 Ever since Sepultura emerged on the scene, Brazil has been churning out metal bands left, right and centre and whilst a vast majority rarely break out of the wider South American Metal scene, they do in the own right build a name for themselves on their own continent. Mind, one could argue that with globalisation as it is, the novelty of discovering the first ever metal band from a country soon dies off when the scene reaches the echelons that the Brazilian Metal scene has done. However bands like Leatherjacks are ensuring that the vibe doesn't die and that rock / metal carries on thriving. GMA spoke to vocalist / guitarist Mauro Cordeiro about the band's history, their debut album, challenges of being a Brazilian metal musician and what sights / attractions should metalheads check out in São Paulo.  "I keep on persisting and fighting for what I believe, ´cause THIS is Rock ´N´ Roll!" What was the inspiration behind the band, what does the band name mean? Why Modern Hard Rock / Metal? "Hey Rhys, hello everyone at the Global Metal Apocalypse and all of our readers! Nice to meet you all! Well, the inspiration behind the band name, came from lots of names I was trying to experiment during my name elections, you know? At first it was something with Hawks. Then something with Leather... LeatherHawks, Hawkstones, LeatherBones, woof... lots of names ha-ha! Finally I reached LeatherJacks. It´s the abbreviation for Leather Jackets. It came from the most obvious and simple idea. It was right in front of me ahah! I always used a brown leather jacket. All of a sudden, the little cartoon light popped out in my mind, and it came on. Step by step, I got the idea for the Jacker Army, the Go Jackers scream, hashtag, slogan and stuff. Modern Hard Rock / Metal, is a term that I use when I define my project. I mean... It´s Hard Rock and Metal. But it sounds modern. So I always entitle LeatherJacks as a Modern Hard Rock / Metal band / project. Dunno if it´s right or not. But it´s cool, isn't it? haah!" You released your debut album "The Lost Arks Of Rock And Roll" last year, what was the reception like? Was there any attention from outside of Brazil? "Absolutely, Rhys! It´s been amazing! The album is having a bigger reception outside then inside Brazil, unfortunately. Here, people are not listening so much to Rock or Metal. And those who do, only search for little cover bands, and don't open themselves up to NEW bands you know? But everything is going very well outside Brazil, and people are receiving so much well. I feel very thankful and honoured for it, and it´s extremely gratifying to have this amazing repercussion." What are the challenges of being a metal musician in Sao Paolo let alone Brazil? Are the authorities supportive of metal music? "It´s tough... It´s really tough. Because as I said previously, the genre is kinda "dead" here in Brazil, ´cause people don't care about original bands, and the crowd don't search for new stuff. Of course there are people who do like new things and stuff, but... It´s really really rare and difficult. The authorities respect metal and rock music, but they always say it´s not a Brazilian thing and stuff, so... It´s not a priority genre here, you know? But... I keep on persisting and fighting for what I believe, ´cause THIS is Rock ´N´ Roll!" Are there any areas in São Paulo you would suggest for metalheads to visit; what sights and attractions are there? "Here In São Paulo, we have great places to visit to listen to a great Rock music. I love these pubs: Manifesto Bar and Stones Rock Bar. Both are really amazing places, great bands, great drinks, and amazing girls (the best part haha!). I also like to go sometimes to Augusta Street, ´cause sometimes there are some cool spins to do. But... Only to drink some stuff. If you guys love IPA or another hand-crafted beers... I totally recommend a place called Cervejatorium. Simply AMAZING!"  What are some phrases metalheads should be shouting at a Brazilian Metal concert? Any phrases you could teach us? "Yeah! Lea ther jacks! Lea ther jacks! Go Jackeeeeers! Oleeee ole ole ole, Leather, Leather - Kiddin´ hahahah! But I always scream things like: AAAAEEEEEEEEEEEE PORRAAAAA / CARAAAAAALHOOOO (it´s like: OOOOOOOOHHH FUCK! but it´s dirty words haha)" What do your parents think of your music? Are any of your relatives musicians? "Yeah! My mom doesn´t play piano any-more, but when she was younger, she was an amazing classical piano student. My grandpa never played any instruments, but he loved jazz and drums. And me too! Then my mom´s cousin (I call him "uncle") - He is responsible for teaching me acoustic guitar, MPB, Bossa Nova and stuff. I was 10 years in 1996, and I never stopped! Here I am now haha!" What plans do you have for 2018? "I´m searching for musicians to make a definitive line-up and I think I will write more songs, and release a new album, but nothing 100% sure. Only some thoughts, ´cause I need to tour and to promote the first album. But any news, you will be the first ones to know, for sure!" Finally are there any greetings you wish to send out? "I´m really thankful to you Rhys and everyone for the interview! It´s an honour, ´cause I like Global Metal Apocalypse a lot! I thank all of your readers too, and I really hope you guys headbang with LeatherJacks! Let´s F***ING ROCK!" https://www.facebook.com/leatherjacksofficial/
