Immortal Guardian interview

Slickster: The new album is called “Age of Revolution” and comes out Sept 28th. In support of the album you’ve prerelease a lyric video for the single, “Zephon“. PS: It’s bad ass! First of all, let’s start with the basics…. Is there anything out there about I.G. that is totally untrue? Lay the rumor mill to rest.

Carlos Zema: Thanks! We were really happy with the way it came out. I had the pleasure of designing the album artwork for Age of Revolution so it was really cool to see an animator bring it to life for the video!

I assume the rumor you are talking about is if Immortal Guardian ever was a Christian/White metal band? We can lay that rumor to rest as a solidified “NO”. You see I’m pretty eclectic when it comes to spirituality, Cody believes in drums, Thad’s a robot, and Gabriel’s a Scientologist or some shit. I don’t think we could be a white metal band even if we tried!

Back in the day the logo of the band was a cross instead of a sword as it is nowadays. The designer went with a morbid theme, along the same vibe as Black Sabbath and other doomish bands. But upon my joining the band, we rebranded the logo by replacing the cross with a sword instead, more along the “guard” theme.

Slickster: What does the name Immortal Guardian mean to you?

Carlos Zema: I coincidently had a band for years in Brazil before I moved to the US that was called Heaven’s Guardian. So it almost feels like I have been a guardian my whole life. LOL,

I can also reciprocally state that for Gabriel, in a sense that he changed his last name from Guardiola to Guardian after so many people began calling him that at shows. Therefore, we are all guardians in this band. LOL… Seriously though, The name means a lot to me in the sense that it is something that we all should strive to be, protectors of our people, our planet, our ideals. Guardians of the teachings and memories of our heros. An immortal entity that is always defending all this, keeping balance and order against the evil powers that be. Making sure that, we the people, persevere without further injustice. The strongest awakening happens intellectually. The message is there, the music carries on.

Slickster: Ok, we need to pay some homage. Texas lost Vinnie Paul Abbot. (If you have to ask who that is, you’re reading the wrong interview). Can you tell us your favorite Pantera album, and discuss Pantera’s influence on you and your music.

Gabriel Guardian: I’d also have to say “Cowboys from Hell” was the big one for me. The guitar playing, songwriting, delivery, everything was there. It really sucks to see Vinnie Paul leave us so soon. Had it not been for Pantera and the Abbot brothers I would not be the musician I am today. It is still one of my biggest honors to say that Pantera shared my “Cemetery Gates” dual shred tribute to Dimebag a few years back. Texas and heavy metal will never be the same without those legendary souls.

Cody Gilliland: That’s a tough one, but as a drummer I’d have to say “Cowboys from Hell” is my favorite album due to the heavy riffs, wailing vocals, and of course Vinnie’s insane double bass drumming! May their spirits shred on for all of eternity!

Carlos Zema: Pantera was one of my favorite bands when growing up, much respect! Excellent musicianship, CFH is a masterpiece.

Thad Stevens: Seems we’re all in agreement: Cowboys from Hell is where it’s at! Rex’s bass playing during most of the solos has always been pretty inspirational to me. It’s cool to hear a metal band that’s not afraid to let the bassist hold it down during solos without an accompanying rhythm guitar track. Their later albums may have had a more lasting influence in certain styles of metal, but CFH is the greatest in terms of that kind of musical cohesion; or at least, the kind that I enjoy!

Slickster: Alright, here’s a hard one…. A gun is to your head, chose one prog metal band as your favorite. Do you choose Symphony X or Dream Theater?

Cody Gilliland: No brainer. Symphony X all the way! Better drums, better vocals, and better songs in my opinion. They’ve always been one of my favorites and a huge influence in my drum playing.

Gabriel Guardian: Ooooo thats a tough one, why do you do this to me?! Haha
I’d have to say Symphony X is my preference over DT just cuz i listened to them longer at a much younger age so their songs resonate with me much more and bring back beautiful memories. But i probably listen to as much DT now as Symphony x.

Carlos Zema: They are equally two of my favorite bands! LOL…

Thad Stevens: Both are fantastic bands, but Symphony X is more to my taste with respect to heaviness, and to consistency.

Slickster: The vocals and guitar playing on “Zephon” are world class, not to discount the bass, keys, drums or production. Let’s focus on the vox for a moment. There is a well crafted blend of guttural growls and clean operatic melodies. Where so many prog metal bands lose it is with the half-assed vocals. How do you guys go about deciding when and where to use distorted vocals and when to use clean lines?

Gabriel Guardian: For me personally, I’ve never been a huge fan of scream vocals, but that doesnt mean I don’t like them all together. I listen to a ton of bands with scream vox, so its normal. But I see screaming vox like I see spicy food. I’m not a fan of it, but I know that if I make this meal spicy people will love it! And the band loves the spicy too so I just eat it 🙂 haha

Carlos Zema: Everybody in the band listens to all kinds of Metal. I had started singing guttural vocals as a kid, before deciding to sing any note. Cody, our drummer, listens to Extreme Metal most of the time. The guys in the band, have a lot of influence from Dimmu Borgir, as well as many other heavier bands. I personally find it very easy to always go more aggressive. But we all try to keep it as interesting musically as we can. I feel like we try to be natural and let the music decide. Sometimes you need technique, melody, and well written arrangements. And sometimes you need it dark, aggressive and raw. I like the balance we have achieved within the band. We are certainly not afraid to be audacious and versatile.

