From Colombia to Wacken: Poison the Preacher on Passion, Genre Freedom, and Latin Pride

0:04 Hi, you have done too crue w wow for you your This is the pipe Man here on the Adventures pipe Man W four c Y Radio and I'm here with Juan. From Poison the Preacher, lead singer and rhythom guitar player. Nice and my engineer that will edit this interview will like doing this because his name is Huan two oh no worry. Yeah yeah yeah, so there you go, like you better do a good job on your interview. Then yeah, I represents the ones of the world.

0:46 Exactly, so fucking vadkin. Yeah, oh my god, how did you get the vakan? We did a uh we announced uh europe and tour last year, the beginning and the first semester of the of the year, and eventually I got to contact with some of the bookers of Vacuum and they showed interest because one of our videos from song Hazard's Vegetation, it got a little viral and it grew like two thousand, two hundred thousand amusems on YouTube or some. Nice shit like that. And can I. Swear you can say whatever the fuck you want, you can see even but call me in Bandejo or Mardy con Oh yeah, actually you could if you want to.

1:36 I don't give a fuck. Yeah, some shit like that, And the video got everywhere, like it's flitted across the whole world. And one of the bookers, Sasha, got to the video and he absolutely loved it. He loved the video nice. So he told us like, oh, I didn't know you had interest in juring Europe, Like when are you coming, like you know what's up? And we told him the plans and whatever, and he said like, okay, give me a few days. I'll come back with something that just like he said, he come back like three days later and he said, Okay, I have the spot, I have the day, I have the day, I have the the the cattle, I have the hour everything.

2:19 What do you need? What do you want? And we just caaddled the show and fortunately enough we were playing. We were friends with Fanchom, so we got god booked like at the same time, and we have the same agency in Europe, so we said like, let's do a fucking chure, you know, and then we both got invited to Scene Extreme and to some other festivals and then we have been chewing for the whole month. Actually that's fucking cool, man. Yeah, I'm tired as fuck, I bet you are. I been here a fucking since Monday to twenty four hour travel trip from Estados Unidos and uh yeah, and uh no sleep during that. I can't sleep on the planes. Man.

3:11 No, I'm the same. I kind of sleep at the planes because fucking chairs are so uncomfortable. Oh no doubt, Oh no, no so. And then every day I've been doing interviews from like ten to eleven o'clock at night, and then by time I get back to my hotel and prepare all the interviews for want to, I'm like getting the bed at four point thirty and then I'm getting up a couple hours to do it again. So sorry, it's the life. Like last week I was at incarceration. You know that festival. Yeah, that's a cool festival because that's Shawshank Prison. It's not as cool as fucking but it's cool. And then next week I'll be a bloodstock.

3:51 Yeah. Where are you from? I live in Florida. In Florida. Fuck, you have some really great festivals in in the States. Yeah, we do, but Europe is the king, Like oh yeah, somebody that I go on tour and I do all the US festivals. I do UK I do Europe. Europe is the King, like you walking around this place, no wonder it's called the Holy Ground, Yeah for sure, right sure, yeah. But I really love about this festival too, because I was talking Banned earlier and one of the members was from Venezuela and one was from Mexico and they had they really love like helping the Latin metal bands.

4:33 Yeah for sure. I mean, uh, I'm not really up to date with the lineup on who is latching apart from as a fanctum, to be honest, but on our show, it was fucking full of Colombians and Latin Americans, and we're from Colombia, so we felt like playing at home. To be honest. Let's called they were Europeans and Americans and people from all over the world, but they were a function of Colombians. And wild to come all the way here. It's fucking wild. I would expect it in Florida. Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, in the States, and we expect in Germany. I wouldn't expect it.

5:14 And it was so crazy because we were just doing sound check, you know, like the line check when you tried the mics and whatever. We were doing like hey, hey, hey, want you and the crowd started to go hey, hey, hey, and I was like, oh. My god, we haven't even started. Bro, that's fucking great. Yeah. And it was so great because people started to change the Spanish, you know, like, oh yeah, because we are so proud of our culture and stuff. So we got our flag on the stage. Nice and people from Colombia, of course see the flag on a fucking huge, legendary festival as this, and they they go.

5:54 Wild, Bro, they wild. I love that. Yeah, I mean, you you got to represent I mean, and Colombia has such it's such a beautiful, such a beautiful country with such beautiful people and such beautiful culture that we have the need to represent it, you know, like the flag and the Colombia thing that we have. It's not to like represent a government or military or borders and any bullshit like that. Is to represent you know, the people that live in Colombia, the culture, the food, the vocabulary they are, the music, the literature that we have. You know. I was just talking about that earlier because like, I think people stop having have to stop confusing the people of a country with the government. For sure, you can fucking hate the government, but don't hate the people. Yeah, yeah, you know, the people. They probably hate the government just as much as you do, no matter what the country is. Yeah, it doesn't even matter what country you're in, you know.

