FACADA - Until Your Ears Bleed ! (Brasil - GrindCore - Interview with James).

Hello ! Can you introduce yourself and tell us how it all began for you - your encounter with this musical universe, what appealed to you, what fascinated you and what made you want to get into music? 
My name is James, I'm the vocalist and bassist in the grindcore band Facada. I think it all started when my uncle lent me Sabbath's Vol. 4 when I was about 8 years old, and I never returned it. From then on, things only got worse. At school, I met a guy who had a death metal band, and I learned everything from him. I started going to shows in my city (Fortaleza/CE/Brazil), listened to Napalm Death's FETO, bought a bass the following year, and joined a band without knowing how to play anything. Not much has changed since then. Since I was little, I've always been interested in different texts and films (horror, supernatural, dark things…) than what most people liked, and I even felt strange because of it. When I discovered the underground, I felt welcomed by having this vast culture available in various aspects and being able to truly be myself in that environment. 

What if I told you that you have to leave for a desert island in 5 minutes—you have no choice… except to take three albums with you… which ones, and why? Would you say that these were game-changers at some point in your life?
"Reek of Putrefaction" - Carcass : Because it's a unique masterpiece, impossible to copy, because it created a style, and because it has the best songs grindcore/gore could offer.
"World Downfall" - Terrorizer : Because it's the perfect grindcore album; the vocals, the instrumental, the recording—everything is magnificent.
"Llenandose de gusanos" - Corrupted : Because it's a devastating album, so heavy and dense.
I'd also include FETO or Repulsion, but I'd miss them, hehe... (Yes, I said "3" hehe.. but i understand the choices - Ed)
 
Tell me about the band... How you met - the current line-up - past experiences - and above all - WHY the need to form THIS band?
The band was formed in 2004 by close friends who played in other bands in the city, but we realized that the scene didn't have a grindcore band and the underground bands were very focused on being lighter, having more keyboards or slowing down the tempo. One day we went to see a Subtera show, a band that was doing what we wanted but in their own way. We were impressed and scheduled a rehearsal for the next day. From then on, we rehearsed and tried to shape our style based on the classics. Nowadays the band consists of me, Ari (original guitarist who lives in Germany), Danyel (guitar) and Vicente (drums).

Describe your sound and explain why I should listen to YOUR band at all cost ?
Facada means stab wound in portuguese and plays grindcore. Simple. Fast, heavy, raw, furious, without experimentation, without falsehood or dissimulation, without sonic journeys, without hype or fads, without joy, without idiocy, without worshipping anyone, without giving explanations to anyone, without cheating, without clean vocals, without false friendship or false discourse. Getting worse every day. Feel free not to like it. If you like fast, frenetic, relentless music, listen to Facada. 

Lyrical and musical inspirations/influences ? How important are the lyrics for you ? Are there any specific messages or thoughts you try to develop and share through your lyrics ?
Lyrics often reflect our experiences and relationships with others, and people are an eternal source of inspiration because of the sheer amount of disappointment, lies, falsehood, and fallacy that exist. So it's quite easy to develop this in a world where everything is superficial, and the digital age makes it even more evident how people want to be seen in a false way that isn't truly who they are. And then there's politics and the crushing daily grind. Grindcore bands already talk about this openly in a more expansive, macro way; we try to give it a more personal and even angrier dimension by indicating exactly what makes us so hateful. I think lyrics are the perfect way to sublimate and make our existence more peaceful without having to murder anyone.

About the band's discography... Imagine someone who doesn't know your band at all and wants to get interested in.. Which release would you recommend to start with, and why?
I think our latest album, "Truculence", truly captures what the band is and has always been. It's an album created after the pandemic that tries to let out all the anger we've been holding back since our last album. 

About your latest release ? 
Our latest album is called "Truculence". It was recorded in two different studios, VTM Studios (drums and vocals) and VOID Studio (guitars and bass) over a period of three months. It was mixed and mastered by our drummer, owner of VTM Studio, and recorded by Vanessa Almeida at VOID. For the cover art, we aimed for a shapeless, undefined theme that people could search for forms in, but that would clearly be unsettling at first glance; in fact, all the album artwork is like that. The cover was designed by Everton Silva, who had previously worked with us on the album "Nadir". The album is available on all platforms and on CD, but will be released on vinyl by the end of the year with six bonus tracks. We also released a split with ROT (another classic Brazilian grindcore band) last year, which made us very happy since we are fans of theirs. We also plan to release a live split album with the band Guro by the end of the year. All this material can be found on the labels Laja Records and Black Hole Productions.

Future plans?
We're playing a lot to promote the album; we have a 10-day tour in Brazil towards the end of the year, and I believe that next year we'll do another 10-day tour in Europe, maybe Japan, places we've never played before.

Your most insane dream with the band would be?
Since it's an insane dream: to play at Obscene Extreme with Carcass from the Reek era, Terrorizer during the World Downfall era, Napalm from the FETO era, Repulsion and Nasum. 

Your BEST & WORST concert - as a band - and why?
The best ones are always next, but we did a 6-day tour recently where the shows were truly insane. The worst was one in 2006 where there were several Christian black metal fans in the audience and they wanted to beat us up after I swore at them. It was fun, haha. ("Christian Black Metal" you said.. hmmm.. gimme a break haha ! Ed.)

Next live-appearance(s)?
We have several shows scheduled throughout Brazil until the end of the year, but at the end of the year we'll be doing a 10-day tour with Guro to promote our live split.

Some words on your local scene - bands you're friends with and you'd like to name?
Here are some really cool bands that we're fans of: Abismo, Negative Summer, Violated Rotten Tombs, Lasso, Clan do Mortos Cicatriz, DER, Guro, Greve, Void It, ROT, Skate Pirata, Velho, são muitas… 

What’s the question you’ve always dreamed of answering but have never been asked? Just a heads-up: I’m also waiting for the answer that goes with it...
- Do you want to win this bus with all the equipment inside so you can do the tour?
- Of course I do, haha
 
Well, the interview is coming to an end… Is there anything else you’d like to add? Anything I didn’t think of? Something important, funny, silly… It doesn’t matter!
I'd like to thank you for the very fun interview, the questions were great to answer. Thank you so much! (Nice to read - Ed) - Listen to grindcore!