Odiar: Narco Black Metal
Odiar, meaning “to hate” in Spanish, is a fitting name for our band today. Inspired by the violence on the streets of Latin America and the United States, it’s a cautionary tale as well as a depiction of these issues in a pure hateful 40 minute format in their latest release, Kartel Kvlt. We’ve got the unflinchingly brutal XIKARIO here today telling us all about his brand of violent narco black metal.
This is what he had to say:
Xikario, thanks for joining us today. You mentioned that the music you create has been in some way a product of your upbringing. Can you tell us a bit more of your younger years?
I grew up in a low income Housing Project in East Los Angeles, California (USA) and growing up me and my friends saw and even took part in many illegal things. I guess we were products of our environment, looking back at my upbringing, it was messed up but at times enjoyable, my parents did the best they could but when I hit my teenage years, that’s when the Gangs, drugs and criminal activity began to enter my life. Seeing Gang members shoot at people, use and sell drugs, seeing dead bodies was normal for me, I got used to it. Looking back I wish I could change many things because as an adult I know it’s bad but as bad as it seems, it made me the person I am today and I am used to it now, so it’s kind of normal.
I hear a lot of what you say being expressed in genres of music like rap. Why do you make black metal?
I make this kind of music because I feel it’s perhaps the most authentic form of Extreme Metal, I remember first discovering Mayhem when I was like 18 and reading about how Dead killed himself, Burzum killing Euronymous, the Church burnings in Norway as well as the chaos the other Norwegian bands were causing made me love it even more because since I grew up in a violent community I related to the real violence. So because of these things I decided to make music that many like me could relate to.
People don’t have to actually have to be involved with crime to listen to us, but if you live in the City or a small town I’m sure Gangs, drugs, and real violence are affecting people. I call my style of music Narco Black Metal. It’s more about reality and real horrors that are affecting millions around the world. In places like my community, Latin America and other places, the Narcos are the ones people are actually scared about, it’s not a Nazi or a guy waiving a Battleaxe people fear, it’s usually Organized Crime groups that have people scared.
Can you tell us more about your lyrical approach? With your music, are you more focused on making people aware of the problems of inner city communities or is it more about telling violent tales?
It goes back to my upbringing and current life, although the Norwegian scene influenced me, I could not truly relate to them because of their European Viking/Medieval imagery and lyrics, I grew up in the city, out here, people don’t kill others with axes and swords, people usually shoot you with a gun, do drive-bys and even torture you to death if you rob a drug connect, for example. So with that being said, I write lyrics about my upbringing, the real life violence I did, see others do and hear from people I associate with.
Out of morbid curiosity we have to ask: Have you ever seen someone die? How did that affect you?
Oh yeah, growing up I saw many things, when I was like 10 I saw a man gun down his family in the street and later kill himself when the cops came, when I went to visit my family in Guatemala I saw members of Mara Salvatrucha have mini street wars with rival gangs and then seeing them take out a big machete and hacking a guys neck and seeing the guys mouth fill with blood and dying.
I saw a lot growing up. Seeing that as a youngster scared me but then I got used to it, and in a weird way even like seeing human suffering, I remember me and my friends would eve go to local Video Rental locations and renting movies like Faces of Death and Traces of Death and watching them like a regular kid watches Saturday morning cartoons. Looking back at it, I’m surprised I didn’t become the next Richard Ramirez, but again, I guess all that prepared us for our teens when the Gangs, drugs and guns started to come into our lives.
Onto something more light hearted, what do you do when not creating music?
Usually seeing what’s going on with the Extreme Metal scene, listening to new bands, thinking of new ways to make money around the world, plotting and scheming on new hustles. Growing up I idolized Tony Montana from the movie Scarface and the Gangsters from the American Me film so because to me, we all lived similar lives so in watching those films I felt I could do similar things and life a comfortable life, but I found out first hand that making easy money comes with a lot of stress because its a dirty business where your so-called friends could try to kill you and believe me, I saw things that would make Jesus cry.
You mentioned you’re already working on a followup to Kartel Kvlt. Can you share some details about what people can expect?
Sure, the album Kartel Kvlt was supposed to be a declaration in the Black Metal scene of something that is more based about the real life horrors people that live in large cities and small towns can relate to, I think a lot of the violence that goes on in our communities are rooted in disputes over money. Street Gangs for example are mostly about making money these days, so with that comes crime like selling drugs, extortion, prostitution, murder, etc, and at the center of it all is organized crime.
Narco life is here to stay so why shouldn't I make music about it if thats how I grew up? It’s not fake, it’s real, I wanna make music that I myself and others that grew up in the USA, Latin America and other parts of the world can relate to. And so far, Kartel Kvlt has been an underground success, I just need a bigger push to get it more out there. The follow up album will expand on what Kartel Kvlt did, as well as make songs that are more impactful.
Name one band you’d want to tour with, one band you’d want to drink with, and one band you’d want to collaborate with.
If we did tour, I would love to tour with Mayhem because that was the band that first made me get into Black Metal, their De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas is a classic, I would love to work with them if I ever had the chance. Another person I would love to work with is Jef Whitehead (Wrest) from Leviathan, he’s a legend and has contributed a lot to the USBM scene. I remember first discovering him in Anvil Magazine (SOD Magazine, now DOA Magazine) when the The Tenth Sub-Level of Suicide came out. Another band I would want to work with is Brujeria because that was another band that I related to, because they also make songs about the Narco Life.
Any final words you’d like to share with our audience?
I want to say thanks for giving me the chance to be interviewed and I also hope that my band inspires other Black Metal bands and musicians that can relate to our music to also become Narco Black Metal bands as well. I would love to see this type of music become a new subgenre of Black Metal. Let’s network together and make this something big, I would also want to thank everyone that has liked our music thus far, we are nothing without your support, and keep spreading the word about Odiar and Narco Black Metal.
There you have it, an intense interview from an equally intense band. Cheers to Xikario for taking the time to chat with us here at the Citadel, and check out Odiar over at Bandcamp!
