Greetings Metalheads!
Here at Metal Maidens, we have a special treat for you today.We are graced with the presence of a fascinating woman whose name is Cadaveria and whose band is also named CADAVERIA (but in capital letters!). CADAVERIA (the band) was born in 2001 from the ashes of a previous band, called OPERA IX. The following year in 2002, the band released their debut CD called "The Shadows Madame" (re-relased in 2004 in UK with video bonus tracks), the combination started to get attention from fans and media alike. In 2004, they released "Far away from Conformity", which further showcased their talents and the word about this band was starting to spread like wildfire. 2007 marked the release of their latest offering entitled "In your Blood", a creative and unique view into what makes this band truly original in the metal scene today. We are here to speak with Cadaveria about what the band is curently up to at this moment.

Welcome to Metal Maidens Cadaveria and thank you for taking the time to speak with us today.
Cadaveria: “Hi all! It is a pleasure for me.”

You were originally in a band called OPERA IX with your bandmate Marcelo Santos. How did that band get started?
Cadaveria: “Well, we are speaking about many years ago. It was 1992 and the metal scene was still growing up with a relative absence of femal figures. OPERA IX were looking for a drummer and a singer to start making things seriously. Me and Flegias (aka Marcelo Santos) were available and we decided to try. I can say, we started out as a joke, but I immediately took it seriously, when writing lyrics and caring about public relations. In few months, we relased “Demo ’92”, then a seven inch came and finally the CDs. In the beginning, people could not believe it was a girl singing, then the band became quite known and I started to earn good credits all over the world.”

How did you decide to leave that band and start CADAVERIA?
Cadaveria: “After around ten years spent in that band, I felt the need to take my own path, creating something more personal and independent. Flegias was on the same way and he decided to follow me and to give life to a new project, not necessarily tied to pagan metal, but more open-minded and able to embrace from classical heavy metal to black or nu-metal. We knew the scene and it was quite easy to recruit the other memebers. We had tons of ideas to put into music, so in 2001 the new band was founded and in early 2002 “The Shadows’ Madame” album was already done.”

CADAVERIA is such a very unique idea; both the name and the music....Where did the inspiration come from to want to do something so different?
Cadaveria: “Well, my figure is strictly connected to darkness, obscure energies, cemeteries and malicious presences. I’m interested in all what is forbidden and unknow, in what is generally linked to evil. My lyrics are considerations about death and existence and the main inspiration for myself is myself. I’m a complicated person, eclectic... I love cinema and contemporary art, spatter stuff and uncommon expressions of the human mind. My dimension is made of blood and confusion.”

You credit artist Andy Warhol as one of your inspirations. I am very familiar with him, as he is from my hometown in Pittsburgh. How did he influence the band?
Cadaveria: “I really like complete artists like him, who experiment not only paintings but also cinema. He is an icon, crazy. I happen to visit an exhibition of his artworks and I took some notes, while visiting it. The song “Atypical Suggestions By A Dead Artist” was born from those notes. This is just one of the myriads of things that blasted my mind, so I thought to write about it."

I also read you have been inspired by filmaker David Lynch, who in his own right is a genius. What is it that you admire about him the most?
Cadaveria: “I like the strange characters of his movies and the fact they continually live in a gap among good and evil. I like the metaphor of the ‘double’ (on which I wrote my university degree thesis), his pitiless irony... and I like the colours of his movies, the freak creatures, the music choices. I’m forever trapped in a room with a black and white optical floor and red carpets on the walls. The names of the CADAVERIA band members, except mine, are taken from Lynch’s movies.”

Your lyrics to me are very poetic: not the standard rhymes you find in most songs. Do you compose all the lyrics for the band?
Cadaveria: “Yes, I’m the only one, who is responsible for the lyrics. I continually write notes about what catches my attention, things I do or see and pieces of conversations. Then I reorganize these notes and a new lyric is born. I’m in this phase now, because we are composing new material for the next album.”

Who are some of your favorite poets?
Cadaveria: “Shakespeare, Poe, Yeats, D’Annunzio, Baudelaire.”

How do your personal views on religon and spirituality affect what you write for CADAVERIA?
Cadaveria: “It’s my mind that affects my lyrics. That is to say my vision of life, how I approach things, how I live situations, how and what I think about what happens. My philosophy is based on a mix of freedom, creativity, rigor and rationality. I fight every day to preserve this balance.”

I have my own views as an athiest. What is your interpretation of god and the devil?
Cadaveria: “All is relative. Good and evil don’t exist. It is the idea of them that exist. Human beings need to trace a line between them, as they need to think a supreme god exists. Religion is a placebo for human mind.”

This band is very diverse and unique in the fact that your music cannot really be catagorized by any stereotypes. Can you tell us how you found these talented musicians?
Cadaveria: “Just around the corner. I already knew them, I just asked (laughs).”

