Rockezine.com interview with Criminal on Oct 18, 2005

with Anton on Oct 18, 2005


		Please introduce yourself and the band. My name`s Anton, I`m guitarist and vocalist for CRIMINAL. The band originally hails from Chile and started quite a while ago. We`ve got five albums out so far, the latest one being "Sicario". We relocated to Europe in 2001, and the band is now part Chilean, part British.
		Are you satisfied the way the record turned out? Oh yes, most definitely! I think the songs are really brutal and heavy, but catchy and melodic enough, and the production is absolutely flawless; crystal clear yet ridiculously powerful. I think we`ve been striving to make an album like this since we first started.
		Your sound have got big changes throughout the years, who’s responsible for that? Well, the one big change I think there was in the musical direction was our previous album, "No Gods No Masters", where we used keyboards and incoprorated a lot of new elements into our music. The reason was probably that we had a new line-up, but we also wanted to try new and different things. In hindsight I would say maybe we tried too much for one album, but I think there`s still some of our finest moments on there. With our latest album we did return to our earlier style, but I think we managed to perfect it. Anyway I think for a band to record the same album over and over is boring. I like variety in my music.
		How did you guys hook up with Metal Blade? That happened ages ago, when we had just released our second album "Dead Soul". I got a letter from this guy called Jim Mills who worked at Metal Blade US, saying they were looking for cool new South American bands, so I immediately sent them a CD, and it all started from there. Later our cooperation with Metal Blade US was finished, but we`ve kept working with Metal Blade Europe ever since.
		I couldn’t find much regular tourdates in your site, aren’t you planning a big tour? Maybe a headlining tour. No, we don`t have the status to do a headlining tour yet. Ideally we would like to do a package tour with two or three other bands that would fit our style, but we might as well just jump on one of those larger packages next year. Right now we are awaiting confirmation for a UK tour, but it`s not set yet so I can`t say anything about it. Also we`ll probably be playing quite a few festivals next summer.
		Are you going back to Chili often? Not that often really. We went back to play there last year and it was great, we managed to sell out pretty large venues in three cities. At the moment we are negotiating with promoters down there to return next year.
		How is the metal scene in Chili? It`s quite cool in that there`s a lot of diversity, loads of bands doing different styles and stuff, but it`s quite limited when it comes to labels, a club circuit, etc. It was quite frustrating being stuck there, so that was one of the reasons we left. But the people really love their metal, they are really passionate and enthusiastic, so that`s cool.
		What’s your favourite classic album and what’s in your discman at this moment? Oh man, I don`t think I`d be able to name just one album as my favorite, but the one I`ve been listening to a lot lately is AC/DC`s "Powerage". The new album that has been rotating in my player is Nevermore`s last one.
		Do you have some ideas for the kids who also want to become famous with their band? You`ve got to try to be original, work really hard, and don`t let anybody put you down. Also don`t throw in the towel at the first disappointment. If you really believe in what you do, stick to your guns and you`ll see the reward.
		What the worst concert you’ve ever seen and what’s the best? The worst concert I ever witnessed was probably from my own band, when we all were actually so drunk we were almost falling off the stage. I have to say in our defense it was quite early in our career though and it never happened again! The best... whew, there`s a lot, Strapping Young Lad in London, AC/DC in Santiago, Sepultura on the "Chaos AD" tour, also in Santiago, but there`s been so many good ones I don`t even remember.
		What does “FCO” mean in the name Juan FCO Cueto? It`s just an abbreviation for the guy`s second name, Francisco, but for some reason they out it all in capitals, so people think it`s initials that actually mean something. Let`s see, could be Fuck Cold Omelettes?
		Any last words for and the rest of the world? Cheers everybody and check out our new album "Sicario" for your dose of extreme South American thrash metal!
(Jeroen Habets)