Diabolical Conquest (Kunal N. Choksi): Fermento have been around for over 15 fucking years and are still kicking butts like it were a Spanish football of a very good make; what keeps the band going apart from the sultry chicks?

Fermento (Robert): Just for my fucking selve, i don´t play for others, if i have other musicians and still have my gibson and marshall why don´t keep on playing? It´s not a trend or a target to get money or fame, maybe some recognition in some small closed circe.

DC: Why is that you have managed to record only two full lengths in all these years? Do you derive some kind of sick pleasure in making your fans wait for so long?

Fermento: Yes, thousand times better to wait for something than have too much of a thing, i see the tiphychal bands who release every year and i think that is too much comercial and a little bit fake, like an artist you can´t create songs as biscuits or like a factory that have to release stuff to sell. Life is complex, we don´t have 18 years to just study and rehearsal, i got a life with work and more things, i need more things than playing in a band, myselve is not a limit target, i don´t need music to become more violent or dark, i was always that then after i discover the music, then, i will be the same muthafucka with or without music, indeed music is a basic part of my life but i don´t wanna and i can´t put 100% of my time to play and compose, we compose confortable and we don´t care any presion, we are over 25 and 30 and we know this fucking world of bussines and the rules, first of all we are fron Spain and that´s a hard point to be known and second we never, yes, never, ask for be signed to any label in the world, that´s underground attitude, and not, we didn´t pay any recording yet, then better wait and be produced than release every year and pay the price $$$$, easy to understand isn´t ?

DC: Musically there is a great deal of difference between ‘Symbols of Decrepitude, Symbols of Supremacy', which is a superb album in its own right, and ‘Insignia'. I'm sure there is more to it than just a change of drink. What is it that has transpired? Did you intend for the sound to change this drastically? Were you ever afraid of losing your fan base?

Fermento: Well, to me it was obvious to not make a replica of “symbols” , there were too many years past away and i wanted to show we were able to surprise and show we improved about playing our instruments, otherwise i can´t do the same fucking thing always! Incantation can do it, better for them but i will easily bored, we always played brutal extreme music and there isn´t only a one way, Insignia showed there were multiple and numerous riffs and changes, long songs and more original concepts, the voice had many tones, the music is still brutal or i can say maybe more brutal at times compare to Symbols I don´t care losing the fan base, i play for myselve, otherwise Fermento still had the ingredients that always been there, fast music, very dark bizarre parts and smashing riffs, some people said we were Grind, other said brutal death and with Insignia nobody can tell an exactly genge? Hahahahaha, well, we got a new fan wafe too but i tell you a new thing the new stuff is different and not like Insignia, maybe more in the way of the most extreme and fast brutal death.

DC: Cesar was a faithful Fermento guitarist, had been with the band for over a decade if I'm not mistaken. I'm aware of you being the main songwriter, but how much of a difference did his departure make in Fermento's sound? Tell us about Fermento's song-writing process.

Fermento: Cesar was in the band for about 7 years, no more, when i moved to another city they tried to make another band in a Fermento influence but i think the band was not longer exist, his sound was exactly the sound i made for him, i always told him how to sound and the sound was similar to my guitar.Yes, i am the composer of th band, usually i go to the rehearsal place and create a couple of riffs or more then together play out the riffs and in the process through the weeks i make the riffs fit better, another way to make it is in my home, composing about 1/3 or 50% of the song in one day and take it to the rehearsal place thats the way i used to do, now i use to compose in the rehearsal place with them.

DC: ‘Insignia' also seems to have a completely different concept as compared to your debut. It is mentioned in the booklet that “this CD is about obsession to conquer, dominate and prevail”. Please elaborate.

Fermento: Insignia to me it´s the concept to conquer and go ahead about fighting and misantropic views, an elite, a very few one is a Isnignia, i can say i know my mates and we can call us Insignia, we show and some peopel know we are not kidding about, we are not another hobbie teenager to feel himself rebel, i am in a way since all my life, coherent and always showing things with facts not just cheap words, iam tired of most of people and system and fuck shit comercial views and boring processes, the same process of every boring human, Insignia is a tribute to my para-military interest i had all long my childhood, i was obseseed into conquer and be in war with all the impure shit, to me it is not a trend it was part of my life, how i said i always was interest in that thing.

DC: How do you manage to do vocals and play guitar at the same time? Do you use effects for those sick vokills of yours? If not, how on earth are you able to remove those incredible vocals?

Fermento: Well, since the beguining i was the person who ought to do that and i did it, play and sing, the only bad thing is that sometimes i must stay near the micro and i can´t move at all and i really feel fucked about, it is thousand times better just sing or just play the guitar, at least more confortable. I never used any type of effect or reberb cos i don´t like to sing with a different voice that my throat vomit, i am singing since many many years, before Fermento in my home and that´s the point..time and dedication.

DC: It has come to my notice that Fermento have recently recruited a female drummer – Sonia from Unnatural. I have checked it out for myself if she's good-looking and Sonia certainly is, and therefore she completely deserves to be in Fermento. Not that it matters, but does she also happen to play well? How is your chemistry with her? Do you hit her? Sometimes?

Fermento:  Yep she play like hell, one of the fastest drummer from europe, she was very thecnichal in her last band but now she is straight and fast blasting, indeed it´s the best drummer with Fernando that Fermento always had! I don´t use to beat women only if any of them are trying to hurt me with a knife or a gun, i am a war gentleman, savage but with some type of ethics, men are the weakest and boring specimen on earth, women are usually the same thing but sometimes i can make a live with someone of them.

