Diva Satanica

Bloodhunter

Jeff Legg recently had a conversation with Diva Satanica, the phenomenal female vocalist for the Death Metal band BLOODHUNTER. I need to mention that after requesting an interview, she messaged me back within a matter of minutes to let me know that she would do it.  I was blown away that she was so gracious and humble for someone that must have little or no spare time these days. Her band is on an upward rocket ride as they gain fans and popularity worldwide in this, the heaviest genre of music on the planet. With the release of BLOODHUNTER's new self-titled album, out now on Suspiria Records, this extremely powerful new band will leave you with no doubt that their intentions are to melt your face beyond recognition.  These 11 songs are brutal and fast but have melodic overtones that blend perfectly.

Personal thanks to Diva for sitting down and answering my questions that let us get to know her in a more personal way.
By Jeff Legg
July 5, 2014
Interview - Diva Satanica (Bloodhunter) interview
Tell me a little bit about yourself. Where were you born and raised and where do you currently reside?

I was born and raised in La Coruña, in the North-West of Spain, land of witches… but I've lived in Madrid for the last 3 years.

I did my research on you and know that you have done some modeling in the past, as well as a contributing writer and journalist for a couple of magazines. Do you have any other talents that you can speak about?

Well, I´m always looking for new things to try. I started my modeling career in an alternative way 6 years ago but I discovered too many people are interested in many different things other than art, so I gave up. I knew that I needed to express myself through some kind of art and that´s way I entered into the metal scene through a Greek webzine called Subexistance Music Production. I learned a lot about music and I decided to try to go one step further and Heavy Rock Magazine gave me the chance. I don´t know if this is a matter of talent but in my opinion the most important thing is to keep your mind open. Recently, I´ve started a new way in my life to get the Degree as a Doctor in Nursery.

It seems to me that, in regards to your writing and modeling, Heavy Metal seemed to be your passion. Have you always had a love for that style of music?

Yes, it is. I love all kinds of music styles, but maybe Rock n' Roll and almost all metal subtypes fits with my need of talking about feelings. No one in my family loves this kind of art and it was very difficult to find friends with the same tastes in music, but this made me think that maybe my best friends were at the music stores. First time I listened to a Death Metal band I was terrified…haha

At what age did you decide that you wanted to be a singer in a Death Metal band?

I´ve been always interested in singing. The real thing is that I don´t feel comfortable with melodic singing so I thought that maybe I should try with growling…and wow! That was the best decision in my life: it´s my only way to introspection.

Who do you credit with being your musical influences?

As I told you before, I listen to many different styles of music: since ASTARTE, ETHS, IN THIS MOMENT, SKULLFIST, BEHEMOTH, AXEWOUND, ROTTING CHRIST, NIGHTRAGE, FIREWIND…I could tell you a thousand more! If you mean about my vocal influences, I must confess that Candice Clot from ETHS gave me the keys.

Who do you listen to these days, and who is someone you listen to (outside of Metal) that would surprise your fans?

Well, any of the bands that I mentioned before could be the most I listened right now. Something outside of the metal scene? Lana del Rey is one of my faves at this time, I think is a great artist in every sense of the word.

How and when did this current line-up of BLOODHUNTER come together, and have you been friends with the guys for a while?

We recorded our first demo in 2013 in order to get the current line-up. Then we found Éadrom and Phoguett and everything was ready to start the hunt! We didn´t meet each other before except Fenris (the founding member) and I met about 7 years ago.

I'll be really honest here, and I mean no disrespect by this question. After listening to BLOODHUNTER for the first time, I had to double check the liner notes to confirm that it was actually a female singing. You've got a really strong voice and not one that you often associate with such a pretty face. Do you get that a lot?

Thank you very much for your kind words, Jeff! The real thing is that everybody tell me the same thing day by day. It´s really cool to know that people recognize my efforts. It took me a long time to get a good vocal technique and it´s really appreciated when someone like you ask me for something like that. I hate when people use the gender issue to justify that women can´t growl, that´s completely wrong and the best answer is to invite them to hear us. When we were recording our first album, someone listened to me and told the engineer something like: "hey, that man growls really well!". You should see his face when the engineer told him that it was me! haha

OK, Let's talk about the new BLOODHUNTER album. This is really dark, heavy stuff. Where does the inspiration for the songs come from?

We tried to talk about introspection, freedom, the human being…we live in hard times, especially in our country and we want to talk about how this is influencing people; of course we use a kind of metaphorical sense.

There are three songs on the new album, "The First Insurrection, "Bloody Throne", and "Saints of Sand" that appeared on the EP "The First Insurrection". Why was the decision made to re-release these songs? And were these three songs re-recorded?

We recorded our first demo to look for a drummer and a bassist to set up our line-up. Besides, our sound has changed very much since the beginnings. We´ve learned a lot about ourselves and we are always trying our best in order to improve day by day. My vocal technique has changed in a notorious way, we wanted to give the same sound for the full album.

This current line-up of BLOODHUNTER (Fenris on guitar, ÉADROM on bass, and Phoghett on drums) has really made an impact in the Death Metal genre in a relatively short amount of time and it looks like you guys have a huge future ahead of you. Does that surprise you at all?

Maybe it´s too early to know that for sure but we hope we can forge our identity in the coming future. We are like a team that works towards a common goal.

In your own words, how would you describe the new album to a new listener of BLOODHUNTER?

I hate the idea of being classified as a subtype inside the metal scene so, my wish is that people could listen to this album with an open mind, only trying to appreciate the great melodies inside and the heaviest riffs, and if that fits with them, just buy one copy or go to one of our shows! We don´t belong to any kind of representation.

What can you tell me about your touring schedule for the rest of 2014?

We have different dates at this time. First of all, next 31st May in our homeland. Hope we can see you all in a near future at the stages, we´re looking forward to bringing our music to the most number of countries as possible!

Any plans to tour the USA any time in the near future?

I hope so! We´re trying to set up something outside of European countries as well. We receive lots of messages from our fans asking us to go and play for them. That would be a dream come true!

Diva, thank you so much for doing this interview. I'm so impressed with your talents and more importantly, your character. I wish you and the other members of BLOODHUNTER the best for the future and I would love to see you play live someday.

Pleasure is mine! It´s been really cool to discover that there´s still real journalists like you interested about the artists and the most important thing, about people. Thank you very much for your time and keep on with the good work!

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