Alex: Thank you, Jason, for the opportunity to this interview at Metal Coven, the pleasure is all mine. And about the CD, thanks again. We did it with a lot of care and detail. Glad to hear you like it.

Alex: Brazil was going through a lack of identity phase as far as music and metal go, and due to the cultural aspect of following markets and waiting for a new trend to come up, metal started losing space, like radio, concert houses, media, the press… For some idiotic reason, pop music discovered distortion on their guitars and some even more idiotic metal bands thought they could be or already were pop, and started losing it. So the whole scenario here from around 1998 to 2003 was really not helping, especially thrash-metal and some more underground metal branches. When we got back together I guess we had so much inside that things started flowing naturally and what came out was a surge of 7 years held in ideas and wishes. I like what came out! The first song to be ready was "Legions (forgotten by the gods)". Since then, we haven't stopped anymore.

Alex: Truth is we had a whole 9 song album ready in studio in 96 and we dropped it because the local scene really did not help and things really did not feel good around here. So we simply dismantled.

Alex: The real story of how we got back is that I ran into Eduardo at a Destruction concert they put out to 200 VIP's in this tiny club in Sao Paulo, and by the time we met, we had already been thrashing and moshing and remembering deeply the old times. So we actually settled we would come back, and from there we got to Regis who most excitedly accepted it and suggested bringing André to the bass guitar, who already took part in the first set up of the band. Patrick joined us at the end of 2005, but having already been in the band in 96. So, we tried pretty much to keep it in the family, per se.

Alex: You can say that again. The best part is getting that very extra special backstage spot to see the show. Sharing the stage with Anthrax, Krisiun, Destruction, etc… makes us feel that adrenaline to our eyebrows, bro. I'm a fan of metal. And working alongside these people is out of this world.

Alex: More than what we'd expected, that's for sure. We put out a 6 song CD to try and reestablish our name in the scene. It comes out that the CD was really well taken by old and new fans, domestically and abroad, for its sound and concept. We've gotten it reviewed in over 200 sites, magazines, papers worldwide. We gave away more than 8 thousand copies through the internet with downloadable artwork to print out and everything. Now we're moving to the 5000th copy, or 5th batch of albums sold … so, all in all, we're keeping our original strategy of divulging the name through sampling and local distribution, and people seem to be enjoying what the see and hear. At shows the kids really know the tunes and the lyrics, we're always doing great shows at packed houses. We did one this weekend at a city 200 miles off Sao Paulo, and the crowd packed a 600 person club and really welcomed us terrifically. 'Tis been great so far.

Alex: I'd say it's one more step towards what we want. And about making it big, I think we're not there yet at all. But we do aim at it, restlessly, holding the thrash metal flag up high in our way. We love it, that's our main fuel doubtlessly. We love metal and everything about it. We grew up on metal, we formed a musical taste in it as well as a character and personality, we freaking learned English listening to metal. It's always been there. Metal is not just music, it's a lifestyle, a way of life.

Alex: No, we're not alone. We've got plenty of friends and colleagues near us all the time. Thrash is now rubbing shoulders with all other streams, not above them, as I think it used to be around here in the mid 90's with thrashers like Korzus, Sepultura, Witch Hammer, Hammerhead, Chasing Fear, Necromancia, and so on. Today the scene is all blended up, with Korzus, Torture Squad, Andralls, Drowned, Chaosfear, Atomica, Claustrofobia, Ungodly, and tons of other bands Brazil-wide. Brazil was originally a boiling point of different cultures and races, why should metal be any different, right?

Alex: Right on! I read Dante's "Hell" a few years ago and freaked out with the whole thing to such a proportion that I started collecting everything about it. All themes in the EP "The Nether Hell" are of Dante's "Hell". The Nether Hell is the lowest part of Hell, whose main punishment is to be frozen, thus deprived from movement. It's also what Satan calls his home. It also talks of the schizophrenic similarity between good and evil. Of the infernal reality of the 20th and 21st centuries. Of the truth that tomorrow shall be worse than today. Of the cruel fact that we're subjected to confuse, selfish and cruel leaders. The lyrics are usually composed by Regis, Andre and myself, and have as mission report of the hell that has settled on Earth. An example is "Return to the Killing Grounds", which describes what a child sees going back home, finding it's been bombed, family murdered, and lives the atrocities of war. When I had compiled all of Doré's pictures, I gave them all to our art producer, Alexandre Ache, who laid out the whole thing. Then I found a sentence that would best describe the picture, and placed at the bottom of the lyrics of each song with the CANTO's number. The album came out really 'educational', allow me to say. And from my behalf, I was very happy that the band accepted my idea and to put on his "Hell" for our CD, it's a way I can leave in history another tribute to Dante's memory, but this time recorded in thrash-metal. I'm still midway the Part 2, Purgatory. But it's not half as fun as Hell, so I'm dragging myself through it. This is my cue to say that out next album is NOT going to give sequence to the trilogy. The Nether Hell is unique.

Alex: It's impossible to neglect my origins, thus I feel obliged to say that I am very influenced when I compose and play, constantly striving to leave my scent on it . But the blend is quite thick, such as Forbidden, Vio-lence, Exodus, Possessed, Dark Angel, Slayer, Kreator, Destruction, and also, if I may, Sepultura, Sacred Reich, Tankard, Destruction, Death Angel, Overkill, Nuclear Assault, Anthrax, MOD, Metallica, Biohazard, Assassin, Venom, Napalm Death, Death, Testament, and on and on and on. These and many others are what we wish we could be, a little of each one. They're all heroes to us, they're beyond human.

Alex: We're crawling our way through. We've made tons of contacts there and we may be seeing each other quite soon. But I'd say the sure shot is for when the full length is out, by 2nd quarter next year. Then we'll bang some head in America and meet up with good friends.

Alex: It's been delightful. Thank you so much for taking the time to get to know SCARS and write up these questions. It's clear you know what you're talking about and enjoy what you do. For all SCARS and THRASH METAL fans out there, keep thrashing troops, keep it fast, crunchy, loud and noisy! Hail!