Over the past year, no matter when you accessed MC Lan’s Instagram profile, the content of the comments was always the same: where is the V3NAME? The rock-oriented album was announced by the funk singer in 2024, a year in which he also participated in a Bring Me the Horizon show at the Allianz Parque, in São Paulo. We knew then that the project would feature John Dolmayan, the drummer of System of a Down. Afterwards, nothing more. Silence.
The wait ended this Friday the 12th with the release of the first of three volumes of V3NAMEappointed Eclipse. In eleven tracks, the artist whose real name is Caio Alexandre Cruz explores not only different branches of alternative rock and metal – hardcore, nu metal, garage rock, etc. — but also trap and electronics. The funk that established the voice of “Rabetão” And “Open the Cheka” it appears, if at all, in small, discreet touches.
Also noteworthy are the references to Lan’s own work and that of other artists. “Oz”for example, quotes directly “Technology”Since Daft Punkwhile “Highway” brings, at its heart, a rhythm which resembles – but is not the same – “When the dam breaks”Since Led Zeppelin. Towards funk “Rabetão” And “Your friend, I’ll catch him” are mentioned in “Darth Vader” And “The Evil of London”respectively.
It’s not a 100% rock album, at least sonically. And maybe that helped make the result more authentic.
In an interview with Rolling Stone Brasil, Lan says that V3NAME he was born “a very internal and intense process”. “It’s a career restart, from scratch, but not from scratch. A rebirth. It’s been a more effective therapy than any psychologist’s office I’ve ever been to.”he says, before explaining the change that made the album’s release take so long:
“(It was delayed because) I changed the whole project. At first it would be trap. That’s not to say that at some point I won’t start a trap project, but in my travels I realized that it was this (rock) that I wanted to show. I also encountered some problems along the way — some Brazilian artists who wanted to participate, they participated, but in the end they didn’t want to participate anymore, they focused on another career.
According to Lan, the desire to transform V3NAME in a 100% rock project came after the aforementioned participation in the Bring Me the Horizon show, in November last year. On the occasion, he sang “Antivist” alongside the group and another guest: Di Ferrerosinger of NXZero. He remembers:
“After I got off stage, my wife, who is my creative director within the project, said to me: ‘You are it. Your eyes lit up up there. Up there, I didn’t see MC Lan, but Caio, with whom I fell in love. I hadn’t seen that for a long time’. I had already written rock songs for the project, but I hadn’t thought that it was completely rock. When I showed all the songs to friends, both or three rock songs were the ones they liked the most. When I saw them, it was already done to make a rock album.”
Even if his career is based on funk, the singer emphasizes that rock would be his “the best gateway to show off” who you really are. “Sometimes a well-played guitar or drums says a lot more than any words”he said. At the same time, he guarantees his dedication to writing verses, more focused on feelings and spirituality than on the less festive themes of the genre that made him famous. “I kept this rawest part of myself hidden out of fear, out of shame, of showing this most instinctive and truest part”he declares.
Career repositioning also occurs in reaction to the successes achieved in recent years. Participation in “Favela Rave”song by the Jamaican-American duo Major Laser also in partnership with the Brazilian Anitta and the Jamaican Beamresulted in national and international commercial success, but raised a series of questions.
“I spent a lot of time in silence. I moved to the United States right after being nominated for a Grammy (Latin for best urban song in 2020) with “Favela Rave”. It caused me a lot of pressure, because I didn’t know what to do after that song. Like, “Am I going to be Lan’s bitch?” Where am I now Lan pop? Or am I now the Lan of electronics? Who am I now?’. Instead of bringing me happiness, this song made me afraid of what’s next. It put pressure on. “I have to deliver something as big as”…maybe? When I started creating music again, I realized that I didn’t want to replicate what people expected of me. And when I started V3NAME In the trap, I started doing what people expected of me again. »
MC Lan and the link with rock
Throughout the conversation, MC Lan naturally shows that he is not a casual or adventurous rock listener. Mention famous names such as Raimundos, Fall, Black Sabbath, Mutants And Rushingbut also says he appreciates groups rarely mentioned among “new fans”, like Pork shank, Made in Brazil, Manowar And Purple King.
