Krisiun is one of the most famous and acclaimed bands in the Brazilian death metal scene, and is known worldwide. Formed by Alex Camargo on bass and vocals, Max Kolesne on drums, and Moyses Kolesne on guitar, the band has just returned from a European tour and will be performing at the Rolling Stone Festival this Saturday, the 2nd.
In an interview with Wikimetal , Moyses spoke about the invitation to perform, describing it as "a great honor": "It's something difficult for an underground death metal band to have this happen, with such extreme music, but it's another barrier that Krisiun is breaking down." And that "we're going to try to give the best show possible that day."
Due to the rapid ticket sales , the show was moved to Cine Joia, which the guitarist said was "proof that Krisiun fans are out there, they're active. They want to see the band, support the band, right?" Speaking about the fanbase, Moyses described it as a "family": "It's not just internet fans, right? Real fans, the ones who help the band, buy merchandise, go to shows, right? More than just giving likes or comments."
To go on tour, Moyses reveals that a lot of preparation is needed before the shows, dealing with "bureaucratic" issues like renting a tour bus, setlists, and merchandise. In addition, the emotional and physical aspects are also important: "You have to be physically well, you can't be sick. You can't have something that affects your performance, that throws the band off balance, right? Someone might be fine, the other might not, so you have to be physically well. Everyone has to be mentally well too, because there are many musicians who go on tour and are mentally messed up due to emotional issues."
He also spoke about the concentration required during the band's shows, which last an hour and 15 minutes. "Death metal isn't easy. So, you have to be very focused."
The band has been touring internationally quite frequently in recent years: "We go to Europe every year, to the United States every year, Canada, apart from the pandemic, right? So it's been, I don't know, almost twenty-five years of traveling every year."
“We know how to act in all sorts of ways, right? When we were kids, we wasted a lot of energy, talked a lot of nonsense. All of this calls into question your standing as a professional band.”
Krisiun is currently on tour promoting their twelfth album, Mortem Solis , released in 2022. Regarding the album's name, Moyses explains that the translation is "death of the sun," but that it's necessary to go back a long way in history: "It's the death of the empire, of religion, of the force that oppresses human beings, so much so that the cover shows the fall of an empire."
Speaking about the new album, Moyses explained that "we cut things that might have made the music a little less direct. We saw that there are a lot of bands using a lot of symphony, a lot of things that sometimes detract from the music, and we wanted to do something like that, kind of direct, very old-school death metal," explaining why they included fewer guitar solos, fewer introductions, and shorter songs.
Mortem Solis song is "Necronomical," describing it as different from anything the band had done before: "It's a song that starts very slowly, it doesn't sound much like 80s heavy metal." Furthermore, the guitarist describes it as a song that "stepped outside the normal Krisiun box" and that, perhaps, it opened "a new path for us to follow, sometimes, on future albums."
Krisiun is known for being a very technical band, but Moyses said: “It’s part of the music, of course, you have to have technique, but music is much more than technique, it’s inspiration, it’s expression, right? That’s what the band represents.”
The musician recalled when Krisiun was the opening act for Black Sabbath in 2017: "It was, for me, the biggest dream of my life."
The show took place in Porto Alegre: “which is where we came from and it was on that street that Krisiun was born, almost, it was in that neighborhood that Krisiun was born. So when I was a kid in Porto Alegre, I never imagined that one day I would open for Black Sabbath in my neighborhood.”
When asked about Brazilian elements in Krisiun's music, Moyses Kolesne replied: "We're Brazilian, right? So the Brazilian element is already there. This thing of bringing in samba, bringing in this and that, for me it's a bit outside of metal."
“Our death metal is not the same as American or European death metal. It's in our blood. So I don't need to go there and put on a drum beat to say I'm Brazilian; I can go there and play extreme metal and show that I'm Brazilian by playing metal with my own characteristic identity.”
He praised Sepultura 's Roots album, but said that "later, with some bands, it became clear that they were just copying it, trying to be successful, and even for them, that never worked again."
"A lot of struggle, a lot of dedication, blood, sweat and tears" was how the guitarist described his musical journey and spoke about the importance of reinvention.
He also explained the importance of the fans: “I know we’re not alone, there are always a lot of people supporting us. We’ve managed to build a solid fan base.”