6:52 Yeah, for sure, I agree. I mean I get the no border things, the no borders thing, and I believe that as well, you know, because I believe we are all brothers on the whole war. There should be no differences, but of course there are differences that have different cultures and different things, and I think that society must be on melching pot where all those different cultures must come together and celebrate each other, you know what I mean. And that's what we are trying to do with with Colombia. And I feel like Colombia doesn't have as much representation though metal and hardcore world as any other country. So we're raising the flag for a country and for our scene, you know. So that's like the thing that we want to do.

7:36 You know. I love that because like I also got to Costa Rica. Yeah, they have a big underground metal scene, but same as what you're saying, like there's no festival for it, there's no real support for it, and I think there should be, you know, I mean, like all of Latin America. Like one thing about Latinos is they're passionate. Oh fucking that's fucking everything. Yeah yeah, I think the best crowds that we have ever played to are Latino American crowds. Like the biggest show we have ever had was in Colombia and Rocal Park, which is a festival that. We have in in in our hometown. That that was our first, our first big show, you know, like we were like two years old or something like that.

8:22 The band we have like four singles out and the rest we just played, but we didn't have recorded and it was like a like a seventy k eighty k. People crowd. You know, it was a big fucking crowd. That's fucking cool. That's fucking cool. Yeah, And people in Latin America go fucking wild, like of course you cannot enter to the festival, like like, how do you say the the things that you break? That did you break? And they like the light the fucking red. Oh fuck, but the I think I know what you're talking about.

9:03 I forgot the fucking world. Yeah me too, man, Yeah, like they it's not to make fires and ship with with everything that they could find. Of course, it's not allowed. But you know, people just go wild when you'll give them a recar cher, you know what I. Mean exactly, And with your music, you give him a reason too. I'm an old school thrash man. Yeah yeah, your your music is badass. As a matter of fact, this is my eighties battle vest. Oh shit, you have Michel cow back patch. Yeah, and Slayer didn't even have one yet. Oh no, So I got Vinyl. Like I was friends with Lombardo. He's like the coolest dude ever.

9:43 I fucking love him personally, but I think he's my favorite genre ever. He's fucking amazing. It's also Latino exactly. I think he's Gubano right yeyeah yeah yeah yeah. And so like you could see I drew all this ship on here. Wow, that's so cool. And you see it's been through wars. Yeah yeah yeah, I can't see it, but but I think that's cool because it gives you mojo, you know exactly. Somebody said you should like renovated or refurbish it. I'm like, fuck no, man, it's got my blood on there. Sure, if you want to do that, you just get a new one. And right, this has history, man, It's like whole history, situmental value is is more than than whatever whatever, no doubt about it. And I was just mentioning earlier too about your country. First of all, how beautiful is Yeah, but like I'm from the eighties when it sucked to have Escobar around and he gave such a bad name in your country.

10:49 Yeah, that's right. It's not like that anymore, and I think people need to know that. I mean, it was just like that a couple of years while his empire was you know, thriving. But after that, it's such a fucking beautiful country with beautiful people and the nicest people that you could ever find. Yeah, around the world, Like everyone. Is so welcoming and so worn with foreigners especially, you know. So also that's something that we would like to change, you know what I mean, the perspective that people have on because that's a stigma that's still there. Yeah, unfortunately, and it's dumb because listen, every country, every city, every state anywhere in the world as bad and good.

11:33 Don't make the bad, which is the exception the rule, you know, like just because people like a Scoobar and any of the other families at that time, that's not representative of the actual Colombian people. Yeah, yeah, for sure, that's right. And I mean the the eighties was such a wild chime everywhere around the world, and not just in Colombia. Yeah, I was at the Sunset Strip on the I think, you know what, it was pretty fucking wild there. Like yeah, And I mean I get the the stigma that some people that don't have like a wide perspective around the world or like leaving a bubble, might have.

12:14 But I guess that now. In twenty twenty six, I believe that that bullshit should go away. I mean, you hit on something I talk about all the time because even in my country. I remember the first time I went to Europe, I came in my head It's like, what the fuck were they talking about? I call it the big lie because when you live somewhere, especially in the States, it's like, oh, we're the best country in the world. Nowhere else is it free? Everywhere else it's dangerous and like that just isn't true. And the problem is people don't travel, so that's what they believe because you have this image, you know, you gotta go there. Like my daughter, she was dating a Columbian and she went to a wedding yeah, she went to a wedding in Columbia. Oh no way where, Uh do I know? I don't fucking remember. It was years ago, but like I didn't have any problem with their going because I knew it's a beautiful country, like we're not you know, of course, just like anywhere in Florida. I'm not going to send people into Liberty City some shit like that. Yeah, but that's not the whole state.