I think of you more as a performance artist, rather than just a vocalist, but your voice is incredible. Do you have any professional training and at what age did you think this was something you wanted to pursue as a career?
Cadaveria: “I always liked singing and I always thought I would have started to do this. I took lessons for one year in the very beginning, then I stopped for lack of time, but I learned enough to avoid spoiling my voice. Now I continue to train by myself. I like to experiment new solutions and I’m not afraid to betray my roots. That’s why I accepeted to join DyNAbyte, the side projects where also John (Killer Bob), my bass player, plays. We are recording the second album right now.”

What can potential new fans expect to see at CADAVERIA's live show and what in your opinion makes this band unique when it comes to live performances?
Cadaveria: “You can expect to see a professional performance, lots of energy and good music.”

Is the band invloved in any major touring at the moment or in the near future?
Cadaveria: “We have live dates scheduled ‘till February 2009, but we cannot speak about a proper tour. Italy and France are the countries we will touch more, then we are considering the offer to play at the Thunder of Gods festival in Dripping Springs, TX, in May 2009. Maybe we will add some dates in the US in that period, but all is still to be defined with the promoters.”

What other bands have influenced you over the years?
Cadaveria: “Well, you must know the musical background of the band members is quite variegated (from Mercyful Fate to Rammstein, just to name someone). Everyone of us bring something personal to CADAVERIA compositions, but we are not inspired by any band in particular. Rather we can say many genres converge into CADAVERIA sound, filtrated by the experience and tastes of the band members."

Italian metal seems to be on the uprise. Can you explain why it is becoming so popular?
Cadaveria: “I really don’t know. I’m not good in business and I never foresaw any results in the music business. Sometimes I dream of something that happens some days after, but this is another matter...”

Above all else, CADAVERIA is all about the visual effect with the band's personal costumes and your videos. Does the band's image reflect the music being played or does the music dictate the visual?
Cadaveria: “The visual dimension of CADAVERIA is a sort of prosthesis, a necessary extension of our music. They nourish each other, like both nourish me. We love to care all by ourselves, from music to the CD artwork, up to videos. I personally made the layout of all our CDs, I wrote the storyboards for the videos and I produced them. Marcelo Santos is a videomaker, he shoots and edits all the videos we release. All, from music to pictures, is under our control and manufacturing, and all these things we do cannot live separately.”

I absolutley love the video for the song "Anagram", taken from your CD "In Your Blood". Has there been any controversy in trying to get it played on the air?
Cadaveria: “Fortunately not. The parts where I eat offal is very short and the rest is quite ‘normal’, even if it deals with madness and supernatural. We are very proud of the “Anagram” video: the idea is well-developed and the feedback has been very positive. It is getting exposure also in some Italian circuits of independent cinema.”

Does Europe overall seem to be more tolerant of an artist expressing themselves as opposed to the U.S, where it seems everything offends everyone and bands are forced to censor themselves constantly?
Cadaveria: “The truth? I love Italy, but I must say it is very different from the rest of Europe, meaning Germany for example. Don’t forget we have the pope living here... Italian culture is foreign to metal music, so it’s hard to do exactly what you want, in music and in life.”

The band's third CD is entitled "In Your Blood" and it grabs your attention before you even get to listen to the music with that incredible artwork on the cover. Can you explain the meaning behind the artwork?
Cadaveria: “Well, this picture immediately catched our attention for the contradition it contains: the purity of an angel, the artificiality of a drug. It seems to say: relax, everyone can be a sinner! For us, this cover has a positive meaning. It wants to say: let our music enter your blood, without prejudice!”

Has that cover created problems with the evil censors?
Cadaveria: “No.”

The lyrics and music on this CD are very addictive and quite unique. I don’t know, if I could pick a favorite song, because they are all excellent, but I am going to put you on the spot and ask you if you have a favorite song on the CD and why that particular one?
Cadaveria: “Not a specific song, but a handful of them. Among all, I especially like “Memento Audere Semper” (it is very choral and the title reflects my way of being: remember always to dare), “Atypical Suggestions By A Dead Artist” (for its strage and hysterical sound), “Anagram” (for its power) and “Before The Apes Came” (for its semplicity).”

How long had you been writing songs for this CD?
Cadaveria: “We have our own recording studio. This allows us to write songs and make a pre-production before starting the final recordings. Two phases that are not so easy to separate, ‘cause when we compose, we usually start to record something. I don’t remember well, but maybe the entire process lasted one year...”

