REVIEW LIVE / INTERVIEW:
UNDERCROFT EN HAMBURGO, ALEMANIA
Viernes 08 de Mayo 2009
Reeperbahn, St. Pauli

Texto y Fotos por Black Shadows [ www.black-shadows.com ]

Son las 11:30 de la mañana del día 08 de Mayo, me dirijo rumbo a Hamburgo, desde Suecia, para ver nuevamente a una de las bandas mas grandes que tiene Chile dentro de su poderoso Death Metal, junto a la perfecta formación que ha tenido jamás esta agrupación: Álvaro Lillo en bajo y voz, Claudio Illanes en guitarra, Pablo Cortes en batería y José Godoy en guitarra en vivo (chileno radicado en Alemania).

Llegando a Hamburgo nos recibe Álvaro; luego nos dirigimos a tomar unas cervezas y luego al lugar de concierto al aire libre, en pleno centro de Hamburgo, más preciso en plena Reeperbahn St.Pauli (barrio rojo), era el aniversario del Puerto de Hamburgo, con aprox. 1000 personas de diferentes tendencias musicales, en ese escenario, pero en general todos maniáticos hahaha!.

La verdad no me interesaba mucho las otras bandas, sólo quería ver a UNDERCROFT que subiéndose al escenario a las 10:30 con un público ansioso de ver a estos maniáticos chilenos que en realidad en Hamburgo ya tienen un nombre en alto.

Comenzando con un buen set list, con temas como: "To the Final Battle", "Dark Waters Captive", "Fake Messiah", "Carros de Fuego", "Blackening the Sun", "Bonebreaker", "Danza Macabra", "I am Prepared to Die", "Bridges to Melissa", "Under the Broken Sign" y "Behind the Cassock" dejaron a todos en un estado de total blasfemia y desenfreno.

Cervezas iban y venían, mucha marihuana y bastante metalero llego sólo por ver UNDERCROFT! Este video que ven aquí es una pequeña muestra de lo que puede llegar hacer cualquier banda de Chile que demuestre ser consecuente con sus ideales; en mi opinión UNDERCROFT está de vuelta con una alineación que necesitaba tener y espero que puedan adquirir este nuevo álbum que sin duda debe ser uno de los mas esperados de UNDERCROFT.

Lo más importante para el público y los fans de Chile es poder hablar con la banda misma y obtener información actualizada de lo que UNDERCROFT está planeando en este momento. Para esto les mostraré una entrevista que les brindó en exclusiva Black Shadows Magazine #3. La entrevista está en inglés ya que esta revista se edita en Suecia para el mercado europeo. De todas maneras habrá copias disponibles a través de Grinder Magazine y Corvus Discos (corvusdiscos.cl).

:: INTERVIEW ::

UNDERCROFT from Chile is a band that never stop to surprise me, a legend in their country but now located in German field. It’s time to know what’s the plain of Claudio Illanes, Pablo Cortes and Alvaro Lillo.

Hail UNDERCROFT! I'm very surprised since I knew you are working in a new material at this time. Welcome to Black Shadows Magazine, please tell me how is for you to play together again and what about the new material?
Hail Black Shadows! Well, we just took something that was ours and was here but turned in to some kind of strange taste of having something that was not finished because problems shit and excuses. We know the things have to be well done in music, everything needs to be apart of the new creation, it's a new composing, something in what we believe, otherwise fuck off! and for that the most of the times it's a chaotic time together but even that it's very motivating to play again, we know the things need time to be prepared and to developed but anyway in this time we are bit more in silence, just focused in the new songs, turning on the fire against any regular way in this new album, we shall bring our will and knowledge to the steps we are doing now, and of course, to find the tools to end up in a great album. The new material have some extra components that you will recognize when you'll listen it, of course some songs in our language, stamping the iron seal of the unholy UNDERCROFT and just violent riffs, south american style, sabbatical drums beating, lust, dementia and satanic rimes to bring Death to the living fields.

Congratulations guys for the great show last Friday! How feels for you to play in Hamburg again? I know all members, except Alvaro, are living in H.H. Deutschland.
Thanx Carlos… yeah! was great show, we like this kind of improvisation with street stages and so on, not so formal just an open festival, the right people was in there, lot of insanity and alcohol, well done I think. We felt quite ok, we know each other for a long time and we know how works on the stage for us and now, we have also a new member in the band, Jose Godoy, he is from Chile as all of us and he is the live member who take the lead guitar, he fit perfect in what we need, he know how to play a guitar!!! hahahahaha!. As you say nearly all of us live in H.H. for that be here and play at the anniversary of Hamburg it's great but anyway, I think everyone there was satisfied with our diabolic intromission. Now it is time to go back to the catacombs!

How many songs are you planning to record? And where you will record the new album?
We have around 40 minutes, that's we want, 11 songs, not every in English, some in Spanish too, the name still can change for that we have different points of view, are 3 options we are focused in and working full time on it, from there it shall come the last. Our idea is went back to Sweden to record in there, for that it's some alternative studios and well known sound engineer, that we have to decide very soon. Also we start to get in touch with some labels, we will see, we really want to find good responses of it. Would be great to release the album as soon is possible, that means this year.

Some tour dates for the upcoming months?
No, for now not, just into the composition-recording-release of the new album but we think the first tour we should do will be in South American lands, with demonic start in Chile!!! but just after recording now no plans to play until this album is done.

What's the reason why you decide to stay in Germany? Have you been thinking in come back to Chile?
Since we moved the first time to Europe in March 2002, we had in mind one purpose what still exist in everyone even if in one moment we split up in our ways, Alvaro went to live in Sweden and he is doing a lot of things in there, than we arrange and solved out our meeting. Pablo and Claudio continue with the band here in Hamburg, an album in 2006 and different members were in the line up until now. The band is also planning a tour to Chile and South America this year, would be the best if we have released the new album, because is a long time and we know that a lot of people respect UNDERCROFT, the step we did and the way we are, considering the band exist since 1992, lot of people from the past and the new generations of demonic metalheads must have lot to share with us, we really are looking forward to be there touring again. For now the album is the first step, we still have an eternal night to move on, we are still with the flag on the hand and the proud of southern demons behind, is the anti-natural way to march beyond the illusionary walls of this world, borders are made to be destroy, no rules or laws may stop the will, UNDERCROFT it's a band made to be on the stage and that have nothing to do with countries or shit, we are from Chile and that's it, we will be there soon to show in flesh, spirit and Metal that war never ends!

What can you say about the new songs, the new album? You will come back to the old stuff?
The idea to bring back UNDERCROFT as "Danza Macabra" or "Evilusion" is not really something what worried us, it's like a complement of something you already did, the same with everything the band did before. The new album have also a lot of new components, 7 strings guitars for example just bring your tune down and you can open the spectrum in the moment to compose, different ideas come after you and is something we will not stop, we will be always free at the moment of composing and than you can recognise in the albums. What we really care is about sound, we are always looking to have a good sound that shows by it self what UNDERCROFT means. For that we prefer to be on the stage that in studio.

Do you think with a new album and the line up now is a chance to make a big European tour?
Of course! The chances are there to start to work out in a long European tour after this release, supporting some good band or headlining our own mini tour in some places but as we told you, first the album and than we will see the responses, tour and some plans by the way.

Thank you guys for be part of the Satanic pages of Black Shadows magazine, good luck in the future and stay always brutal!
Thanx again and soon you will listen the advance songs and to all people just stay alert to the next album from UNDERCROFT!

[ Black Shadows ]