/truth.
None of these so called “Filipino Metal “bands can hold a candle to the amount of hard work, time and dedication Paganfire has put into every aspect of their band.
Out of necessity and as a direct backlash of being part of a stagnant local scene they despised for being comprised more or less of wimps and poseurs they broke away with a couple of like minded individuals and decided to set up their own shows and practice total DIY punk attitude, Releasing tape recorded rehearsal demo’s and doing it the old school way by circulating paper-flyers through contacts and fanzines, hell their name is known as far as Macedonia and Africa that It’s so surprising to me how local people don’t know or don’t wanna know about them. IMO They single handedly represent authentic Tagalog Thrash Metal and have put Philippines on the map raising the flag of hate by spreading the madness overseas while on the other hand Cult of personalities who have absolutely done nothing in the past few years but still get a lot of praise in the mediocre metal scene over here seem to talk shit about their militant point of views every chance they get and the sheep’s believe em and think of em as the real deal, by doing so them fuckers have successfully lowered the standards,quality and watered down everything this sub-culture is about. I find it extremely amusing that these celebs bitch about something that in one way or another was spawned due to their ignorance and fukkin falseness.
But enough about them faggot suck ups, shit is AIDS and Cancer. This is why I’ve grown to fukkin hate half of the metal gigs bills that I see, I used to like everybody but now I’m forced to turn to such an asshole. I prefer going to punk and even *gasp* Hipster ones than to be subjected to shite shite shite shite dishonest music.
I hope my blackened rocking crust punk band G.W. can play more meaningful punk shows than routine metal ones in the hopefully near future.
As I was saying, PF have released so much stuff on different formats that it’s challenging to keep up or hunt for past releases, just this year alone they self released a promo tape of new songs, Paganfire/Moder Split on Terror Blast, Long Live Metal LP on Emanes Records, Thrash Metal Superstar’s 3 Way split w/ Abigail and Black Sister a t-shirt on Funeral Moon Clothing, a patch on Hungarian distro Neverheard and a local version of it on Anura Recs + some more stuff that I probably missed.
It’s been three years since the last metallic inquisition that Nonoy and I did and that’s when I learned of his interesting point of view about the local metal scene with their misguided angst and mainstream consumerist ideals hidden under the guise of “underground” or “D.I.Y.” which I have come to disappointingly see is real for myself.
I tagged along with Paganfire and Karimlan on their recent Bicol 3 Day Tour thing and will publish a Tour Diary-esque half-sized A4 thing limited only to very few copies for the people that was there. I’ve decided to publish this interview on the second issue of my zine as well because it would be such a waste if the people who read it already know everything about PF. So without further fucking around, here’s a short one:
Paganfire Interview v.2
I’ve gotta get this question out of the way first. While on the PF & Karimlan Tour I learned from Sir Jay that the band was formerly called Age of Distrust and it was formed in 1999 and not 2003 accdg To some people spreading false info. Can you tell us more in-depth information about the AoD phase? Is the name by any chance taken from the song "South Of Heaven"? What was the set list like? Is there any record of this era like Pics or live stuffs inside your forbidden chest? And lastly why did you decide to change the name to the now notorious Paganfire? Thanks heaps for answering this as I would really like to know.
N: Carlos, I am deeply surprised by your all out enthusiasm with PAGANFIRE eh, may your brood multiply!! To address your queries, here we fucking go,yes it is correct AGE OF DISTRUST was the name of the pre-Paganfire quartet, obviously taken from the Slayer song you have mentioned, it was indeed 1999 when we started thrashing about, the set list consists mainly of Sodom, Slayer, Kreator and Exodus covers, we never had the chance to do originals because when we planned to do it, the other members of this time decided to or were asked to leave, The people involved were Jay, Krist and Jerald of Indivinity, then later on when Krist left, Dennis of Himera and some other black metal bands came into the fold and did bass/vocals, I have no pics or other documentation of this era except for some rehearsals on tape, but they are all covers and shitty, but still proof of this era’s existence, I hope someday some people will come up to me with the pics, hahaha and I will trade a copy of the rehearsal hahaha the name PAGANFIRE was from the mind of Dennis, he was responsible for that, but later on we decided to keep it and the rest is obviously history.
Hails sir Nonoy! how are you guys holding up?!
