Interview with Opus Dead

 OPUS DEAD. Agosto 04,

Interview by: Corix Psychotronic


NB:- Your band bio has really interesting stories, and I found out that you started the band since 97, how’s the hardcore punk scene in your country at that time?
OPUS DEAD [RICARDO]: -When we started with the band we were really young people. I was 15 or 16 and the rest of the people 16 or 17, I do not remember exactly.
In that time we played more metal, we weren’t in punk and DIY scene. Little by little we were coming in this scene till now.
I can’t tell anything about the scene in that time (what I know is by the hand of my readings and chats with older friends). Some people said that the guys were more united, we had more squats and this kind of things, but I don’t know by myself.

NB: -You are just 16-17 years old at that time, who are those old school hardcore punk band that you really looked up in your country? Who are your influences when you were just a teenage punx?
RICARDO: -We weren’t punk in ours first times. We were more metal and trash. We listened groups like anthrax, Iron Maiden, Testament… Then we started with Sin Dios (best hardcore Spanish band from my point of view) and another hardcore punk bands.
Nowadays we played more punk and hardcore but we still listen thrash metal and we enjoy introducing thrash parts in our songs. We are making a mix between trash and punk.

NB: -Are you really into punk music when you were just in first year high school?
RICARDO: -I don’t know how many years you have there in your first year in the high school; here we had 14-15 years old. We always have had political lyrics, though we weren’t into punk scene. We always were a strange band because we play metal with political lyrics and a natural DIY vision, and we were too much punk for the metal kids and we were too much metal for punk guys. I think we arrive to the punk-hardcore DIY movement with 18 year and I think we will die into DIY scene!

NB: -How did you come up of playing thrash hardcore punk? Who’s idea of playing that kind of music?
RICARDO: -We really loved thrash metal, bands like anthrax for example and other metal bands like Black Sabbath….
We started with the band five mates and we were all thrash guys. It wasn’t an idea. It was simply our influences and our prefer kind of music. We were knowing new groups and scenes and we have changed our style a lot, but it is not because we want to do it, it’s because we can’t avoid it.

NB: -Your music is lyrically political, pls. Tell me about your country’s political situation?
RICARDO: -We have had 8 years a motherfucker President whose main idea was improve the situation of the employers, you know, he was the worse possible president for the workers. Moreover he supported USA in Irak´s imperialist war and it was terrible for the Spanish people. In Madrid we were in some demonstrations more than a million people screaming against that criminal, capitalistic war (even people who voted him).
Now we have another kind of president, not so capitalistic and bastard but, you know, it is almost the same. In countries like our one the government are the multinationals and other big employers. It is almost the same who is in government. Are the same dogs with different necklaces.

NB: -Are you also active in doing rally on streets with those active organization against the rotten system of your government?
RICARDO: -We live in Madrid. Madrid has a very right Mayor since 1994. It was very good squats here. Now, we haven’t got anyone. It is not a dead scene but it is really difficult to make things here. There is a lot of repression and we are few people and very different, there isn’t union between punk, redskin, metal or hardcore guys and it is a big problem.

NB: -Is Anarchism really works in your country? Do you think Anarchism nowadays is still working worldwide?
RICARDO: -We were in USA and I saw in a show in Connecticut an anarchy flag. It was great and we were surprised for see it in USA, moreover there exist some anarchist organizations, was cool to met some of them. I think there are anarchy people worldwide, even in countries without anarchy past. In Spain, Barcelona and other cities was anarchist in 1936 and some more time. Here there are many anarchist people but now we haven’t the chance of changing the society. In the first years of XX century, until 1939 (the end of the Civil War which was win by the fascists), there was more than a million people in the CNT, anarcho-syndicalist organization. Now it’s difficult, there are less people each day, but who knows, maybe one day we will have other chance!
Nowadays people don’t understand us. They don’t think or read about anarchist. People are completely into capitalism society. I think there are anarchist guys doing things around the world and this is the most important thing. You can see tones of squats all over the world, collectives supporting prisoners, anarcho-syndicalism groups… The anarchism is still alive! Maybe the anarchism never will change the world, but the most important for us is to do what we believe, make real our ideas in our life, this is possible.