His appreciation for the genre began when he was still a boy, influenced by a neighbor who also taught him how to ride a motorcycle and took him to work at a street market. When he saw his friend with t-shirts of bands like Iron Girl And Godshowed interest. One day he received a T-shirt from Manowara band known for declaring themselves “real metal” and for their aesthetic that ranges from epic to caricature.
“I loved the t-shirt. It was a muscular eagle, totally psychedelic, different. My mother reacted: ‘what a strange t-shirt’. It won me over, because I looked and thought I was different. I started asking for albums and the first one was also by Manowar. Then one by Black Sabbath, the Heaven and Hell (1980). I loved it not only for its musicality, but I also loved leaving it exposed so people could look at it (the cover, with angels smoking) and be surprised, thinking I was becoming an adult. »
Lan also declares himself passionate about progressive rock, to the point of feeling “trapped” in the epic universe of long compositions with names like Yes And Purple King. However, his first real passion in the segment – “looking and wanting to be the same” – was the Guns N’ Roses.
“I think I listened to Guns N’ Roses more then than I do now, but I think that’s what started my whole journey, really loving him, wanting to understand why this solo is the way it is. V3NAME It’s a complement to this initiation.”
Titles in V3NOM
The aforementioned John Dolmayan collaboration isn’t the only one V3NAME. MC Lan invited other artists, Brazilian and foreign, such as the Chilean bassist Ra Diaz (Korn/Suicidal Tendencies), Swedish rapper Bladealso American rapper Siifu pinkthe producer Twinsco (The weekend, Kanye West, Playboy Carti) and, of course, Criolo, originally from São Paulo.
The friendship with the System of a Down drummer, according to Lan, is “very great.” It was born, interestingly enough, from a moment when the (former?) funk player felt challenged by his friends during a match.
“I was with friends at home, listening to System of a Down, and I said, ‘I’m going to do a song with these guys.’ and that one day I wanted to be able to work with them The same day he said: ‘I’m going to follow you here too, it’s going to be an honor’.”
Dolmayan collaborated with “Robocop”opening track V3NAME also enrolled in Criolo, after receiving advice to propose “a drum with weight, identity and ritual energy”. The SOAD member was also present on two other songs not included in this first volume.
The idea of bringing Criolo came about by chance. According to Lan, the first version of “Robocop” featured a vocal line taken from “Sun Cakes”a song released by the rapper in 2011. “I put it in the studio as a joke, it wasn’t really supposed to be there, but people started freaking out, thinking I’d written a song with it”. Shortly after, the artist himself responded to the invitation to come to the studio and helped check a print. “GOOD Beastie Boys, Lame Bizkit“ initially designed for the track.
In turn, Ra Díaz made history because of the admiration Lan feels for bassists in general – particularly for his guest work on Suicidal Tendencies. “The music he’s involved in is not nu metal. It mixes punk with the energy of metal. I think he liked that mix and I think he took the sound to a much darker, but at the same time vibrant, place than I had thought.”he said, also adding: Champyoriginal member of Korn that Díaz replaces, perhaps in volume 2 of V3NAME.
MC Lan also anticipates two other names he recorded with during the process: Steel Panther And Escape from destiny. Such collaborations could appear in future volumes of the project. The idea is that the second part will be released next year and the third in 2027. “Maybe every year will be the year of a different album, but I don’t know what fate may have in store for me”revealed the artist, always highlighting the concept: the first V3NAME it is like a “birth”, “noisy and chaotic”; the successor represents “life”, from “moments of silence to those of euphoria”; and the last symbolizes “death”, emphasizing “calmness” and “understanding of maturity”.
*The first volume of V3NOM, Eclipse, by MC Lan, is available on streaming platforms. See the cover and full tracklist below.
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1. ROBOCOP (with Criolo and John Dolmayan)
2. SCORPIO (with Twin Pumpkin)
3. OZ (with Ra Diaz)
4. Darth Vader
5. V FOR VENDEN (with Twin Pumpkin)
6. RED LASER
7. EVIL LONDON
8. HIGHWAY
9. RUNES
10. OPEN
11. 4 THOUSAND MINUTES
12. ZATMENIE
13. DARK MATTER (with Bladee)
14. X MATTER LIGHT
15. ØPHELIAS II (with Bladee)
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