Thanks for agreeing to do this for the second time! its has been almost three years since our last interview how did you feel the last one went? Haha
N: No Carlos, thanks goes out to you, for doing this again!! Is it already 3 years? Fuck, how fast time flies, the last one was a bit OK, although I find the way you posted/did the layout pretty rushed and chaotic, some Q and A’s went missing, not bad for a first time though, there’s a lot of room for improvement, and I think you should also be asked, how did you find my replies?? (Your replies were mind-altering, it changed my ideology and how I look at bands completely! – Carlos)
So when in your mind did you think of arranging this 3 day trip/tour to your province and how did you go on planning it? How'd you get in contact w/ Anura Recs?What thoughts went into choosing a black metal band,Karimlan as the co-headliner for the show?
N: I have always dreamed of bringing the band over for some shows at my hometown practically since I got involved in a band!! When I was in my teens, the planning was relatively easy, I had an almost perfect scenario in my mind, but so much for that as the fucking weather was not on our side, but then again, true metal never bends!! And we shall return to give ‘em Albayanos more true fucking metal! Kharl/Anura Recs has been in touch with me since 2004 and we have talked about the Legazpi gig as early as 2009, I have no problems with him as he has proven himself to be true to his word and a true ANK comrade, and that’s what fucking counts most, only faggots mince their own words! As for Karimlan, I have never thought of them as co-headliner or support band, we dragged them into this mess as ANK brothers, no more, no less, all feedbacks both good and bad should be shared by both bands, no one is bigger than the other, the whole experience was something I will never forget ,and I am glad you came along also, it is a landmark in ANK and Albay’s metal history, all those that will come to Albay’s shores next will turn white in comparison!
Did it all go as planned and did the tour meet your expectations?What was the highlight of the trip for you? fucking awesome food for me.Do you plan on doing more out of town shows outside your comfort zones in the near future?
and will I be invited to any more of them or are you guys sick of my silly juvenile shit? Haha
N: As mentioned, the fucking rains on the first day of our arrival was terrible, I planned for us to visit some natural springs and some parks and bars, but alas, then again the whole day we spent drinking beer and eating bicolano dishes under the shade of the hut was worth the trip !! I pity those who weren’t there! With the fact that all went smooth and the gig was enjoyed by true metal brethren is a success in itself, the highlight of course is that we, true ANK brethren went all the way to Albay, to drink beers, to meet other metalheads and to play and spread our metal to them. I do not plan of going anywhere else, what I plan is to bring us all back to Albay, Bicolust 2012 must commence!! You should be with us when this happens, and you must bring more clothes you silly knucklehead! No I am not sick of your Silly Juvenile shit, strange as it may sound I enjoy it, hahaha next time Carlos we’ll visit the cemetery of suicides and let’s see if you can do your authentic Chilean poses there!!
Since we have covered all those usual boring interview questions last intie Lets move on to current much more awesome events that have unfolded since!
First off Lets debunk the guessing and reach an officialnumber. How many cases of beer did the PF/Karimlan early morning drinking session on Day 1 amount to by your count?
N: Wow that’s a hard one, it’s been a few months since this happened, if memory serves me right, it will be close to 20 bottles of San Miguel Beer Grande, how about your count?? I was too busy enjoying and laughing my brain out, so I never did a count, and aside from that the overflowing food and the spice it brings still haunts me!! hahaha
Tell us about the crazy Infernal Curse leg and how it came to existence.Did the attendance rate meet/exceed your expectations? Will IC be returning to Filipino Shores anytime soon?
N: It all started when I wrote a letter to the crazy bastard Eric/Nocturnal, I was oblivious that they were planning a SEA tour, thus the Manila Leg was fucking made, The details need not be discussed here, all is fucking fair in motherfucking war anyway, let’s just say that if weren’t for the trust and cooperation of all the bands and the other co-producers involved, this brouhaha of an event would have never happened, it was history we made and we are proud of it, kudos goes to all involved!! The attendance went wildly beyond my expectations, it was true chaos, fuck that, and too stressful!! It is not important if IC will be back, only time will tell what will happen then!!
Atomgevitter toured SEA last month and we drank alot and I made a fool of myself fuck! How did Roddy get in touch with you to arrange the show and fitted PF on the bill? He also got PF on the three way split "Thrash Metal Superstars" w/ Abigail and Black Sister how'd that happen and what's the full details on the release?(copies pressed,formats,availability,etc.etc.)
