Argentinean band Jesusmartyr surprised me with their steady thrashy album. When the Dutch label gave us at PoM the opportunity to do an interview with one of the members, we grabbed it with both hands.
Can you tell our readers something about the bands history?
Martin: Thanx for contacting me, I'm Martin Furia, one of JM guitarists, I'm currently living in Belgium, the rest of the band is in Argentina, they are playing as trio an I join them whenever I can. I met drummer Guillermo Gomez in 1994 and we started to jam. Then Bruno joined us and we started to look for more people. We released our first album "Sudamerican Porno" as quintet. We had keyboards, singer/guitarist, me on guitar, Bruno on bass and Guillermo on drums. We played a lot with that line-up. During our second European tour we kicked the singer/guitarist out and the keyboardist started to sing. Then we kicked out him as well. Sebastian (guitar) was our roadie and started to play with us. Then we had a line-up with Bruno sing/bass, Sebastian guitar, Guillermo on drums and me. Guillermo however has left the band to pursue other goals and since then we played with another drummer called Marcelo Castro. He also has left the band and now we have Eduardo Turco on drums.
Why in God’s name call the band Jesusmartyr, what is the meaning behind that?
Martin: It comes from a lyric I had for a song called "Fucking Jesus Martyr". It was about all the consequences that Jesus' martyrdom had, the raise of Christianity, and all the moral that ruled the world for 2000 years. We were called Martyr at the beginning and we knew there were many bands with that name already, so we used the lyric and we took the fucking out.
How does a band from Argentina get a deal with a Dutch label?
Martin: I got to know them via the guitarist of Cypher, we played together in Holland and he told me about the label, gave me their CD (they are also on Rusty Cage records) and emailed them. I told them about the band and they checked the Myspace-site and liked it. They proposed to release the album and we are very happy so far with their job. We feel supported and respected as musicians. It's very goo to be working with them!
Who did come with the idea to mix and master the record at ZigZound, Aarhus?
Martin: We were looking for someone to give our recording a more professional approach, we contacted some producers and Ziggy wanted to do it. He is a cool guy and did a great job.
So you are satisfied with the result?
Martin: Absolutely, we are happy with the album.
The music on your debut is a kind of modern thrash with Fear Factory influences, who else are the bands influences?
Martin: We have a lot of influences, musical and non musical, everything you live influences you! Favourite bands are Slayer, Metallica, Carcass, Sepultura, Cannibal Corpse, Machine Head and a lot of other bands.
The songs are already from back in 2006, do you have a lot of new stuff ready?
Martin: Yes, we have a lot of stuff, I have like 6 songs and the new guys have a good bunch as well, we have to start working on them together.
Is the band coming to Europe for some shows?
Martin: We are working on that, let's hope we can do it in 2009. We did one in 2007, but only in Belgium and Holland. We had no label or media support whatsoever, but it helped to get us a deal with Rusty Cage and to put the band a little on the map in Europe, even though we got ripped off by Belgian promoter Mathias Savelkoul of Sandstorm events. Don't ever trust this guy!
How is the metal scene in Argentina, are there a lot of good bands at the moment?
Martin: The scene is pretty strong, good bands from Argentina are: Natas, Taura, Buffalo, Avernal, Social Shit, Embodiment (our drummer plays for them also), Ban This and Otra Salida. There is a lot of good stuff there and those are good examples for each genre.
I bought a CD of Auvernia, they also hail from Argentina, are you familiar with that band?
Martin: I didn't know them, I just checked their Myspace, they are good!
What do you expect from the cooperation with Rusty Cage?
Martin: We just expect them to make the album available for all the European metal heads that want to have it, promote the band and help us to tour Europe more often. They are cool people that respect what to be a musician is and they are giving us a lot of support.
Anything I didn’t ask, but you definitely want to say to our readers?
Martin: I just would like to thank everybody supporting honest metal! And thank you guys for this interview. Keep it brutal!
