THANATOS

A thankful surprise of the Portuguese metal, Thanatos threw recently its called Melégnia, a true show of good heavy music, in an unlikely amalgam of thrash, death, doom, black. We interviewed Guilhermino Martins (G):

KREPUSKULUM:  Tell us a little about the history of Thanatos and about the current scene in Portugal.

Greetings ! The band was formed in 1995 under a different name...After a long period of maturation involving countless performances (na average of 3-4 concerts each month) , we decided that it was time to make our work more widely known.THANATOS is the result of two things : will and wish ; will to end with all preconceptions , wish to make something different and original in the world of metal. It is a way of living death , our ultimate step to eternity. And eternity is living through death. We believe in eternity : the immortality of the soul. Death is only one of the parts we’re given. Dignity , honour , fidelity are some mottoes we follow.Regarding the current scene in Portugal , there are some quality bands that have been giving proofs of what can be done in our country. Groups as Moonspell , Heavenwood or Tarantula had already crossed over the frontiers of our small and closed-minded country and shown that portuguese music can have international success too.About the "Underground Scene" in Portugal , there are new bands appearing with a non-conformistic feeling that may start to make the difference...


KREPUSKULUM: In spite of Melégnia to be a MCD, the variation and creativity that we see between a music and another is big. How does your creative process work?

Our creative process is very anarchic and caotic ! When we rehearse , we like to think up new sounds , new ways of playing , new effects. We’re always trying to make something original from what is already done by us.Our songs are in constant mutation because each time we play them we find something to change and make different. That’s how we work.

KREPUSKULUM: What kind of music do you hear?

Each member of the band listens to different kinds of music. To us doesn’t matter the style , only the feeling and quality. That’s essential !

KREPUSKULUM:  " Moonspell " is today the largest reference of the Portuguese metal, what do you think of the band and of the way they has been taking in the last albums?

Well , Moonspell was the first Portuguese metal band that crossed over the frontier , and reached internationalization. As for the rest , we don’t like to talk about other bands or its choices and musical evolution.

KREPUSKULUM:  The letters of Melégnia are interesting and something hermetic, explain the lyrical concept of theMCD?

The lyrical concept of "Melégnia" is explained in the sleeve-note of the EP. The main idea concerns a character : Suturn. He’s a man from the obscure epoch of the Middle Ages , who had strange powers. These powers gave him the ability to view things as any one else. The lyrics talk about his life and take us to other dimension very similar to ours but very different too. This
dimension is magical , frightening , dark , full of evil and good , full of love and ends with death.

KREPUSKULUM: Why to sing in Portuguese and English?

We think that this fusion between English and Portuguese is very interesting and when we thought of doing it , it sounded right. I think that the parts in Portuguese wouldn’t work that well in English. It has a certain ... feeling ! Well , It’s hard to explain.

KREPUSKULUM: How has been the popularization of the album and shows?

The divulgation of the EP is going well. The public is accepting it alright and there have been a lot of concerts in different parts of our country. Contacts: thanatosband@hotmail.com