Guilherme Miranda

Krow

KROW is a Brazilian Death Metal band, they have been around since 2006, have toured overseas and all over  brazil, Paulomaniaco had the opportunity to see them live and also had the chance to ask their founder guitarist and vocalist Guilherme Miranda a few questions about his band.
By Paulomaniaco
June 28, 2014
Interview - Guilherme Miranda (Krow) interview
Hello Guilherme, how are you doing? thank you so much for this interview!! KROW come from Minas Gerais State, a place where many awesome bands have come from, such as; SEPULTURA, OVERDOSE, SARCOFAGO,MUTILATOR, do you see yourselves on the same level as them?

Hi I am fine thank you, oh man it is my pleasure, thank you for the opportunity!  To be honest I would not know how describe the value of our band on that scale, we are from another era, we do like those bands and it feels good to be associated with them because they were the pioneers in our state. I think we  have chosen our own path and did things our own way and we are always looking ahead for new things and all new bands that come up are doing their own thing as well.

You came to life in 2006 right? Whose idea was that and how was it in the beginning?

Yes and No, lol, Truth is; I recorded an EP in 2006 entitled "Contempt For You" and in 2007 I spent most of the year playing guitar with lots of different bands and KROW was just something that was still on the planning board, and the thing was, we were getting tones of good reviews within the scene and in 2008 I decided to quit playing for all the other bands that I  was playing for and actually took a more serious approach with KROW. I called Jhoka my drummer and told him to leave Sao Paulo and come to Uberlandia in Minas Gerais State and then we had all our focus on the band and we were very crazy about it and started working like maniacs, therefore I would say that KROW was born between 2007 and 2008, funny thing is, nowadays we all live in Sao Paulo City, hahahahahha.

You play a mix of Death and Thrash, what are your main influences?

Lots, really, so many, if I had to name them all I would be here all day, hahaha, I could say the classic stuff , the rotten ones too and lots of underground bands too, we are always listening to new stuff as well.

In your lyrics you talk about Death, War and Social Issues, what is the message you want to pass to your fans and who writes most of the lyrics?

I write most of the lyrics and Humberto our former bass player who's by the way a great guy used to help me a lot with that, the theme is always about war, death, bloodshed, insanity and destruction and the songs have to be 100% Metal, regarding our message to the fans we want them to be truth in their believes and always do what is right and fuck the rest.

Your first album was an EP called "Contempt For You" and the following album only released in 2009 called "Before The Ashes",  what did you do between this time?

As I have mentioned before we started to be more seriously about the band in 2007, and in 2008 when we went on the road and by 2009 we had played lots of gigs and also got to know each other better and thus getting more ideas for the following album.

You have played with lots of foreign bands in brazil, such as; POSSESSED, DYING FETUS, ONSLAUGHT, did this experience help KROW to become more mature and also having a more broad view of the Metal World?

Yes for sure!! It helped us a lot to become more mature in all aspects, it is always good to play with bands like those, we try to learn as much as we can, one band that stood out from the others was AURA NOIR, one of my favourite bands from all time, just to have the chance to spend a weekend with them, had a big influence in my music really, and on me as well.

From all bands that you have shared the stage with, which ones do you have the fondest memories with?

Ahahah, all of them!!! Have to say though, EHXUMED were amazing, great guys love parties and drinking, also our brothers from UNDERCROFT we have tones of tales to tell, HAVOK also, we just played with them, a bunch of nice guys, MONSTER COYOTE from Rio Grande Do Norte Brazil, I mean there are so many bands so it is very hard to remember them all, but usually we always have a great time with whoever we play with really because that is what KROW is all about, hahahh.

A Swedish producer  invited you to do the recording for "Relentless Disease" in Sweden, can you please tell us how that happened?

We played a gig in Umea Sweden and Ronnie the producer was there and he liked our performance and wanted to do something together, and last year we played in Stockholm and he invited us to come to his studio, It was great, we spent ten hours at his studio and I can tell you that this was the best work I have ever accomplished with the band.

The fact that you did a recording in Sweden, did that help the band getting gigs in Europe?

No yet, because we did the recording ending of last year and only now it has been released and so far it has not done much impact in that aspect.

Did you have to pay for your own expenses or did a promoter pay for it?

We had help from promoters, but we do lots of tours and that changes all the time, also we get sponsorships now and then.

You guys have been around not for too long, yet you are well known worldwide, what is your secret or formula?

Sincerely, There is no secret, we are obsessed with our work and we work hard, maybe that could be the secret, hahah, the truth is, we do not seat at home and wait for things to happen, instead we go after them and make it happen.

Nowadays there are tons of new bands coming to life, what would be your advice to them?

Do what you want to do, there is no formula just commitment, and follow your heart and your path.

When on tour, do you have any rules? Like, dos and don'ts.

Hahahahhahhah, We do have some rules, like, to do with organization, also not to do too much fuck ups publicly, like throw up where you should not, and also its good to keep a good image and be modest.

Are you a vegetarian?

Nooooooooo

When you are not involved with music, what do you do? Any Hobbies or a job?

Hmmmmmmmmm, my hobby is to listen to Metal, going to shows, drinking and have fun, I also enjoy playing cards and videogames.

If you were to give the person you least like a album you hate the most, what album would that be?

Anything by THE HERMANOS or something like that.

If you were sent to a desert island with all the stuff you need to have a good life but you could only take with you three albums of your choice, what albums would those be?

This question is almost impossible to answer, but anyways, I have two albums that are impossible to be left out, but the third one is hard to choose, well alright, "Reign In Blood" by SLAYER, "Rust In Peace" by MEGADETH and "Vol. IV" by BLACK SABBATH.

Why is so difficult for Brazilian bands to get more gigs and succeed abroad?

Firstly, the distance and the costs, secondly, competition is huge even for the bands from abroad things are not that easy either, there is a lot happening worldwide a big demand for bands and everyone is trying to conquer a space, as for us in Brazil if you think about only the tickets a lot o promoters give up because it is very expensive.

Do you see any difference in terms of crowd behaviour? I mean when you play in Brazil and abroad.

Hmmmm, yes and no, I mean, Metal is a universal thing, the people that usually go to shows they want to enjoy and give it 100%, it would be unfair to classify this place is better than the other and so forth, playing in Brazil is good, the crowd can be quite insane.

What are the plans for KROW's future?

Well, we want to play live shows as much as you can, and after that start working on our new forthcoming album.

Would you like to send a message to your fans here in Brazil and Worldwide?

Yes cheers!!  Would like to send a big thank you to all the people related to us, directly and indirectly, people who have helped and supported us no matter what, promoters, bands, roadies, you know who you are, and at last but not least our fans, see you all on the road!!

Metal Temple would like to thank you Guilherme for your time and your kindness, all the best and Thrash Till Death!!
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