13:27 That's the whole war, Like you should know where you're going, Like. Yeah, exactly, you know, and like it's it's pockets, it's not shouldn't be represented of the whole thing. And I have quite a few Columbian friends because I live in South Florida. Yeah, yeah, and they're all cool as ship. Yeah, I got a bunch of friends that live Columbia, friends that live in Florida, and. I prefer the Latino women and Latino women anyway. Oh yeah, is that one of my best friends ever for many many years, she's Columbia. And I always laugh because she'll do that punching me in the arm, and I'm like, I actually like that, you know, the women art I like that.

14:11 Yeah, Yeah, they're a little too passionate I. Know, right right, But that's what makes them, That's what makes them great, you know. And so tell the listeners more about your music. I know it's part hardcore, part fresh, but forget the genres for a second. How do you describe it as an artist? Yeah, I mean I really don't. Don't don't like you to talk about genres or labels or bullshit like that before. I believe that, first of all, the artists don't get to name the things that they do, you know what I mean? So true, like corn hated being called new metal for. Example, Yeah, for example, or like the term thrash metal, it was not invented by Mechallica or Overkillers they or whatever, you know, it was just a a nickname that they got.

15:01 So I don't I don't think that I have the right to name the ship that we do because in my eyes, it's like, yeah, it's trash, it's crossover, it's hardcore, it's it's whatever is the music that I like to do. It's it's not like something in particular. We just do the things that we would like to hear, you know what I mean. Yeah, And that's why I asked that way because I don't want to hear the genre because I don't have a fuck about the you know, if it's good music, it's good music, you know. And to your point, I was at Metallica's first show ever, oh no way, yeah yeah yeah, and Mustaine came out after the show and he's talking to me and hands me and it's business card and it said Metallica, Power Metal. Mustay's no word thresh yet. And like, if you take the big four of thrash, none of them sound like the same genre.

15:54 They sound similar, but they're so different. So how do you call those four bands representative of the whole genre when they don't sound exactly. Yeah, yeah, that's completely true. And that's also something that I really love about hardcore because we are We're not like one hundred percent of hardcore band, because we have some trash elements of the metal edges elements, and a lot of the hardcore style we have is more like mechallic hardcore, like hate bread or kind of stuff. But I love about the hardcore scene, which we are a big part of in Colombia, is that. Hardcore is such a wide term.

16:35 Like you can have a band like Tornstile, or you can have a band like Tsunami, or you can have a band like you or like not Lose, and they are so widely different bands that they sound completely different, but they are all from the hardcore camp. And for example, when we play in hardcore shows, which are our favorite. To be honest, people just go to a fucking hardcore show, you know, and the energy the same for all the bands, even if they are as kabi or as hoo, as aggresive, or they were a little more mellow like torn title is called a cowld or something like that, you know. Yeah, and see back in the eighties it was even more of the gate keeping bullshit, like oh yeah, yeah, if you listen to this band, you could listen to the other band. And it was stupid because we're all basically in the same in the same arena. You know.

17:27 It's like yeah, and like just fuck that. And like I was along hair, I couldn't go to hardcore punk shows because I'd get my ass beat, and a punk or a hardcore came to a metal show, they'd get their asspeed. The same thing happening Columbia in the nineties and eighties, Yeah, the same thing. It was so stupid because we were both game bullied by the jocks and then we're kicking each other's as joined forces. Yeah, that's what's great about a place like Vaking. Yeah, that's fucking dumb that happened. There's none of that, there's no gate. Yeah. I really like that because you know, when we got booked, we didn't know the lineup, of course, but then it got announced and we were like, oh fuck, it's Lamb of God, it's Judah's Priest, it's fucking Hatebred, it's fucking Guilt Trip Municipal ways. You know, like all these bands from different generals day Fabite, which I was watching before I came here, with different genres that we love, and they are all going to have great shows.

18:27 I'm sure you know what I mean exactly. Listen, it's just all extreme music. Yes, that's all it should be called. And to be honest, for me, even it should be called just music raw. It just all be rock, yeah, you know, like because that's all it's a derivative. Yeah, and you're right, it should. Just all be To be honest, me and the guys from the band, we are like so open musically, like when we hang out, the last thing that we listen to is metal or hardcore or whatever. We listen to other bullshit because in colomb yeah, you have a ton of musical diversities. So we listen to two. Sides out, We listen to MERINGI to reggaeton, do a lot of different bullshit that we grew up on that we love that we like.

