Every year in July, Rock Day is celebrated, specifically on the 13th. Tributes, celebrations, and commemorations take place throughout the days, and the Wikimetal has brought you an exclusive interview to honor this date.
Fernanda Lira is the vocalist and bassist of Crypta , and with each passing day, her popularity grows, not only in the national scene but also internationally, playing at festivals and touring outside of Brazil.
The musician spoke exclusively with the website about the Brazilian underground metal scene, her favorite album, the date July 13th itself, which is celebrated as Rock Day, and more!
Check out the full interview:
Wikimetal: If you had to choose a single album to represent rock, which would it be?
Fernanda Lira: For me it's very difficult because whenever I'm asked for a top list of favorite albums or favorite artists, it's always very difficult because I think metal and rock are so rich that it really makes it hard to narrow it down, to choose just one thing. I could mention some of my favorite metal albums, like Powerslave , I don't know, there are so many. But I think I'll go with The Wall by Pink Floyd , because I think it's an album that brings together several characteristics, not the main ones, but very important ones, of a rock album.
I think that technically, musically, it's a very well-structured, complete, very enjoyable album, very… perfect in that sense, right? I think the lyrics have this very rock and roll vein that not only protests but also expresses, you know? The lyrics of The Wall have this protest vein, but more than just that protest thing, which many people think The Wall is only about.
Actually, he talks about Roger Waters , and I think many rock and roll artists use rock and roll and metal to express themselves, to talk about their pain, about their experiences. I think that's a very important characteristic of rock, so I think The Wall is an album that exemplifies that very well and also brings up the issue of representation in the sense that people listen and identify with what's being expressed there. So, I think that's very beautiful.
I, for one, identify strongly with The Wall , so much so that I even have a tattoo in homage to it . Furthermore, I think it's an album that perfectly encompasses and exemplifies all the versatility that rock 'n' roll possesses. People think rock is only about aggression, but The Wall shows that rock can be aggressive, but it can also be joyful. That it can have creepier, darker melodies, but it can also have very beautiful melodies and ballads.
I think that's an incredible characteristic of rock and roll. It expresses various moods and feelings musically within a single style. I find that incredible about rock. That versatility. And finally, I think The Wall really captures that storytelling, that concept, you know? Which is so important to us in rock. We love a story being told, we love a concept, we love that, you know? And I think The Wall is a great example.
WM: What is your view of rock music in Brazil?
FL: I see rock in Brazil as very much alive. Not only rock, but metal, crossover, all that part of heavy music in Brazil, I think it's thriving. I think we have one of the best rock and roll and metal scenes in the world. A warrior scene, a scene that fights against so much adversity and yet is so strong. I think we have very unique qualities. I don't know if it's because of so many things we go through here, which we end up expressing through our music.
Our music, our rock and roll, our metal, has an aggressiveness, a very particular way of expressing itself. And there are many incredible bands out there representing us, Black Pantera with two recent albums, Ascensão and PERPÉTUO , bringing everything that rock has to offer, rescuing that vein of rock and roll very well, the vein of protest, of beautiful ballads, but also aggressive songs, incredible energy on stage, a lot of movement and everything else, representation.
I think Black Pantera is a great example of how rock'n'roll is alive and well, and of course, within metal we also have many other incredible bands. Look, we have Surra , right? They just released a new album. There's Eskröta representing the women, Demonia representing the girls too. So, there are many bands and I think we're breathing very well. It's a scene that has a very high-quality, very combative rock'n'roll metal scene, and that's it.
WM: What does July 13th mean to you?
FL: July 13th, Rock Day, is a special date for me because it symbolizes what I live for. I am Fernanda Lira, she is a universe, I am a universe with many parts. I have my mystical side, I have my pop side, I have my… In short, I have many sides. But rock and metal are the most important part of my life.
Rock is what welcomed me, it's what made me feel like I belonged to something bigger than myself, a community bigger than me. It's what made me dream of having a career, it's what made me have a career, it's what made me live the dream, it's what makes me see the world, it's what makes me travel, which is what I love most, it's what makes me be on stage, which is what I love most. So, this day symbolizes what I live for and what I love most, which is rock'n'roll.
WM: When did you realize you wanted a career in rock music?
FL: I've always had contact with rock and roll since very early on, because my father is a headbanger, a metalhead, so I've been used to listening to rock and metal since I was very little, 5, 6, 7 years old. I have memories of my father making cassette tape compilations for me and everything. And I, as a little kid, would always play with my father, either I would take his guitar and pretend to play bass like him, because he played bass, or I would take the drumstick he always had at home and pretend to play drums on the sofa while he played bass.
So I've always had this connection with music, this connection with playing music since I was a child. I really started playing bass in my teens. And when I realized I wanted to have a career in it, it was later in my teens. That's when I saw, more specifically, Nuclear Assault and Sepultura , and that made me… That thrash metal, that energy, seeing Sepultura there, recording a DVD in Barcelona, everyone going crazy for Sepultura.
I think Sepultura was the band that made me believe it was possible to be a poor kid from a third-world country, go through so many difficulties, and still manage to live the dream. I think they were the ones who sparked that feeling in me, like, "Wow, maybe this is possible." But also, when I started having bands and when I first started going on stage, I saw that this was something I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Having such a solid career, you know, as I have today with Crypta, and after having been in Nervosa , or not.
My plan was, "Wow, I have to play because I can't imagine doing anything more joyful than this." So, while I couldn't make a living from a band and have a more solid career from it, I was already involved, I already had a career in rock in other ways. I worked in the press, I had a radio show, a television show, I wrote concert reviews, took concert photos, wrote album reviews, interviewed bands, so I didn't know how, but I knew I wanted a career in rock, whether in journalism, in the media, or playing, or doing anything, but I knew I wanted to do this from the moment I started to get more involved and have a better understanding of what rock and metal were, especially from the moment I stepped onto a stage. That's it.
READ ALSO: Rafael Bittencourt: “I am very hopeful and optimistic about the Brazilian scenario”
