Belonger, hailing from the vibrant and culturally rich country of Brazil, are one of the many great heavy metal bands to emerge from the region. Originally rooted in ideas of Christian faith, Belonger are driven by a passion for old-school heavy metal, making them a formidable presence in the metal scene.

TheNwothm: Greetings! Please can you start by introducing the band and where you are from?

BELONGER: Hello friends from TheNwothm and readers! Greetings to all! We are the band BELONGER, formed in 2006, in Santos, Brazil. Currently, we are composed of Mauro Duarte (bass and vocals), Jonas D. Rocha (guitar), and Carlos Fleury (drums).

TheNwothm: You guys formed all the way back in 2006! What do you remember about getting the band together and those early days?

BELONGER, Mauro Duarte: I remember that I needed to start playing bass again. In some bands, I was just a bassist, in others, just a vocalist, and it had been a long time since I played bass, and the desire to play bass and why not sing too? I was in a church that had no problem with rock or heavy metal style, and there were more guys willing to play, and that’s how it started.

TheNwothm: How did you come up with the name Belonger?

BELONGER, Mauro Duarte: Since the desire to form a new band, I thought of a name like “belonger” itself. There’s an Iron Maiden song called “The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner,” and I love that combination of words. Once I saw a pamphlet written ‘believer or belonger.’ There you go, the name belonger has the same phonetics as the words in the Iron Maiden song, and I decided on it. Besides, in context, we belong to what we believe in.

TheNwothm: So you guys are from Santos, São Paulo in Brazil! We have had a few bands that we have interviewed from Brazil but can tell us your thoughts on Brazil and the metal scene there?

BELONGER: Brazil has excellent bands, great recordings, fans are very devoted, but there are still many difficulties. If you’re not on the radar of a select group, things move slower.

TheNwothm: Do you try to incorporate you heritage into your music?

BELONGER: Yes, it’s unavoidable!

TheNwothm: According to Metal Archives you explore themes of Christianity? Can you tell us more about that?

BELONGER, Mauro Duarte: When the band started, due to my faith and the musicians who were there, the direction of the themes went in that direction. Nowadays, we insert themes from the realities around us, from everyday life, and we remain with a message of positivity, as Christian faith proposes.

BELONGER, Jonas D. Rocha: I understand that music is a genuine expression of who we are, if you really give it the importance it deserves, your whole life context will be transferred to the songs. And that’s simply what we do. We just let happen in the songs what we are beyond them.

TheNwothm: What can you each tell us each about yourselves? What do you like to do in your spare time?

BELONGER, Mauro Duarte: In my free time, I listen to music, spend time with family, and watch football (soccer).

BELONGER, Jonas D. Rocha: I also dedicate time to family and have time with friends.

TheNwothm: What important figures or influences did you have in your life growing up and has that changed over time?

BELONGER, Mauro Duarte: Musically they are the same figures since I started listening to rock: Gene Simmons, Steve Harris, Geezer Butler, Roger Glover, Glenn Hughes, Gary Thain, Geddy Lee.

BELONGER, Jonas D. Rocha: Being younger, my start in heavy metal was with shared access to CD files that my bandmates saw being born. Ozzy was no longer with Black Sabbath and had already had several guitarists in his solo project, Brazilian bands like Sepultura and Angra were already consolidated in the world, the era of grunge was over, and the best of it to this day was already available. It’s like finding a ready-made world and being surprised with each new (already existing) musical discovery.

TheNwothm: So your debut EP “Crash & Burn” came out in 2019! Can you tell us about that EP and the ideas it explores!

BELONGER: Exactly, we were finishing our full album in the studio and wanted to deliver a small fraction to our listeners, promoting the EP with three tracks: Crash and Burn, Two Halves, and Daybreak. It was very important to understand how the impact of this release would be and how it would generate expectations for the rest of the album. So, there were three pieces of the puzzle – still disconnected – that we managed to present only in 2023.

