Interview with DEMIURGUS
!!!DEATH/THRASH METAL FROM CHILE!!!
We had a conversation with Manuel Jimenez. Enjoy!
Welcome to the FILTHY DOGS OF METAL Webzine.
Tell us a few things about DEMIURGUS (Members, Starting Year etc).
Demiurgus is a project created to release a lot of death/thrash compositions I had accumulated since I was 14. Songs that were born out of a mere restlestness on music and because of how amazed I was at that time by (mainly) Kreator, Death, Dissection, Sepultura, and Morbid Angel. My influences have broadened and diversified considerably since then, but that was the main root.I gather some friends in 2016 and we worked together on a few songs and only rehearsed. Around this time we considered names like Unneferth (an Osiris name) and Malefice, but we ended up deciding for Demiurgus after a philosophy class on Plato that a dear professor gave me when I was in college. In 2019, after many failed attempts to rehearse and continue creating music together, I realized that my bandmates had no serious intentions with the band, so we dissolve and I released a very low budget, entirely self-produced demo you can find on all digital platforms.Lately that year I wanted to release more music that I had stored in my archives, but with a better production, so I called Javier Durán, bassist of Demiurgus' first line-up, and we recorded "Sense of Life" with Gonzalo Lizama, engineer, good friend of mine and bandmate from Slaughterhouse at the time. After that, from 2020 onwards we've had some lineups with different and remarkable musicians of the Chilean metal scene, like Humberto San Martin from Slaughterhouse and Bomber, or Javier Buzeta from Ripper and Mayhemic, but for many reasons we were unable to play live until this very year: 2025. Today, our line-up is: Javier Durán on bass, Bastián Calderón from Wardarmen and Nefastor on Rhythm guitar, Camilo Diaz from Letalis on Drums and myself on Vocals and Lead guitar.
You have recently released your debut album ''Equilibrio''. What is the feedback from your audience as well as from the press?
From our common audience the feedback has been great. They highlight the band's more established vision and the great step forward we took with every aspect: sound, composition, image and lyricwise. From the press the response has been great too. I've read a few reviews, one of which I found by casualty on a rather underground Polish blog, so I might be missing some. They all agree that the LP is brimming with ambition and aggression. They highlight that there is quite an original/effective blend of elements like, for example, voice and style. We've received very high punctuations, so we are very happy with the reviews so far.
Your album cover is one of William Blake’s wonderful paintings. Was it easy or difficult to obtain the rights to use it on your cover artwork? And could you tell our readers how much this particular painting expressed what you wanted to convey, to the point that you chose to use it?
I love that painting. It's in the public domain now, so we had no problem using it. The title of the album is "Equilibrio" which means "Balance" or "Equilibrium". First, and the more superficial reason: I felt the painting immediately conveys the idea of working that concept. One beast upon another. Perhaps it's a representation of what we carry within us as humans. Two beasts that confront each other, or that could maybe collaborate, all of this mantaining the balance of our sanity. Going deeper: The biblical passage this artwork represents is Revelation 13:18: "Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666" (King James Version). It generally encompasses verses 11 through 18, which speak of two beasts, the ones that can be distinguished in the watercolor. One is a superior beast that arrives on Earth, and the other was here already awaiting, showing it the way it should follow. The voice in the album lyrics represents a catastrophic mind who sees the end of the world or of its own life in everything. It's a very anxious and paranoic mind. Hence the connection to the apocalypse and the inner demons of humankind. The sudden appearance of beasts in our lives that could dominate us if not properly controlled. The album's lyrics also revolve around the concept of emptiness and existential abandonment. While they don't literally allude to demons and the apocalypse, they use them as metaphors for internal changes and crises. In this sense, The Divine Comedy and Crime and Punishment are also significant influences.
And what about the lyrics?
The lyrics are quite important to me. I decided to sing primarily in Spanish because of our target audience: Latinos and our friends. Most Latino bands sing in English, especially death/thrash bands, so we thought we could stand out in this regard. I wanted our target audience to know what we were talking about, so we could discuss our main themes with them if they are interested. In Chile there are a lot of people who doesn't speak English. Also, I studied Linguistics and Literature, and Spanish is my native tongue, so I knew I could write much more profound lyrics in my own language (which, to say the least, is very beautiful). I worked hard to ensure the diction was clear, and I incorporated English translations into the booklet of the physical edition so that as many people as possible could understand what they say. Despite what we say about knowing our target audience, I also want our messages to spread all over the world.
