José Gomes (Purgatório Fan-Club, Wild Shadow, Ravensire)

José Gomes, also known as "Zé do Purgatório" or Zé Mastercrow, has been a very active person in the Portuguese heavy metal scene, since the early 80's, in the Fan Club Purgatório of Heavy Metal, in Fanzine "Folha Metálica", in the band Wild Shadow and later as member of the band Ravensire. We had a conversation with José Gomes in order to know more about these and other subjects.

Q. - Tell us a little bit about how your interest in hard rock and heavy metal in general started, and how the idea of forming the first fan club in Portugal came up as well?

José Gomes - Hello Paulo and readers. Portugal, back then, was a very poor country and culturally obsolete. We were with a 5 years Democracy after a long Dictatorship.

Rock music in general wasn't available for everyone. Radio Shows dedicated to the several genres were just starting. The first international acts were just showing up for the first live shows. There were a couple of music newspapers and backpages small articles on the bigger headlines Journals - but their content was rudimentar. To listen to Rock music was something almost exclusive of the higher classes (because it was fashionable) or musicians (because they needed to learn a bit of everything).

I guess my kind of personality always was too much of a misfit to listen to disco-sound haha. So, that's how i started. Reading international mags, Listening on Long Distance Radio the Hard-Rock shows of France and England and gathering with people with same interest so we could exchange records,etc.

Also, most of my friends know it, but i had the luck to have as a close friend and neighbour a guy that had some Rock, Prog-Rock and Hard-Rock Lps.

So, while he was eating his girlfriend on the next room, i was eating his records.

The idea of having a club dedicated to Heavy-Metal, actually came up after i read on a french "Rock & Folk" about the French Heavy-Metal Association.

The Project had as a target to give useful information to fans not living on the big cities and eventually to organize live shows with portuguese bands.

Q. - In 1984, you were behind the first heavy metal festival in Portugal, organized by "Purgatório Fan-Club", that took place in "Santo António dos Cavaleiros", was it hard to find the bands to play in the festival?

José Gomes - Yes, I was one of those 6 or 7 young kids (since we were all 17 or 18 yrs old) who organized everything.  It was easy to find the bands because there were just a few around.

Q. - What memories do you keep from those days? Why didn't you repeat the experience?

José Gomes - Well, it was a hard experience. On the last minute at the day of the Festival surfaced many problems and mistakes of us, the organization, as lack of licenses to have such a live event. People living near the event didn't like what they saw with several hundreds of long hair dudes and the noise of the music. The energy system of the pavilion wasn't enough to support the lights and PA sound. Also the bands of the north of Portugal were cooler and all the 3 played with same backline while the 3 from the south, each one wished to play with their own. That make a lot of time retard between the change of backline and the next live show. All this with the pavilion already packed with audience. Yeah, we started organizing a 2nd Festival and with the support of the French leg of Purgatorio do Heavy Metal (we distributed also some zines to France, because we had French friends there) we were about to bring as headliner H-Bomb, since 2 of the members were from Portuguese blood. In the end, problems with H-Bomb changing line-up and other type of stuff avoid us to keep organizing it. Luckily, Defensores Da Fé fan-club and Metal Army started organizing the metal afternoons on Rock Rendez Vous and we all thought the venue and conditions were perfect and the people doing it (some of them were ex-Purgatorio) were highly motivated.

Q. - Around 1985, you, Quinito and Paulo "Grande" started Wild Shadow, how did this idea come up? Were you already friends before? What memories do you keep from those days?

José Gomes - Yep - we were all friends already and for some years. At the time we were already veterans of our scene. I recall Quinito by that time travelled to Holland to watch live Warlock supporting Judas Priest and to buy the guitar of his dreams. None of us knew how to play or how to sing but we thought if we dedicated hard on the rehearsals we could do it. The idea came after we organized and watched the performances and level of the portuguese bands on the 1st Portuguese Heavy-Metal Festival back in 1984. We really thought we could do something on our own.

So, we invested on our backline. We even bought a double bass Staccato yellow drum kit to Tarantula. I also invested on a very good Shure and P.A. and had a rack of delay with which i could do some of my screams. But to be honest we mostly rehearsing for ourselves and for some friends who liked us. We always thought we had a ton to learn before an official presentation. That's why the 1st show of the band was only in 1990 to support Alkateya.

Q. - Was it difficult to recruit the other members for the band?

José Gomes - There were 2 things difficult yes - a steady place to rehearsal. None wanted us - we were too much noisy for them haha. So, we were always jumping from 1 place to the other.

It was easy to find guys and try them for 1 month or so.

The problem was to find cool guys who could keep a discipline and involvement in the band. And most important - to stay longer times. There was always something more important than music.

Q. - Did you accumulate functions as Wild Shadow vocalist and in the fan club as well?

José Gomes - No, i quit the club and dedicate myself only to the band and my life.