DC: Fermento has had some crazy luck with labels: whoever puts out your release then shuts down for some reason. I hope with your kind of luck you get signed to some really big and annoying metalcore label. Both Goremania who released your debut and Ablated who re-issued it have become defunct. Say, Ablated were going to put out your second CD as well, right? But I've heard that the guy who ran that label had to go jail for some reason. What exactly happened? What did you do to him Robert?!!

Fermento: HAHAHAAHa The funny label theme, allright, yes, indeed very funny, we are so underground that most of the labels productor are in jail, Ablated and Burning dogma in the shadow.. Well i think small labels are not very solid, a pity thing cos i always supoorted only small labls but otherwise Fermento are lucky and proud, always we have a label to produce every cd, and i don´t tell you only about the release even the recording! Then we are very proud and we don´t care so much about if after the pay for the recording they are so good sellers or not cos the main thing is listen our main music in a cd for our own taste.

DC: Like all my crushes, Voliac who first released ‘Insignia' seem to have disappeared without a trace too. What's up with them? How did the deal with Pathos Productions take place? How are they treating you currently?

Fermento: Oh well labels and bussines, i don´t care that at all, all the chaos and trading and shit like that, i don´t care that, i gonna tell you i got tons of my cds in my home cos i don´t move them to sell, why? Well iam a musician or better i should say i am a misantropic elistist person not a “jude in the market”, i don´t know to “sell” and indeed i don´t want to force any type of buying but people ask for merchandising and well sometimes i got enought calories to move my ass and sell them the stuff hahahahaha. Seriously, i don´t know how that labels move my stuff, it seems not very well and i donñt know know why, i just heard people telling me they can´t get my stuff then these labels maybe don´t make well their job. At least i see Pathos moving my Insingia u.s.a version cd

DC: Looks like Burning Dogma Records who have recently and almost secretly released ‘Murder All' a compilation release with all your 7”, eps and stuff, too, have shut down their activities. What is happening man? You need to start wearing a talisman or tie a lemon with chillies attached to it on your feet or something (we hang it on cars over here). Tell us more about that obscure release.

Fermento: Hahahahaahahahahaa, obscure release or better to say obscure circumstances? It was just bad luck, that man (indeed a cool man) is in prison for about a one more year, yeah very undegroud isn´t he?

DC: What are the Fermento band members up to when they are not playing/jamming? What's their personal life like, especially that of Sonia?

Fermento: HAHAHAHAHA, i don´t care a shit what the fucking hell the other members do in their free time, indeed i don´t want to know!!!!!!!!! I can only stand with the musicians, indeed i use to insult and send them to hell every rehearsal hahahahaahahahaha, just kidding but seriously, i really don´t know much about them, Sonia like egyptian art and she make graphic designs, the other are just a fucking lazy parasites but at least they play in a band with atittude hahahahhahaahahahahahahaaha! About me, my circle is very closed, i don´t use to got much relationship with “normal” people cos i am very clear and honest to show my non-interest in most of them, i use to live trought the night, writting or just talking with very few persons who add interesting or at last no bullshit thoughts, i like to travel far away but i don´t use to get out of my bunker to bla bla bla, i live now in a small town in the middle of the mountains, north of my country, better place cos less people around.

DC: Being 15 years in the Spanish underground, how do you think things now have changed from back then?

Fermento: i can say blahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, things are worse but who cares!? Now black metal is a paid bicht and death metal becomes heavy metal or filantrophy tendences, i can´t undestand what are trying to get that fucking bands playing extreme music and trying to be accepted!!!!!Them you can release all the cds you desire but man, they will be buried with your illlusions, at least be “true” or fuck the shit, i don´t fucking care cos i don´t fucking care people, cos i don´t fucking care about expectations, i only need my fuel, my own fuel to my inner supremacy, can you believe that? I don´t care too, iam not burned with the “scene” cos this is like other human needs like be friend of many paals and tolerance, i don´t have any tolerance, iam very exigent with everything then the most dissapoint and boring thing are people, normal people and yes, supossed “extreme people” in all my many years i can only put my hand in the fire for only no more than 10, i won´t gonna fight for “ the scene” there is no scene, just interest, just people trying to record and be famous ,just another type of the same coomun people, just kids just drunken bodies, just stupid wanna be rude and bad atittude, i hate the word “fun” whats the hell ,listen music for fun??? Stupid thing for retarded people!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Where are the real hell bastards? UH?= WHO CARES!??? I GOT MYSELVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, I SAY fuck, not just a shirt with the words fuck the word, i make that POSIBLE.

DC: What can we expect from Fermento in future, apart from making another label go down?

Fermento: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA, yes another label down! Well, we pretend to record the new cd in about 5 moths and be signed again, maybe some new limited shits and some gigs.

DC: Thanks a ton for the awesome interview Robert! Do you have any valuable advice or abuses for the upcoming bands? Your philosophical last words go over here.

Fermento: Thanxs for your interest, i am tired about advices and abuses then send nudes or i shoot the fucking cat! If you wanna real philosophical to read then read my blogs in my the www.myspace.com/fermento but lately iam more lazy and i don´t writte then in english, just spanish.

Fermento - Symbols of Decrepitude, Symbols of Supremacy (1997) Goremania Records	Fermento - Insignia (2006) Voliac Records/Pathos Productions   [Diabolical Conquest Review]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- Interview conducted by Kunal N. Choksi

 

September 8th, 2007