The Brazilian thrash metal band Nervosa has had a nearly complete lineup turnover on their latest album Perpetual Chaos. The lone holdover is guitarist Prika Amaral. New vocalist Diva Satanica discusses her addition to the band and the new record.
Chad Bowar: You’ve had wholesale lineup changes since Downfall Of Mankind. What led to the changes, and how did you and the other new members come to join the band?
Diva Satanica: Nervosa is a band that has been touring for 10 years around the world and sometimes you just overcome very bad situations because you don’t always play at the best venues with the best conditions. Being in a band is like a relationship: sometimes you just have different interests in your life and you need to move on, that’s all. Prika sent us a message asking if we’d like to audition for the band, so we sent her some videos performing some of the old songs and after many video calls and meetings here we are!
How did the songwriting process for Perpetual Chaos compare to previous albums?
We had to work from a distance without knowing each other because our very first meeting was in the studio in Málaga. Sometimes Prika sent us a riff as an idea to add our parts, other times she talked about a concept so I could write the lyrics. We tried many different things because we wanted to make this process as natural as possible.
What led you to work with producer Martin Furia again on this album?
Martin is an amazing producer. He made the final arrangements and he wrote a lot of lyrics for this album. He knows perfectly how the essence of Nervosa sounds and how he could drive us to a different way of working and writing music. It’s been an amazing experience.
What will be your strongest memory of the recording of Perpetual Chaos?
The fact that we didn’t know each other and the strong connection that we felt instantly despite the circumstances. It’s been very intense but we learned a lot and we discovered that we are more than a band: we are family.
How did Schmier from Destruction’s guest appearance come about?
“Genocidal Command” is one of the most classic thrash songs of this album so we thought about somebody that could represent that. Schmier is a close friend of Prika because they have toured together many times and he accepted to do the collaboration for this new album that is something very important to us because he is doing much more than that: he is supporting this new era of the band.
How has the band’s sound evolved from Downfall Of Mankind?
Honestly, I think that having three new band members has a big impact on the final sound. Also, we come from very different backgrounds: Eleni has worked with many progressive metal bands, Mia has been involved in such amazing big acts in the black metal scene as Abbath or Triumph Of Death and I’ve learned all that I know in my death metal band Bloodhunter.
What lyrical topics do you cover this time around?
Perpetual Chaos deals with the topic of human behavior and the chaos that we’ve been causing for many centuries. We talk about capitalism, war, animal abuse. It’s nothing very different from the previous albums, but exploring new paths due to this pandemic situation that we all had to live and that has been a big source of inspiration for everybody.
Did you struggle with track order at all?
It’s always difficult to know which could be the best order for the track list when you have so many different songs between each other. I think the result is amazing. You won’t get bored from the very first minute until the end of the album because we explore a lot of different music genres from thrash to death, a little bit of black metal, some classic riffs, and there you go!
How was the video shoot for “Guided By Evil”?
We decided that we should film the video clip of our very first single as soon as possible and we thought that being in Malaga for the recording sessions would be the perfect time. So we stopped working in the evening and we started the filming sessions for the video clip until very late at night. We had lots of fun!
How has the pandemic affected the band?
Well, we should be playing around the world because Nervosa had a lot of shows scheduled for 2020 but instead of that we had the chance of getting focus to write a new album with these special circumstances of working together for the very first time. It was a hell of a ride: flights cancelled, changing plans, but we finally made it!
How has it affected you personally?
I’ve always dreamed to be in a band like this and I was crossing my fingers all the time that this Covid situation improved and we could go back to normal soon, but I understood that sometimes there are things that you can’t simply control and you must face new challenges to achieve your goals. We had to work very hard for many months, but it was worth it.
You have some summer shows on your calendar. Are you confident they will able to happen?
We don’t know if things will be better then, but hopefully vaccination helps and we can start to attend small or open air venues with all the security measures.
Live streaming of concerts has been very popular during the pandemic. Is this something you think will continue in the future in addition to touring, to help reach more places and fans?
It’s a good way of keeping the flame alive for sure, better than nothing.
What are some of your non-musical interests and hobbies?
I love sports, nature and arts in general. I have a dog, so going for a walk daily in the mountains is the perfect plan for me.
Who are your top 5 all-time favorite Brazilian metal bands?
Sepultura, Angra, Torture Squad, Krisiun and Shaman.
Anything else you’d like to mention or promote?
Stay tuned because January the 22nd our new album Perpetual Chaos will be available and a new video clip too! Also we are going to release the third part of the documentary of the recording sessions so don’t miss it! We can’t wait to hit the stage together, take care and see you soon! Thank you so much for your time.
(interview published January 21, 2021)