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 Kobra & The Lotus are arguably making waves across the world with their scintillating brand of Heavy Metal. Much like Australia, Canada is relatively isolated when it comes to having metal bands play outside of their own continent. However with the likes of Kittie, Strapping Young Lad, Voivod, Kataklysm and Cryptopsy all having success worldwide, it's Kobra & The Lotus' turn to stake a claim on planet metal. GMA sat down with Kobra & The Lotus and probed them about 'Prevail II', how Kobra Paige became involved in music and the stigma surrounding female metal musicians.  "A person never stops loving the metal they fall in love with. It’s one of those loyal genres where once you’re hooked, you’re a fan for life" First of all, thank you very much for your patience and support. Once we began touring, I fell very far behind but nevertheless am grateful for your time! 'Prevail I' is your fourth album and so what can you tell us about it? What lyric topics did you choose? Any favourite tracks? "‘Prevail’ is without a doubt the most intensively thought out album. The lyrics and music are more thoughtful within the content, details, and structure. This album is supposed to encourage ambition, strength, and hope within people. I couldn’t pick a favourite but I really really love playing ‘TriggerPulse’ live with the guys! The energy changes on stage and we can really lock in with all of the musical supporters who come to rock out. ‘Prevail’ is also the first metal and hard rock hybrid of it’s kind for us. I believe it shows off the virtuosity of the band." Presumably there will be a Europe / UK tour to support the album? Are you as a band worried about Brexit? "Absolutely! We will be coming through Europe and The UK this fall!! Please check www.kobraandthelotus.com for dates, we are very excited!! No, we are not concerned with Brexit, only for the citizens personally doing alright with the economical shift." Assuming after 'Prevail I' there will be a 'Prevail II'? How does 'Prevail I' differ from previous releases? "You got it. ‘Prevail I’ and ‘Prevail II’ are some of our strongest and most vulnerable works yet. I believe it shows a musical maturity forming within the band as well as finally an authentic freshness to the sound that we have been searching for. It’s a highly creatively collaborative project and meddles between metal and hard rock." As a vocalist how did you get into metal music? How did you begin your singing career? "My father took me to see a Judas Priest concert when I was 15 and it all started from there. I formed a band when I was 17 and first going to University. It started to gain some momentum as we played little underground shows and put out an independent album. My parents told me to go for it while I was young otherwise I would regret it and now here I am nine years into it already!!"  As a female do you receive any stigma towards being a metal musician? What are your thoughts on the term 'female-fronted'? "Unfortunately, yes but I can very happily say it is becoming a very small minority of people who have those ignorant beliefs. Just take a look at the comment section under our newest video for “You Don’t Know” and you can see the odd “this is stupid, women don’t belong in metal and blah” ha-ha. Regarding the term ‘female-fronted’, I find that for the most part the people that actually use that label mean it in a very respectful way. They truly just plain and simply love metal that is fronted by females!! I have no qualms for the term if that’s what they choose! " Outside of music, do you have any pastimes or hobbies you enjoy? "I love the outdoors and I love being active. I enjoy bike riding, hiking, CrossFit, running, kayaking, and travelling to new countries. I also really love spending time with my family and loved ones. Among that is spending time in the Rocky Mountains where I live." What is the Canadian Metal scene like at the moment? Do you keep in touch with the Calgary scene? Are you surprised by metal's global spread? "I’m incredibly impressed and proud of Canada’s metal scene and more so it’s music scene in general. There are so many great and creative artists. I’m not