Formula Indie Sessions _ Interview with WILDCHAINS
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
Wizro: Recently, a memory resurfaced from deep in my mind. When I was a kid, my father listened to a lot of music – everything from hip hop to rock. I clearly remember going grocery shopping with him by car, and Another Brick in the Wall by Pink Floyd was playing. I asked him a very strange question: “How does this music exist?”
He then explained to me that it was made by a band – by people. At the time, it made no sense in my head that something so powerful and beautiful could be created by mere humans.
Today, we have AI making music… it really makes you think.
Louro: To be honest, I never felt connected to music as a kid. I wanted to be a football (soccer) player, the only music I used to listen to was on the radio. Nothing really catched my attention. Until my 13/14. A friend of mine showed me a song: “Psychosocial” by Slipknot. That moment changed my life forever. I felt connected and I found something in common with those people, the freedom to express my rage, my pain, my deeper feelings. I found something like therapy for me.
How did your passion for creating music begin?
Wizro: When I was very young, I had a traumatic accident. I didn’t just lose my father — I lost a large part of my childhood, spending years in hospitals, surgeries, and treatments. During my recovery process, I started listening to music more deeply, especially rock – influenced by my friends at the time. I spent a lot of time alone, and that’s when I truly began to listen to the lyrics. I realised I wasn’t alone – those words were coming from people who had also gone through stuff.
From that moment on, I became deeply attached to music, with a clear purpose: to tell my own stories and reach other people. Almost as a way of giving back to the music that helped me overcome so much pain.
Louro: It first started with poetry. I started to write poems at a very early age (around 8 or 9 years old). I wanted to share my words with the whole world, I wanted people to know that they are not alone. I wanted to break the walls I created inside my head. I wanted to change the world! But I never belong to the world as it is. I could never fit anywhere I was going to. So, I found a misfit like me. Someone who helped me feel like I could live in a world I wasn’t fitting. Then, I knew my words had a meaning to someone, at least.
What’s the story behind your current music project?
Wizro: Multiple souls met with the same purpose. None of us really knew each other beforehand – we were all just local musicians in the same scene.
Our previous projects never fully aligned in terms of vision or values. When our paths crossed, it felt almost inevitable. Working together wasn’t a choice – it was something that had to happen.
Four years have passed since then, and despite an intense amount of challenges thrown our way – from legal battles and internal band crises to external forces actively trying to stop us – this band has only grown stronger. WILDCHAINS is like a steam train: every obstacle we face only adds more coal to the engine.
Louro: WILDCHAINS the perfect definition of chaos… Our paths crossed because of the tragedies we had to face. There was nothing to foresee: we had no friends in common, we didn’t live in the same city, we didn’t study at the same school, and we didn’t frequent the same places… But our passion for music brought us to a common place.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
Wizro: We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel — or fire — but sometimes it sounds like we’re trying to create both at the same time.
Our sound sits between classic rock and modern metal. Neither is new on its own, but we believe we fuse these influences in a very particular and personal way, with a wide emotional and dynamic range that feels unique.
Louro: I like to describe our songs as a time travel from the 70’s to nowadays.
We are 5 people with different music tastes, different influences and favourite artists/bands, but we put all our efforts and our soul and everything sounds natural for us. It’s like 5 different songs merge into every song we make.
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?
Wizro: I’ve always started to compose our songs myself, but in this project, I’ve learned to bring them into the rehearsal room and let everyone leave their mark. Even the smallest detail can completely transform a song.
What I truly learned is patience — and understanding that real potential takes time to reveal itself. That’s probably why our album is taking so long to come out (laughs).
Louro: The world is always changing and so do I. Music is not so different from that. Music became more than just a way to express myself when I started to meet people because of it
and some of them became real friends. I know it sounds a little “cliché” but my music became a way of living and allowed me to finally feel like I belong somewhere.
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?
Wizro: A guitar, a computer, a DAW, an audio interface, and countless small inspiration notes that I write down throughout the day.
Louro: I think I start from the end… First, I have the words, I write the lyrics and then I see where it leads me to. Then, I pick up the guitar or bass (some songs, I start with the bass line) and I recreate the sound that’s in my head. I write it down on paper, I have some paper notebooks written at home with songs or ideas.
How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?