The lyrics are the musings and arguments of a man who finds himself thrown into the world haphazardly, unable to understand it. A man who sees himself alone, insecure, and weary of the burden of existence without even spiritual companionship. A man who cries out in rage at a cruel and absent god and a corrupt society. All this can be seen immediately in "Extremauncion".
The name "Equilibrio" refers to the existence of good and evil as concepts beyond the individual's control, in constant conflict, each dominating at different times. It also alludes to the fact that the individual's struggle to go on with life often feels like a balancing act, where everything is against you and you can only focus on the tightrope beneath your feet. On a personal level, it refers to a long vertigo experience I went through a few years ago.
What are the differences between your previous work and your debut album ''Equilibrio''?
Everything is more established, thought and cohesive. Every aspect of the album was approached with greater seriousness and professionalism than before. I've translated my ideas into music much more succesfully now that I have more resources (financial, because I've been working on Demiurgus since school and now I'm finally in the working world, and musical, because I've studied more). In previous works, I was still discovering my voice, but now I express it the way I always wanted. And finally, the LP feels more like a band effort, because we rehearsed a lot before recording and my bandmates contributed their personal ideas and poured their hearts into their performances.
How did your cooperation with Awakening Records occur? What do you prefer most, Label or DIY and why?
I knew about Awakening Records through a lot of friends. The engineer of "Equilibrio" is the drummer of Inanna, who released an album with Awakening. Our friends from Mayhemic released "The Darkest Age" with Awakening Records, and when I was in Slaughterhouse I had some conversations with Li (founder of Awakening) to release our LP debut "Human Dissociation". For "Equilibrio" I emailed him the raw demos I made at home and he liked them. Since then, everything has gone wonderfully. Very transparent conversations and fast, professional work from the label.
About Label or DIY, I don't have a preference. It all depends on the state of your project. All of Demiurgus' previous releases where almost fully independent. "Equilibrio" has also been mostly independent, with the exception of physical distribution and promotion, which were handled by Awakening Records. I think that if a Label can support you while respecting your view and even helping you making it real and sometimes improve it, then it's a great company that deserves to be appreciated.
Which are your main influences (Favourite Artists / Bands etc.)
For Demiurgus, as I said before, the main influences are Kreator, Death, Dissection, Sepultura, and Morbid Angel. Those are the ones that, at least, sparked my general interest in composition and made me start the band. Then, you actually listen to a lot of different music and you're always being influenced by it. To add something about personal influences, I'm a huge fan also of the black and technical death metal scenes. Immortal, Mgla, Emperor, Cynic, Revocation, Beyond Creation, etc., and this might also be noticeable in Demiurgus. And also we find inspiration among the same bands in the chilean scene: Venus Torment, Demoniac, Ripper, Hellish, Mayhemic, Invocation Spells. From the big old ones too: Atomic Aggressor, Criminal, Pentagram. My personal tastes encompass a very diverse range of music, though. A lot of music from the 60's to the 90's. Blues, ballads, folk music, and almost all variations of rock and metal.
Which things do you think a band should sacrifice in order to succeed? Have you ever sacrificed anything in your life for a better future for your band?
I don't think a band should sacrifice things, but rather that they should know that they will always be forced to sacrifice something. At 16 or 17 years old, while I was still on school, I tried to make money doing whatever I could and saving money for instruments or projects at the same time I tried to study, dealing with various personal issues and saving for the other necessities in life: family, relationships, going out with friends. I faced many troubles I won't describe because of everything I had to invest to become a better musician, composer, and to deliver better art while trying to live a normal young life.
You'll have to sacrifice social time, rest time and even free time when you start taking music seriously. You start a project and you need to find time to make progress on it. If the project is an album, you need a lot of time. If you are in more than one band you'll have to invest even more of all this. Music is a very difficult path, especially when you have a main job that has nothing to do with it. Anyway, you still push forward. You do. You always find your way.
Describe your ideal live show as a performance band. Have you already experienced that?
An ideal live show is always one where we are very well prepared as a band, we can hear each other perfectly, you are treated appropriately by the production team, you have the right equipment, and where the public is responsive and attentive. That's all you need to truly enjoy as a musician, no matter the venue. I've already experienced that, and those are the best moments for an artist. Now, obviously, I'd love to play in a major venue in Chile. Playing at the "Teatro Caupolicán", for example, is a big goal for me. Other goals would be to play alongside or to support bands I admire, like Revocation.
From your experience in the music industry so far, what would you tell to a new Metal band to avoid or what to do?
