INTERVIEW: ALACRÁN (SPAIN)

There are some seriously good bands coming from Spain and one band that definitely delivers the ‘sting’ is the one and only Alacrán from Zaragoza!

TheNwothm: Metal warriors Alacrán! It is greet to be chatting with you! Can you tell our readers who is the band and where you are from?

A: Howdy people of The Nwothm!! Here are Diego ‘Petroski’, Roberto ‘RK’ , Christian ‘Oli’ and Sergio ‘Cachorro’, making sharp and tasty Heavy/Speed Metal from Zaragoza (Spain). Thanks for this interview 😉

TheNwothm: You formed all the way back in 2012! How did you all meet and decide to form the band?

A: Well, Zaragoza’s a pretty small city, we all knew each other already from nights out, concerts, social media… Diego and Christian (bass & guitar) had the original idea of making a band, Sergio (vocals) was just being around, having his first experiences in music at that moment, and Jorge literally popped in one night saying: “ey guys, I’m learning how to play drums”. He was the original drummer, but he had to leave the band to live in Prague so Roberto, who was an Alacrán follower before, joined us in 2018. That’s the current lineup.

TheNwothm: And how did you choose the band name?

‘A: Alacrán’ is a Spanish word for scorpion. We were looking for some name with Heavy Metal essence but also connected with our world, our roots. I don’t know if it makes the same point in English, but when you hear our name here u can be sure it’s not gonna be a Beatles cover band or some indie project… It’s a very strong and hard sound, filled by poison. 

TheNwothm: You guys are from Zaragoza, Aragon in Spain! What can you tell us about the area your from and Spains culture in general? 

A: Our area is a kind of desert surrounding a big river, you can find some landscapes that seem like miniatures of Arizona. But Spain in general is full of contrasts in its appearance and so in its culture, impossible to define… One interesting thing we all have in common is that we live very close to music and, obviously, to guitars. It’s not only about famous flamenco in the south, in any corner where there is life, there’s music. So for us, we are a very artistic and emotional culture. In the past centuries, when Spaniards migrated somewhere they took almost nothing but a guitar, because u cannot carry ur house and furniture, but our whole world fits in a song. That explains us better than any other symbol, flag or touristy thing, i think.

TheNwothm: And If someone was to visit Spain for the first time what places would you tell them to visit?

A: STAY THE F*CK AWAY from Barcelona!! Look for the little authentic places… But u need to know the Mediterranean as well as the north mountains and our inner deserts and forests and mesas and the northern cold sea. It’s about atmospheres more than about cities. Go to Madrid first, it is the center of everything here, and then escape in the cheapest train you can find, run in all possible directions and destinations just like in a Kerouac’s novel!

TheNwothm: What is the metal scene like where you are from? Is heavy metal leading the way?

A: The Metal scene is alive, especially genres like Thrash, Death, Black… Classic Heavy Metal is maybe on the back burner, but we believe that it is going to resurface. You can see some very young bands coming back to the old good juicy Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. We hope that (a bit) older bands like Alacrán, Hitten, Witch Tower, Loanshark and many many other will be able to lead that movement and make something great together.

TheNwothm: Let us talk about your debut self titled EP from 2014! Can you tell us about the 5 songs on the EP and how you went about writing your first material?

A: We always wanted to make our own material from the beginning, the world already has enough, or even too many cover bands… ‘Alacrán’ Ep was our first experience in the studio and it reflects that moment: speedy sound, a lotta attitude and stupid lyrics about partying and rock. Of course it was not our best material, but yes, very sincere and raw.

TheNwothm: Do you guys write together in a room or share files on line?

A: Both, but we work better together in our rehearsal room. Riffs generally come then, lyrics are slower. We usually record what we play as well so we can keep working on the songs separately and check how everything matches when we meet again, the energy is always more magical in those moments.

TheNwothm: And can you tell us about the instruments and gear you use to make your music?

A: Actually nothing too crazy, none of us are rich, nor is the band very pretentious. We are not hanging around with our super expensive shiny instruments or futuristic gear. We try to just feel comfortable and sound good. Typically drums are quite bulky, especially in Heavy Metal as u know…  Roberto has to take a real spaceship with him to almost every show. Also Christian owns a wonderful signed guitar, on the other hand, Diego has a humble (but powerful) Squier bass, and Sergio has been singing with a microphone he ‘borrowed’ from a pub where he used to work. 

TheNwothm: “Siempre En La Brecha” followed on from your debut in 2016! What kind of themes and lyrical ideas did you have for this EP and how does the EP compare to the first you put out?

