angry guys that hated everything and wanted to express it through the music. Then a friend of the band suggested it should be the name of the band, and we all agreed to it and the rest is history.
Tell me about your most memorable shows.
In Venezuela there are a bunch that stand out. We played the city of Valera one day, the pit got so violent that the promoter had to stop the show because there were some glass doors that separated the show room from a garden (the show took place at the journalist’s house of Valera), so there were like 15 minutes of us goofing around before going into slow numbers to finish the set, that pit was INSANE!. Once we played a night club in our home city of Caracas and someone crushed a TVscreen that was attached on the wall, we had to pay the TV. In Venezuela there are always memorable shows, I can assure you that.
When we played Ecuador it was in front of 10.000 people. We had Humberto’s Girlfriend (Humberto Ortega was the bass player for that lineup) recording the biggest pit this band had ever encouraged, that night was very special.
When we played India, the date of NewDehli was really cool for the amounts of metalheads there, I guess just seeing different cultures interact under the same music is quite a sight.
What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?
In Venezuela there used to be a venue called ‘Tiburon Club’ in the city of Puerto la Cruz. That venue was always killer to play at, because the sound was always killer there. As for venues we’d like to crush, I think the list shoud be endless. To name one now, saint vitus bar in New York City would be killer.
If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?
Decapitated, Kreator and Mercyful Fate, us opening.
What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band and some advice that you would give to your younger self?
If someone is starting into music I’d just tell them to be themselves, the criticism is just too much and that shouldn’t discourage anyone. To my younger self I would’ve advised him to get rid of some people that lasted a bit longer in my band / life than they should. But you know, time is always a great teacher I’d say.
If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?
I’d go get us a business consultant, that’s for sure! I gues the only thing we didn’t do were the right choices, as happens to any novice in any discipline.
Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?
From our debut album, it will be “Falling in Feeling”. That song is very special to me, it was the first lyric I’ve contributed to the band and I guess it was the first song we all wrote together.
From our second record “Relentless is our Strength” the song “In this disgusting planet” stands out. The song was certainly one that echoed my feelings towards the world, just that now is a different story.
From our newest album “New Beginnings are Met”, the title “Crossroad Song” is the one that stands out. That song means a lot to me, and a friend of mine got some of the lyrics to her arm.
Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?
Usually the fastest tracks are the funniest to play, I love playing Realities Collide, Beneath the Curse, With us or against us, When nothing is mine, well I guess I’m biased lol.
What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?
Usually, experiences is what does the inspiration for me. Nevertheless, sometimes playing itself inspires me a lot, it just depends on the mood we’re in when we jam these songs. What’s bad for Overhate right now is that we are located in different countries so it makes it a bit different to write. I am always a fan of having the writing process to be ‘get into the studio and jam the ideas’ more than to write and record home and send demos back and forth.
What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?
At the moment I’d say that being better persons is the message behind everything that I wirte in my lyrics. It has been so for quite a while. Thing is, is a message hiding behind the wall of aggression you’d find there in our music.
Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?
Always have, and talking is the best way to address a satiation and in like every marriage there is, someone’s got to give. It is just the way it is.
What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?
We’re working on a leftover song from the “New Beginnings are Met” sessions. It is a very different song from what we’ve done in the past and it is also the longest I’ve written, so It goes as a standalone single.
We are preparing a new video for the song “our problem” which is the single we’ve promoting now.
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OVERHATE - THE PENANCE AND THE LESSON - (OFFICIAL VIDEO)