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politics in Brazil , does this fuel your rage to write songs about this type of society ? Fernanda Lira : For sure . Unfortunately , living in Brazil can be real tough sometimes . You ' re always surrounded by some of the worst stuff in society . There ' s social injustice , there ' s corruption , there ' s terrible public basic sectors – bad schools , worse hospitals , etc . So in my daily routine , I end up swallowing all my sadness and rage about these factors . Then , when it ' s time to write an album , I personally use my lyrics as my dearest tool of expression , because it ' s the chance I have to spit out all my dissatisfaction with the system . Also , I think one of society ' s problems nowadays is that we just get used to the things going [ on ] around us , especially in Brazil . We just feel bad about the things , but end up accepting it and not protesting it . This has been changing in the country a little , but I still think it ' s a long way till people start thinking , debating and then , changing what ' s around them for real . And I think lyrics are a good tool for debating subjects . I mean , I don ' t care if the person agrees or not to what I ’ m writing about on my songs , but at least if they take the time to think about the subject , I think that ' s a good start already to change things .
Mosh : “ Arrogance ” kicks the album off in a blistering way . Was it the clear cut choice to open with it and how hard was it deciding on the track sequence of the album ? Fernanda Lira : The other album had an intro and started in a lower pace . As the style of the band is now more aggressive , we decided it would be cool to start with a track which would be a kick in the face . A track that already started in an aggressive way , and that in a way maybe would surprise the listener and also make them want to listen to more . We thought “ Arrogance ” was the best choice , as it already starts with blast beats and a super fast pace . As for the other tracks , it ' s always tricky , because we want to put them all as next ones ! But we just try to follow a kind of logic , like two fast ones on the beginning to draw listeners attention to how different the album is , then a slower one , then a single , then one that ' s different in a way – like “ Guerra Santa ,” which is sung in Portuguese – and then on . We also test all versions of the tracking list , we decide to see if it works , or if it ' s boring and stuff like that . We are perfectionists when it comes to this kind of thing . I consider this a very important process and we always do our best to make the listening of the album a pleasant experience .
Mosh : Are you excited for the U . S . tour starting in August ? Is this your first U . S . tour and do you have any expectations ? Fernanda Lira : We ' ve been to the US at the beginning of this year to record our album – in Oregon and California , and we used the chance to do a tour which started in Washington and went all over Florida . So now we ' re gonna visit for the first time the East coast . We are very excited because we are sure it ' s gonna be a great experience . Touring the US for the first time was just incredible ; very supportive and crazy crowd . We can ' t wait to come back again !
Mosh : There ’ s not many 5-string bassists in thrash , plus you play without a pick . Who are your major influences ? ( I ’ m kind of sensing Tom Araya and Steve Harris !).
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