_{Interview by Meg (@meg4nanda)}

“I write to understand pain. To survive. To make sense of the wreckage.” –  Matheo, Engage in Vengeance

If you have been following along with the NOISE ‘N’ VISUALS radio show or our New Noise articles, you may have stumbled upon Indonesia’s Engage In Vengeance. The metalcore act have been building a solid reputation for their unrelenting style and have become mainstays in the region’s scene. 

We had the chance to connect with the band’s frontman Matheo, who truly represents the duality of man in his musical endeavours. The enigmatic force behind two hauntingly different worlds. Not only is he behind the thunderous wrath of Engage in Vengeance, where he stands like a King who reigns in hell, but he also has a voice of a Heaven’s Gate greeter with his solo project Matheo in Rio.

Two identities. One soul.
Intrigued by his music endeavours, our writer Meg reached out to this formidable vocalist.

What started as a message grew into a deeper conversation about his music, his story, and how he turns pain into art.

Q: First things first, where are you guys from?

We’re from Jakarta, Indonesia. It all started with just me and Gilang. Two dudes, one vision, a lot of noise. Gilang was on drums. Then he brought in Liya on bass, and later Russel Ludwig and Hendry joined. That’s when things really started to move. After we dropped our first single, it all clicked. We officially called it a band. Down the line, Evan came in to replace Russel and Hendry.

Q: So what’s the meaning behind the name Engage in Vengeance?

Gilang actually picked the name because it just sounded right. But over time, it started to mean more than just cool words. It’s not about anger, it’s about clarity. Facing things heads on, especially the ugly parts. If that means setting people free from fake smiles and filtered lives, then yeah… Maybe it’s a holy operation after all.

Q: What genre would you say Engage in Vengeance fits into?

We’ve been called a lot of things. We just say modern metalcore. But we are not here to fit in a box, we make what feels urgent and real. At the end of the day, we’re just three people trying to make sense of the chaos and loud as hell.

Q: Your music, especially with the contrast of Engage in Vengeance and Matheo in Rio Solo Project, feels like two sides of the same coin. Where do your lyrics begin — with love? With rage?

Most of my lyrics come from memory, but not the kind you frame and smile at. They come from echoes I still carry. Some start with love, some with rage, but mostly from the need to face something real. I don’t write to dramatise. I write to understand pain, to survive, to make sense of all the wreckage.

Q: In ‘Be Free’ it feels like EIV is pushing back against something. What exactly are you resisting?

‘Be Free’ is Engage in Vengeance pushing back against trauma, silence, suffering, and all the invisible cages people live in. That song isn’t about escape,  it’s about reclaiming space. Taking back your breath. Saying “this is mine now.” That’s what it means to be free.

Q: Which song hits you the hardest, both from EIV and your Solo Project?

From EIV, definitely ‘Again‘.
“I’m falling down and trapped in memory, it breaks me down again.”
That line didn’t come from a writing session. It came from a place I couldn’t explain, so I let it scream for me.

From my Solo, it’s ‘Light to the Bone’. That’s where I dropped the armour. I used to think softness was a weakness. I never thought the feeling was real. I never got validation for that.

But now? I see softness as strength. Feeling as visibility. For those who understand, they’ll know, love is power. It’s real.

Q: One line really stood out to me: “Scared, scared to be loved. I’ve been a victim for so long. Can’t separate the right from wrong.”
Was that personal?

Yeah, that one’s personal. When you’ve been wired by survival for so long, love starts to feel like a threat. I’m still learning how to receive it without suspicion. Still rewiring.

Q: If betrayal happened in your life, which version of Theo would emerge? The metalhead or the pop version?

If betrayal came? It wouldn’t bring out a “metalhead” or a “pop version” of me. It would bring out the truth, raw, honest, loud or quiet, depending on what it needs to be. But always from the same fire. And neither one is here to please.

Q: You once said “the path is still unfolding.” What’s coming next?

Engage in Vengeance hasn’t peaked yet. There’s something bigger forming. Not just an album. Not just another drop. But a shift.
A state.
A refusal to go numb again.

This next chapter? It won’t just be heard, it’ll be felt.

Q: What are some of the dreams EIV has already achieved?

One big one was getting to perform at Hammersonic, one of the biggest metal festivals in Indonesia with international weight. That was huge. We also became part of a national cigarette brand’s campaign, which gave us the chance to tour across cities in Indonesia, to reach people we never would’ve otherwise.

But we’re not done.
We want to tour beyond this country, to bring EIV to more stages, to more ears, to more hearts.

_{You can find out more about Engage In Vengeance here.
You can also find out more about Theo’s solo project Matheo In Rio here.}