Led by guitarist Ilde Carvalho, Dream Wild emerged from a joke between friends in the early 90s to become an icon of Brazilian heavy metal. Finding its roots in the NWOBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal) and the music of the 70s, but always maintaining the heavy metal of the 80s as its main influence throughout almost 30 years on the road, Dream Wild prioritized performing shows over frequent album releases, a strategy that shaped its musical style and allowed for a more intimate connection with its audience. The constant change of members and adaptation to challenges were determining factors in this trajectory, resulting in a repertoire that, despite being short, is full of classics loved by fans. With its most recent album, "Omen To Battle", Dream Wild addresses themes such as everyday violence, conflicts at work and personal difficulties, reflecting on how people face these challenges. Ilde Carvalho shares that the songwriting process was simple, often starting with whistled melodies and evolving into full songs. The single "Reality Overdose" was hastily chosen for a project, but the track "Revelation" is already standing out as a potential classic, receiving positive feedback from fans. With plans for new music and a revamped show, Dream Wild continues to evolve and captivate its audience, always with a message of tolerance and reflection on contemporary issues.

Marcelo Vieira

Starting from the beginning, how did Dream Wild come about and what were your biggest musical influences at the beginning of your career? What kind of sound were you looking to achieve?

Ilde Carvalho: Well... First of all, I'd like to thank you for the opportunity to do this interview and starting from the very beginning, lol... (back in the early 90s) the band was a joke between my brother and some friends called "Wild". We played a lot of covers until in 95 we decided to start composing. We listened to a lot of NWBHM and 70s music too... But as the members changed, other influences adapted to the band... but we always chose 80s heavy metal as our main influence.

The band's discography is relatively short for almost 30 years on the road. Why did you choose to prioritize shows instead of releasing albums more frequently? Did this strategy influence the band's musical style?

I think that the change of members and the difficulty of adapting were very direct in this process. We had many changes in the LINE UP, although we had our own songs, there was no consensus among the band to record them.

Can you share any memorable memories from these three decades? Which bands did you enjoy playing with the most over the years, any interesting stories to tell about one of these encounters, etc.

There were many cool shows.. but speaking for myself, one of the ones that left the biggest impression on me was opening for Savatage with Jon Oliva accompanying our show... It was incredible... But with Angra and Dark Avenger it was also very memorable. There was a certain time when we played at a festival with only Black Metal bands... with a different style, there was only us and the famous Zoltar... it was crazy... lol.

What, in your opinion, makes the songs "Metal Warriors", "Breaking Heads" and "Time Of Confusion" classics of the band?

I think that, given the time we've been playing these songs, the people in our region who come to our shows always get excited when we play them, lol. I don't think we can play in the region without playing these, lol.

About the album "Omen To Battle", what is the meaning behind the title and how does it connect with the songs on it? And how does the graphic part fit into or embrace this whole context?

Well, the album started with the idea about the constant problem in our lives and in society in general, about everyday violence, conflicts at work and in life, and the way people face these difficulties. The songs respectively talk about this difficulty that many people face... The cover was an idea that was developed a long time ago and brought to life through the hands of the excellent João Duarte (responsible for covers such as Angra, Dark Avenger, etc.), in which the two girls holding hands in different times continue to experience the same conflict that spans endless eras.

What was the process of composing the songs for "Omen to Battle" like? Did you have any specific inspiration for the album?

The compositions are actually made in a simple way. Usually with humming or sometimes we try to create a certain "mood" in parts of the song until it adds up to a whole.

I would like you to comment on the choice of studio and producer for "Omen To Battle".

We have a long-standing friendship with the producer Iago Pedroso, who is also a guitarist. Honestly, we had a lot of problems during the recording due to personal issues and the departure of the former bassist... But Iago knew how to conduct himself and was also very patient, which helped us a lot.

Were the recordings of the album affected by the pandemic? If so, how did you deal with this situation and what solutions did you find to finish the project?

Of course!!... Besides, as I said, we had several personal problems that forced us to readapt to this moment... it was a very complicated phase.

"Reality Overdose" was chosen as the first single from the album. What can you tell us about this choice and what message do you want to convey with this track?

