(Special)Interview: Thiago Oliveira (Seventh Seal/Warrel Dane/Addicted to Pain)

Thiago Oliveira (Seventh Seal/Warrel Dane/Addicted to Pain) is a versatile musician, able to transit through jazz, rock and erudite music with ease.

He currently lives in São Paulo where he gives private lessons to guitarists of bands like Detonator (Isa Nielsen), Instincted, Traces of Terror, Viociety, Hey Ladies, among many others.

 

FMBR: Why did you choose music? Why be a guitarist?
 

Thiago: On the day Freddie Mercury died there was a Queen documentary on TV with a show they did in 1981.I was a very shy kid and realised that the band expressed what they felt through music without actually exposing themselves. So I decided that I wanted to be a part of that circus, that energy, that magic, somehow. I wanted to be a drummer, but afraid of the noise it would generate my mother ended up giving me an acoustic guitar! I was upset but decided to learn to play some chords just to keep it going. From that point onwards I was one step from becoming a proper guitarist.I got to play erudite percussion but my training was on classical guitar – anyway, it would take a ten day long interview if I was to get into details.

 

FMBR: What are your influences? What's your favourite album or band?

Foto:Pri Secco

 
Thiago: There are many, each album brings you something different. Sabbath’s Live Evil, Iron Maiden’s Piece of Mind and all Queen’s releases from the 70s had their influence on me. Some non-metal stuff too, like John Williams’ Guitar Recital, Jesus Christ Superstar with Gillan, Wayne Shorter’s Native Dancer, PierrotLunaire with Boulez conducting. Everything has something different to offer and helps turning you into who you are.

 

FMBR: Do you feel accomplished or you still have goals to be achieved?

 
Thiago: I have many and feel far away from lots of things that I still want to do.

FMBR: What's your biggest goal today?
 

Thiago: I’d like to play in an established band, travel around

the world, meet different people, get to know other cultures, other languages. I love it.

FMBR: What motivates you?
 

Thiago: Bills to pay! HAHAHA – not! It's actually the urge to explore new territories, to overcome challenges, to learn, to grow, to reach new people through what I create.

 

FMBR: What do you think of the rock/metal scene in Brazil today?

 
Thiago: These are complex times. Many bands, good people, people not that good. It isn’t enough to stand out just by being a good player. You have to invest in your job, you have to have good marketing, good compositions. There are a lot of fans out there, but they’re all very attached to the big names. It’s really hard to start something from scratch, and with everything connected to the internet it all becomes more simple and more complex at the same time. That’s another subject that would take a ten day long interview to cover.

 

FMBR: If you had the chance to play in a band or work with someone, who would it be?

 
Thiago: Man… Jimi Hendrix, Freddie Mercury or Frank Zappa. But they’re all dead! HAHAHA.Among the living, Andre Matos, Devin Townsend, Steve Vai. I think the most interesting aspect is the musical personality, to have a vision and be faithful to it. Regardless of the style.

Força Metal BR thanks you for your precious time and wishes you the best of luck in your journey!

Interview by Laíse Moreira S.

Translated and adaption by Denfire (Misconducters)