Exit to Eternity is a band out of Brooklyn, NY who reminds me of old-school Anthrax with a darker and more multicultural vibe. Their release, “Coming Down,” resurrects the heyday of the New York metal scene and anyone who likes the classics should enjoy this band. Frontman and bassist Carmine Cafaro was kind enough to answer some questions…

MI: Who are you? What’s the point of your band? Like, what are you about?

CC: Exit to Eternity is an invitation and a challenge. Music is the invitation because it has always united people through expression.
Opening our minds is the challenge. This is a challenge to ourselves and our listeners. You put yourself in a very vulnerable position when you try to red, the power it could have, and the reality of what it caused was definitely a song-worthy topic. It’s a terrible and extremely disturbing subject.

MI: How would you describe the scene in Brooklyn to someone who didn’t know what it was about?

CC: The scene in Brooklyn is of an extremely large and devout following of heavy music, with absolutely no core venue to hold it all together. We used to have the legendary L’Amour in Brooklyn, NY. That place was a huge staple for the heavy music scene in New York. Their history was long and deep in the roots of heavy metal, and they continued to single-handedly hold the New York heavy metal scene together up until a few years ago. Local acts could share the same stage as huge, nationally touring bands in the same night. It was great for the scene. After L’Amour closed its doors, the underground heavy metal scene in Brooklyn and New York went to shit. The only venues holding decent shows in the city don’t open their doors to local acts. So you could still see good metal shows at B. B. King’s or Irving Plaza, but it’s not as closely knit as when you could see your friend’s band play with bigger bands. We all really hope that another great club like L’Amour would open soon to pull NYC’s huge metal scene together again.

(well, it re-opened in Staten Island but who the hell wants to shlep all the way there? – ed.)

MI: I see you guys toured with international acts such as Testament, Exodus, Superjoint Ritual, Symphony X, Arch Enemy, and Overkill… have you toured outside the States yet?

CC: We’ve never toured with anyone. Exit to Eternity opened for all these bands when they came to town and when we’ve played at various festivals. The experience was great. We were able to turn on huge crowds to our music opening for these bands. There’s no greater feeling than hearing a packed venue roar for your music, while at the same time giving respect to bands we look up to.

MI: It’s funny to me that you’ve toured with all these big acts and are definitely of high quality, but you’ve never been signed. (you don’t have to answer that)

CC: Why is it funny?

MI: Because I think you’re good enough to be signed by now, even though the market isn’t exactly in tune with my personal tastes. How did you hear of Metal Israel?

CC: Justin “Shlongo” Longo. Since then, I’ve read quite a few of your interviews. You’ve got a great webzine going here.

MI: Being in America and hearing what’s going on over here in the news, what do you think about what’s going on in Israel?

CC: Listen, the world is both beautiful and terrible. What comes out of it is what we make of it, for the most part. Is the reason for this fighting really worthwhile? Or is everyone filled with fear from religious beliefs that they’ve accepted? The message behind religion is always one of beauty, but when dogma and nonacceptance cloud the message, results are cruel and ugly. You’ve got to ask yourself then, “Is this what I want? Is this what we want? Is this what our creator could want for us?” Is the land a holy place or is it wherever a holy person is? I don’t know. I have no answers, only ideas and feelings and more questions.

Carmine Cafaro
Exit to Eternity
www. exittoeternity. com
www. myspace. com/exittoeternity