surprised by metal’s global spread because it is a completely beautifully infectious genre. A person never stops loving the metal they fall in love with. It’s one of those loyal genres where once you’re hooked, you’re a fan for life. Those feelings never stop as soon as you hear the music again." What plans does Kobra & The Lotus have for the year ahead? Will there be an album launch party? "Tons of touring!! It’s time to work our little butts off at getting the new tunes out there! We also have been filming the music videos for ‘Prevail II’ so that when it’s time to release, everything is good to go. Currently we are in Serbia wrapping up the 3rd video for that album. There will be no album launch. We have never officially ever had one. Perhaps for ‘Prevail II’ but for now we are just too small of a band to do that still….. small but mighty though!!" www.kobraandthelotus.com  Forged In Black are arguably the best thing to come out of Southend since the expansion of London Southend Airport, Phil Jupitus' career taking off and of course (dare we say it) Busted. Forged In Black were originally called Merciless Fail and it was under their former name that they secured a slot on the New Blood Stage at Bloodstock Festival 2012. Forward on a year and Merciless Fail changed their name to Forged In Black after their first EP 'Forged In Black'. Since 2013 Forged In Black have released 1 album - Forged In Black (2013) and 3 EP's, The Tide (2013), Fear Reflecting Fear (2016) and Sinner Sanctorum (2017). Chris 'Stoz' Storozynsk gave GMA the low down on their past success, the current state of the Essex Metal scene, touring plans and their new music video 'Pay The Price'.... be prepared to be Forged In Black.  "The song ['Pay The Price] has an anti-war theme... a concern that world leaders are not thinking of the consequences of their actions." Forged In Black has not stopped working since your Bloodstock appearance, will we see you back at Bloodstock next year? "Hi GMA, Stoz here, and good to speak to you again. We had a fantastic time at Bloodstock 2012 after winning the Metal to the Masses competition. We’d love to return at some point on a bigger stage with our music, and are looking to book up quite a few festivals throughout Europe in 2018 alongside the release of our new album, which we are currently writing. We have just released our newest EP “Sinner Sanctorum” which is available to download on iTunes or purchase via our social media channels." You just released your new music video 'Pay The Price', what has the reception been like? "The reception has been great, lots of people liking and sharing on social media, it was a very well produced video and really hammers the song home. We have released two music videos for songs on our new “Sinner Sanctorum” EP which can be viewed on YouTube and our social media pages." Are you worried about being perceived as politically motivated with this video? "Well, not really. The song has an anti-war theme yes, and a concern that world leaders are not thinking of the consequences of their actions. It’s my observation of the current state of affairs. We have written many songs now about many different themes." Andy Pilkington (Very Metal) created the video, what was it like approaching him? Does the video reflect the song's meaning? "Andy has done a fantastic job on the video and we are all very proud of the result. Our management team put us in contact with Andy and we are glad he had space in his very busy diary to fit us in and work with us on it."  It seems that things are going your way a lot lately, where do you see Forged In Black in 5 years time? "Well I'm sure we will still be forging away on new music and our live shows, but ultimately a record deal would be nice." The Essex metal scene doesn't appear to be as pro-active in recent times, what are your thoughts on this? "Yes unfortunately the Essex scene seems quieter then others, I think because of venues closing and the lack of new young promoters putting shows on, but that is understandable in this current financial climate. There are still some great musicians and bands coming out of Essex though and the talent is still well and truly there waiting for a light to shine on it." Will you be doing a UK tour in late 2017 / early 2018, are you looking to play abroad? "We are currently writing for the new album, which we will be recording in April 2018 and is being produced by Romesh Dodangoda, so all hands are on deck to write some great new stuff, which we’d love to show off in the UK and Europe." Since Tim Chandler left last year, will you look to recruit another guitarist or stick as a four-piece. "Well Tim actually left I think about 2 years ago, and since then we recruited the talents of one fine Mr Chris Bone, who is on our new release “Sinner Sanctorum” and has been playing live with us for some time." 