Victor Elian of Escarnium Interview

Several weeks ago, Tracy had the opportunity to sit down with Victor Elian, guitarist and vocalist of the Brazilian Death Metal band Escarnium. In their conversation, Elian offered insight into the group’s current projects, the state of the underground metal scene in Brazil, and what lies ahead for the band. Known for their uncompromising sound and relentless energy, Escarnium continues to carve out a place for themselves on the global stage, and Elian’s perspective sheds light on both the challenges and the passion that drive the band forward.

Can you give us a brief history of how and when Escarnium came to be?

Escarnium started taking shape in 2008/2009. I already had a handful of song ideas and finally began giving them real life after I left Impetuous Rage in late 2007—not the friendliest split, let’s say. From there we pulled friends in, rehearsed anywhere we could, and by 2010 we were playing shows and putting out demos.

You guys are from Salvador, Brazil. What’s the metal scene like there?

Salvador’s scene is often overlooked—even by locals—but it’s vibrant. Classic names like Headhunter DC, Mystifier and Malefactor paved the way, and killer new bands such as Devouring keep popping up. We have committed promoters, zinesters and distros; everything a healthy scene needs. Sure, we’re outside the Rio/São Paulo/Belo Horizonte axis, so the city sometimes gets forgotten, but to us Salvador (and Bahia as a whole) is still the best place in the world to play.

For the new album, did you have many of the songs prepared before you recorded? If so, was there a lot of collaboration and adding ideas to them once you were in the studio?

Yeah—drafts of several tracks were around as far back as 2019. COVID and an old-label mess delayed things, but that also gave us freedom to refine every riff. In 2022 we proudly released the EP Dysthymia; many riffs on the new record were written in that same creative burst, so the EP now feels like a clear harbinger rather than a stopgap. Pre-production opened the floodgates, and once we hit Walzwerk Studio, Sergej (who runs it) kept pushing fresh ideas. His talent and instinct really elevated the final songs.

This is your fourth full-length overall. How has the band’s sound evolved since you formed, and what’s the biggest evolution you notice on this album specifically?

The core is still dark, straightforward death metal, but we’ve let our influences roam more freely—crust, punk, grind, black metal, even jazz or soul. Experience in the studio taught us that sometimes a two-note riff can crush harder than a thousand-note sweep. To me the new album is a natural step beyond Interitus: same raw violence, sharper dynamics, deeper atmosphere. Nothing reinventing the wheel—just 100 % Escarnium, honed.

Being signed to Everlasting Spew Records, what is your relationship like with them?

Fantastic. They’re transparent, supportive and genuinely care about underground extreme music—no shady moves (we’ve had enough of those elsewhere). We’d wanted to work with them for a while; once our deal with Testimony finally ended, Thomas Haywood at Redefining Darkness (our U.S. partner) connected the dots and Everlasting Spew welcomed us instantly. Grazie to both labels.

Bands like Ratos de Porão, Sepultura and The Mist have written about Brazil’s socio-economic unrest. Do you find it the same today, or different?

Hard to live in Brazil and not have reality shape your art. It’s an incredible country with massive virtues—and corruption that poisons everything. The difference now is the chaos feels global, not just Brazilian. Our lyrics often paint that brutality in abstract or allegorical form; what seems like a nihilistic poem may be describing something very real. We’re not singling out Brazil—we’re talking about humanity as whole.

Being a death-metal band in 2025 is hugely overcrowded. How would you describe what makes Escarnium stand out?

Maybe it’s persistence—17 years already—plus the fact not many Brazilian bands mine this vein of old-school darkness. We tour hard, give everything onstage, and focus on authenticity over trends. That honesty seems to resonate.

Right now, you’re on tour. Any plans to tour the United States?

Absolutely. We’ve hit Europe and Latin America many times and we’re actively working on a U.S. run—probably after our European winter tour. Visa logistics are never fun, but it’s on the radar.

Every band has influences. Who or what are Escarnium’s biggest inspirations, bands, movies, TV, anything?

Musically: Morbid Angel, Immolation, Repulsion, plus crust and grind staples like Discharge and Napalm Death. Outside music: documentaries, war history, geopolitics, psychology (Freud, Jung, Nietzsche). I’ve visited concentration camps, war-torn regions such as Bosnia and Croatia, watched fentanyl-crisis docs that make you lose your appetite—anything exposing the raw edge of humanity fuels the lyrics.

Any pre-show rituals you HAVE to do before taking the stage?

No big rituals now. Years ago, I’d hit a line of coke and jump onstage—those days are gone. I keep calm, stretch, warm up and focus. The show itself is catharsis enough.

Seventeen years is a long time for a band to be together. What do you attribute your longevity to?

Constantly aiming for maturity—listening to each other, knowing when to speak up, staying humble—and, above all, loving what we do. If it ever felt like an obligation, we’d have quit long ago.

Lastly, anything you want to mention. Another band, favorite gear, special shout-outs?

Huge thanks to everyone who supports us: labels, promoters, zines, bands we share the road with, and every person who buys a shirt, a record, or just shows up. Support your local scene—small shows, small bands, distros—don’t pour all your time and money into the mainstream. See you in the pit.