Cody Gilliland: Well, in our previous albums I feel the heavy vocals were never up to par, whether it’s getting drown out in the mix or it just never got recorded. So for this album I stepped up my aggressive vocals and tried to add as much of my heavier metal influences into the record without being too overbearing. For the most part, the songs were written and recorded (pre-production) to the finish with only clean vocals, then after listening back to it over and over, Carlos or I came up with ideas where we could put some screams in. Then if everyone liked it, I’d have to jump behind the drum-set to see if i could actually pull off screaming the part while playing drums.

Slickster: Did metal die in the 1990’s, only to be resurrected later?

Carlos Zema: I believe that Metal has never been “a thing” of the moment. It has never been a trend. You see several waves come in and out, such as Grunge, New Metal, etc… However you call it. But Heavy Metal, on itself, is one of the most eclectic genres of music in my opinion. You can make almost anything into metal and we’ve seen it recreated throughout years. Metal has been molded through all these tendencies, then it keeps going, evergreen, neverending. But it never really gets to be a super mainstream thing. I believe that is because other styles of music that get to be the “thing of the moment”, eventually fade away. People get tired of it. I believe this is the reason why Iron Maiden is still cool. 🙂

Gabriel Guardian: It has always been cool to be the rare, be different, the more complex, challenging musically, counter culture, rebel-ish, alternative, however you wanna call it. If you want to hear me play something that’s more “mainstream” or “not dead” then go check out my electronic music, I got plenty haha. But if you wanna hear the kind of music that just pours out of me naturally with no rules or barriers, listen to my work in Immortal Guardian. I don’t care if metal is dead or not dead, I’m going to play it anyways, I love it, metalheads love it, and it’s not going anywhere.

Thad Stevens: The 90s is probably my favorite decade of metal. The scene would look a lot different today without the 90s contributions of Death, Meshuggah, Atheist and Cynic, Earth and Boris, etc. Metal never dies: it’s always in motion and there’s always a scene whether it’s in the public eye or not.

Slickster: It’s hard to believe there was a time when babes used to come out to metal concerts. I’m not talking about chicks who wanted to fuck Bon Jovi or other hair-metal fakers. I mean, there were chicks who came out to check out Ozzy and other 80’s legends. Although, metal is a testosterone fueled art form and therefor isn’t a major draw for girls, is there anything that can be done (without selling out) to appeal to a more female audience?

Carlos Zema: I personally believe, that the girls in metal, generally, are a lot smarter than the ladies outside the Metal or heavier music’s scene. For some reason, liking something that is not in the mass media, is something a lot more likely to be chosen by more curious, audacious and intelligent people. So the result is that all the metal ladies might be the minority of our crowds, but they are certainly the keepers! The plan to gather more and more of these rare masterpieces, is under construction. As we contribute to our movement, and fellow headbanger’s legacy. We believe that with the right melodies, associated with outrageous riffage, the right intensity and precise aggressivity, the members of the Female HeadBanger Clan, will constantly increase presence in the shows. As they have shown to be doing in the latest Immortal Guardian shows. Thank you for all your support!

Gabriel Guardian: Yeah I think that metal can very well bring back chicks into the scene. It’s definitely not going to happen with what’s currently out, but I feel there’s going to be a great movement and shift of people soon….After being an electronic artist for 4 years, I saw how dubstep went from being a super bro-filled genre to having tons of chicks at shows. If dubstep and heavy bass music can do it, so can metal! lol

Slickster: … Then why the fuck are we doomed to a life time of “sausage-fests” in sweaty clubs, surrounded by bros in black leather jackets and blue jeans?

Carlos Zema: Man, we will hook you up with the right spots. We usually prefer spots with better views. Jokes apart, independently of the gender they will most likely be wearing leather and jeans, so let’s admit that we are set to live a lifetime in leather. Might as well, get used to it. Boys you gotta be more positive about it.

Slickster: Bring it on!  I’m totally down to find out where these watering holes are!  Will you be touring in support of the new album?

Carlos Zema: Yes, and we can’t wait! We are soon to hit the road again with our brothers from Exmortus, as far as the U.S. goes. We are also working towards hitting the international markets, returning to the South American and Russian regions where we had great success in previous tours, and also tapping into the Asian/Japanese market.

Slickster: Thanks for talking with Slickster Magazine about music and Age of Revolution. Good luck with the new tour. What message would you most like to share with the world? What is the most important thing you want to impart to people who read this interview?

Immortal Guardian: It was our pleasure! Thank you Slickster Magazine for the fun interview!

The message we’d like to share with the world is one of positivity, progress, and power. We want people to know that there is great change happening in the world for both good and bad. But if we simply line up our thoughts and spirits and put aside our conflicting differences, we can make this blue marble a better place for all of us and our future selves. It’s much easier said than done, but with power of music we can resonate with people’s cores. 

On a final note, our debut album Age of Revolution is out on September 28th on M-Theory Audio! Join the revolution and make sure you pre-order that shit! We’ll see you on the road!!! \m/