Interview with NERVECELL's guitarist Barney Ribeiro

I guess we don't have to say much about them. If you want to know much about them you can go through following links.
https://www.facebook.com/nervecell
http://www.nervecell.net
http://www.twitter.com/nervecellband
http://www.myspace.com/nervecell
http://www.reverbnation.com/nervecell
Before we begin can you say us in brief about NERVECELL?

The band started back in 2000 in the Dubai, UAE. It was basically a bunch of friends I had made in university who also play other instruments and had an interest in metal, which helped out. We obviously just wanted to get together and jam for fun. I had played in lot of other bands before that but only focused on cover music. So when I formed the band the idea was now to write original music and play a mix of covers too just enough for us to get gigs to perform at. So in 2001 we enrolled to perform at the battle of the bands held in Abu Dhabi and we had to come up with a name before submitting our band in...So we had a week to give in our detail + demo and we ended up going with Nervecell. That’s how it all began with the first line-up. It was special for us right from that very first gig we played though, as we won "Most Creative Band" and surprisingly I was even picked up the award for "Best Guitarist" haha.

Haha from 2000 until now how has the journey been so far?

It's been a roller coaster man; I'm 30 years old so Nervecell has been a part of me and my identity for half my life pretty much! Nothing was ever easy, especially being a metal band from the Middle East, a lot of people look at us and think we got lucky and that’s why we broke through internationally. The truth is we were a local band for the longest time (7 years) and we still are based in Dubai until this day. We stuck to our beliefs and we were never out to break any records or make any records. We did this purely for fun and because we had a passion for extreme music. There was and still is a lot of a compromise that each member in the band goes through and it surely was more of a struggle to get to where we are today! I distinctively remember growing up and being in the early stages of the band we would get together for weekends and jam and after we were done we would have dinner together and watch videos of Metallica or footage of bands performing at Wacken Open Air and think "Man how cool would that be to play there or open for these guys?”. And who would of thought couple of years later that's exactly would ended up happening with us! So its moments like that that actually make us realize that we are doing something right and all the sacrifice we have underwent to get here was all worth it at the end! It's be a hell of a ride to say the least man, I never thought growing up that I would share the stage and tour with the bands that have actually influenced me (Metallica, Suffocation, Morbid Angel for example) and be able call some of them friends today! We have been very fortunate to be able to do what we have been doing with Nervecell for all these years and we will forever be grateful to all the fans, friends and our families for their constant support and belief in us too!

If we are not wrong Nervecell got international recognition after the SUMMER SLAUGHTER fest back in 2009 held in DUBAI?

There was never any Summer Slaughter Fest held in Dubai ever?

Saw that in a local zine few months back. By the way we will like to know the meaning of NERVECELL?

Nervecell is a mix of two words put together. Nerves being an essential part of the human body to function and the word cell derived from prison cell, a feeling where there is no escape. I used the word Nerve to depict the feeling of someone or somebody “getting on your nerves”, basically that state of frustration we all go through at times. With the addition of the word cell it adds that sense of being stuck within that breaking point and there being no way to escape it.

Interesting by the way how was your experience here in NEPAL co headlining DECAPITATED?

That was a great gig we had in Katmandu, Nepal co headlining the Nepfest in 2012. It was the first date on that Asian tour with us supporting Decapitated and it also the first time for both bands to play in Nepal, so we went there really not knowing what to even expect. We had a few more shows with the Decapitated after the Nepal gig, in Bangkok and Singapore etc. but I'd have to say the crowd in Nepal shocked us completely on that tour the most. Not because it was a festival and that the crowd was a lot larger but because of the enthusiasm and energy that the crowd had. That was what really made that show an exceptional one for us. The promoters too were very kind and they really took great care of us during our 3 day stay in Nepal. Oh and I also developed a new found love for MOMOS!

Haha for sure love and hunger for momo never dies.  So can we Say Nervecell as an Extreme Death Metal Band?

Yea you can say we are an extreme metal band or a death metal band. I feel we have a few more elements that just being a straight up Death Metal band, in Nervecell we are also heavily influenced by Thrash Metal too so you will hear hints of Thrash, Death and also a mix of melodies in our music too. It's not necessarily all brutal but in fact a mix of old school death metal with a touch of modern dynamics too. I think it’s very hard to write catchy extreme metal songs now days but in this band we strive to do that and write strong groove oriented extreme metal songs!

Actually i am a die hard fan of Nervecell and due to some serious issues was unable to witness you guys live and i am sure enough that in mere future will witness you guys live.

