THE FIRSTBORN – Interview with Bruno

Even though “The Firstborn” isn't a household name for most members of the underground Extreme Metal community, this four piece aggression being the world's first Extreme Metal unit to base their themes around Buddhist philosophy, undoubtedly have been making their mark in the genre and their region and an ardent worldwide following throughout the years with their unique sound-scapes fueled with Buddhist ideologies. Despite the workload which followed the release of their latest opus “The Noble Search”, front man Bruno Fernandes took some time off for a chat to elaborate further.

Hello Bruno! How's everything going over there in Portugal?

Namaste, friend. All is well, busy as usual – promoting the new album, preparing live shows and running the “business side” of the band as well as trying to maintain some sort of personal life… it's a bit mental at times!

You initiated this project under the name “The Firstborn Evil”, to what do you owe the decision of shortening the name to simply “The Firstborn”? Does this name represents anything symbolic to the band on a personal level?

We changed the band's name back in 2000 because we changed our sound and attitude a lot when compared to our first steps… we were really influenced by mid-90's Black Metal, not only on a sonic level but also in terms of image and message. That changed a lot as we grew both as individuals and as musicians: we were all really young when we started this back in 1995 (I was 16 at the time) and it was the first serious project for most involved, so it was a natural progression.

By the time we were preparing our second album we realized the name had nothing to do with what we were about any longer, so dropping it was almost inevitable. The Firstborn is a vague name, something which doesn't link us directly to any genre or scene, so it suits our volatile nature really well.

You entered Foel Studio's in Wales to record your latest opus “The Noble Search”, last year. How did this connection and

collaboration come about with Chris Fielding(Napalm Death, Electric Wizard, Primordial)?

When writing the new album we realized it took a special kind of recording to bring it to life the way we envisioned it, and we started looking at analog studios within our budget… needless to say, there weren't that many around, so when we found about Foel through our friends in Primordial – who had just recorded “To the Nameless Dead” there at the time – we talked to Chris and the studio owner Dave Anderson about the possibility of recording there and it all came about very quickly.

It was the best option we could have made, Foel's sound and atmosphere really suited the album and it surpassed our expectations on every level. Also, on a personal level, everyone there was just brilliant, hard-working but relaxed. We owe them a lot, and they have our heartfelt gratitude.

Talking about the new album “The Noble Search”, how has this been received Internationally so far? Any reviews in particular you'd like to mention?

The reviews have been quite good, although the promotion's being a bit slow this time… normally by now we should have had most reviews published already, but there's a lot of places which still are getting to it. The album was voted album of the month and album of the year in Portugal's leading Metal magazine “Loud!”, we also got a great review in Terrorizer Magazine and there's more to come. Check our website ( www.thenoblesearch.com ) for a listing of the reviews.

You also teamed up with a few musicians which include Vorskaath from Zemial and Proscriptor from Absu, how did these collaborations work out and how did their contribution turn out for “The Noble Search”?

It was above all an honor and a pleasure to work with everyone involved, everyone really added something special to the album and that's the point in collaborations – at least the way I see it. Besides the vocal performances of Proscriptor and Hugo Santos (from a great Portuguese band called Process of Guilt), we had Vorskaath handling all the percussion and helping a lot with the drum sound and also Luis Simőes from Saturnia played Sitar on the album, which really added a lot of depth and atmosphere. All these people are friends of ours now, and we intend to work with them again in the future, as well as with many others. Guest musicians really do add a lot to the final product, especially in a band like ours.

What sort of preparation does the band and most importantly, you go through, personally, prior a recording session as such?

Practice, practice, practice! We work hard and pre-produce a lot, trying to leave as little to chance as possible… we never have a big budget to record so we really can't afford to waste a lot of time at the studio. This is a shame, since we do have the potential to improvise a lot and be the results could be interesting, but we never seem to have the chance to do so.

As for myself, after writing the lyrics and the music for the album I was really drained but still found the energy within to do it… since I'm also the unofficial “manager” in the band, there's a lot of tension on my shoulders in those moments which really doesn't help, but I've learned to relax one way or another and deliver when the red light goes on.

There are rumors of you guys teaming up with Singaporean Vedic Metallers, Rudra for a tour, is this true and if so how is it

coming along? And would Sri Lanka be a stop for this?