NB: -What can you say about the ideals and theory of Karl Marx? Did you follow his doctrine about anti capitalism?
Miguel:- I think he was an extra incredible thinker. He is studied in many different universities, he was a genius, but he had a problem, he was communist!! Hahahaha It is interesting read his books and other communist books. I have a Stalin’s speech in my house and he describe (in 1940 more or less) the Irak´s war. I assure you!!
They were in other world but they knew what was going to happened. (By the way, fuck Stalin!) Ricardo:- Yes, he was a really important thinker, with really intelligent ideas. But there is nothing more than ideas. The communism is a totalitarian form of government, the dictadury of the people is changed by the dictadury of the party and the elites. Their economical plans organized by the State are not a good ideas, they wanted to control all the possible activities. The communism for my is not a good idea., maybe a nice idea in a book, but the reality have been other.

NB: -What can you say about the internet that been used by the capitalist for globalization? And what can you say about those bands, labels and zines who are using the internet [websites] that the squat punx don’t have an access on it?
RICARDO: -This is a good and difficult question. By one side internet have been really good for something in our movement, because now it’s really easier the communication between the labels, distros, bands… you can contact easier with bands for making your zine, for example, and we can contact with a lot of guys for booking a tour or whatever. Moreover in Europe and America all the people have access to internet, include the squatter people, it’s easy here. I don’t know how is in the south-east Asia but I suppose you can use it sometimes at least. In south America they people can access too. But by the other hand internet have had a lot of bad things like the bigger differences created between the people who have access all the days to internet and the people who haven’t. You know… a poor country can´t use it usually, but a rich country can use it each day. Moreover internet is a really big place for more and more business, it’s a new place for spreading more and more the capitalism.

NB: -What do you think are the tactics of a racist and a fascist right now? Why they still exist in these days?
RICARDO: -The new fascist guys are the capitalist guys. There are a lot of Nazis in some countries but the fascist movement has changed into capitalist one. Nowadays your value is what you produce, you have what you produce.
I think fascist doesn’t exist now like in old times in Europe, they have changed! They are more dangerous than in the past, they are camouflaged, they are hide in the multinationals that govern the world. You can’t find the head you must cut, there a lot of heads to cut. Now they haven’t got ideology, only think in benefits over people.
With the racism is the same, the racism today is against the poor people. If you have money you are welcome around the world. Here in Europe some people say that the biggest racism is between nice and ugly people. If you have a nice body and you are beauty, don’t mind your color! Maybe it’s true in a part.
The system has adapted all the possible things, they are only worried about the consume, if you spend a lot of money, you are a friend, if not…
The racism and fascism exists because exists the capitalism.

NB: -Veganism is a trademark of a punk, are you also practicing vegetarianism? Is there any vegetarian of the band?
RICARDO: -No, we aren’t vegan. I don’t think veganism is a trademark of punk. For me it’s a personal decision to be or not to be vegetarian or vegan, as to drink alcohol or not, or take drugs or not.

NB: -And how about organized religion? What can you say about them? Is religion has a place for you?
RICARDO: -We hate religions!! Do you know how many people have died because of the religions?! God doesn’t exist and religions are only for manipulate and control people. I think the organized religion is only a business. I only know about the catholic religion, because is the religion of my country and I can say that is only a fucking business. In the past was the perfect form of oppression for the governments, because through the religion afraid the people with the hell and this kind of things. I think the Catholic Church is a shit; they are only a fascists, intolerants, homophobic… and I suppose the rest of religions are the same.

