Interview with Revenge of the Fallen

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?

• Like most musicians, it probably has something to do with our childhood.
  Having parents, or older siblings, that listened to music definitely had some major part in that.

  From simply listening to music to playing an instrument is a huge step, maybe it has something to do with the discovery of oneself.
  The curiosity of a child is a very nice thing to explore, and as parents, most of us are lucky enough to live that now. Seeing our kids mirroring what we have done is amazing!

  So, we’re thankful that we were educated in these households, allowed to explore those endeavors and had the possibility of getting hands on a musical instrument.

  All of us have other day jobs, and honestly, we are all at peace with what we do, so it’s all good!

What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

• That certainly depends on band member to band member.

  Some of us do scuba diving, others play football or paddle, others simply live obsessed with music and are constantly doing something, one way or another.

  Being away from music is great, sometimes, but it’s more hurtful to try and force yourself to be away from it, when it’s something so important, an escape.

  Either way, people have different ways to cope with reality and life itself, so it’s all good.

  As for the influencing part, it comes from everywhere, everything, everyday.

  If we had a shitty day, we can make a beautiful song, very slow tempo, and sometimes we might have a perfect day, and grab the guitar or a pencil and write the most brutal song.

How long has your band been around?

• We have been around for 5 years now.

  We started out in late 2017. Had a slow start, because some of us were committed to other projects, but as soon as we had enough songs to make a show, which happened early 2018, the spark ignited and we were fully dedicated to Revenge Of The Fallen.

  From then to this day, we have been essentially making music on a regular basis and recording it, playing it live and having a great time, really.

Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?

• We are from Lisbon, Portugal.

  Most likely, if we followed the hypes and trends, we’d be playing some other genre. Death metal has a great underground movement here, these days.

  (Un)fortunately we like to make the kind of music that we do, and that’s what we are committed with.

  Simply, if we make music that we are proud of, and be able to play it on a regular basis for 5 or 10 years, then we are pleased.

How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?

• Well, that’s an interesting story.

  For us it meant our moment, our time in history to say our word. To have our 5 minutes to say the world what we wanted, unfiltered and with no BS.

  It was our revenge, for us who had fallen so many times, either musically, with other musical projects or professionally or personally.

  Then someone told us about the Transformers movies and we laughed a lot about it.

Tell me about your most memorable shows.

• We had some memorable shows in some of the most unsuspicious places.

  There were these two shows (our second ever show and another one a year later) at a craft beer festival, which were memorable by the way we were received by the audience, as if they knew all our songs and headbang all show long.

  There was another one we did at a bikers club, which was packed, we had a nice vibe that night. We felt the message was being delivered. Same on a gig we did in a town close to Spain, where we played with bands from Spain, France and Switzerland.

  We did one in September, at a metal festival here in Portugal, with some strong names, and we had quite a great response, standing shoulder to shoulder with some bands that we look up to.

  The album presentation gig was awesome as well.

What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?

• There’s a place here in Lisbon, called RCA Club, that has a special place in our heart.

  It’s a place we use to go very frequently, because it has the greatest metal shows, from great bands like Entombed AD, Infected Rain, Sick Of It All, Batushka, Dagoba, to name a few.

  To be there, on the same stage these great names step on, makes the blood flow a little bit faster. There’s an added responsibility, but in a good way!

  Places we always wanted to play? Anywhere we are wanted as well!
  Sometimes it’s not just about what we want, but more what we need or what we deserve!

If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?

• We’d piss our pants and barf our guts if we’d ever open for a band like Slipknot.

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?

• Make mistakes and learn with them. It’s the best way to grow up.

  And practice as much as you can. Don’t let anyone ruin your dreams, even if they look unachievable.

  That’s your dreams and no one else’s business. If you fail, shit happens, but manage to fall on your feet.

If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?

• Make mistakes and learn with them. It’s the best way to grow up.
  And practice as much as you can. Don’t let anyone ruin your dreams, even if they look unachievable.
  That’s your dreams and no one else’s business. If you fail, shit happens, but manage to fall on your feet.

Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?

• All our songs are created with passion, with dedication and heart.
  Excluding one or another would be like neglecting a son.
  But of course, for each one of us, there are some songs that hit the most.
  Obviously that may depend on the occasion, on the day you had, your mindset at that moment…

Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?

• As we said, our favorite songs depend on so many variables. It may be one today, but another the next day. And this goes to every band member.
  But there will always be a special place in our hearts for our native language, “Ilusão”.
  It was the first attempt on a Portuguese lyric and we got that request quite a lot.
  Also “Scare Way” and “Mechanical Disease” are must-have songs on any setlist.

What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?

• Usually the dynamics of the band start with a sketch or demo of a song Fábio wrote. Then Cláudio adds his lyrics and André, Martin and Carlão add their flavor and their input.
  It’s a very organic way of working that led us to this place and we’re pretty happy with the music we do.
  The inspiration might come from a bad situation you had, and you just want to purge it out of your system, or in a very opposite direction, it might be the best day of your life, and you just want to share your joy. Most often, the results are quite interesting: on a bad day we write cooler and more downtempo riffs, while when you had a great day we write heavier licks.

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?

• Life is a rollercoaster!
  Sometimes you might be in the middle of a loop, sometimes you find yourself on the top of a hill and you feel afraid to go forward, but when you get to the bottom, you crave to move yourself up that hill.
  Long story short: Nothing in life lasts forever. Therefore, our kind advice is to enjoy the best moments of your life (they’ll likely never repeat themselves) and work your way out of the worst: none of them are going to last forever.
  That’s what we try to say in our music.

Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?

• We don’t actually!
  We were talking about it the other day, and for the past 3 years or so we have had zero disagreements and we have managed to find a perfect balance in what concerns the way we solve things out and the way we respect one another.
  It takes some time and the right amount of humanity to get to this point, but we’re there.

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?

• For the future we are still focused on promoting our latest record “Echo Chambers”.
  We still have some shows until the end of the year, and we’ll play the hell out of them.
  That is the main focus but 2023 is coming up and we are planning on taking our music across human borders.
  Being from Portugal, the Spanish market, for example, is right next to us and there are lots of opportunities there, and we are moving forward in that direction.