Yea I hope so too, we would love to come back and perform in Nepal again!

Was going through your video that you guys posted in your Youtube channel it seems you guys had a way lot fun touring Nepal, India, Srilanka, Philippines. By the way we want to ask you guys how did you find Nepalese crowd?

I kind of answered this question already in the previous question where I mention Momos...this is what I said = "we went there really not knowing what to even expect. We had a few more shows with Decapitated after that Nepal show, in Bangkok and Singapore etc. but I'd have to say the crowd in Nepal shocked us completely on that tour the most. Not because it was a festival and that the crowd was a lot larger but because of the enthusiasm and energy that the crowd had. That was what really made that show an exceptional one for us."

So how did you guys found the Nepalese Bands with whom Nervecell shared the slot?

Very impressive! I always admired bands from Asia in general a lot more, simply because I understand and realize how hard it is to be heard as a musician and to get out there playing music! When you factor in the culture and traditions of most Asian and Middle Eastern families you will notice a lot of the time parents don't even encourage their kids to listen to music in the first place. I know this because the first drummer we had in Nervecell back in 2000 was a Palestinian/Jordanian guy named Hatem, and his Dad had no idea his son even played the drums! So it's really a struggle more than anything. Of course now not all families are like that (Thank God!) but when you’re brought up in a society where music is not looked upon as a profession, then it takes a lot of courage for anyone to break out from the norm and stand up and chase their dreams! So to conclude I thought all the bands who I got the chance to see perform live in Nepal during that fest were great, none of them appeared as amateurs or anything of the sort. It was a great line-up and for me I was happy to experience it and to be a part of it.

Like you mentioned above about the society how hard is their in Dubai to bring up with a metal band. Along with that we will like to know about the scene their in your country?

Its hard just like anywhere else being a metal band, you just have to stick to your goals and stay committed. I think it has more to do with working with the right people, anyone can form a band but that doesn't mean anything if the music you write isn't good enough or strong enough. You need to stay persistent, be able to take criticism and play music for yourself first. I've seen many people jump on the band wagon just to say they have a "band" and break up 3 to 6 months down the line. It takes a hell of a lot more than just owning an instrument, you need to practice and stay committed and sometimes all it takes is working with other musicians who aren't as committed to demotivate you and eventually make you loose interest too. Fortunately in Nervecell James, Rami and I have had that common bond and genuine love for metal music which really was what brought us together as friends in the first place. As for the scene here, I'm not going to lie to you and tell you its blossoming because clearly Dubai has changed over the last few years. I remember the scene that I grew up in - 1998 onwards where local gigs would draw anywhere between 200 to 300 kids in the audience on average. Today a local gig no matter who is on the line-up would only draw 150 max! So clearly there is no loyalty factor in terms of turn outs here anymore. I put on shows for international metal bands myself in Dubai sometimes and even after having bands such as Obscura, Grave and Hate Eternal play in Dubai the turn outs are still between 150 to 180 max which is really disappointing to say the least! I guess it is what it is...I know I miss the earlier days myself for sure, the crowds were different, the bands were better and more mature and most importantly everyone respected each other regardless of the difference in genres that existed in the scene back then. We are the only band from Dubai who has put Dubai on the map when it comes to music as far as I'm concerned. We reached a level to where we are today not over night but after years of sacrifice and honest work. I will always be proud of that and everything that we have achieved thus far.

Well it’s a new thing for us to know that the scene there is not so good even though gigs are happening their. If I am not wrong, you guys are having a European tour. As far as I know you guys will be playing in Barther Metal Open in Germany. Brutal Assault in Czech Republic sharing stage with some killer bands like AMON AMORTH, OBITUARY as well as Headbangers Disaster fest in Austria. Its seems you guys have a tight schedule tour until September ending in Momignies Extreme fest in Belgium?

Yeah that's all true! Those are just some of the few confirmed festival dates where we will be performing at later this year in Europe.

Maximum of your time goes in tours and are you guys able to give time to your family and private issues. This things really haunts me when I go through the posts of bands on tours. Sometimes weeks and sometime for months, how far have you guys managed to give time to your family as well as band?

Family is always number 1 in our lives, without the support, patience and understanding of our families and loved ones we would never be able to pursue what we do in the band. We spend as much time as possible with our families. Our families understand that we want to make a career out of music and we have been very fortunate to hang on this long as a band, despite al the complications and obstacles we face in our daily lives. Being a musician is a massive compromise on your personal life, there is no doubt about it. Yet it's the path we choose!

