1. For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit more about the band?
Kvlto was founded just after I left the previous Black Metal band I was engaged with - Velho - in which I used to play the 2nd guitar. Back in 2010, me and Thiago Splatter (who is also - and still - Velho's drummer) got together to perform this kind of a ritual; the primal idea behind KVLTO was to create/re-create the grimness and rawness that used to entwine 90s Black Metal, drinking from the source of bands such as Darkthrone, Forgotten Woods, early Behemoth, early Ulver, early Immortal, early Mayhem... With that in mind, we invited Rodrigo Chucky (from Black Metal bands Twilight Burial and Cold Night) to sing and Raphael Inkubus (from old school Black Metal band Imperador Belial) to play the bass. I compose all guitar lines of KVLTO as for the lyrics, and Splatter adds the drums, after.
Chucky and Inkubus moved out to distant cities... In 2023/2024, I ended up taking over the vocals and also two new members joined the cult: Fernanda Hellish (on bass and clean vocals) and Karina Aschmedai (on 2nd guitar).
2. In October you had released a new album, musically how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
I don't think we have changed much musically... Perhaps the recording of our new material is a bit more professional. And we now added some keyboards (played by Cecilia Katrini, from Poeticus Severus) and clean vocals, as well, and Aschmedai's guitar gives KVLTO a more agressive sound. But we still persue the same goal: making true, grim, dirty Black Metal...As for the lyrics, there has been some maturation, if I must say, addressing both political and social topics. I'm a writer and a poet, and I try, as much as possible, to take the literary language to our music, to bring a particular aesthetic, more profund and intense, words being rose like waves on shores.
3. This is also your first released in 8 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time frame?
As years go by and you grow older, you start having other responsabilities and obligations. Work and stuff...The flame had never ceased to exist, though. I feel that now, more than ever, we're readier and more eager to smash the whole world. We are more certain and aware of our purposes as musicians and human beings. KVLTO is a pact to subverse the hegemonic values of this oblivious society. More than merely confroting the christian institution, we stand against all colonized ways of enslavement and alienation.
4.Some of your lyrics cover ancient lore themes, which aspects of this topic do you explore lyrically?
Our new material shall explore these aspects in a deeper way. It'll have lyrics about paganinsm, indigenous religion and environmental preservation, anti-christianity. But when we adopt the concept of ancient lore as one of the basis of our music, we are saying that we refute the postmodern way of life, which keep destroying the forests unstoppably, slaughtaring native peoples, propagating racial superiority and destroying ancestry.
5.You also have lyrics cover anti-capitalism themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your dislike for capitalism?
Capitalism is a form of mass domination. The logic of consumption produces superficial individuals driven by materiality, money shaping their desire. People are led to believe that satisfaction comes from having. This is a manipulated freedom, where you sell your labour-power and, thus, they own your time, your substance, your entire existance... Capitalism is a system that imprisons bodies.
6.What are some of the other lyrical topics and subjects you have explored so far with the music?
In our lyrics, we explore subjects that are interrelated, after all; one can't talk about capitalism without talking about colonialism, patriarchy, racism, misogyny, lgbtphobia... It's all connected. "O Outono do Patriarca" (a personal tribute to colombian leftist author Gabriel García Márquez) is about a decadent general after the end of his dictatorship, which can also be interpreted as a metaphor for anti-fascist and anti-patriarchal fight. "Temporada Vermelha" is a statement against far right ideology. "Ela" is a feminist manifest on women's empowerment. "Abismo - Parte I (A Contemplação)" is about humankind's inevitable doom. "Eles Que Chegam" is about the hypocrisy in which so-called righteous christian men are immersed, always pointing their heavy hands to others while performing aberrations themselves when out of sight. And, finally, "Nós Somos os Mortos" means that we - as in minority versus majority - are dead to the values they're trying to shove down our throats, we're dead in the sense of not sharing this narrow-minded shallow way of living.
7. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Kvlto"?
KVLTO derives from the term "kvlt" - it's actually its portuguese form. The inspiration comes from the old, rough and primitive subculture that earlier Black Metal invented. It's a refference for this particular aesthetics, for its harshness, its "necroness",
8. Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?
The entire album's artwork is by the artist Yuri Rosa. I told him the concept we wanted and he drew it. On the cover, you can see an open rift and some marginal people trying to climb it... On the top, there's a woman, some kind of sorcereress, a woman gifted with ancient wisdom staring at the fullmoon. Inside the CD, the same sorceress appears, now staring at a bleeding moon, a moon that bleeds vivid red.
9.Has the band done any live shows or open to the idea?
We've done a couple of shows in a remote past... Now, we're avid to try the new lineup on stage. We'll definetely perform live next year.
10. The new album was released on 'Mutilation Productions', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
Mutilation Productions is one of the most important underground labels in Brazil. Tulula, the man behind the label, is a legend. Mutilation has more than two decades old. It's 26 years releasing and promoting the dark arts.
11.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black metal?
It's been a nice surprise to see our album on international websites... It's been two weeks only since the release itself, and we have already received some review and interview proposals. As for the Black Metal maniacs, I think it's still early to see the impact worldwide. In Brazil, we're getting some good comments.
12.Are any of the band members currently involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?
Thiago Splatter plays in a thousand bands - I'll try to list some: Velho (one of the most important and exponent Black Metal brazilian band today), Feretral (an agressive Sewer Black Metal band), Convulsive (an insane Death Metal band), Obscure Relic (a pure raw Black Metal band), Overnöisy (an insane and brutal Grindcore/Death Metal band), Lápice (a true Black Metal experience)... and there's a lot more!
Karina Aschmedai plays and sings in PRAGA, an amazing Black Speed Metal band worth listening to, and she is the guitarist of CYTOTEKA, a riot-grrrl project.
Fernanda Hellish is the bassist of the hardcore band Broken Head.
As for myself, Kvlto is my only musical haven land.
13.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
We'd like to play in other countries, to get to know some foreigner metal maniacs, exchange experiences and points of view... We are to release a split album in the near future, too, with the thrash metal band Flageladör. Also, I have an audacious ( or crazy, perhaps?) project to release a KVLTO's instrumental album, only with acoustic guitars and clean chantings, something that resembles Ulver's "Kveldssanger".
14.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Darkthrone and Forgotten Woods are two of the bands that consacrated my Black Metal background. I must admit that I'm kinda stucked in the past, when it comes do Black Metal; I tend to listen to the same old bands that I used to when I was a kid... earlier Behemoth, earlier Immortal, earlier Emperor, earlier Satyricon, earlier Mayhem, Carpathian Forest, Opera IX, Azhubham Haani, Morbid,, earlier Absu, Bathory... I'm also into some epic/folkish stuff, like Summoning, Isengard, Otyg, Falkebach, Al-Namrood, Eivør, Empyrium, Aggaloch, Storm, Myrkur... One of today greatest Black Metal band, in my opinion, is Wolves in The Throne Room... Besides Black Metal, I also listen to some punk/hardcore stuff, and I must add that punk has huge influence on Kvlto's music.
15.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
I'd like to thank Occult Black Metal Zine for the opportunity to let us share our thoughts and feelings so freely. It's been an honor. Black Metal is not a trend, it's a CULT!!! Stay true and grim!!!
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