19:12 Of course, we put some hardcore, we put some speed, we put some. I don't know, metallica or whatever, but but we have like a really open mind about that, and when we go to the studio or whatever, we don't think about, oh, we're going to do a hardcore song. We're going to do We're going to do a fucking song. Let's see what's up. I love that because I was talking about that in another interview this week, about the fact that, like, if you're an artist, you don't want to be boxed in, you don't want to be labeled in like whatever you feel, Yeah, whatever you you want to do, bro and all metal, whatever it comes out, Yeah, all metal heads, all punks, lists and other music. It's not the only thing. You know.

19:55 I'd be perfectly happy to see led Zeppelin play and Discharge play, and then I'll even take fucking Shakira because I love her. She's fucking cool as ship too, because she surfs, which I do. She skateboards, which I do. So it's like and then you look at somebody like Lady Gaga and when she did that thing with Metallica, she's a metal head and she was fucking good. And Christina Aguilera is a metal head, you know, so like why are we boxing in? And then like I'll come on tour like this, and then I go home and where I live on Friday nights, there's this place right near me that every Friday night they have a live Latin band, and I go every Friday night because I love the music, but I also love like I'm a typical grit though I can't fucking do that ship. And I watch I watch these people more so the guys.

20:58 I'm impressed because you're gonna get the women, but how good they are. And like, so I'm impressed by that ship and the music. It moves you. It's like it moves you, you know, and like who gives a fuck? Who? Yeah, who gives a what's the the genre that you play or whatever? Like it's just music and the point is to have a good time. And make some memories with your best friends and you know, hang out, dance. That's the point of music. It's not to some fucking educational exercise or some so the philosophical thing or you know, it's it's just music. And sometimes it depends on what you're doing. Like if I were to go out to a nightclub and they're playing house music, do I listen to house music in my car? Now? But while there I'm fucking into it? Yeah, yeah, that's exactly it.

21:51 Bro Like, I don't understand people that say, oh, I only listen to metal for example, that happens a lot, to be honest, Oh yeah, because I believe that there are more than I believe that metal represents a set of situations and emotions that of course you you you have and you experience and you feel and you really. Connect with with what's happening, you know. But sometimes when you go to a nightclub, maybe you don't want to listen to metal. Maybe you want to dance and listen to some salsa or whatever. You know what, hell, no doubt, I. Mean those those a place and a time for everything, And I believe that there should be no restrictions for for what you listen to, because I believe that that like makes your ear more rich, you know.

22:39 What I mean, No doubt I actually broke up with somebody for that reason because I was day in this check. She was in a hardcore band. Oh yeah, and she's still had that old school value of I was a metal head. And then she had a problem with it because the whole punk metal come on and she wasn't even that old to do that. And it's like, and it was that attitude, that same aunt she used to say ship all the time, and I was just over it. Man, that's that's like, I like my music. You don't need to be like the fucking you know, I'm better than everybody else because my music.

23:23 That yeah, that's that's dumb. And for example, most of my ex couples they are not, you know, mental heads, but because we are Colombia and we are so open to all types of music, eventually she learned some of my music and eventually I learned some of her music. And you know, that's that's what makes your musical chase richer, to meet people and to share music and do you have an open mind about it? You know what I mean? Yeah, And if you're an artist, you want to experiment. An experiment, bro, that's right. I mean I get that. For example, you have like the people that listen to you expect something in particular. I get that. I know that, and I mean it's not something that I said, it's like set in stone or something like that.

24:09 But I believe it's something that you should like look up to, you know, like like you should be aware of that. But for example, for us, we try to to to do different things every every day. It's it's just that the songs come out extreme music because that's what we. Like. What what did we do it out? But you're getting shipped out of yourself. You're not extreme on the streets. But we we we fucking make experiments with a bunch of Latin American stuff, with a bunch of different stuff. Like we don't like to to say like, oh this sounds so I don't know so uh death metal, we kind of use it like that.

24:52 I don't give a fuck, right, it's just it's in my song. If you talk about within metal or within it's really all the same kind of music. So why are you saying, oh, I won't listen to that because that's black metal and I'm into death fuck that. Like, I believe our greatest virtue is that for from our records, you can get out a lot of different stuff. Like, for example, if you are a death metal guy, there are some songs that you are going to get into instantly, but there are some other that may not be. But because of it's the same sound and it's the same band and the song sound like they are made by the same band, you are going to get hooked on something different, you know what I mean.

