Interview with Royal Rage

Thrash metal band from Curitiba, Brazil. Founded in early 2010 by founding member Pedro Ferreira.
They have two full-length albums to their credit.
Alan – Hi, let's get to know you a little bit, okay?
Pedro - Sure thing, let’s do it.

Alan – The band Royal Rage was formed from the band Royal Rampage. Can you tell us a little more about it?
Pedro - Yes. When we started, the band was called Royal Rampage because of the video game Rampage and the whiskey Royal Salute. Me and the founding drummer, Diego Vercesi, where playing and drinking and the name suddenly came up. We went on with the band for several years, and then we split, and once I decided to give the project another go, we faced a legal issue regarding the name, and that’s pretty much why the band changed. 

Alan - So Royal Rampage played from 2010 to 2017 and Royal Rage was formed in the same year, 2017. Who is left from the old line-up?
Pedro - No one survived to tell the tale. I guess I’m a bit of a Mustaine when it comes to managing a band. But to most of former members, I hold no grudge. I mean, after all it is a business, and we have to treat it like so. I get it, it is fun, parties and all, but some of the musicians that passed through the band couldn’t see it with a more serious look. 

Alan – So, how many albums do you have with each band in total?
Pedro - Just two. As Royal Rampage we’ve only got one single out, which ended up to be part of Royal Rage’s debut album: Conquer.

Alan – Are you going on a European tour? Who arranged it for you? And where will you be?
Pedro - We just got back from it actually. We made a run of 15 concerts in 7 different countries. We booked it with our good friend Henk from Vain productions, and we had the honor to share that tour with four amazing bands, including Orphaned Land and Dirty Shirt.

Alan – Are the Czech Republic or Slovakia not on the list? And speaking of these two countries, do you know them? Or do you know any bands from these countries? XAge and Alkymenia recently toured Brazil.
Pedro - Unfortunately we didn’t get to play in none of those countries. We were part of the Motocultor across Europe festival, so we mainly focused on the west side of Europe. And regarding bands, I must confess I don’t. To be honest, I’m not really a nerd when it comes to bands. I might spend my whole life without even knowing the name of the lead singer or where the band is from.

Alan – After 15 years of playing thrash, how is it playing in Brazil? Brazil is the best place for thrash metal, lots of people come, 500x more than anywhere else in Europe.
Pedro - Playing at home is always wild! It is harder to push forward in the beginning, I must say. Sometimes it feels like a crab bucket: when you try to get out, someone pulls you back in. But once you go pass that, it is very rewarding. The crowd here is wild and loyal, and they will scream as loud as they can whenever you ask them to.

Alan – You recently entertained me with princess costumes, Cinderella? Why was that, what for?
FUNNY .
Pedro - Yeah, that was a really funny one. So, just like Halloween is a big event in the US, carnival is a big event in Brazil. People go to parties in costumes, as super heroes, movie characters or whatever, and one of the most iconic traditions of the Brazilian carnival is cross-dressing. We where like “why not? It will be super funny!”, and indeed we got people off guard. Just like the Spanish Inquisition, nobody was expecting that.

Alan – Speaking of funny things. What funny things have you experienced while performing?
Pedro - Oh wow, quite a few. One that comes to mind was a guy attempting to stage dive and the crowd entered Red Sea mode and the fella fell onto his face. We were concerned about him in the moment, but when he got back up saying he was good, we kept the gig going.

Alan – You have traveled to some countries. What interesting things have you seen? And what interesting things have you eaten or drunk? Local dishes, etc. ....
Pedro - Each countrie has its unique way of surprise you. It is hard to name some specific curiosity of a certain country, I guess most of the places I visited where western civilizations, so in a way they where not shockingly different. But the food varies a ton. I had the chance to try out some very popular dishes, like the English breakfast, which I must say, is not pleasant, bear meat in Tallinn, which was delicious, and so many other things that it is hard to list it.

Alan – In your existence as a musician, what is the biggest goal you have achieved? Top for the band.
Pedro - For me personally, connection. During the tour, I got the pleasure of knowing one fan in particular, who turned out to become a good friend. After a few weeks chatting, she told me that, not only Royal Rafe became her favorite band, but Audi were helped her go on through a difficult time in her life. That for me is priceless. Now in the band perspective, I aim to be healing a European festival. That’s our target at the moment.

Alan – Where did you play the best? What concert or festival do you remember the most? And why?
Pedro - Paris! We played in the Senna River, on a floating pub. The place was sold out, and the crowd made us feel like home from start to finish. At a certain moment I felt for our safety, because everyone were so crazy we could feel the venue shaking! It was insane!

Alan – You released your last album in 2024 in Europe, on the Sliptrick label in a cooperative. How did you get to this label? And how is the collaboration with Carlo Muselli?
Pedro - We have a PR manager reaching out to record labels. So far it’s been a good experience. We’re surely getting out of it wiser.

Alan – What are you preparing for 2025? Videos, special shows?
Pedro - We are currently writing new material. We got back from the tour with our heads filled with ideas, and I hope that soon enough we have some new stuff to present.

Alan – Do you have time to go to a concert or festival with all the intensity of playing?
Pedro - Eventually, yes. Besides the band I also run a restaurant and I used to run a rehearsal studio. In between the breaks I have, getting time to see gigs in town is not just relaxing, it is a great exercise of growth.

Alan – What kind of work do you draw from? Which directions are reflected in Royal Rage's music?
Pedro - I’ve been an Exodus fan for quite a long time, and I’m not ashamed to say that I got a ton of ideas from Gary Holt’s music. Besides that, I have a huge background in MPB, samba and Brazilian root country music thanks to my father. Now I hope to let that side flow a bit more into the thrash metal side of the band.

Alan – Which bands have caught your attention lately? From Brazil and the world? And why?
Pedro - The main one is Bloodywood. The way they combine the Indian culture and metal is amazing! They really got my attention for doing something very unique and interesting. I can’t say I ever heard of a band like them before.

Alan – Thanks for the interview, maybe we'll meet on the European tour. Or in 2026 when XAge goes to Brazil again on tour.
Pedro - Thank you for having me. I’ll keep a look on the calendar and will surely check out XAge and will see you in 2026 for sure!
https://www.facebook.com/royalrageofficial
https://sliptrickrecords.com