Debuting in 2023 with the strong ‘Nunca Dejes de Soñar’, Spartans is one of the most promising newer bands on the Venezuelan scene. Their melancholic sound brings together the heroic melodicism of traditional heavy metal and the down-tuned riffs of more modern metal styles. Spartans also is very serious about creating opportunities for young bands in Venezuela. Singer/guitarist Zeus and bassist Zammia share their story.

While Spartans has only been around for about five years, the band does not consist of inexperienced newcomers. Zeus himself had been active with the heavy metal band Heavenslave. “Spartans was the rebirth of everything”, he says. “During very difficult times for us as well, given the situation our country currently finds itself in, as well as the pandemic. Heavenslave is a project of a very close-knit group of musicians. Without any of them, Heavenslave would not be the same. That is why we paused the project when the other members had to leave the country in search of a future.

Our first album, ‘Nunca Dejes de Soñar’, was recorded during the pandemic. That was the moment when we, the members of Spartans, decided to come together to start another band, and start making music again, since we weren’t performing live due to the situation in our country.

Spartans stands for the battle to realize our dreams. That is another reason why we started completely anew, with new music, and a new feeling. Our intention with Spartans was to do things more professionally, and with an unshakable energy, regardless of the difficulties we may face on the way. Stylistically, the bands are quite different as well, given that Heavenslave is mostly pure heavy metal, while Spartans leans a little more towards groove metal.

We started out with the foundation, with rock ballads like ‘Nostalgia’, and we raised the intensity bit by bit. That’s how we found our own style, which we can now further build on. Our second album, which we are working on right now, will lean even more towards groove metal. We have decided on a title already: it will be titled ‘El Destino de Nuestros Dos’.”

The Freedom to Create

Another challenge for Zeus was the fact that he is the lead singer in Spartans, whereas he only played guitar in Heavenslave. “It was a challenge finding a singer”, he admits. “One day, I went into the studio and I sang one of our songs, simply to be able to rehearse it. The others in the band liked how it sounded. After that, I put a lot of time and effort into refining my singing voice, as well as finding the right attitude for the lyrics and the energy in Spartans.

Since I started singing, I have had a lot of positive reactions, with people saying my vocal approach sounds fairly unique and they haven’t really heard anyone who sounds like me. The fact that I have a relatively low-pitched voice gave us the freedom to create various songs by mixing different genres. Really, I try to see myself as someone leading his brothers into battle.”

“Zeus is more than just a singer”, Zammia emphasizes. “He is a frontman. To us, it didn’t seem like it was difficult for him to find his voice, because he doesn’t appear to want to sound like any other singer. He sings with a certain authenticity and spirit, leaving space for something genuine. By uniting his lead vocals and my backing vocals, we hope to enhance that energy, and create our own sound, our own voice.”

“Satan (guitarist) and Zammia have been important pillars for this project”, Zeus adds. “What Spartans is today is something we have created and defined together. Unfortunately, we cannot live off our music, which can be a problem for some musicians. That is why having a passion to make excellent music to unite us is so important. Keeping a band active in difficult times is a challenge, but since these pillars have remained upright thanks to their faith in the project, we can hopefully make our dreams come true.”

Respect, Dedication and Fondness

Multiple influential Venezuelan metal musicians have contributed to ‘Nunca Dejes de Soñar’. Maskhera members Walter Gangi and Jeff Sánchez appear, as well as neoclassical virtuoso Philipp Scheer from Sibelius. “I grew up listening to and enjoying every concert of these greats of Venezuelan metal”, Zeus smiles. “It has always been a dream for me to work with them on a musical project.

Still, it was a complete surprise for us that they accepted our invitation to work with us on our first album. I think that says a lot about the mutual respect, dedication and fondness there is among us all. It simply is the biggest possible honor to see that your idols are modest people who support you and help you do the thing you love doing most: making music.

This is something I am truly grateful for. It is an honor for us to be working with these people. Apart from that, it’s just great that many of these big names in Venezuelan metal have praised our work and our efforts, as it can honestly get difficult to persevere sometimes. The love, passion and support of our audience and these musicians does motivate us to keep on fighting.

The scene in Venezuela is small, but loyal to its principles of support and dedication. We are honored to have been nominated for awards at events that acknowledge national bands, and we even won a few. Honestly, we are proud of being part of this scene, and that many greats of the national rock and metal scene have acknowledged our work and dedication.”

Hit by Lightning

“Everything starts with an idea, a melody, or a lyrical phrase, after which we work on the foundation of a song together, in order to make the arrangements for the songs, which tend to evolve with each passing day. All of us contribute to the compositions. Once we have finished all of that, I write the lyrics based on the arrangement we put together, and based on that, we look for the meaning of a song together.

Our lyrics concern overcoming hardships, realities, emotions. They speak of never giving up, keeping on fighting, and of values. Every song represents a truth that we have experienced in silence, and then brought to life in our music.”

This may come as a surprise, as both the band name and Zeus’ stage name suggest an interest in Greek history and mythology. “Within the band, all of us are someone else on stage”, he explains. “We represent warriors, and our stage names reflect this energy.

