Reprodução Entrevista da Banda Lusa á  Written Blood Australiana

Sphere Of Morality has been a great chapter for the band 

With influences from the likes of  Dimmu Borguir, Death, Opeth, Hypocrisy, Emperor, Amorphis, Katatonia, Pink Floyd, Porcupine Tree and Anathema. Venial sin has always had a completely different approach to metal, and it’s worked in their favor. But Venial Sin’s success has not come easy. “The metal scene here in Portugal is mostly focused at Oporto and Lisbon. To have the possibility to play at one of the more known festivals you have to be known by some promoters or have a friend in the scene! Is very difficult for an up and coming band because of the inner circle of the metal scene, it’s very established and in this scene there’s only three or four managers and promoters. And they rule the metal festivals and gigs! For the Portuguese people whatever is coming from the outside is always better that we have here, it is a very narrow minded vision in our point of view!”

With the release of their EP the band has gotten the Portuguese metal scene stirring, “With the release of ‘Sphere Of Morality’ we gained a lot of new fans here in Portugal because of the very good promoting done by our label. We’ve gotten positive reviews and we were featured in magazines, did some interviews. Sphere Of Morality has been a great chapter for the band”

How did the name Venial Sin come about?

Venial Sin was the name we found most suitable for the creation of this musical project, which covers a broad spectrum of influences. By their size musical and literal wide, only a name like Venial Sin created the desired impact and left us free to be able to mix all kinds of influences. So Venial Sin ultimately means that we can sin with the certainty that we will not be misinterpreted in the creation of our "musical sins."

Your music spans over quite a few genres, the most prominent being Black & Death Metal, how would you describe your sound?

Venial Sin since the early days put on a task to be an open-minded band, looking always for some progressive music evolution. We try to avoid things that had already been done by others and follow our own influences. We do not like labels, the idea has always been to have an original sound. We do accepts influences from different musical contexts and genres having, however, shown an alliance to Black/Death Metal and to Progressive Rock, focusing mainly on the melody of our themes, which results in the creation of obscure and captivating atmospheres. Being original is not difficult; difficult is keeping that originality in different levels of the main musical sub-genres of metal and combining them with other contexts of music.

Venial Sin has played alongside Altar of Plagues, Won 1ste place in the Garage Band contest (2010) and 2nd place in the Rock On contest (2011). It must have created a good platform for the band?

In the case of Venial Sin the answer is yes! Yes, indeed the fans support us at the gigs telling us that our sound is different from the mainstream that they know and hear. We have been doing this in our own way.  Trying to find the best way to achieve our goals as a band, knowing that in Portugal the inner circles of metal scene are very established. We try to be different and unique in our sound, maybe it’s a reflection of living in Vila Real, a small town in the north of Portugal. From the beginning that we wanted to create in an organized and well founded way so that all our hard work and dedication will not be forgotten. Therefore, when we perform live, we try to absorb the energy of the crowds as well as spending time with our fans after shows. This means that people will come to concerts a next time and bring their friends. We were fortunate to have won some song contests where public support is crucial.

Venial Sin went through a line-up change last year, how has the new line up been working out for the band?

There has always been a great spirit and good atmosphere around the band, what happened over all these years either with old elements, or existing elements, although all different and all enriching. When someone leaves the band for any reason, it causes an impact, whether musical or on an atmospheric level. Much is lost and much is gained. We just have to praise all the decisions that led to the success of Venial Sin.

The new EP ‘Sphere of Morality’ was launched February this year, was the launched as successful as you’d wanted?

Yes, in Sphere Of Morality we achieved exactly what we wanted to do. We didn’t rush the creating processes and that is very important, because we could really enjoy all the process of creating our own music and that’s a key element that led us into a good preproduction stage. Since the beginning we wanted to mix all possible elements because we are talking about music and music for us is the fusion of many elements with all contrasts and its possibilities. “Sphere of Morality” was a really nice chapter of the band. We had been able to work with a close friend and well know musician and producer here in Portugal, Guilhermino Martins, from the well-known Portuguese band, Thanatoschizo. He helped us pick the best ways to express what we really wanted in this record.  We know that we are still in the process of refining our sound, but for now we are enjoying it because maybe in the future we could say this is really what Venial Sin should sound like, a unique band with a unique sound, our own music.

How did you find the recording processes for Sphere of morality?

The recordings were done in a very professional and relaxed atmosphere at the same time because we wanted to do everything calmly. No doubt, Guilhermino was a plus in the final product because there was constantly a great harmony between him and Venial Sin, as always.
 A fact which gave us all the ease and comfort necessary for us to all go a little further, whether humanly or in any process of recording the EP! We felt at home and we knew exactly what we wanted  to do with this EP, which coupled with the fact that we as a band musically were not bound by labels and being "musically open", meant that in terms of production we could easily absorb new ideas and opinions which proved a surprise. We are certainly very happy with this great chapter that unfolded at the Blind & Lost Studios, in Santa Marta de Penaguião.

I have to say I really love the cover art for ‘Sphere of Morality’. How did the idea for the cover art come to life and is there a message in the cover art, visually?

From the first time we saw the work of the artist “Helder Pedro”, we imagined the possibility of him being the perpetrator of Sphere Of Morality’s artwork, which fortunately happened. Having managed to absorb all of our ideas so that the final product was exactly what we as a band want to convey, I think that is evident on the cover. The cover art of the album reveals aspects of the future of humanity, as well as an important process that all of the human population should reach in terms of energy and sensory, for a further spiritual awakening, which converges with the whole idea of liberation that cuts the awareness of all type of taxes and stabilized ideas. Basically everyone can absorb this illusion in a personalized manner where each individual comes to a conclusion about the Sphere Of Morality and its associated ideas.

Who is the main songwriter in the band?

The main composers of Venial Sin are Pedro Matos and Helder Guedes.

Lyrically speaking, where do you draw inspiration from?

Lyrically are addressed moods and feelings ranging from love, anger, loss, conquest, through metaphysics where anger, reverie and relationships go hand in hand!

What does the future hold for Venial Sin?

After we promoted Sphere Of Morality during 2012, the idea is to go back to the rehearsal room for the creation and pre-production of an album. In parallel we are trying try to facilitate a tour in Europe in late 2013 and finally be able to bring Venial Sin to other places, other cultures and grow as a band, strengthening and creating new contacts. It is a very old desire and can therefore only be achieved with hard work and some luck.

Any Famous last words?

First of all we want to give a big hug to you Rhelda Louw, to the whole ‘Written Blood’ team and all the head-bangers and metal fans from Australia. Thank you all for the opportunity given to us, to be able to get to known Venial Sin a little more. We will wait for what the future holds, hoping that new doors will open for us, maybe one day it will be possible for us to travel to Australia for a tour! On behalf of Venial Sin a strong hug from Portugal to all of you guys, Rock on!

We are always ready and receptive to anyone who wants to contact the bandbooking.venialsin@gmail.com

http://www.myspace.com/thevenialsin
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https://thevenialsin.wordpress.com/