Interview: Allan (Ex Inferis)
by Ricardo Tibiu (tibiu@karasukiller.com | www.chiveta.wordpress.com)
Photos: Marcos Marchesini
originally published in DOLL (Japan) #253
2008/07

From Hell
The guys from Ex Inferis have a huge responsibility: the burden of being a band comprised by three former Jäzzus members - one of the biggest exponents of Brazilian power violence. Formed by Carlaile (guitars), Thiago (vocals), Allan (bass), Lilo (guitars) and Porreta (drums) three years ago in Vila Velha (Espírito Santo), where Merda and Mukeka Di Rato come from, the band is inflenced by crust and old school hardcore, with references from Canadian bands like Left For Dead, Ruination and Cursed. After a demo CD and a song in an American compilation, Ex Inferis now looks for partnerships to release a split-CD with L’Enfer, from São Paulo. Check out the chat we had with bass player Allan, who talks about his band from Hell.

What does Ex Inferis mean, and why did you choose this name?
Ex Inferis comes from Latin and means “from hell”. I suggested this name based on a song from Oposição (an old band from Espírito Santo) that talked about exploitation/rape/abuse towards women. At the same time Thiago came around with the lyrics to “Fim de Expediente do Capeta” [The End of the Devil’s Office Hours], which was also about abuse towards women. So we put the words “devil” and “hell” together and we used that as a reference for the band’s name.

Define Ex Inferis’s sound quickly and precisely so Japanese readers can know what you’re about.
I was never really able to define the sound of any of the bands I’ve been in, some people say it’s crust, others say it reminds them of the first power violence bands, like Lack of Interest. To us, we sound like something in between European crust and American old school - I’m not talking about the youth crew. And also our major influences are Left For Dead, Ruination and Cursed, which are all Canadian. (laughs)

What are the band’s main influences?
Like I said on the previous question, our major influences are Left For Dead, Ruination and Cursed, besides Brazilian band Abuso Sonoro. We really like the sonority these Canadian bands have developed, the guitar timbre, the recording characteristics, and they all have the same vocalist, which is what makes us go for all these bands. Abuso Sonoro is the “crust load” in our sound.

What do you have that’s been released so far?
So far we have distributed only our demo CD which has three songs. There’s a compilation out in the USA that has one of the songs from the demo, with other American bands. Besides Ex Inferis, Sensa Yuma (UK), The Resistors (CA), One Bullet Left (AZ), Sigma (AZ), Abi Yo Yos (CA), Anti You (ITA) e Last Under the Sun (UK) are on this compilation called “EAR DAMAGE #1”.

You guys sing in Portuguese, can you tell Japanese readers what the lyrics are about?
We sing in Portuguese and we talk about things that many bands have already talked about, but we try to write in a simple and straight way, talking about violence towards women, work and the difficulties of getting a job, prejudices and more.

Which shows do you consider the most important so far?
Luckily most shows we have played were good, but the ones that always seem to come to mind are the two we played in São Paulo at Espaço Impróprio and Verdurada, because we played to an audience that was more interested in our sound and we were surrounded by friends. And playing with the Italian guys from Watch Your Step, which was the first with our current drummer and most certainly one of our best shows, the one where we felt more accomplished afterwards.

Three out of five members of the band were in Jäzzus, which was a highlight in Brazilian power violence. Do you think there’s something from Jäzzus in Ex Inferis?
I think so, even though I think we have improved as musicians, our songs are still being created in a simple way, and everybody says that the sound Carlaile extracts from the guitar is something unique. (laughs)

Do you guys have side projects?
I organize shows with Broken Bones Productions, but I’ve been a little slow on that. I used to be really active regarding CD distribution, but nowadays I only do that with the bands I’m friends with, it’s lighter work. I write for a rock website, and I’m trying to start my own fanzine, which won’t be long. Lilo plays in Chico Noise, formerly Chuck Norris that’s more thrash-like, and in Ternura that’s highly influenced by Shikari, and I don’t know how to define their sound. Porreta plays in Los Muertos Viventes which is one of the best bands around here, they mix surf music, punk rock, country and psychobilly, and they wear lucha libre masks and write horror lyrics. Carlaile used to participate in the meetings of the local Independent Media Center, but he hasn’t talked about that for a long time, so I don’t know if he’s still doing it, and Thiago has no side project.

Boka (Ratos de Porão) was interviewed in issue 244 of Doll, and when asked about the highlights of the new wave of punk and hardcore bands in Brazil, he mentioned Ex Inferis. What did you guys think about that?
I read that by chance at the Karasu Killer website and I was really pleased when I saw it. It’s always good to receive a compliment like that, not to mention coming from someone from a band you really admire. He had already showed his interest, he called us for a compilation with the bands he mentioned in the interview and some others, but that didn’t work out because some of those bands broke up and that made him abandon the project, unfortunately.

In your opinion, who are the highlights in Brazil’s new wave of punk/hardcore?
I like Nerds Attack!, Los Muertos Vivientes, Renegades Of Punk, Morto pela Escola, Possuído pelo Cão, Arma Laranja and Naifa.

Besides Godzilla, what do you know about Japan?
Oh, there’s a lot of good stuff in Japan. I know the classic bands and I like most of them: SOB, Gauze, Rose Rose etc. And there was a time when I used to go after a bunch of Japanese power violence bands like Romantic Gorilla, Real Reggae, Fuck On The Beach. The old bands I knew through friends’ tips and band interviews, the new ones thanks to releases from Sound Pollution and 625 Thrash. And then I heard Vivisick when they played here.

What does the band plan to do next?
We have been trying to release a split-CD with L’Enfer from São Paulo for a long time, thanks to a deal with Cospe Fogo. But since CDs don’t sell nowadays, Thiago from Cospe Fogo needs help from other labels to get this done, since he has other stuff in line to be released before our split. So if you’re reading this and you want to help us out, get in touch with us. For this split we already have all the recording done, but with our former drummer, so we want to record with Porreta as soon as we have the money (as always, it’s the money!).

Leave a message to Japanese readers!
Thank you for the interview. It’s very good to know that this interview is being published in one of the greatest punk publications in the world, and in a country with such incredible bands. Thank you to everyone who has read this.

Contacts:
www.myspace.com/exinferispunx
www.fotolog.com/blogexinferis
exinferispunx@gmail.com