As for me personally: I was hit by lightning when I was a young boy, and I survived it. Since then, everybody has known me as Zeus. And that name is the one I have used as my compass in everything I create.”

Most Precious Possession

“There were several moments in my life that brought me to where I am now”, Zeus says. “First, there was a man who left me a shoebox when I was a kid. He was about to leave the country, and left me his most precious possession. When I opened the box, it turned out to be a collection of rock and metal albums. I listened to each and every one of them, and I wanted to be a part of that freedom and that energy I heard on them. I admired all of those albums.

After seeing the movie ‘Rock Star’, I knew what my destiny was, and slowly but sure, I moved towards forming my first band. The battle of the bands on my school I told you about earlier was a big part of that as well. Also, MTV played great music almost exclusively, so when I got out of school, I was able to watch all these great concerts. That freedom was addictive. I learned to play various instruments, and learned how to record songs, equalize them, and how to operate all the necessary equipment out of passion.”

Providing Ongoing Support

Spartans’ live schedule so far has contained a lot of festivals. “Every big, small, or independent festival offers an opportunity to learn”, Zeus says. “But most of all, we have enjoyed playing them to the fullest. We have been lucky to take part in a couple of the biggest festivals of our underground movement. We have been able to establish ourselves that way, and it allowed us to lay a solid foundation for our work on stage.

Spartans is also proud to organize our own festivals for the newer generations of bands, and take part in creating opportunities to help everyone grow. Bringing everyone together is something we always strive for, by simply looking for ways of improving the scene, and helping artists reach a new audience.

Our festival Honor y Gloria is a battle of the bands for up-and-coming bands. The winner receives recognition, prizes from our sponsors, money, and a trophy that symbolizes the event. Apart from that, the winner will play at all the events that we organize for the next year, in order to present them to a larger audience and provide ongoing support. Every young artist deserves a platform to present their band, and battle for that years title.

Playing in various states across the country is amazing. Every state is different than the last one. There are always emotions and a euphoric audience. In some states, there barely is a production to speak of, but that makes the people all the more enthusiastic when events are organized there. That really makes playing outside of the capital a unique experience.”

All the Equipment Necessary

“We also run a production company known as Producciones Spartans. This company owns all the equipment necessary to organize big festivals and shows. We have set up various circuits, all with the intention of helping a new generation of musicians, and to be able to give everyone a place to present their music, with the help of the band.

When I was 20 years old, we had to pay in order for Heavenslave to be able to perform on stage, and how much it cost depended on how long our set was. We wanted to show the best we could do with Heavenslave. We had a passion for Flying V guitars, and also, we discovered a sound that we could make the most out of with a specific pedal. It’s all about finding your own sound, your own look, and not sounding like everyone else.

These days, the band has the equipment to give the members the tools to maintain that characteristic sound. I quickly realized this is important, and started organizing garage events in order to raise money little by little, and bought sound equipment, light consoles, and things like that. These days, my motto is: don’t wait for them to knock on your door, just organize your own damn festival and make it something great!

In a way, I have become what I have dreamed of since I was a child: someone who supports and coaches people in order to do what they enjoy doing. That is something I enjoy doing wholeheartedly.”

Introduction to the Culture

It’s not only musicians who already have the material to play live that Spartans offers their help to. With their Rock en tu Escuela (rock in your school) project, Spartans helps school children get familiar with the joys of making music. “This is an important project to us”, Zeus confirms. “The most important goal of it is for us to bring our music, culture and joy to these young kids.

When I was a little kid, a battle of the bands between school bands was organized, and a big band at the time came by. It was the introduction to that specific culture for me, and I absolutely loved it. I worked hard to learn to play an instrument, and to be able to start my own band. These days, we have all the equipment we need, and we are trying to making these dreams come true, even though it is quite difficult to find places to actually do this. Not everyone supports the idea, but we keep proposing our ideas to various institutions.

No matter how difficult it sometimes is to carry out this project, the reactions of the young kids are the best of all. It truly is amazing to see them enjoy what we do and sing along. Genuinely, out of all the audiences we could possibly reach, this one might just be the best. After we perform, they ask for our autographs, and our social media explode with reactions, photos and things like that. That is what it means to share the culture and show the young rockers of our country the way.”

Politicizing Rock and Metal

“It is sometimes difficult to have your music be heard, because everything requires payments. Still, we have been able to reach people with our music through our network. We have noticed that people in Mexico, Spain and the United States are listening to us, as many people there have asked us to come there and play for them. We would love to do that, but given the situation in our country, that is very difficult at the moment. Especially because we have to arrange everything ourselves.

Within Venezuela itself, political division is a bit of an issue. One group completely divided the scene by supporting the government and politicizing rock and metal, by saying that they represent the entire national rock scene. Also, it is very difficult for foreign bands to come to our country if those bands don’t play their festival, or if they are the only ones playing. All of this rhetoric creates division and hatred.

That is why we have taken the initiative ourselves, and we pay for everything out of our own pockets. All we ask for is a certain sense of unity, and that everybody has a good time.”