25:38 That's the compliment that we get. The most, that we have a lot of variety, So we don't want to call ourselves a genuinely specific That's why we use the Colombia style model and ship because I love it, because we don't I. Mean, most people in America we need to know what that means. Yeah, I know, I know, but which that's why I love it. But we don't want a Colors crossover or hardcore or trash. Even though we carry a lot of the hardcore values and all of the hardcore stage presence and most of our friends and most of our scene and whatever, and we're really root for and we are really into the hardcore scene, we don't want to exclude anyone else, you know what I mean, Because we're a hardcore band at heart, but we are also a metal band at heart, you know what I mean. Yeah, So that's what that's why we say Columbia style. I love that, that's what we do.

26:29 It just covers it. We can do whatever the while. This is Columbia style. You could do whatever the fuck you want exactly that. I got to do drum circles when I'm in Historica on the beach all the time, like, and I take that ship exactly like, it doesn't matter if that gets you feeling and just moving. And sometimes it's a different vibe, sometimes you want different for sure. And for example, the Columbia thing, Uh, it's really like true, not only because we're from yeah, but because it also represents all the taste that Colombia has. Because in Colombia there's a big metal scene, there's a big hardcore scene, and that's the things that we do. So of course Colombia like has both scenes into into the same thing, you know what I mean.

27:16 It's cool. I like that. So let's also talk about you just dropped some new music recently, and I looked on Apple Music and like it's practically everything on that new music is like the top ranking ship. So no way, I don't have helpful music, I know. So I mean, look I'll show you man. It's pretty wild. So let's go back. Hold on, look at that ship. Oh no way, Yeah, the top songs you're from the EP Yeah, yeah, I don't know. Want that says a lot.

27:57 Yeah that says a lot. That's what everybody's listening too. Yeah, so look at that. Yeah, you have a great new music and everybody fucking loves it and you're playing back and. Yeah, I'm really really excited about that and about the new music because I believe that this NEWIPE like really represents. What the core of our sound is trying to be, you know what I mean. Because before the album, those were like like a prototype, like our Killing moll so to speak. Yeah yeah, yeah, like we weren't Metallica yet. We were we were getting somewhere, but we haven't gone into it yet. And our album, I believe it's like our right the line and like, Okay, this is what Points in the Preacher, This is the foundation for Points in the Preacher. And I believe that this new EPI is the first step towards building the building on top of that foundation that we just said with the album.

28:49 You know what I mean, Oh, absolutely like it. I think people don't realize, especially when you have your old school fans. Yeah, that it's like in the beginning, you really don't know what direction you're going yet. You don't, you haven't found your sound yet partially partially. But then as you get better as musicians, as you evolve, as you know each other as a band for sure, then you start to develop what you really and you don't even know before that what you really want the band to sound like yet. So it's like this is getting to where now you know what you want, what direction you want.

29:37 Yeah, And I believe it's not a thing of of oh we are going to do this, this this sound all we're going to do. You know, It's not like that. It just happens. I think it's moldly that it happens because we are getting better at making songs exactly, we're getting used to it. We're getting and you're used to each other exactly. That that's exactly it, that we're getting better at doing this. Yeah. So the the style that we want to represent or show to the world is naturally going to come out more and more and more the more that we get better at doing this. You know, absolutely, what else do you want the listeners to know that you have coming up? Tell them how I connect to you on socials? How to get your music and buy your merch because they can't listen to my show. And let's say, buy your merch's the only way you get the vakum.

30:29 Yeah, I mean you can find us everywhere on Instagram, YouTube, Bank and Facebook whatever you want as Poison the Preacher or at Poison the Preacher, own whatever, whatever, whatever social media you use, and you can find us in Spotify and every streaming service as Poison the Preacher as well. We just dropped the new Room EP. We're really proud of it. Things I Want just came out. Like a couple of weeks ago. It's badass, Thank you so much. It has a feature with the guys from Speed which I absolutely off. Good friends, and yeah, I mean we're going to hopefully go to the stage very soon, hopefully come back to Europe very soon, and hopefully we're going to release new music.

31:16 Next year as well. I can't wait, and I'm so glad you're here. At baking. Thank you. We both had to come across the world to meet each other. Yeah yeah, that's crazy. We're both on the holy ground, you know, sure. Yeah yeah, And so thanks for being here, Thanks for creating great music and having the attitude you do. Thank you and giving that little Latin flair as well. Appreciate it. Man Like music is all passionate emotions. We are the best at that. There it is, you are the best. I love it. And thanks for being on the Adventures pipe Man. Thank you, Anne. Appreciate it. Thank you for listening to the Adventures of Pipeline and w fur c u I Radio