With Wacken XXX looming up to stomp its big metal footprint on Germany again this summer, we’re taking a look at a bunch of the bands who are hitting its iconic stages for the first time. Dominik Goncalves dos Reis of Downfall of Gaia gives us the lowdown on his band…
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
Our homebase is Berlin but all of us are spread to different cities. Anton is living in Hamburg, Mike in New York, Marco and me we are living in Berlin.
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
In greek mythology “Gaia” is mother earth. Eleven years ago we were basically looking for a name that fits to our sound and our lyrics. It didn’t lose any value since then.
Describe your music. Who are your musical influences?
All of us are pretty open minded people when it comes to music. As long as there is some kind of „emotion“ delivered by a song that gets you (in what way ever) it’s a good thing. But of course when it comes to our sound the main influences are genres like Black Metal, Doom, Sludge, also a bunch of Post Rock here and there.
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
Most of our albums are concept records so – yes, most of the time there is a red line. Our recent one, “Ethic Of Radical Finitude” is telling a story about discontented minds and the never-ending pursuit for more. I guess everyone in life is trying to find this special ‘warm’ and safe place, their special place. To feel ‘home’, to feel ‘safe’, to feel satisfied. But maybe at some point you need to accept that it may never come, that you will never ‘arrive’. Our given time is limited, limited by death. But even if it death itself has a bad reputation, it’s the only thing that makes the time you have worthy since without it everything would be forever and absolutely nothing would have any value. No one would try to use their given time, no one would ever be on the hunt for their special place. It simply would be meaningless. It’s relentless finitude.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
We didn’t count but probably a few hundreds. Usually we let the music speak and try to sink into the moment, sharing this one with the audience. We don’t talk much on stage, don’t do a lot of “unnecessary entertainment”.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
Tough question. Right now nothing too crazy comes to my mind. We already played shows with broken feet and high fever. But i guess that’s not the answer you were looking for.
What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?
Right now we are on tour promoting our latest record Ethic Of Radical Finitude. We just finished a tour with The Ocean and Herod and right now we are on the road with Mantar.
Other than Wacken, what are your plans for 2019?
We are trying to stay busy. Right now we are working on another tour for the second half of the year.
What are you most looking forward to at Wacken this year?
I’ve never been there so i guess the whole experience is something I’m very excited about.
