I am clearly playing a little catch up on 2025 releases already. And honestly? Not the worst case scenario. At least I’ll always have something new to listen to… until the end of time. So on that note, the next release on my list comes from Lisbon, Portugal rock unit Miss Lava. Their fifth album emerged back on April 25th through Small Stone Recordings, titled Under A Black Sun. It marks 20 years as a band and I’m about to listen to it for the first time. A belated anniversary celebration, if you will. So I hope you join me! Let’s hit play and read K. Raffah‘s (guitars) responses to our Profile questions below.

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How and when did you first get into playing music, or metal more specifically, and how did your band get its start? Any pushback from family/those close to you?

K. Raffah: Luckily, I never had any pushback from family. My parents were always listening to music at our place. My father has a collection with some 1000 vinyls and more than 2000 cds, and my parents were always supportive when I started to learn music. Sepultura was the band that made me want to play, specially Max Cavalera. I’m Brazilian, so to me it was huge to have a band from my country making an album as “Beneath the Remains”. I remember seeing them on tv at a festival in Rio de Janeiro and it was nuts. From that moment on I knew I would never go back. I started playing bass because there weren’t many bass players around. Our singer Johnny invited me to our first band – death thrash stuff in the mid-nineties. A few years later, I kicked him out! But 20 years ago, he called me again and asked if I wanted to join his new band as a guitar player. I had never played guitar before, but I said “yeah” and a friend of mine lent me a guitar to join the band. At that time, it was Johnny, the original bass player and drummer. They had one song, but it was killer! Very COC style and I just loved it. When we started rehearsing, things clicked and we wrote loads of stuff. Two years later, we started playing live everywhere in Portugal and things happened naturally.

How would you describe your band and what you play to someone who is completely in the dark?

K. Raffah: People tend to put us in the stoner rock scene, but I guess we are just heavy rock with a lot of psych and some grunge. You can bang your head and stomp your feet, but you can also chill and enjoy the ride.

Is there anything about your latest album or about your band that no one will find in any interview or review that you care to divulge?

K. Raffah: I believe “Under a Black Sun” marks a new chapter for Miss Lava. We crafted something that’s more intense with our new drummer Pedro. It’s a more “round” and cohesive record, with a darker mood than everything we have put out before. We took our time writing the songs, creating more layers, experimenting different tunings and basically searching out for things we had never tried before. It was a really cool process. After recording we felt the need to bring all these new things to the stage so we invited our long time friend Hugo Jacinto to join us on guitar. We can’t wait to hit the road as a five piece band. Also, this is the first time our singer Johnny designed the cover art! It’s amazing.

Any funny stories from playing shows / tours / festivals, etc?

K. Raffah: So many stories… and so many that we can’t put out! I remember when we opened for Slash on his first tour with Myles Kennedy singing. It was a sold out show at Lisbon’s beautiful coliseum and we were promoting our first record. We got there at the time the promoter asked us to and, luckily, Slash’s band was jamming on stage. So we sat on the side of the stage waiting. 5 minutes later, the man appears. Completely relaxed, barefoot and holding his Converse All Star sneakers. He greeted each one of us, asked about the band and the record and went on to do his thing, jamming with the rest of band. So magical. He even teached them “Rocket Queen” right there, which they played live for the first time that night. When he finished his soundcheck he said goodbye to each one of us and wished us good luck. His guitar player stayed on stage, watched our soundcheck, said he loved what he heard and came down to watch the show on the side of the stage. A few days later this guy posted that he was waking up the neighbors in Paris with our album!

What do you see as some of the great things happening in and around the metal scene (yours or just in general) and what are some of the worst things happening right now?

K. Raffah: I think the greatest thing is that we have healthy and active community. So many young bands are coming out and touring all over the place. I believe social media has had a way of connecting the scene and making it easier for new bands to promote themselves, write to club owners and promoters so they can get their chance on stage. On the other hand, there are still some people trying to rip off bands, saying they’ll promote them if they get paid. That’s a shame and these people shouldn’t be part of the community.

Most folks have passions for a cause or causes that are close to them. What, if any, are some of the most important issues (social/political/humorous/etc.) for you / your band and how do you insert those issues into your music?

K. Raffah: Political and social issues are always very important. We are witnessing very challenging times to say the least. The will to establish honest dialogue and find common ground seems very low these days. You never know what the truth is and the most powerful players in the world believe they can just go over institutions that guarantee the foundations of democracy. This gets into our heads and hearts on a daily basis. Of course it finds its way into our music, lyrically – in a more poetic and metaphoric way – and sonically – in a more spontaneous way.

Do you have day jobs or hobbies you want to share?

K. Raffah: We all have day jobs. Johnny is an advertising creative director in Africa, I run an creative agency in Lisbon, Ricardo has started his own company with hair products, Pedro is an industrial designer and Hugo is a store manager in Lisbon.

What advice do you have for music critics and outlets out there? How can we all better serve the genre in the eyes of a hard-working musician?

K. Raffah: Please find quality time to listen and read the lyrics. Try to understand what each work of art is about. I hosted a weekly radio show for one year here in Portugal. But around 10 months after I started it, I started noticing I didn’t have the time to listen to every song, learn about the band and curate the show properly. I wasn’t doing justice to their art. So I stopped doing the radio show.

Any specific long term goal(s) in mind?

K. Raffah: Just to keep going, making records and playing more festivals!

When you’re not obsessing over your own material, what are some of your favorite albums to listen to currently? (Feel free to include non-metal)

K. Raffah: I’ve been listening to a lot of Brazilian music. Rogê, an artist from my hometown Rio de Janeiro, has put out a great album this year. I’ve also been listening to a lot of old school Florida death metal, such as Obituary and Morbid Angel. As for new stuff that will come out, I can’t wait to get muy hands on the new Gruesome and the new Turnstile records.

What is the near future outlook for you or your band? Any specific events on the horizon that the masses should be aware of?

K. Raffah: Yep! Many live dates throughout Europe this summer, just check our social media profiles for dates in Portugal, Spain, Belgium and Germany.

Summarize your band in one word.

K. Raffah: Habanero!

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Many thanks to Miss Lava for the time!

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Under A Black Sun is out now through Small Stone Recordings. For more information on Miss Lava, follow them on Facebook or Instagram.