So far I'm still a completely independent musician, so I could talk a little about that. Being fully independent is very difficult because you have to be able to do many things for your project while also mantaining a personal life. If you have musical partners as passionate as you are, be grateful and try to stick together and divide tasks. Otherwise, you'll have to handle a lot of paperwork, contacts, promotion, etc., on your own in addition to playing and composing. You'll have to sacrifice a lot of your personal life.
I'd advice to learn a lot of things. (Not necessarily as an expert, but the basics of) Languages, music, video and photo editing. Different instruments, music apps like Guitar Pro, etc. I'd also advice to be very careful with distribution and anything that involves money for third parties. Even if you believe that your music will not make any penny, you should make decisions that will always ultimately benefit you. I myself have regretted certain decisions I made in the past regarding this. Be ambitious. If you want to go far, you must always strive to professionalize every aspect of the band. Be also very clear with your objectives on the long and short term. Be genuine, be honest with yourself. The best art comes out of artists that are honest with themselves. In the end, all this things doesn't matter when you are truly passionate. You push forward because your whole body tells you to. And you learn a lot on the way.
What does Metal mean to you? And give us 10 metal albums that run in your veins.
I got further into metal when I was around 8 or 10. I knew some bands thanks to my father, mainly Hardcore, Thrash and Nu Metal, like Biohazard, Metallica and Sepultura, but my cousin (and later bandmate on Slaughterhouse and Abominations) Humberto San Martín was the one that led my path. I remember that the first time I had a big impression on metal was with him: I was absolutely blown away listening Municipal Waste's Terror Shark on headphones. Later, I began to buy my own CDs. The firsts ones where by Black Sabbath, Slayer and Megadeth, and from then on, I never stopped listening to and discovering metal. One particularly memorable moment: I cannot forget the impression of discovering Countdown to Extinction while playing Doom. Metal has basically shaped my life. I discovered so many passions thanks to it, so it means everything. Here are some of my favorite albums:
1 - Symbolic - Death.
2 - Countdown to Extinction - Megadeth.
3 - And Justice For All... - Metallica.
4 - Extreme Agression - Kreator.
5 - Epitaph - Necrophagist.
6 - Focus - Cynic.
7 - Schizophrenia - Sepultura.
8 - Storm of The Light's Bane - Dissection.
9 - Blessed are the Sick - Morbid Angel.
10 - Octavarium - Dream Theater.
11 - BONUS - Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk - Emperor.
Tell us a few things about the New Underground Metal Scene in Chile (Bands, Fanzines, Webzines, Metal Clubs etc.)
I'd say that the new underground metal scene in Chile is as devoted as metal people have always been. There are many record stores, merch stores, trading events, etc. There are a lot of bands out there playing at the highest level on every metal genre. I already said some of the most important ones in question 8, and those are just the best of death/thrash. There are also bands with a more modern approach that have been receiving a lot of attention, which I'm very happy about. However, they're not of my taste to mention here.
Underground Fanzines and Webzines are always around the corner. With the internet, people are much more inclined to create review pages, etc. Many don't last, but this things are always active here in Chile. I would highlight a YouTube page called "Tradición Metálica". We have many underground labels too, like "Suicide Records", "Australis Records", "Burning Coffin", etc.
As for Metal Clubs, we have many venues or typical spots for underground shows. We have "14 de la fama", "La cueva" which are skateparks; "La comarca", "Arena Recoleta", etc., which are all fairly modest places, but where metal emerges with great honesty and intensity.
Do you know anything about the Hellenic Metal Scene?
Not much sadly. Basically just Varathron and Septic Flesh. A little of Rotting Christ too. I'm a very, very big fan of Septic Flesh, though! And love Varathron too, but I have a lot to discover about them yet.
What are your future plans?
Personally, learning more about all I can and accumulating experience so I can translate and create better and better works as time goes by. For Demiurgus, playing big live shows and release better and/or different and unique music, always in the vein of the band. I have a large part of the second LP already and I'd just love to release more and more music, but this, as you may know, depends a lot on saving money, self-production and support from other people. This has a lot to do with the delay in materializing "Equilibrio", because the songs were ready a long time ago. Luckily, I was able to save the right amount and made the right connections and I'm very happy and proud of the result.
Thank you very much for your time & keep up the good work! The closure is yours.
Thanks to you for your interest! And for giving me the space to talk about the band and metal. I want to thank everyone who read this interview to the end and tell you: there will always be more music from Demiurgus, and we'll never stop kicking ass!
By Steve the Filthy Dog.
DEMIURGUS CONTACT:
https://www.facebook.com/DemiurgusChile/
https://www.instagram.com/demiurgusband/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4YSPrAmyAjdEMtnSnxnSah