A: That EP has more quality in all aspects compared to our debut. We were still a bit nervous anyway, immature, so maybe we recorded it too fast… We repeated some mistakes from the past, but our sound and message were on the right path. “Siempre en la Brecha” talks about the street, rebellion, inner darkness, identity, life choices… and of course a lotta rock n roll. 

TheNwothm: I enjoy a good beer so can you tell our readers your favourites? And for any metalheads coming to Spain ,what metal/rock bars would you recommend?

A: Be careful when u come!! Some of the most famous beers here like Cruzcampo are not preferable to cyanide. A brief selection by Alacrán: Estrella Galicia 1906, Ambar Export, Alhambra 1925 and Mango Loco (we won’t tell who drinks what). About bars… Any place where they still bet on Rock and Heavy Metal deserves a chance. In Zaragoza we usually go to Infiernos, Tapeo Rock and Utopía, but we couldn’t tell you “go to this one and not to this other one”. Well, don’t go to any Hard Rock Cafe, of course, but that is pretty obvious hahah.

TheNwothm: Can you tell us a bit about yourselves? What do you all do in your spare time?

A: Each one of us does it in his own way, but the four of us are very restless and creative people. We are always looking for art and for freedom in life. Diego, Christian and Sergio are focused on more musical projects, meanwhile Roberto is committed to the art of ‘cabezudos’, an important expression of local folklore (costumes of giant heads that dance and chase children in  local festivals). Diego owns a motorcycle and a van and he loves traveling. Christian lives for music and he is also an enthusiastic comic reader. Sergio is a kind of hippie vagabond, poet, musician, painter, art historian… We all are multifaceted but we all unite around good Heavy Metal. 

TheNwothm: There was quite a big gap between “Siempre En La Brecha” and you most recent EP released last year “Luzifer.” What did you guys get up to in that period? Were you mostly playing shows or doing other things!

A: We were, most of all, playing live shows, composing a few songs… We also had a period of low activity, more focused on our stupid jobs, personal matters, u know. Covid was also there, but after all of that, we came back with full energy. It was a necessary stop. Having time for ourselves made us more in tune to music in general and to our sound, in particular.

TheNwothm: So last year you put out “Luzifer!” Can you give us a breakdown of the tracks on the EP and why you decided to include two live tracks?

A: Well, we just chose our tastiest compositions. “Síndrome” and “Luzifer” were already in our last live set lists. Meanwhile, “Halcones de la Noche” came later during Covid. It reflects perfectly our current sound and attitude: Heavy/Speed Metal, sharp, fast, direct… but also able to make u shake ur hips. 100% pure, no additives. About the live records, they have the same philosophy: to try to show us as authentically as possible. Even if being real means to set up two microphones in our rehearsal room and play a crazy concert there. It sounds a bit like recording inside a sardine can, but that’s the way it goes.

TheNwothm: Did you you use the same team to record and produce your EP or did you work with other people this time around?

A: We did everything on our own at this time. In the past, we had problems translating our real vibes on the stage or in the rehearsal room to the studio records so we decided to record everything in our room, with our usual instruments and gear, and then Christian and Diego did the mixing and mastering. That’s why everything sounds so raw. 

TheNwothm: And the artwork certainly captures that oldskool vibe! Who created it?

A: Yeah, he did a great job. The artist was Daniel Meseger, designer and guitarist in Hitten, another great Heavy Metal band here. We made some crazy (and terrible) drafts and he made art from there. Because he’s on the same vibe as us, it was really easy and a pleasure working with him. He got our vision immediately.

TheNwothm: So what’s next musically for the band? Will you be putting out a full length album in the near future?

A: That is what we are planning. We have the songs already so all we need is to record them together. We don’t know what will happen but we have a lot of faith in this material.

TheNwothm: And in terms of live performances? Are you going on tour and if so will be you be playing?

A: We will try to go on tour, but we need the time, money and opportunity. Anyway, u can be sure we will make some noise! Life is becoming more and more difficult but the truth is that we wouldn’t know how to live without a stage. I think that’s fuckin’ Rock & Roll, isn’t it?

TheNwothm: Where can fans buy your music and merch?

A: Well, by the moment they can directly write to us through our email heavymetalalacran@gmail.com or our IG (@alacranheavymetal) and Facebook (just Alacrán) and we will send them.

Music is also available in YouTube, Spotify, iTunes and Bandcamp.

TheNwothm: Anything else you would like to mention?

A: Just thanks for this interview and the opportunity to show a bit more about ourselves. We hope we can meet again in the future with our LP that’s already out and new adventures in the works… Un abrazo!!