Interview with Prika Amaral “NERVOSA”
Nervosa was formed in 2010 by Prika Amaral and Fernanda Terra (drummer). Despite previously being part of bands with different styles, they found a shared passion in Nervosa’s compositions: thrash metal with strong influences from bands in the classical school of this genre.
In 2012, due to the recognition gained from their hard work, NERVOSA achieved a significant milestone: a contract with the Austrian label Napalm Records. They released their debut work, a demo with three tracks, titled ‘2012’ in Brazil, and ‘Time Of Death’ internationally.
In 2023, the band underwent a transformation, adding another guitarist, Helena Kotina, a virtuoso Greek guitarist influenced by Classic Rock, Heavy Metal, and Thrash Metal. Prika Amaral assumed vocal duties and leadership of the band, injecting more aggression, diversity, and stability. In April of the same year, Nervosa released the video for “Endless Ambition”, featuring the current lineup, which was well-received by critics and fans. From May to August, the band performed at major festivals in Europe, such as Inferno Metal Fest in Norway, Resurrection in Spain, Copenhell in Denmark, Gefle Metal Fest in Sweden, Metal Days in Slovenia, Wacken in Germany, Vagos Metal Fest in Portugal, Rock Castle in the Czech Republic, and Summer Breeze in Germany, among others.
With the recent release of “Seed Of Death,” the band demonstrated extraordinary growth, leaving fans eagerly anticipating their upcoming album, which promises to be the pinnacle of Nervosa’s career. Titled “Jailbreak”, the album’s release is scheduled for September 29th with global distribution.
Today we have the big pleasure to interview Prika Amaral vocalist and lead of Nervosa

Photo by Debora Melissa
SUNRAY: Hello Prika, how are you?, starting the interview, how does it feel to be a reference for a female Thrash Metal band?
Prika: Hi! I’m good! I hope everything is good for you too.
It’s crazy! I feel grateful for that and happy that you see on this way. I realize how much Nervosa was important for women when we have the first big line up change, the fans was worried about the future of Nervosa and I receive hundreds of message begging for me to not give up because of the meaning of Nervosa for many girls. Give up was not a option to me because I know the world is full of talent women, but I could see very clear the size of the representative that Nervosa has for women in that moment.
SUNRAY: Who Are Your Biggest Influences?
Prika: On guitars I can say Tony Iommi, Dimebag, Jimi Hendrix, Alex Skolnick, Gary Holt, Kerry King and David Gilmore. On vocals for me are Chuck Billy, Angela Gossow, Max Cavalera and Peter from Vader, are the main influences on extreme vocals. As a band, I would say Slayer, Sepultura, Metallica, Testament, Destruction, Kreator, Sodom, Black Sabbath, Motorhead, and many more. As a singer and guitar player, James Hetfield, Mile Petroza, Peter from Vader and Peter from Hypocrisy are the masters for me.
SUNRAY: Nervosa started as a Brazilian band, and over time became a multinational band with members from Greece, Spain, and Italy. Was it easy for you to adapt to working with girls from different countries?
Prika: It was not hard because of different nationalities or because of the distance. I think this was the easiest part. The hardest part is to find girls 100% available to live on the road. To live from metal music involve leave absolutely everything behind, involves to not have time to do nothing apart from music. Sometimes this is too heavy for some people, not only because of them but sometimes is because of the people around them. Now Nervosa is half Brazilian and half Greek, and we all live in Greece for more than 2 years, which is great for the band and we can do more and the girls can participate more and many things.

Photo by Aki digitaltaurus84
SUNRAY: Since taking on the role of lead vocalist, how do you feel Nervosa’s identity has evolved? And What challenges have you faced combining the roles of guitarist and lead vocalist in a band as iconic as Nervosa?
Prika: I’m the only member that is in the band since the beginning. I wrote riffs, vocal lines, lyrics and many things since the beginning, so part of the identity of Nervosa is on me. That is the way to keep the roots of Nervosa, but I like to give space for new vision, ideas and possibilities, and this come from the new girls. I love the idea to connect different styles, it make everything better and this is a band!
For me as a singer and guitar player, it was a very easy process because I was doing backing vocals, so switch to lead vocals was a job to create resistance and study different techniques to be a real singer. The hardest part for me was memorize the lyrics, cause my memory is not that good.

Photo by Artur Tarczewski
SUNRAY: Your latest album, “Jailbreak,” has a devastating energy. What message were you trying to convey with this work?
Prika: Inside of the album you can find many different messages about our vision from the human behavior, and it can be from politicians till a narcissist person at your job, from a toxic relationship till obsession with superstition. But the song Jailbreak is about be proud of who we are, is about don’t be afraid to live a dream and don’t waste our entire life with something that we don’t like. Jailbreak is a scream for freedom.
SUNRAY: This February 4th you will be performing at Uniclub Argentina. What can Argentine fans expect from this show in Buenos Aires?
Prika: We are in a very special tour because we are celebrating 15 years of Nervosa. So, we choose South America to start our worldwide tour because is where Nervosa is from, it is where our history start and this was possible because the Latin people supported us. We prepared a very special set list with songs from all the 5 albums of Nervosa. Of course we have a lot of songs from “Jailbreak” because we didn’t tour with this album there, but we mixed all the eras on this setlist, but we have some surprises as well.
Also, it will be very special show because it will be my very first time as a singer. I have many good memories from Argentina and I know for sure that this show will be one more to be unforgettable.
SUNRAY: What advice would you give to musicians, especially female ones, who want to make a name for themselves in the metal scene?
Prika: There is nothing easy! If you want to be in a good place you have to work a lot and give everything. To have talent is just one part of many other parts to have success. To live a dream you need to be awake and be aware that you have to sacrifice things. There is no gain without pain. Don’t be afraid and make the things because you love not because of ambition.
SUNRAY: Thank you so much Prika for your time! We’ll see you next Feb 4 in Argentina!! Good luck!!
Prika: Thank you so much for the supporting. I’m super excited to be in Argentina and celebrate 15 year of Nervosa with one of my favorite places in the world. See you very soon finaly!

Photo by Aki digitaltaurus84
Nervosa will be performing in Argentina next February 4th at the Uniclub, get yout tickets
https://alpogo.com/evento/nervosa-unico-show-en-argentina-17501
Produced by Heresy Metal Media
Press NGD

Interview by Maria Fernanda Capici
Special Thanks to Chris Cannella FM Music Management