'Sinner Sanctorum' EP is out now https://www.facebook.com/forgedinblacks/  "We knew Bloodstock is the UK’s biggest Metal festival, how could that not be special?" How does it feel to be part of M2TM? Was this your first time in the competition? "When we found out that we were going to be a part of M2TM it gave us a new drive! We thought we wouldn’t even get into the competition let alone make it to the quarter (quinter) finals as we’ve done. We’re loving it, it feels wicked to be apart of it and gives us a chance to get more involved with metal scene and see what other bands are out there." How did imperium come about? And was it plain sailing? "It definitely wasn’t plain sailing to begin with, for a long time we went without a vocalist and bassist and we would just meet up and write songs without any goals in mind other then to enjoy playing fast heavy metal. We were constantly on the lookout for new members but there just seemed to be no one around that wanted to play our style of metal, eventually we had a few auditions but they just weren’t what we were looking for. Ben our vocalist used to watch us jam in the early days as we have known each other from school, we never thought to try him out on vocals at the time and it wasn’t until a while after when we had some auditions going on Ben said he’d try it out!, and he ended up being a perfect match considering never singing before! Last year in September we played our first gig and now we have a new bass player that has stepped the band up again! The momentum keeps building for us and we love it" What makes M2TM and bloodstock so special? Have you been to BOA before? "We knew Bloodstock is the UK’s biggest Metal festival, how could that not be special? M2TM gives bands like us, that no ones heard of, a massive chance at playing and mixing with some of metal’s finest. It’s the most mind blowing thing that could happen to us or any other band in this competition! A few of us have been before and love the vibe, we are mega keen to go together as a band a witness!!" What is your local scene like? (name venues, record stores, bands etc) "Our local scene is limited, sucks to be fair, the best venue is the Fighting Cocks in Kingston near us... great when it's busy but dead when it's dead! Banquet Records in Kingston is a cool record store and we have a few wicked bands knocking about but its dominated by this new screamo metal..... everyone is fantastic at the instruments but I feel like I'm watching football everyone's trying to be the star man! Just do your bit in the band a create something the world will want to hear forever! Not forget.... or to hope they forget." Are you surprised by metal’s global spread? What (If any) bands from outside of the america’s and Europe have you heard of? "Honestly there are some unreal bands out there. That's like not believing in aliens. Australian and Asian metal is seriously dark! I couldn't tell you many by name however as it just isn't our bag. But we know they exist!" What plans does imperium have for the year ahead? "At this point we are fully focused on M2TM and aiming to go as far as we can and we see no reason why we can’t go all the way. Other than that we will continue playing live shows in and around London and have plans in motion to get some of our songs recorded at Powerhouse Studios in Addlestone! Then spread this devastation like warm knife of chocolate butter on a golden brown piece of toast. only to be eaten up by the metal heads, digested and then shat out further onto the rest of the world that doesn't even want to know!" Metal. https://www.facebook.com/ImperiumSound/  South America is awash with many metal bands, some of which have become established in the international arena:- Brazil's Sepultura (of course), Venezuela's Culture Tres, Argentina's Skiltron, etc., but even in the lesser known metal scenes there are bands making a name for themselves across their respective continent. And of course those bands who do make it internationally aren't always the best sounding, some of the most underground bands are better than the successful, ironic no? Anyway the point is the underground has a breadth of talent that most of the time gets ignored by the masses in favour of established bands and that's why GMA prides itself in giving coverage to bands on all six continents. Anima from Peru are the latest band to be interrogated by GMA, fresh on the block this quintet sing in Spanish and English and play Hard Rock / Heavy Metal. But what makes this band tick exactly? Alvaro Bueno Triveño [AT} and Diego Adrián Bueno Triveño [DT] were more than happy to share their world with us... from Lima with love. 
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