Well, it's more of a fantasy than a plan at this stage… we've talked to Kathir from Rudra about it last year, but with all the chaos involving both bands getting new albums out it wasn't the best of times to try and plan anything. It would be an excellent opportunity for us to learn a lot directly about the culture that has influenced us so much from all this distance, and our way of repaying some of that. The logistics are quite mad, however, and it's not an easy thing to pull off for an underground band like ourselves. There's the will, there's hope, let's see if we can add the other necessary ingredients to that equation. Sri Lanka would definitely be a priority for us, it's one of the places where Buddhism is really strong and I think we'd be right at home there.

Your second opus “The Unclenching of Fists” carries and experiments with incorporating a lot of oriental instruments and

Tibetan monk chantings into your music, how did these collaborations come along? and who takes care of these duties when you perform live?

Most of the “non-Metal” instrumentation you hear on that album was unfortunately sampled, which is one of the reasons we made a point of having all these guests on the new album – we really wanted to avoid sampling as much as possible again, and we managed just that! Everything you hear on “The Noble Search” was performed and recorded by ourselves or the guest musicians. Bringing those elements to the stage is never easy, we try to have the extra musicians come along whenever possible but it's really difficult because of different agendas, etc. So we usually end up using pre-recorded tracks for those elements, and cross our fingers so the laptop doesn't crash while we're playing!

You were a part of the Portugese Extreme Metal band, Nephtys. what caused the termination of the connection with this project?

I was just a session member, helping friends out… I started up just recording the vocals for their EP, and ended up playing a few shows with them. Eventually, I really didn't have the time or the inclination to keep going so we just went separate ways. Well, not really – both the drummer and the guitar player became part of The Firstborn, so we went full circle.

As I've noticed on a lot of Web pages, The Firstborn are labeled as an Avant Garde Metal band. How would you describe your music to a person who's not quite familiar with this term?

“Avant-Garde” is just one of those terms people come up with to try and define the undefinable… just look at all the bands with that label, and try to find similarities. Not an easy task. The only thing in common is usually the will to break boundaries, regardless of genre. We did break a few boundaries in sound and concept, so in that sense we can be called “Avant-Garde”, but it always seems like too important a term to associate with The Firstborn, especially when we compare what we do with the sheer genius of some bands also called “Avant-Garde”.

Here are some questions directed at you by some of your fans in Sri Lanka. Since Portugal is considered a country where you find absolutely no roots of Buddhism, What influenced you to incorporate Buddhist oriented themes in your music? And how far have you been received in Portugal for incorporating such religious themes and therefore is The Firstborn the Underground of the Portugal Metal industry?

We stumbled upon Buddhism when writing “The Unclenching of Fists”… the music was taking a more “exotic” direction so I was looking for a subject to sing about that would fit the sound. I eventually started reading about Buddhism again and slowly became fascinated by it, especially on a philosophical level. If you look at the western world these days you can imagine how Buddhism is a refreshing (and probably necessary) change of perspective in this modern life where material possessions are everything to most people. What I have learned from Buddhism has shaped my personality, and that obviously translates to the music I write. At first we were a mere curiosity, nowadays more and more people find interest in that aspect of the band and not just in the music… that's why we included some liner notes on “The Noble Search”, so that everyone who becomes curious by all this can find some more information. We have also had positive feedback from Buddhist friends throughout Europe and the USA, people who found in us a crossroads between their faith and the music they grew up listening to. Obviously some people really dislike our approach and think this kind of music doesn't fit a positive message, so in a way you can say this makes us a bit more “underground”. We're not everyone's cup of tea, nor do we want to!

And since we're on the subject, how do you as a person who has been a part of the Metal scene in Portugal define the term

“Underground Metal”? and where do you draw the line between Underground and Commercialized Metal?

Well, the “underground” was a term that made sense before the internet and the mass media took over the music scene… nowadays it just means “mostly unknown”, whereas in the old days it represented that amazing network we had to work hard to find about and be a part of – the tape-trading, the fanzines, the underground gigs and tours where no one made money. That was the underground, a sort of resistance movement against the mundane music industry. Nowadays it's all commercial: the difference is in the sales numbers!

