Interview with Jo Nunez of Nightrage
By: Craig Sternberg 9/09
SDM: How did you join Nightrage? How much of a fan were you before joining?
Jo: I’ve been listening to Nightrage for many years, since "Descent into Chaos" was released, actually. I listened to the first song, "Being Nothing", and completely had a crush on the band. From then, I started to follow their activity, and one day, after the release of "A New Disease is Born", I saw that they were looking for a new drummer. I just felt like I needed to try even if I was pretty much sure they would have taken one of those big fresh blond Scandinavian drummers. [laughs]
So I sent the videos I was asked to record, and after few days I’ve been contacted by Marios (guitarist) and invited to audition in Gothenburg, Sweden. After that, they decided to hire me for some gigs, and after the two first shows, I became a permanent member in the band. Like I said, I had a crush on that band, the music sounded so honest and contained everything I loved at the time — I mean fast and extreme drums, melodic riffs, et cetera. There was nothing but fury in their way of playing music, and it’s still the case now. Joining the band was like a dream come true at the time, but now I feel it’s like being a member of a family.
SDM: What was it like recording "Wearing a Martyr’s Crown"?
Jo: Very nice experience, in fact. Being in one the most renowned studios where big names such as Dimmu Borgir, Arch Enemy, Soilwork, and In Flames have recorded their successes was very stressful. I was afraid that I wasn’t experienced enough, but at the end of the day, we just chilled out and had fun recording music. The guys were very cool and relaxed, that made me feel more comfortable and enabled me to record my parts in less than three days.
SDM: What other bands were you in before Nightrage?
Jo: I played in several bands in Belgium before joining Nightrage, but nothing serious. I just have my personal project, Suicide of Demons, with my brother. This is the only band I kept playing in alongside Nightrage.
SDM: What do you feel you bring to Nightrage that other drummers of the past have not?
Jo: I’m trying to bring more creativity. I’m not saying that the previous drummers were not creative, but I really try to incorporate a new way of thinking about the drums in Nightrage. When I heard the previous albums (except "Descent into Chaos", which is a little bit different in my opinion), I noticed that the drumming was just something added to the music, there was nothing personal in it. It has been very difficult during the recording to get the other members used to some of my ideas, because all of our demos have been composed and programmed by a guitarist, and they all got used to those versions. That’s the annoying part when you don’t live close to the rest of the band.
I didn’t want to play what a machine could play — anyone could have done that, so I completely changed most of the parts, added my personal touch, and some rhythms never played before in Nightrage. That’s what makes this album different from the rest of the discography, I think. But believe me, the next one will be even more extreme in that way.
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