You can't imagine the hundreds of phone calls and letters and people requesting meetings...

Things were just starting after the 1st Maiden show in 1984 for a lot of youngsters and they saw me as someone who could provide them what they wanted. Obviously am not.

Q. - Many times you have lent some records to radios, for example to the "Lança Chamas" program, was it difficult to get access to the metallic news and albums in the early 80's?

José Gomes - Yes - i lent records to the Lança Chamas show. Wasn't the only around doing that. The good albums you could only get them by import. I had several strategies - it all depended the country origin from where i was buying. I had a friend that was going to Spain 1 time each month. So, he was bringing with him some Heavy Rock mags and some spanish metal.

From France i had other strategy. To german metal i knew a guy that made big bucks buying to a German distro or directly to the label, all Sodoms and Hellhammers he could get. Of course for me he had to find other things.

To buy Scandinavian, or Belgian or Dutch or British or US Metal i was buying directly through a records catalogue that after i got to a national bank and swapped Portuguese money for pounds i did hide well inside a letter and picked the stuff. If i remember correctly i was doing it with COB Records and Gema Records.

I never had any problems and after 10 days / 2 weeks there they were the records on a turntable near to me.

Q. - Was it hard for a heavy metal band to play in Portugal in the 1980s?

José Gomes - Hard ? Impossible. 1 Rock-Club existing in Lisbon. And almost exclusivity to Pop or Vanguard or stupid shit like that.

They were surprised when the metalheads packed their house with increasing shows.

Q. - Do you recall the "Metal Lusitano" sessions to record the supposed first heavy metal compilation in Portugal, around 88? Do you know what went wrong?

José Gomes - Yes, I think I went to all shows and the other afternoon sessions before as well. Or at least almost all. I think someone had the copyrights to release it on double vinyl. Someone from the organization, from Rock Rendez Vous and from a label, I think Polygram was the one. I still know who has the license part of the organization with the copyrights of that but the other parts involved vanished. I think lack of money was the probable cause as usually at that time.

Q. - When did you decide to leave Wild Shadow, and why?

José Gomes - 1990. Couldn't go on with it. And wasn't giving what the band needed.

Q. - What do you feel when you look back to the 90's when the survival of heavy metal bands was very difficult?

José Gomes - Heavy-Metal was always present even with lesser bands. It wasn't as popular as it was in the past but bands were making albums. And fans were still there.

To look for newer bands you just couldn't expect anymore the mainstream big labels to respond. Everything went underground.

It was the time of the rise of extreme metal - which i don't have any problems in saying curious as i am i also listened a fair share.

That's why i can't listen it anymore (because i know it well) not even a second. Heavy-Metal is the purest form of all "Metals".

Call what you will !

Q. - What do you think was most important for heavy metal resurgence? Do you think that the contact among the fans through the internet could have been fundamental?

José Gomes - I don't know if there is a "resurgence" now. There are many bands i don't lose a second with it. I kind of smell them.

I normally don't like this type of guys that yesterday played in a Black-Metal band, today they play in a Black/Thrash band and tomorrow they say they are masters of Speed-Metal...I definitely do not trust them or their loyalty to the music.

Q. - You were the lead singer of Ravensire's first ep, Iron Will, do you remember how and when came the Ravensire's interest for you to join the band? What memories do you keep from that time?

José Gomes - Well, they heard about me and my past. They were needing a singer. I thought and i thought and one day i was inside their rehearsing room.

We tried to blend our styles. And i do think we got a good result and even if i already left the band several years ago we remain good friends and we all agree i helped the band somehow seeing in what direction should the band go - even if in their case, it's so natural.

It was an easy collaboration and we appreciated what we all did.

Q. - What balance do you make of so many years of dedication to heavy metal?

José Gomes - It's my life.

Q. - Are you still in touch with former members of Wild Shadow and Purgatório do Metal?

José Gomes - Yes - but not too often. We all have different responsibilities.

Q. - In your opinion, what are the main differences between the 1980s and the reality of today?

José Gomes - In 1983 the Whitesnake show had to be delayed 1 day after what happened on the door and that spreaded to the whole location.

That's unthinkable today. (Note #1)

Q. - Would you still like to do a new heavy metal project?

José Gomes - No, I'm done with that. Retired forevermore hahahaha !!!!

Q. - Anything else you'd like to say? As far as I´m concerned, I would like to thank you for your time and wish you all the best in the future!

José Gomes - It was a pleasure Paulo. 

Note #1 - It was lots of problems on the entry with police than it spreaded to the whole village more than 100 arrested for bad behaviour and lots of property damaged. Specially on cars and houses Than the organizer asked Whitesnake to stay 1 more day/night and play the gig on the next day. We were lots of peace, forming queues to enter the pavilion - I can assure. People sitting on the ground, forming queues than arrived the police on their cars and were brutal and broke all queues unnecessarily.