Do you think the aesthetic philosophy of Heavy Metal – the progressive leanings of Death and Black Metal in particular – makes it easier to explore the kind of themes and incorporate the type of sounds that you concentrate on, as opposed to other

musical genres?

It could be, yes… although intelligent music can be found in all styles, it seems that some messages are more adaptable to the aesthetics of Metal. Particularly those dealing with obscure and/or metaphysic subjects. We did have some work in adapting the band's sound to the concept, but I couldn't see myself singing the lines of “Flesh to the Crows” in the midst of a pop song, for instance. And then again, it probably might sound really good!

How do you feel about being labeled as a Buddhist Metal band? Do you believe in “labeling” as a whole in the first place?

It's a simplest association of ideas: we deal with Buddhism, and we play Metal. Therefore, “Buddhist Metal”! I really don't care that much in the end, throughout our 14-year history we've had a lot of labels and genres associated so it's all subjective. I see it more as a tool for the media and the fans than some sort of clearly defined boundary for a musician.

From our little chats we had before this Interview, I came to know that unlike a lot of westerners who haven't even the

slightest idea of where, or what for that matter “Ceylon” or “Sri Lanka” is, you have quite a commendable knowledge about our culture and history. How is this so?

I studied History and Archaelogy in the University here in Lisbon, and one of my favorite subjects was the Portuguese Expansion… ever since I was a kid, actually. Obviously, it's a big thing for our people and culture, especially the maritime route to India and the contacts we had with the people there. The overall adventure that enterprise involved was so overwhelming that to imagine a small country such as ours undertaking it is just mind-boggling! We all know about the negative aspects as well, the slavery, exploitation, the colonialism… but it's all too easy to be judgmental with all these centuries gone by. I would rather focus on the cultural exchanges, trying to imagine the awe the Europeans must have felt when looking upon these wonderful new lands and people.

Ceylon was very important for the Portuguese trade routes and remained so until the collapse of the Portuguese Empire in Asia… we have a lot of cultural references to the sacred island as well throughout poetry and art in general, be it as “Ceylon” or the ancient name “Taprobane”.

What are you ideologies and goals as an Underground band who's themes are based on subjects practically unheard of in your region?

We don't have that many goals per se, anymore… we have found our path and the only plan is to keep on doing music as long as we want to, and are able to. We do try to convey our message to people as clearly as possible, but we are not preachers – and we don't have the necessary wisdom to be so, even if we wanted to. As long as people find our music and concept interesting, then it can be a starting point for their own paths.

What are your influences as a vocalist? Do you listen to any other music outside the realm of Heavy Metal?

I listen to a lot of music that most Metal fans would consider torture: from my Rock n' Roll roots to intelligent Pop (think Peter Gabriel, Bowie, Peter Murphy) to ambient stuff, to World Music, to Punk, and obviously Metal as well – although few are the albums getting released that really grab me these days.

Everything I hear is probably and influence, but I'd say my biggest references are Danzig, Peter Gabriel, Peter Murphy, Ian Astbury, and so on. I got the urge to start singing in a band at a Samael gig, so that was probably my first inspiration… not really fond of their latest albums though.

Where can your fans buy your music and merchandise? And where can people listen to your music online?

Well, you can buy our stuff directly from us or the label ( http://www.majorlabelindustries.com/ ), and you can listen to the album in full on our MySpace ( http://www.myspace.com/unclenchedfists ) page until May! There you'll also find info on the merchandise, etc. Also, “The Noble Search” will be available on iTunes soon, as well as some other mp3 distribution platforms.

Any last comments about anything I've missed? and any particular message or comments for your Sri Lankan readers?

I think not, it was a really in-depth interview and a pleasure to answer your questions. We will do our best to visit Sri Lanka sometime soon, it's not just up to us so please be patient. We appreciate your support and hope to be able to give something back sometime soon… until then, keep on reaching for the Perfection of Wisdom.

Well thank you Bruno for all your time! It has indeed been a great pleasure conducting this Interview with you! Wishing you all the luck for your future endeavors, and till you tour Sri Lanka, Hails!

Thank YOU, Chathuranga. Finest regards from across the globe!

As trees bear fruit, may these words bear the fruit of a good karma.