Family is the basic priority. By the way we will like to know your best experience with NERVECELL?

It would probably be a tie between when we won the award for being the "All Time Best Selling Metal Band" in 2011 by Virgin Megastores (Middle East & North Africa region) and when we were asked to open for Metallica later that same year in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Ok Barney we will like to know that does the incident in life affects the music NERVECELL creates?

Yes 100%. Everything we go through and experience personally, be it negative or positive, it allows us to express ourselves via our music freely! I think it's the only outlet we have to voice our own opinions and allows us to put our point across on an incident or a situation we have faced in reality. James writes a lot of the lyrics in the band and he tends to add more of a story telling touch to the lyrics, so this way the listener if free to draw his or her own conclusions from it.

So Nervecell has Launched 2 full length album Psychogenocide in 2011 Preaching Venom in 2009 , along with that an EP Human chaos in 2004 along with that a Demo Vastlands of Abominations in 2003 and The tracks like All eyes in them, Shunq, National Plague ,Demeans, Ratios and Human Chaos has been evergreen songs of NERVECELL. We will like to know how did you guys approach Karl Sanders from Nile for featuring in Shunq?

Karl Sanders featured as guest vocals on the song “Shunq (To The Despaired…King Of Darkness)”. This song was mainly written in Arabic by James (bassist / vocalist) and we wanted to have somebody else sing the English parts in the song. We had given it some thought because we had never featured anyone in our music before, so the first person that came to mind was Karl Sanders since

a) We’re big fans of his work in Nile and

b) Because Nile are known for having this Egyptian mythology and themes in their music.

We also thought his singing style was distinct and would fit perfectly for the song. So we had our management get in touch with Nile's management to bring about this idea to them and they were fully supportive about it right from the start. Karl immediately asked for the track and the lyrics and instantly began working on his parts for the track from his home studio in South Carolina, USA. We filmed a video for the song as well later in the year once the album was out and had Karl come down and visit us which was a great experience altogether. We are constantly in touch with each other now and hopefully one day we can get Nervecell and Nile to tour together...that would be so sick!!

Yeah Nile and Nervecell would be sick. It would be like an ultimate chaos. Guys we will like to know how your first experience was in stage as Nervecell or the first time you guys went on stage.

That was back in 2001 at the Battle of the Bands in Abu Dhabi, we played 2 originals and 1 cover. I am the only original member still n the band from that initial line-up and I can tell you the music was different in so many ways back then haha. It was still extreme but not typically death metal either. The vocalist we had at the time was into a lot of American post hardcore bands and his vocals were really high pitch (completely different from James's vocals). The other members also were very different characters and had a very diverse taste in music and influences! Our bass player back then was into Korn and Nu metal. So as you can imagine we sounded like a hardcore band with death metal riffs and Dani Filth on vocals haha. What a mess! I remember the mood in the band was just to go out there and put on an intense set, that’s all that mattered to us!

That’s for sure Barney. So we will like to ask you what are the least 10 albums one should have in their collection?

Oh man...well the 10 that come to mind for me are (in no particular order):

Pantera - Vulgar Display of Power

Dismember - Like an Ever Flowing Stream

Suffocation - Pierced From Within

Sepultura - Arise

Cryptopsy - None So Vile

Morbid Angel - Domination

At The Gates - Slaughter of The Soul

Testament - The Gathering

Metallica - Master of Puppets

Deicide - Once Upon The Cross

Any message to the upcoming bands?

Star true to yourself and don't let anyone ever put you down.

Any message to the fans?

Thanks for all the support! We hope to come back and play in Nepal again someday

So Barney we are almost at the end of this conversation. So can you tell us your dream lineup with whom Nervecell would like to share the stage in future?

Haha that's an easy one to answer and it's actually real funny because after all these years of touring we still haven't crossed paths with either of the two bands. Anyway my dream lineup would definitely be: Cannibal Corpse Slayer Nervecell

Now if we can get that to happen it would be killer. One can only dream!

Haha yeah. Barney this has been one of my best interview Season until now i wish we could have taken it on and on but it has to come to an end now so here is the last question. Lastly a space for you anything we SNRMB have forgotten to ask you can tell us here?

I guess you didn't ask about whether we have been working on any new material or when is the new album coming out? Well it is something we have been working on a lot lately in fact and so the fans can definitely expect a new Nervecell album towards the end of this year!

Thanks for your time and for this interview my friend Cheers!