Metal, Hardcore, Indie, Rock
Sculptor: Brazilian band delivers dark and melancholy melodic death metal
Influenced by the best of Swedish melodic death metal, Sculptor, band from Curitiba, Southern Brazil, released their debut album, “Untold Secrets”, portraying the despondency and sorrowful desolation characteristic of the genre. Rick Eraser (vocals), Vinne (guitar and vocals), Caco Ramos (bass), Fabricio Reis (guitar) and Mateus Schran (drums) delve into the deepest crevices of the human soul to bring us a well-produced album loaded with desperate cries and a slight hope for deliverance.
Chaoszine had the opportunity of talking to singer Rick Eraser, who guided us through the maze of secrets they unveil in their debut effort, their origins, influences and more.
Hello and thank you for talking to Chaoszine. How have you guys coped with the pandemic?
Eraser: Hello, thank you for the opportunity. We’re doing fine, anxiously waiting for the return of live events after this crisis.
Sculptor was initially formed in 2015, in Curitiba. What was your beginning like, and how did your music style develop?
Eraser: In the beginning of Sculptor, we were searching for our own identity, one that would represent all our influences, especially those concerning European melodic death metal bands. When we wrote the song “Oblivion”, we found the right direction in which to aim for our album “Untold Secrets”.
As a melodic death metal band, you have mastered the Gothenburg sound. What bands influence you the most, and how do they affect your music?
Eraser: Most of our influences for the sound of “Untold Secrets” were Swedish bands like In Flames, Dark Tranquility, Hypocrisy, Katatonia, At The Gates, Amon Amarth, Arch Enemy. We are also influenced by bands such as Children of Bodom, Carcass and Paradise Lost.
You released your debut full-length studio album, “Untold Secrets”, in December 2020. Can you tell us about it? What secrets does the album unveil?
Eraser: The album’s theme is based upon our own secrets, those which we wouldn’t like to deal with. The songs tell each part of that acceptance process. In my case, I personally went through a troubled period of depression, and put all that feeling into the songs.
How does your creative process take place? Does every band member contribute to the songs? How do the lyrics come into being?
Eraser: The band members usually write the instrumental parts, and, afterwards, I write the lyrics and vocal melodies on top of that. From there, we make the necessary alterations, so the song fits the idea that we are trying to convey.
Your album was mixed at Fascination Street Studios, Sweden, which has a history of working with great heavy bands like Sepultura, Kreator, Paradise Lost, Opeth, Arch Enemy, Katatonia, to name a few. How was that experience?
Eraser: When we thought of releasing our first studio album, we wanted it to sound like a European band, so we instantly thought of Fascination Street Studios, because most of the bands that are references to us recorded their latest albums there. That’s why it was an easy choice! When we showed our material to the people at the studio, they loved the idea and sound of Sculptor. So, it was a great experience for us.
Your album art was created by Marcelo Vasco, an important illustrator, who has done covers for the likes of Kreator and Slayer. Your cover art was chosen as one of the best in 2020 and is featured in the book “Masterpieces 2020 Special Edition”. How did the concept emerge, and how great is it to have the recognition for it?
Eraser: When we had all our demos ready, we were already thinking of how our album art was going to be like. We knew Marcelo Vasco’s work; his art represents the style we wanted for our album. Having a Brazilian artist create our album art was a perfect choice. We got in touch with him, told him a bit about what we were doing musically, and he jumped right into it! We told him the full concept of the album, and he just materialized our thoughts. We had the great honour to be part of that book, so it was really cool to have our cover alongside some of the greatest bands in the world.
You signed with Italian label Frontiers Music srl and will now have worldwide distribution. Not a small feat for a Brazilian metal band. What is the story behind that?
Eraser: In 2018, we released our first single, which reached a lot of people. It gave us credibility, so we met a lot of people in the business. One of them was a former head of a big metal record label, who introduced us to Frontiers. We had many proposals from many record companies, but decided to ultimately close the deal with Frontiers, because their proposal was great and they really believed in Sculptor.
In May 2019, you opened for Cradle of Filth in your hometown of Curitiba. Not long before, you had played your first live concert. What has been the audience’s reception to your music?
Eraser: We had the opportunity to play with Cradle of Filth, which was a dream come true. I’m a great fan of theirs, and having the honour of opening for them in our hometown was amazing. The audience’s reception to Sculptor is great, because we are a new band and the people going to our concerts really like it and buy our merch. We can’t wait to be able to play live again and showcase our sound to more people.
We have seen many good metal bands coming from your area. How is the rock and metal club scene there now, and how do you suppose the pandemic has affected it?
Eraser: Curitiba has exported quite a few new bands lately. We have great bands from here, like Semblant, Electric Mob and Landfall. About the scene, unfortunately, due to the restrictions, everything has come to a halt since March 2020. Brazil still has a low number of people vaccinated with both doses, and that is going to delay our comeback to live music events. We were going to take part in a festival called Armageddon Metal Fest alongside other bands like Venom Inc, The Agonist, Nervosa and Krisiun, in April 2020. It was postponed to April 2021, now it was postponed again, to 2022. Releasing a debut album and not being able to play any live concerts has been tough on us, we’re really sad about it.
Brazil’s metal scene is very much alive, despite the people who insist on saying “rock is dead”. Any suggestions of Brazilian heavy metal bands to our readers?
Eraser: Yes, Brazil has a lot of potential for new bands, but, unfortunately, most of them don’t get a lot of recognition outside of the country, which is a pity, but some of the suggestions are bands I’ve already mentioned (Semblant, Electric Mob, Landfall), who are in the same label as us. Besides, I would suggest bands like Kryour, Torture Squad, Krisiun, Krucipha and Ignited.
Thank you again for taking the time for this interview.
Eraser: Thank you for interviewing us, it was a pleasure talking to Chaoszine and having this space to showcase our work. I would like to send our best regards to all our fans in Finland. We hope to be able to play there soon.
Check Sculptor out on social media:
https://www.facebook.com/Sculptormusic