TheNwothm: Considering you guys got together in 2006, what did you do in the time between forming and releasing that EP? Did you mostly perform?

BELONGER, Mauro Duarte: shows and demo recordings summed it up.

TheNwothm: What do you think of the current nwothm/ metal scene? Do you think it has changed a lot since you first got together? Or do you feel the spirit of heavy metal still reigns high?

BELONGER, Mauro Duarte: I feel the spirit of Heavy Metal still reigns high, but I don’t listen to anything new. My playlist has the same bands from 40 years ago.

BELONGER, Jonas D. Rocha: Yes! The scene is still alive and pulsating, with several bands continuing an incredible legacy sown in the 1970s/1980s. And I believe it will continue like this, even far from the spotlight of mainstream media.

TheNwothm: For a bit of fun if you each had a super power to do something good what would it be and why?

BELONGER, Mauro Duarte: the power to turn stones into money and help people.

BELONGER, Jonas D. Rocha: the power of healing would also be very interesting.

TheNwothm: Continuing the theme if you had your own metal character what would it look like?

BELONGER, Mauro Duarte: The fusion of the 4 members of Kiss 😄😄😄.

BELONGER, Jonas D. Rocha: If you can fuse, then let’s do it! 😄😄 It would be amazing to have the abilities of Randy Rhoads, Zakk Wylde, Yngwie Malmsteen, Kiko Loureiro, Chris Impellitteri… it would be quite overpowering 😄😄

TheNwothm: So between 2020 and 2023 you put out a handful of singles with such names as “Faith Reborn” and “Deserts.” What can you tell us about the lyrical and musical themes of those singles and what were there inspiration?

BELONGER: Yes, we were planning to release the full album by mid-2020 when the world was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. We went through a very difficult time, lost some friends to the disease, Mauro was hospitalised in a very delicate health condition, and when we were in the final stages of recovery, our former drummer left, and our plans were altered. So, during this period, we released these two singles to keep our audience supplied with these expectations until the album and all the pieces of the puzzle were put together.

TheNwothm: So last year you put out your self titled album “Belonger” which is made up of 12 storming tracks! Can you give our readers as overview of the tracks, what your personal favourites are and any background about the album?

BELONGER: It’s hard to mention favorites. The songs are like children to us, we love them all and rejoice in the presence of each one, even though they have different characteristics. And it’s this highlight that we want to bring to our listeners, the mixture of our influences being deposited in each song that, when connected, became incredible, so that, in the process of finalising the album art, we came across a possible literal context in the songs and developed the concept.

TheNwothm: Where did you record the album and who was the team behind it?

BELONGER: We recorded at O Beco Studio, in Santos, led by Ivan Pellicciotti, former bassist of the renowned Santos band Vulcano.

TheNwothm: And what is the story with the artwork? Who created it?

BELONGER: The cover art gave us an understanding of an unthought-of, unimaginable exit from a devastated scenario to a place of tranquility, peace, and renewal, a fresh start. This also refers to what we experienced in our journey as individuals when we decided for a supernatural exit from a dark world to a place of renewal. This image was made available for free on a graphic arts sharing site, the credits are in the booklet.

TheNwothm: What is next for the band? Any new music or tours planned for 2024?

BELONGER, Mauro Duarte: we’re planning the second album.

TheNwothm: Where can fans buy your music and merch?

BELONGER: Currently, we don’t have merchandise, but the music is available completely free on the best music platforms and on YouTube for you to listen to and enjoy the result of all our dedication as many times as you want.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Belongermetal

Linktree: https://lnk.bio/belonger

TheNwothm: Anything else you would like to mention?

BELONGER: Just to thank for the opportunity to tell more about our band. Be with us on our social networks, on Instagram (@belonger.metal), Facebook, and YouTube (belonger). Subscribe to our channels and stay updated on our news! God bless you all! Don’t let the flame of NWOTHM die out!