You have a feature on your homepage, called ‘Contaminations’, which I think is a very cool idea. Can you tell us what that is all about?
Cadaveria: “Yes. After some months “In Your Blood” was out, I realized fans were particularly interested in how we had composed it and especially in what had contributed to the album composition (I mean the main ideas). Considering that, the influences had been a lot different and sometimes far from the usual metal clichè, I decided to build this section of the site, named ‘Contaminations’ and reveal some curious sources of inspiration. Here you’ll know, that the album was supposed to have an intro by Maria Callas... that Marcelo Santos picture pose deals with Jim Morrison... or that the lyrics of the song “Queen Of Forgotten” weren’t written by me... (that’s why they are not on our site).”

Has the CD sold well beyond your expectations?
Cadaveria: “Having Season Of Mist - an US office, I was expecting some extra sold copies in America and Canada, instead the sales have been quite normal there. I’m noticing a great interest on CADAVERIA coming from USA in this last period. I think, it could be the result of our personal promotion through MySpace and the web in general, rather than a restock.”

In what part of the globe do you feel the band needs to expand its fanbase?
Cadaveria: “First of all, I would say the USA: it’s so huge! I’m sure, we have tons of potential fans hidden over there. In Japan, we are more or less unknown. And finally in the UK. We have many fans from there, but nothing compared to the London population. I think, the UK mentality perfectly suits to CADAVERIA genre.”

How much freedom was the band given during the recording process as to the final product?
Cadaveria: “Total freedom. This is a merit of our label.”

I have seen a few live clips of the band on You Tube, but unfortunatley the sound quality was not that great. Any plans to record a live DVD or more videos produced by the band itself?
Cadaveria: “Yes, we have been collecting material since 2002 (live performances, backstage, etc.etc.). We still need to play in some good venues abroad, having the proper sound from the mixer, and we will have enough stuff to release a DVD. It is a long run project, we have no hurry.”

As if CADAVERIA didn’t keep you busy enough, you are also in another band, called "DyNAbyte. Can you tell us a little about that project and how it differs from CADAVERIA?
Cadaveria: “DyNAbyte is the project of LJ Dust, the ex-keyboards player of CADAVERIA. Me and John complete the line-up. It is a PC/human based project, that mixes man nature with machines. Differently from CADAVERIA, where I have an active role in composition, here the main work is done by LJ Dust, who creates the drum patterns, the keyboards and the guitar riffs. Living far from him, I get songs on files, that I manupulate with my PC, changing the songs stucture and adding the voice. This allow us to proceed quickly on the pre-production and to meet eachother in the rehearsal room with the exact idea of how the song must sound. Our second album will be released early 2009.”

Is there ever a conflict of interest between both bands?
Cadaveria: “No. They can live together remaining separated. It is just a matter of organization.”

I doubt that you have alot of free time, but on those rare occasions, what are some of the things you enjoy doing?
Cadaveria: “I love painting, caring about my home or going out enjoying time with my friends.”

Within the last five to ten years, the metal scene has exploded with women vocalists and musicians in bands. In your opinion are women finally starting to get the respect they deserve, when it comes to being serious musicians?
Cadaveria: “Sure, but in my opinion actually there are too much bands with female singers, one clone of the other. There is a lack of originality and too much frontwomen singing with clean vocals, only a few using growling in the proper way. Respect has never been a problem for me. I think, it is hard to get it, if you wear just bra and underwear.”

As a strong woman in heavy metal in your own rite, do you see yourself as a role model for young women, who want to be in this business? And if so, what advice would you give to them?
Cadaveria: “I’ve nothing to teach, and I don’t want to be a model for others. I would prefer, if someone taught something to me. I think, it is important that everyone finds the good inspiration inside himself, so I just could suggest: be yourself and never give up!”

Where can potential new fans buy your music and experience your videos?
Cadaveria: “You can support the band buying CDs from our website (http://www.cadaveria.com) or going into a music shop and ask for the CADAVERIA albums. Our videos are available for free downloading on the net! Enjoy!”

What is next on the horizon for you and the band?
Cadaveria: “Our next step is the 4th album of CADAVERIA. While we are composing it, we are continuing to play live and we would be honored to accept any invitation for shows abroad. Promoters contact us!”

Is there something about yourself that maybe your fans do not know, that you can share with us?
Cadaveria: “Fans will know me by listening to a CADAVERIA song and reading my lyrics. I know, you are doing it!”

It has been an honor and privelage to talk with you today, Cadaveria. I think, you are a very gifted and unique woman and I want to thank you for creating music that means so much to so many of us. On behalf of Metal Maidens, thank you also for spending time with us today and giving us a chance to know you a little better. We wish you and the band the best of luck and I hope to see you live on stage someday soon. Horns way up.... Nick.
Cadaveria: “It has been a long but pleasant conversation. I just finished the second beer! Thanks a lot! Your questions made me understand, that you are a real supporter of CADAVERIA. What I get back from my fans is priceless!”