Drowned is back with a direct hit on the genocidal policies adopted by world leaders, making no attempt to disguise the visceral and urgent criticism of Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil in "Hail, Captain Genocide!", a killer and frenetic track inspired by the pandemic.
The Minas Gerais-based death and thrash metal band chose this Monday, November 15th, to release the first single from their upcoming studio album, the successor to 7th (2018). The song is a scathing critique of politicians who adopt positions detrimental to the common good, sparing no one who supports these figures.
In the music video, the band didn't hold back on references to the current Brazilian president, mentioning chloroquine, defending gun ownership, and using religion as a shield. "Those who applaud this genocide may be worse than a murderer," says the powerful lyric.
Led by Fernando Lima , vocalist since 1998, the band returned to the lineup from their first albums in recent years – and thus solidified, with Beto Loureiro (drums), Rodrigo Nunes (bass), and guitarists Marcos Amorim and Rafael Porto, for their return with their eighth studio album.
Titled Recipe of Hate Drowned 's new album doesn't yet have a release date, but it's scheduled for March 2022 via Cogumelo Records . The tracklist is still being finalized, but the band revealed in an interview with Wikimetal that the album will have 8 to 10 tracks, including "Salute Stupidity," "Disorder/Hate/Destroy," and "DHMG," promising a consistent, strong, and current album that doesn't shy away from political commentary. "It will be one of our best," vocalist Fernando added. See the full interview below.
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Wikimetal: How has the pandemic influenced this creative moment for the band?
Fernando (Drowned): The pandemic itself is already a scenario widely sung about by metal bands. And if that wasn't enough, we're also dealing with this misgovernment that has made everything even more difficult, so we had no shortage of inspiration! Adding to all this, we composed everything in isolation, doing all the work from our own homes, so we can say that if there's one of our works totally focused on and inspired by the current moment, it's this one.
WM: The references to the Bolsonaro government are evident in the music video. Do you believe that music has a duty to talk about politics?
FD: We don't think music itself has a duty to talk about politics. But we believe that metal is a style that has been connected, since its inception, to the uprising against standards, against the status quo, and above all, it is dissatisfied with what is wrong. That's the language of authentic metal. Rock is a style of protest, not a style that worships anything. We are living through a very difficult time in Brazil, which has never been a Wonderland. We are experiencing a moment of deconstruction of the few civilizational advances. Human beings are essentially political, even if they don't know it. Politics only makes sense if there is a pursuit of the well-being of the community; otherwise, it's just a business like any other, with the objective of profiting a few at the expense of the majority. Thus, we believe that musicians can talk about whatever they want in their work, as long as they do so without harming people. Today's discussion about not talking about politics in music is very simple: a rock band, if it is authentic, if it is going to talk about any political theme, has a moral duty to denounce what is happening in Brazil and the world. And Bolsonaro's politics, because of its totalitarian bias, are not accepted. But we couldn't care less; since we started, we've criticized all governments, including the American one.
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WM: Do metal fans have more difficulty accepting this type of theme in music?
FD: With the aging of the metal audience, many have adopted conservative stances that conflict with practically everything that metal is based on. Perhaps for these people it is difficult to absorb what has always been present in the vast majority of rock albums. However, fortunately, they seem to be the minority.
WM: What are the biggest challenges in making this new album?
FD: The biggest challenge in making the album was trying to work consistently during a pandemic, but I think we did much better than we imagined. We gained in many aspects and lost in few; the overall result was very positive, in our view. Some of this learning will certainly be used in future works.
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