"Reality Overdose" was kind of chosen in a hurry... I'll explain... we needed a project to present for a call for proposals for our city's city hall and this track was already ready to go... We just needed the video... The problem was recording with a mask on, lol... the idea for the song came from our drummer Daniel Mestre about a guy dreaming about a future and later having a reality check when he sees that everything doesn't always go as planned...

Is there any track in the "Omen To Battle" repertoire that you consider a potential classic? Which one(s) and for what reasons?

At first I don't think there's a track that stands out because we're very happy with all of them... but if I had to choose one, I'd say it's "Revelation"; we've been getting a lot of positive feedback from it...

What do you hope the public learns or takes away from this new album?

Look, we always hope that people learn to be a little more tolerant and analytical, especially in complicated situations like this war between Russia and Ukraine or in crises like COVID itself, or the poverty, hunger and urban violence that are always a constant but as we discussed on the album, that's not exactly how it happens... There's still a little more evolution to be done...

Are you already thinking about new projects for the future of the band after "Omen To Battle"?

Of course!! We have some songs already ready... and we're also preparing a different show from the way we used to do it, which in our point of view will be more attractive to our audience... but it's a surprise...

Enforced from Richmond, Virginia recently released their second very compelling album "Kill Grid" via Century Media Records (review here). On "Kill Grid" they offer a mixture of pretty uncompromising thrash, hardcore and Crossover, which knows how to convince (at least for me) and was also the reason enough to ask the band a few questions and get to know them a bit better. I sent guitarist Will Wagstaff some questions by email and got some interesting answers. Thanks a lot Will!

Michael

Hello Will, how are you?

Hey - doing very well thank you!

You recently released your new album "Kill Grid" via Century Media. How did it happen that you were able to switch to such a big label so quickly?

We were so fortunate to be noticed by a label like Century Media. I am not sure exactly, but I do know that we are a band that works hard, we try to always keep our nose to the grindstone, achieve our goals, and never stop pushing forward.

Until this album you were more known in the underground. Maybe you can introduce yourselves to our readers a little bit more.

My name is Will Wagstaff, I play guitar and do a lot of the writing of the music. I am a painting contractor in Richmond, VA, and am originally from Roanoke, VA. I love to do contract work, play guitar, listen to metal, mess around on my trucks, and travel/tour with the boys.

Musically you play a mixture of thrash, hardcore and a bit of crossover (although I only marginally feel that way). What are your musical sources of inspiration?

I think old school later 1980s thrash/death metal, 80s hardcore. Sodom, Obituary, Discharge, Napalm Death, Cro-Mags, AF/Madball, etc.

In which musical category would you classify yourselves?

Heavy metal, hardcore punk, crossover

On the new album you play very aggressive songs throughout. Don't you ever feel like composing a slower piece? Maybe something with keyboards?

There are synths on the new record, the beginning of KG (Kill Grid; M.) has synth parts on it, and so does The Doctrine. I think there is room for keyboards in our music, but we are not going to be doing any Nocturnus type shit.

Lyrically, your album is primarily about war and violence. The expressive, short titles like 'UXO' or 'Blood Ribbon' fit to that. Was that intended, to use short and powerful titles?

Yes that was definitely in Knox's mind - I'm sure. Kind of like the band name ENFORCED, short, simple, to the point.

Where did you get the ideas for your lyrics? I would guess TV documentaries in parts…

Knox writes most of the lyrics and I know he studied history in school. He loves to read and plays a ton of video games that help him in thinking about lyrics. We will also just take inspiration from events going on around us. A lot of times Knox will write stuff that we don't realize at the time, but ends up being somewhat of a pointed statement. For instance, he had written the lyrics for 'Kill Grid' (the song) prior to a lot of the civil unrest occurring in the USA in 2020. Later when all of that stuff was going on it was like, "Wow Knox did you like to see this coming?".

What are your plans once Corona is through? In the USA that will probably be 100 years sooner than here in Germany, when I look at the vaccination rates.....

Yeah we are hoping we can resume shows once the majority of folks feel safe enough to come out to shows! We want everyone to be vaccinated if they wish to be and to be able to come to a show safely.

Do you have any last words for our readers?

Follow us @enforcedrva on Twitter/IG/Facebook.

Thanks for the interview, hope to see you on tour!!!!

HELL YES!