The band from Rio de Janeiro spoke with Wikimetal in an exclusive interview
Heavy metal has always been one of the most male-dominated genres, but lately women have proven that there is room for us in this world of heavy riffs and headbanging. An example of this is the Rio de Janeiro-based group Melyra formed by Drika Martins (drums), Fe Schenker (guitar and backing vocals), Nena Accioly (bass and guttural vocals), Roberta Tesch (guitar and backing vocals), and Verônica Vox (vocals).
In October 2018, the band released their first studio album, Saving You From Reality , but despite having just debuted their work, they have already won fans everywhere. Melyra was responsible for opening for Arch Enemy in Rio de Janeiro on their last visit to Brazil and participated in the tribute album celebrating the 25-year career of Edu Falaschi , former vocalist of Angra.
Melyra is currently promoting their new album, and amidst the craziness of live performances, the band took some time to chat with Wikimetal . Read our full interview below, followed by a listen to the album Saving You From Reality .
Wikimetal: Can you tell us a little about your journey so far?
Fe Schenker: We are a heavy metal band formed in 2012, here in Rio de Janeiro. We started without any pretensions, but with time and teamwork, our first compositions began to emerge the following year. In 2014, we recorded our first release, the EP *Catch Me If You Can* , which features six original tracks. Our EP brought us many good things! In 2015, we played many great shows, including the Rio Novo Rock festival, which takes place monthly at Imperator, and opening for Arch Enemy at Circo Voador, both very traditional venues in our city. We also got to travel to other states and present our music! We went to São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Paraná. In 2016, we also participated in the project * A New Lease of Life *, a tribute album to the singer Edu Falaschi . For this project, we recorded a version of the song "Living and Drifting" by Almah , which was very well received by the singer's fans. Soon after, we decided to take a break from performing to focus on composing a new album. After a lot of work, in October of this year, we released our first album, Saving You From Reality , which features 10 original tracks. The first single, "Dead Light," got a lyric video, and our current single, "My Delirium," has a web video released.
WM : What is the band's creative process like?
Beta Tesch: The creative process is very natural and fun, but with certain responsibilities. Ideas usually come from all of us. Sometimes the compositions start at home, sometimes they come up at work, on the subway, in short, it doesn't matter where we are, if something comes up we record it, send it to the WhatsApp group and take it to the studio to start refining it. With those ideas we build the songs according to our schedule, that's why I say it arises naturally, but we have to be responsible to be able to build an album.
WM : You just released your debut album, how was the experience?
Nena Accioly: It was and is the best possible experience! Seeing everyone enjoying and listening has been incredibly rewarding! Saving You From Reality was a CD conceived and created with the utmost care and dedication. Every step, every riff, lyrics, and melodies, besides carrying the band's identity, also carry a little bit of the essence of each of us! Happiness is an understatement to describe my current feelings about this CD, so the experience has been fantastic! And this is just the beginning!
WM : Does the album have a specific theme, or did you intend to do something more free-flowing?
Ve Voxx: Let's say that the songwriting process was free, and in a way, it steered towards something deeper, more thought-provoking, and challenging. Both the lyrics and melody resonate deeply with everyone, creating something powerful. It conveys and translates emotions and attitudes from various perspectives. With this, Saving You From Reality fulfills its purpose: to escape reality.
WM : Do you think national heavy metal bands have a place here in Brazil? What's the audience reception like for Melyra?
Fe Schenker: That's a complicated question to answer! There's an alternative scene with niche media and a lot of metal bands in Brazil that manage to play shows and gain recognition. I see us in that scene. What's missing is space in larger media outlets and events, so that the genre's wider audience, who don't necessarily research newer bands or attend smaller events, can discover and follow our work. For example, many of our fans discovered us because we opened for Arch Enemy at Circo Voador. That's the kind of space bands need to grow even more. In general, Melyra is very well received by the public. We receive many positive reviews and compliments at our shows and online too! We're very happy about that and want to achieve more with each step.
WM : We've heard around here that the situation for live performances in Rio de Janeiro isn't the best, especially for international acts. Is that true?
Drika Martins: Well, the scene is alive for those who aren't dead. There have always been difficulties in the underground and independent music scene, so it's important that bands are always moving forward and don't just wait for things to happen.
WM : I think it's very important to talk about the role of music in current affairs, especially with all this separatism that's been going on. How do you see all of this?
Beta Tesch: Music is truly very important in current affairs; being able to express what we feel and give our opinion through art is something divine. Even knowing that not everyone will identify with our art, we have the freedom to create, whether people like it or not. And for those who like and identify with our work, it's great because they feel represented by an artist who, through art, speaks and explains what they can't convey; it's as if we can give people a voice. With the single "Dead Light," for example, I already had the pleasure of hearing someone say "thank you," because that was all they needed to hear and nobody else was saying it. That's incredibly gratifying and extremely important for society in general.
WM : You opened for Arch Enemy, another awesome band with a female vocalist, and participated in the Edu Falaschi tribute project. What can you tell us about those experiences?
Fe Schenker: Both were fantastic experiences for us! The tribute to Edu was a great challenge! It was difficult to choose a song that we could put our own identity into and at the same time be relevant to his fans. We chose "Living and Drifting" and we managed to do exactly what we wanted with it, we put our own spin on it and pleased our fans and Edu's fans. Opening for Arch Enemy was super unexpected! It's a band I really like, but I never imagined us opening because our sound is very different from theirs. What happened was that the producer of Circo Voador was looking for a band to open the event and saw us in a small-circulation zine that was at a friend's house. The most curious thing is that in our interview for the zine they asked which bands with women we liked and, among many others, we mentioned Arch Enemy. When we received it, we saw that the editor had chosen some of the bands we mentioned (probably the best known) and listed them as influences! (laughs). When the Circus producer saw our look, he liked it and invited us to open for them! We were very surprised and very happy at the same time! Unfortunately, we didn't get to talk to the band members, but it was an event that gave us a lot! Besides fans, it was great for us to understand the backstage structure of an event like that, as well as the experience of playing on one of the best stages in the city.
WM : What are your biggest musical influences?
Ve Voxx: There are many, from Helloween , Metallica , Iron Maiden , Judas Priest , Lacuna Coil , Black Sabbath , Led Zeppelin , to classical music (laughs), among others. When composing, these influences appear in beautiful details of fills, solos, harmonies, timbres and vocals, increasingly highlighting these influences.
WM : What are the plans now?
Drika Martins : Trying to take over the world? Just kidding. Doing lots of shows, LOTS! Meeting new bands, playing in new places to promote our new work, the album Saving You From Reality .
