Hi there, how’s life?

‘Hi Erik, everything is ok here.’

Please introduce yourself and your band.

‘My name is Martin Furia, I’m one of the guitarist of JM, which is an extreme metal band from Argentina playing since 1994.’

How did you guys come up with this band name?

‘In the beginning we were called Martyr, but we knew there were more bands with that name. I had a lyric called “Fucking Jesus Martyr” and we liked the concept of it. It was about everything that came after Jesus’ martyrdom, all the moral and the doctrine that ruled the world after that. So we left the “Fucking” out and took the name Jesusmartyr for the band.’

If you had to compare your musical style to any other band, what would it be?

‘I really think we are a mixture of all the different styles we like, in JM you can find influences from Slayer, Sepultura, Pantera, Cannibal Corpse, Machine Head, Carcass, Metallica, Lamb of God, Meshuggah, Fear Factory, Strapping Young Lad, a lot of styles like punk, hardcore, thrash , death and grind are there.’

What instrument do you play (brand & type)?

‘I play guitar, I have an Ibanez 7 strings that goes to a boss tuner, a vox wah wah, a Marshall delay and that plugged into an Engl top and cabinet. I have some other gear but that’s what I use for JM.’

Tell us about writing and recording The Black Waters, did it turn out the way you wanted?

‘Oh yes, we are really happy with the result. Of course there’s always things you would like to change but in general we are very happy with it. We recorded it ourselves and it was mixed in Denmark by Peter Siegfriedsen. The process of composing was smooth, we took it very relaxed and we demoed all the songs first with our computer and a couple of mics. Then we started to work on structures, lyrics, etc. It was a very enjoyable process and we are working like that for the new album as well.’

How did you come up with the title for the album?

‘I really don’t remember how it came to my mind, I just remember that I liked the way it sounded and then I started to think what it could mean. The Black Waters are The End, the total destruction of all to begin something new.’



What steps in your career are you most proud of?
 
‘I think we can be proud of everything we’ve done so far. Being a band from Argentina is not really easy to make yourself listened to. But we managed to release albums all over the world, toured 3 times in Europe, 4 times in Brazil, played in Chile, in Argentina heavily. We played with a lot of great bands like Cannibal Corpse, Sepultura, Dismember, Detonation. We are proud of being Jesusmartyr and we plan to go on for many more years if everything goes alright.’

What goals would you still like to achieve?

‘I just would like the band to go on playing live and releasing albums. Just that every album is better than the previous is a good thing for me.’

What’s the most precious thing you would give up for landing a great record deal and/or lots of publicity?

‘The most precious thing…music is the most precious for us, but we wouldn’t give it up for a record deal. We have those chances already and we didn’t take them. The best publicity is kick ass shows and albums. For us it’s more important to play and be happy with what we do than taking a great record deal, and pff what is a great record deal?’

Please share your touring/future plans with us.

‘We have some plans for next year in Europe, but it’s still not confirmed. We hope we can play again as we did last year but maybe more gigs and more countries, it was only in Belgium and The Netherlands.’

Diego Maradona as the new coach of Argentina, a good choice or not? Why (not)?

‘It’s a good choice, I love Maradona and every football player in Argentina sees him like God. I think it will be super motivating to see El Diego at a side of the field when they are playing. Diego knows what it means to have the Argentine t-shirt and he will give the team an extra dose of confidence. Of course it is also good that he takes all the pressure away from the players, everywhere Maradona goes everybody looks at him, that’s good for the rest of the team. I hope he let’s himself work well. I’m very happy with him being there.’

Anything left to say to our readers? Here’s your chance!

‘Thanx everybody for supporting the band and hope to see you on tour very soon! Keep it brutal!’