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Metal Hails Enrique how is 2015 starting out for you personally and
the band?
Greetings
from Chile!2015 is doing great so far. We’ve been doing some shows in
different towns of our country and the bangers reaction have been awesome.
Besides the opinions and reviews for “Sights of Suffering” have been very
good.
I believe you started Atomic Aggressor in 1985 what gave you the idea to
start the band? How did you all decide on the name of the band?
I think I
decided to start a band after listening to Sodom’s “In the Sign of Evil” and
Celtic Frost’s “Morbid Tales”. Those albums simply blowed my mind. We
were a bunch of friends from the same neighborhood that liked different
styles from hardcore punk to early death metal, so at the beginning the
style was very strange. The name doesn’t have much sense really. It was
chosen at that schizophrenic stage and reflects the mix of styles we used to
listen to at that time. Then I designed the logo and we didn’t want to
change the name anymore.
Atomic Aggressor broke up in 1992 why did the band break up in those early
days?
We lost
our drummer, Pato Leiva, and we looked for a new one for a long time. Then
we found Pablo Clares and we recorded our second demo. Everything was great
and after some great shows he decided to quit the band. We were very
surprised and shocked by his decision and after that, we started to lose the
motivation. I think there were other priorities for some of us at that
moment, and we got tired of looking for a drummer. Then, in 1992 we decided
to split up.
Atomic Aggressor reformed in 2007,have what gave you the idea to start up
again? What is the current line-up? For the readers who have never heard
Atomic Aggressor how would you say the music has changed over
the years?
Some guys
proposed to us to participate in a big metal fest here in Santiago, besides
that a supposedly Japanese label released a non-official CD compilation of
our demos without our permission. So we decided to reform the band to play
some gigs and produce the official demo compilation, that later was named
“Rise of the Ancient Ones”.
Then the
line up was Alejandro Díaz (bass & vocals), Julio Bórquez (guitar), Pablo
Clares (drums) and me, Enrique Zúñiga (guitar). Since 2012 we have a
drummer, called Álvaro Llanquitruf. I believe that our style haven’t changed
too much over the years. Since 1988 we play death metal in the line of
Possessed and old Morbid Angel, including some thrash metal riffs. And we
decided to keep that style in our album “Sights of Suffering”, almost 25
years after.
Atomic Aggressor recently signed to Hells Headbanger Records. How did you
come in contact with this great label?
The
contact with Chase from Hell’s Headbangers was made by Pablo Clares, our
former drummer. Along with HHR, we have released the compilation “Rise of
the Ancient Ones”, a 7” split called “Blind Servants” with our brothers of
Death Yell and our album “Sights of Suffering”.
The band is getting ready to release their debut full length on cd and lp
“Sights Of Suffering". How long did it take the band to write
the songs for this release?
Well, the
song “Sights of Suffering” contains some riffs from the 90’s hahaha. Besides
that, most of the songs were made between 2011 and 2013. Before that there
was a period when we was trying to find again our old style, after so many
years without creating a new Atomic Aggressor’s song.
How has the response been from the press? What about the fans reaction?
We have
read some good reviews and even mentions in some best-of-the-year lists!And
the reactions of the fans have been great too. We are very happy so far.
Besides
the new cd / lp "Sights Of Suffering". Does Atomic Aggressor have any other
merchandise available for the fans?
 I
think Hell’s Headbangers still have stock of our old releases and there are
t-shirts of each release too.
Does
Atomic Aggressor have any tours planned in 2015? Where are some places you
will be touring?
Until
April 2015 we have dates in several towns of Chile. After that we are
planning to go further, but there’s nothing confirmed yet.
Who are some bands you have shared the stage with over the years?
What have some of your most memorable shows been?
After the
reunion, we have had some unbelievable shows. We have shared stage with
bands like Possessed, Slayer, Venom and Obituary. Those have been some of
our most memorable shows, besides the ones we have shared with our brothers
of Death Yell, Sadism and Torturer. And lately the show with Nifelheim was
awesome too.
Enrique you handle the guitars for the band when did you first start playing
the guitar? Are you self-taught or did you
take lessons when first beginning?
I started
playing when I decided to form the band, in 1985. You could imagine how bad
was our music at the beginning hahaha. I haven’t taken lessons.
Who are some of your influences / favorite guitarist? Do you play any other
instruments?
I could
mention Torrao/Lalonde, Hanneman/King, Azagthoth/Brunelle, Shermann/Denner,
old Tom Warrior, etc. I don’t play any other instruments.
Atomic Aggressor comes out
of Chile's underground scene, so what is your opinion of your countries
metal scene? What abut the whole South American scene?
The
Chile’s metal scene have always been a strong one in Latin America. Now
there’s a new breed of great bands in many styles giving new energy to the
movement here. I think the Chile’s metal scene has become very relevant and
respected in the international context. About the South American scene I
could say that it have been a great source of brutality and passion to the
world metal scene.
Who are
some of your all-time favorite Chilian bands? Are there any new bands
you feel the readers should check out?
Here in
Chile there are and there have been some killer bands like Pentagram,
Sadism, Death Yell, etc. And in the last years have appeared awesome bands
like Praise the Flame, Ancient Crypts, Force of Darkness, Metastasis,
Ripper, Godless, Hura Crepitans, Gangrenous, etc.
In
your opinion what is the best and worst thing a bout the underground scene
today? And what does Underground Metal mean to you?
I think
the best thing is that today you can listen to or contact any band you could
want to. And the worst thing is that a part of the underground scene is not
underground anymore. For me extreme metal should be always in the
underground. If not, it loses sense and the reason to be. Metal needs to be
honest and free and shouldn’t be managed by the markets criteria.
Thank you
Enrique for taking the time to fill out this interview.
Do you have any final comments for the readers?
Thanks for
your support Patrick! And thanks to everyone who have supported us through
all these years.
Stay
brutal and stay underground!
https://www.facebook.com/AtomicAggressor
http://www.reverbnation.com/atomicaggressor
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