Brazil’s SETFIRE placed second in TMD’s Battle of Unsigned Thrash Bands online contest in 2014 and are preparing to release their first full length in the future, after unleashing a crushing debut EP. They have the spirit and intensity of PANTERA and SEPULTURA and bring a totally fuckin hostile attitude to every stage they perform on. They are going for all the glory and are ready to take the heavy music world by storm. With enough passion and talent for ten bands, SETFIRE is one of those rare finds in the underground scene that will make you pay extra close attention.
The Metal Den’s Randy “Rocket” Cody has conducted an EXCLUSIVE interview with guitarist Klemer Santiago of SETFIRE for TMD’s loyal following of DEN HEADZ!
ROCKET: Where were you born and raised?
KLEMER: I was born in Maua city, in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. I was raised in quite some different places. First two years of my live were in Olinda/PE (northeastern of Brazil), back to Maua/SP, Waterbury/CT USA in 1999 for one year with my family and then back to Maua/SP.
ROCKET: Do you recall your first metal concert?
KLEMER: My first metal concert was the finnish band Stratovarius in the house called Olympia, back in 2003.
ROCKET: When did you first start playing guitar?
KLEMER: I started playing guitar in the year 2001. I got a cream painted Stratocaster shaped from Giannini and I plugged it right away into my stereo! It sounded like crap but I was blown away in splendor as I could finally hear the sound coming out of it!
ROCKET: Who are your biggest guitar playing influences?
KLEMER: Hmmm… that is an easy one!
Eddie Van Halen
Joe Satriani
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Dimebag Darrell
Zakk Wylde
ROCKET: How did SETFIRE band first form together?
KLEMER: We had a cover band of Pantera and Sepultura called Territory Hostile and as we invited Artur to be the new vocalist we decided to begin working on our own songs and we created Setfire in parallel to our cover works.
ROCKET: Congrats on placing 2nd in TMD’s 2014 Battle of Unsigned Thrash contest. How does that feel to get that kind of recognition?
KLEMER: Wow!!! I was blown away. I didn’t even know we were participating on this contest. I was so focused on the launch gig for our music video and missed the word about this. So, It is great to know our work is being recognized outside of Brazil. We believe our songs must sound kick ass for us first, if they pass our ears and we feel like headbang to our own songs, then someone in this world might join us. #jointhefire
ROCKET: I understand SETFIRE is working on a full length album, correct? When will that be coming out?
KLEMER: Correct. Oh man, it has been 4 years since we launched our EP “Deserted Land”. But, 2 years were almost entirely lost after our past drummer left the band. To keep moral up, we started composing new songs. Now that we have a new drummer, Alex Kruppa, he is putting his drum ideas to the songs and we are producing them. It is almost one new song per month. And we are already playing 3 new songs on our live shows! So we are focused on bringing out our full length by mid year 2015. That is our commitiment to our fans!
ROCKET: What metal record labels do you think would be a good home for your band?
KLEMER: Earache, Napalm, Nuclear Blast, Metal Blade.
ROCKET: You recently released a video. What song is that for and how much fun was it to make the video?
KLEMER: “Envy Shit”. That is a song for when you get really pissed off about finding out your best friend or just someone you trust Envies you. He or she pretends being your friend and they talk shit about you when you are not around. Or you discover your friend wants to take your girlfriend from you. And you simply can’t stop your anger. This song shows how you feel when you find out something like this. The video depicts an envious person and we represent his disturbed mind being judged his envious acts/thoughts. It was tons of fun to make it. We filmed at a abandoned house in Suzano city. So as it was abandoned we had to bring in electricity and camp there for 2 days straight. We got a gasoline generator to bring power to us and we also used the gasoline for the flame scenes. It was so good to watch those flames get higher and higher! Ha! The neighbours asked us if we were filming a horror movie and we laughed out loud! Ghost presence, scenes that kept not going good, corrupted SD card and we lost one day of filming, lots of emotions!
ROCKET: What kind of guitars are you currently playing live and in the studio?
KLEMER: I use only my Kramer, like the one Van Halen had in the 80s, but only red colour.
ROCKET: What kind of amp rigs?
KLEMER: I use Peavey 6505+ head and 1960A cabinet. Also use Tom Tone Effects together with BBE two timmer and a Digitec Whammy.
ROCKET: Where do you see yourself ten years from today?
KLEMER: I see myself living off music, teaching guitar to poor children and touring the world with Setfire.
ROCKET: What are some of the upcoming shows that SETFIRE will be jamming?
KLEMER: We will be jamming with Nuclear Warfare (German band touring Brazil) and Torture Squad (Brazilian) this month and then we are still booking.
ROCKET: What is the ultimate goal for SETFIRE band?
KLEMER: We tour every year, taking our songs and messages to the 4 corners of the world.
ROCKET: Thanks for rocking this interview out with me. Best of luck with your music! Any last words for the fans?
KLEMER:: Thanks for this great interview and I want to “SETFIRE” in the US soon. I invite you headbangers to #jointhefire and help us spread the word.
https://www.reverbnation.com/setfire
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