NB: -Do you believed in the concept of heaven and hell?
RICARDO: -No, we don’t believe. Here, in the earth you have the hell, you don’t need to die for living it. Now the working class of Irak is leaving in the fucking hell with the bombs, the war, the hungry… the African people with the fucking wars is living the hell, the unemployed who can pay the rent and the food for her/his family is living the hell: this is the hell, the hell is here, over the earth, and we must smash this crap. The hell is the war, the hungry, the misery, the capitalism… and heaven, where is the fucking heaven?? We want the heaven here, in the earth, in our real live. If you want to wait to death for living in “heaven”, sorry man, you are fucked.

NB:-For you, who is the most powerful? God, Satan or Money? Why?
RICARDO: -Over a pressing catch ring I don’t know. In the reality the money wins by K.O. The money is the thing who manage the world. You can see people who says they are Catholics, Protestants, Jewish… and they are making all kind of sins who are punished by their religion, but, they do it for earning money, for having more and more, you know… Money always wins because change the people, corrupted the people.

NB: -Alright, you also run a label called “Opus Dead Records” how the label started? Any story behind it?
RICARDO: -The label started when we pressed our first full length cd. We pressed 1000 copies and we decided to make up a label/distro for distributing these copies. After this experience, cool one, we decided to press all our stuff and helping a little to other bands. But usually we work with co-releases in our cds.

NB:- Your label has a great and professional packaging, who helps financing and producing cd the releases? Did you run it on your own?
RICARDO: -The guy of the band who carry the label is me. And well… as I said, in all our last cds we are using the co-releasing, we press our cds with the collaboration of other labels. It’s better because you can press more copies of each release and it’s easier to distribute.
We try to make nice releases always, with “nice” covers, booklet with lyrics in our language and English, and maybe in the future in other ones. Fortunately in Spain is not too expensive to press cd´s, is not cheap but you can do it. It’s not for rich people.

NB: -What are those kind of music that you already released in your label? Is this label is strictly for political hardcore punx? What about metal like Death and Black? Do you have any releases about those?
RICARDO: -We have pressed all our Opus Dead recordings, three cds, one lp and one 7”/mcd split with Tropiezo from Puerto Rico. The new cd of Hachazo, political punk from Spain, an old fashioned Grindcore comp. with 15 bands like Agathocles, Rot, Denak, Progeria… and we will press, if one day its do it, a 4way split what is preparing a friend of mine.
About black and death, well… I don’t like this kind of music, I like some death bands like Death, Cannibal corpse… but I’m not interested in this style. But we are opened to press other bands if we like, is not necessary to be a “political” Hc-punk band, the fundamental is to be a DIY band.

NB: -Are you still accepting demos for bands? What kind of music you are looking right now? And how about the benefits that they can get?
RICARDO: -We always accept demos, it’s a pleasure to listen new bands. But, now we can’t release more bands for a time, we have not money right now. Maybe for 2005 we will press new things again. Because of we will press with opus dead 3 splits and we haven’t more money for more stuff. I’m not looking for something exactly, if we like the band we don’t mind about the style, but we prefer Hc-punk or trash.
About benefits, well… we never have had benefits, only debts, and this is true.

NB: -Is there any plan for Opus Dead playing live in the third world country like my country Philippines?
RICARDO: -We were talking with some friends for doing a tour around South East Asia, but by now is stopped because the travel it´s really expensive and we haven´t too much money for spending, but who knows… I think one day we will be playing there, I´m sure.

NB: -Alright man, thank you so much Ricardo for answering this intie, hope you have a good time answering my shits, any last words for all the people worldwide?
RICARDO: -Thanks to you Corix for this interview! Only want to say hello to your readers and inviting them to contact us for whatever. About our future releases we will split with Denak on 7” (Grindcore from Madrid), Czolsgosz (Anarcho-punk from USA) on mcd and other band not confirmated on 7”.


Here you have our contacts: - opusdead@hotmail.com - www.geocities.com/opus_dead - P.O. Box 35049. 28080 Madrid. Spain Thanks again for all!! Larga vida al ruido!!! Long live to noise!!!!