Warshipper: “We bring examples of different social niches that suffer from the ills of society, with the message that we must unite to break this cycle”

Completing 10 years on the road, several shows in Brazil and a tour in Europe, Warshipper is one of the most highly regarded death metal bands in the Brazilian extreme music scene today. With 3 full albums released, the band prepares to enter 2022 punching the listeners’ ears with some new and increasingly heavier material.

We talked with the vocalist and guitarist Renan Roveran about the band’s plans, new albums and international tours. You can check out the interview below:

Well, you’re a band already well established in the extreme scene and you’ve always been very active on the road! How was this pandemic stoppage for you? Did it affect the band’s plans too much?

Renan Roveran: Hello Chaozine people, readers and headbangers from all over the world. I hope you are all well, healthy, safe and with a lot of metal in your head. I often say that I’m suffering from “stage abstinence” (laughs).

The whole context is very complex and sad, with so many people who got sick and so many others who left us in this pandemic, without any doubt. But beyond that, and in the face of all the deprivations caused in this scenario, I can say that one of the things that affected me the most and that I miss the the most…is the road.

Finding friends, meeting new people, interacting with headbangers from all over the world and being on stage is what defines my life as a headbanger. However, when we realized that there was a lot of uncertainty and that the whole situation had great potential to go on for a long time, we took the opportunity to channel all the different sensations that came from it all into inspiration to compose.

We set up our own studio, rehearsed a lot and even composed a new work that should be released in the first half of 2022. In addition, we continue to look forward to returning to the stage as soon as possible.

Your last album so far is “Barren…”, talk a little about the production of the album and also the concept behind it.

Renan Roveran: The compositions of “Barren…” were developed during the second half of 2018 and the first half of 2019. At the same time, we were preparing for the tour in Europe, in addition to other commitments that conflicted with our schedule. With all this, it is possible to say that it was very rushed.

Despite this, we achieved a high level of exertion from everyone, which brought us together much more. The recordings took place as soon as we returned from Europe, so, we had a really cool vibe, which contributed a lot with that too. The album was recorded in the same studio where we recorded “Black Sun” and the single “Atheist”, at Casanegra Studio, with our great friend Rafael Augusto Lopes (Fanttasma, ex-Torture Squad, ex-Imminent Attack).

He knows us very well, as well as our musicianship, so he easily understands where we wanted to go. Which is very good. The lyrical concept, despite having the involvement and participation of everyone in the band, was lead and driven by me. I was inspired by the current complex moment that not only Brazil, but other places in the world have been going through, where respect has been compromised, and we see conversational moral values ​​increasingly latent. Which is a social setback from my point of view.

In the album we bring examples of different social niches that suffer from the ills of society, with the message that we must unite to break this cycle.

What differences do you see between “Barren…” and previous albums?

Renan Roveran: There is a process of constant maturity, I believe. And that ends up being reflected in the songs and albums we release.

More and more we know that we do not have a direction or proposal to follow. With time, experimentalism becomes more and more present and addictive in our compositions, allowing us to explore new and different elements, contributing with an increasing originality in our songs. I really like everything we’ve done and I have a special affection for each album, but I recognize that “Barren…” is our best work… so far.

You recently toured in Europe, right? What kind of experience it was for you guys?

Renan Roveran: That’s right. It was in 2019. Man, it’s been over 2 years and we miss it so much. We were very well received in all the countries we passed through and we made a lot of friends. It was one of the funniest experiences of our lives. We will repeat that, possibly in 2023.

And what are the main differences between national and international concerts? What was your impression on the tour?

Renan Roveran: Man, we play with the same energy in any show, regardless of the size of the event or the audience. We always seek to share all our fury on stage, from anywhere. But of course there are differences.

The general impression we had from the shows in Europe is that the crowd is delirious when they come across crazy Brazilians, giving their all on stage, and they reciprocate this energy. There are more adversities in the Brazilian underground scene, so we do everything with a huge effort and when we come across something more structured, it’s kind of natural that we have more impactful performances.

I know you are producing a double album with all the band’s classics, so where did this idea come from and how is the production going?

Renan Roveran: Actually it is a re-release of our first two albums (“Worshippers of Doom” and “Black Sun”) with some bonuses, containing a new mastering of the second album. As these albums are already sold out we suggested the re-release for our label HMR (Heavy Metal Rock), however, in double format with more songs.

The name of the work is “Past Essentials” and it should be released between February and March/2022. In addition, we are already in the process of finalizing a new material. It is an EP with new songs and some surprises that we will soon announced.

What are the band’s plans for 2022?

Renan Roveran: We have good plans with the possibility of implementation, such as the re-release of the first two albums and some bonuses with “Past Essentials”; the launch of our new work which will have more information announced soon; rehearse a lot; start new compositions, and, if the pandemic scenario allow us, play a lot throughout Brazil and, if possible, other Latin American countries.

We anticipate a new European tour in 2023.

How would you define the essence of Warshipper?

Renan Roveran: I like to see Warshipper as a family of headbangers who are crazy about what they do, always looking to challenge ourselves as musicians and composers, through a lot of experimentalism and dedication, without limits in our creative process.

And we finish the interview here, would you like to send some message for the fans?

Renan Roveran: Thank you very much for the space. It’s always good to talk about our work to headbangers from different locations.

I really appreciate Chaoszine’s work. My message is for everyone to take care of themselves so that we can definitively overcome this pandemic and finally stay together, always, promoting an underground scenario that is increasingly open to all people, without judgments. In this way we will strengthen ourselves.

Hail!

FOLLOW WARSHIPPER ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

www.facebook.com/warshipper
www.instagram.com/warshippermetal
www.youtube.com/warshipperband