N: Roddy and I began exchanging letters some years back, we contacted each other via snail mail, I had no hand on the ATOMGEVITTER show, I just contacted the organizers and asked them if we can be on the line up as we are friends with Roddy and I told them too that we were in a 3 way split with Roddy’s other band Black Sister and the rest as they always say is fucking history, that 3 way split is released by Roddy on 100 red pro tapes with Xeroxed covers on his label Problem? Records, the pro CDR version is put out by Neverheard Distro, Hungary by our comrade Kager, as far as I know both formats are long sold out, maybe because of Abigail hahahaha
The 2010 Promo! IT RULES! It was very much unlike Paganfire to release stuff on something like downloadable mp3's. who came up with the idea and why go w/ it? But you guys released it officially on tape, thank you for my copy. How many have you circulated so farand how was it received locally and overseas? What can you tell us about the three new songs on the promo? Durugin at kayoy sumpain is such an awesome anthem!!!!!!
N: Vro came up with the idea, I got surprised like you when I saw it hahaha, as we speak I told Vro to delete the DL link, besides no one is expressing anything about it anyway, it went unnoticed argh! So fucking what!! I made 200 copies of that promo tape, and is spread to loyal and valuable contacts, those who have it must fucking play it loud! I am still waiting for some reviews of it and still will be sending out some more copies, all who heard it think it is good, some shit on the cover tracks, some puke on the sound, but then again, should I care?? I’ll just keep on dubbing copies of it as long as there are worthy people to review or have it! The 3 songs on that promo will be all featured on our upcoming album if and when we finish it, beware! I can say that the songs are nothing like we have ever done before, and all metal to the core, no sugar coated trendy shit!! Yes, I hope in the next live shows some of you maniacs will have the guts to sing along to this anthem you speak of!!
You guys also played 2 new songs as instrumentals at a past gig but later on the Atomgevitter/Family man show
it had vocals in it, it was classic paganfire. do you guys have names for the new songs yet? how did the riffs and lyrics come to you guys?
N: The songs you mentioned have only working titles yet, thus it is not merited to be mentioned yet, only Alvaro will decide on how they will be called, and he also takes killer care of the vocal arrangements/patterns in case you are wondering, and in those song’s cases, the music came first before the lyrics and titles. The riffs come to me as naturally as they can be, no forced shit nor schooled riffing exists in my world.
There's also the patches on two different labels( I prefer the anura recs one) and a shirt on funeralmoon.there's alot of new stuff to cover about PF these past 2 years, Why is it that you have been so active and productive recently?its crazy!
N: Why not Carlos? What is a supposed D.I.Y. underground metal band like us supposed to be?? The merchandise you mentioned are all killer!! You missed out on the 3rd patch, the white one put out by Neverheard Hungary, hahaha there is no other way in the true underground, this is not a place for lazy bastard motherfuckers who are afraid to work their asses off.
I guess that brings us up to the date sir noy! unless I missed something new, if so just refresh our infekted minds! hahaha.
N: The PAGANFIRE/MODER split tape and the 12” comp on Emanes, France is what you missed out, but then again I know before you drafted this interview there were no news yet on them, so now, all interested parties can hunt this pieces of metal malignancy down!!contact the labels, support the true underground!! Everyone be warned, we are working on our possible debut album and it will once again kick the ass of this so called scene here in Manila, fuck you!! BOYCOTT THE DAVAO RIP-OFF SCENE!! NEVER SUPPORT THEM!!
Thanks again for the repeat opportunity with this 2nd interview. huge fanatic of Paganfire and will always fucking be. Will continue to follow you guys around like a creepy motherfucker. hahahaha..
N: You know where to find us. So I guess you won’t get tired of following us around, hahaha I am proud of your interest and for being a self confessed fan, just play our stuff loud and always support the true underground, stay away from pretending cockstar shitheads who in the end, have nothing to say and prove!! Walk your own path Carlos and those who will not tread with you will be trampled!!! Now I have preached, fuck, where’s my beer????
Tuloy ang laban at walang atrasan! yan ang sigaw nang apoy ng kamunduhan
N: TAYO ANG LUPON NG APOY NG KAMUNDUHAN!!!
Contact: PAGANFIRE
NONOY PADREJUAN
#60 NARIG ST., VETERAN’S VILLAGE, PROJECT 7, 1105, QUEZON CITY, PHILIPPINES