Wizro: They are the foundation of everything — both for me and for the project. I genuinely want to give back what music gave me.
I’ve been lucky enough to have people tell me directly that our music helped them through something. Just knowing that already fills my heart.
And if it weren’t for the ambition to take this message to the entire world, I could stop right there. But as our dear brother and bassist Louro says: “we can change the world — just start with one person at a time”.
Louro: Without my personal experiences, my music wouldn’t sound the same. They are the foundation of all my songs. I often use to say that I feel blessed for feeling pain. Thanks to my music, I was able to meet people with similar, or even worse, experiences than me. It helps me heal my wounds.
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?
Wizro: Above all, that they are not alone. That whatever pain or negativity they’re experiencing right now is part of a transformation. Today’s pain will become tomorrow’s strength.
Louro: I like when people tell me what they think our songs mean, or what our songs told them. Of course, some songs tell our stories and we like to share them with people but some songs we made are more subjective, so people can feel and think differently than us. That’s
the real magic and I really love it when they tell me what they feel and it’s different from what I had in mind when I wrote it.
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
Wizro: Many people will come and go — all of them matter at a certain moment. But there’s no point in holding onto those who chose not to stay.
The good souls remain with us, and those are the ones with whom we’ll make our best music — or at least the music that feels most honest to us.
Louro: Life is just a brief moment… but I know I will be immortal as long as someone listens to my songs and hears my words.
What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
Wizro: This year, we achieved one of our dreams by performing at one of Portugal’s most iconic venues — Hard Club, in Porto. We were incredibly well received and even described as one of the best performances of the year.
But, we’re much bigger dreamers than that… The next step is, without a doubt, playing a major European festival like Vilar de Mouros, Resurrection Fest or even Rock AM Ring. It may take time, but I truly believe it’s within our reach.
Louro: I want to share my music with the entire world! I know it will be a long way but I trust we will be able to do that. In my country, Portugal, I would like to play at the biggest venues like Altice Arena (Lisboa), Super Bock Arena (Porto) and iconic venues like Campo Pequeno (Lisboa) and some festivals like Vodafone Paredes de Coura, Vilar de Mouros, Rock in Rio. Outside Portugal, I would love to play in iconic places such as Wembley Stadium or going on tour to the United States, Japan, Brazil, etc., and some festivals like Resurrection Fest, Lollapalooza, Fuji Rock Festival, etc.
If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
Wizro: Without a doubt, Mike Shinoda. He’s a mind I would love to connect with. Beyond being an excellent and versatile musician, he’s a marketing genius and seems incredibly humble.
I believe the conversations alone — not just musically — would be inspiring enough to lead to a very interesting collaboration.
Louro: When I was younger, I used to think a lot about that question. I had many different idols but as I grew up and I met different artists I realized I want to work with passionate people, with someone that believes in what we are doing. It doesn’t matter what genre they represent, or what music they like to listen to, as long as they would love to work with us, my arms and my doors are open.
Where can our listeners follow and support your music?
Everywhere:
● Website: https://www.wildchains.pt/
● YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WILDCHAINS/sub_confirmation=1 ● Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6LTDVLBOAZYAcrn459uQf8 ● Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wildchains.pt/
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
Wizro: We want to take our music to the world. We know we must start small, but more than growing fast, we want to grow sustainably — with people who genuinely support us. We want everyone who joins us along the way to feel like they’re part of our story from the very beginning. Ultimately, our dream is to multiply this project — always in a grounded and sustainable way.
Louro: Internationalization. I feel that we have already achieved the goal of performing from north to south of our country. It is time to take the next step. At the same time, we are working to make the project self-sustainable so that, in the future, it can become our “job.”
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?
Wizro: That there is depth and meaning in everything we do — especially in the details. Not just in our music, but also in our live shows, music videos, and social media content. Pay attention — it’s all connected.
Louro: That we are not just another band among all the others you can find. Don’t get me wrong—I don’t consider us blessed, nor better than anyone else… but I know we have something that can make a difference. We have been working immensely, every single day. We make sacrifices, we shed tears for this project… we truly love what we do and we want to share it with the whole world. But words will never be enough to describe everything that we are, who we are… those who listen to our songs, those who see our shows, come to know us in such an intimate way that there are no words to describe it.
Representative YouTube video:
