00:00Thank you so much for watching Riff TV. Now this interview is obviously with video, but I don't
00:05interview everybody on Zoom. That's why I put it on my Talkin' Rock with Meltdown podcast. We talk
00:10to rock artists from all over the genre. So check out Talkin' Rock with Meltdown wherever you get
00:15your podcasts. And now to today's video interview. Cosmos, good to see you. How are you?
00:24I'm okay. How are you, sir? Good. It looks like you're driving around. You're in the States,
00:28you're stateside. When does this tour start? Are you on the tour already? Yeah. This is the first
00:34time I've ever talked to a band from Botswana. Tell me about the band Skinflint. My name is Cosmos.
00:40I want to greet the fans out there and say hello. Hello, everyone. This is Cosmos from Skinflint.
00:45And Skinflint is a three-piece band with Giuseppe Sobrana on the guitars and vocals,
00:52Kibonin Colosso on the bass guitar, and me as Cosmos on the drums.
00:57Are you the newest member of the band? I heard that you recently joined.
01:03Yes. I joined Skinflint in 2019, July, to be specific.
01:08Now, the new record, Hate Spell, drops today as we record this. Tell us about that album.
01:15Okay. Skinflint is dropping Hate Spell today. Actually, it's already out on iTunes also.
01:22And it's really a fresh feeling from Skinflint with raw power. And, you know, we're not moving out of a line as we tell stories about, you know, African mythology that was our inspiration and, you know, folklore.
01:39And how many songs are on this record?
01:45We have 12 songs on this record. This is the longest of them all.
01:51All right. Now, this is your sixth record. So, you guys are out on tour with Soulfly. Is that correct?
01:57Correct.
01:57Now, is this the first time you guys have toured the States?
02:00This is our third time.
02:02Now, have you been in the States before? Because it sounds like when you joined the band, it was just before the pandemic.
02:072020. It was the first time I was in the States.
02:10So, for someone that's never heard your band, like, what do you guys sound like? What influences do you guys have?
02:16Okay. Skinflint plays heavy metal. And mostly our influences are coming from Iron Maiden, you know, Mind War.
02:25And for those people, those who haven't yet heard Skinflint, we've got an EP that we are giving out for free that we recorded during the lockdown.
02:34And you simply log into our site, www.skinflintmetal.com, and you get that EP for free so that you can get a glimpse of what Skinflint really sounds like.
02:46All right. Skinflintmetal.com.
02:48And you can get a free EP just for checking that out.
02:52So, Hate Spell is out today. It's your sixth record.
02:55And this tour with Soulfly sounds really cool.
02:57Were you a Soulfly fan growing up in Botswana?
03:01We really love Soulfly, especially as the band together.
03:05And they really play cool music.
03:07And it's an honor and it's a privilege to be touring with them.
03:11And we're looking for more tours with them as well.
03:13Yeah, that is pretty cool.
03:16So, you're starting the tour today.
03:18What's it going to take to become big in America?
03:23What's it going to take to become big in America?
03:26To play more music in America, release more music, and make more tours in America.
03:33I think, you know, the hard work that we really need to put into our music will really help on that.
03:41Yeah.
03:41So, you mentioned Iron Maiden.
03:43What about any other bands that influenced you guys growing up?
03:48Well, it's really quite a lot of them.
03:51I also mentioned Man War.
03:53Yeah.
03:57Rotten Christ, really.
03:58We love the way they play also.
04:02Black Sabbath.
04:05Mortal Head.
04:06Yeah.
04:06Quite a number of them.
04:08What kind of drummers did you admire?
04:11What made you decide to pick up drums?
04:16Well, it is a long story, but I'm going to cut it short.
04:20I grew up listening to Iron Maiden.
04:22I loved how Nico drummed.
04:25But not that I sound like him, but, you know, he inspired me a lot.
04:30And then, you know, that's how I came into drumming.
04:34Have you had a chance to meet him yet?
04:36Not yet.
04:38Yeah.
04:38Yeah, he's a pretty good guy.
04:40It would be really nice to meet him, I believe.
04:43Yeah.
04:44Well, I'll tell you what, Cosmos.
04:45Thanks for the time.
04:46Skinflint, heavy metal band from Botswana, as their record drops today called Hate Spell.
04:52And we'll send everybody to your website once again, skinflintmetal.com, and they can check out that EP.
04:58Safe travels.
04:59We'll see you when you get here to Detroit.
05:01Great.
05:03Thank you so much.
05:05Hoping to see the fans out there.
05:06Bye-bye.
05:15Okay.
05:15See you then?
