Interview with death metal band from Italy - VALGRIND.
Translated by Duzl, thank you!
Recenze/review - VALGRIND - Seal Of Phobos (2017)
Recenze/review - VALGRIND - Speech Of The Flame (2016)
Recenze/review - VALGRIND - Speech Of The Flame (2016)
The
first question is offered itself. We have seen the band recently at
the ETEF OPEN AIR FEST festival in Volyně. How did you like it in
Bohemia and how did our alcohol (fernet) taste to you? I have to
thank you once again for the perfect performance. You totally beat
me!
We
had great times there! The festival itself was well organized, the
sound on stage was perfect and everyone was super professional. One
of our best shows for sure! We had great times with our mates
Helslave, sharing the van and the hotel with them was crazy. Fernet
was a sweet surprise but maybe we abused it (specially myself) a
little bit too much hahahah.
Your
band's history dates back to the nineties. But I do not know how much
Czech fans will know you. In the early days you have just released
some demos and then you have saved VALGRIND to the ice. I think it
would not hurt to make us, your fans, the whole history of the band.
Tell us, please.
The
band born in the mid-nineties in Cosenza, south of Italy and released
many demos with different line-ups. Massimiliano (guitars) moved to
Bologna with the rest of the band in 2002 and I joined the same year
with the role of guitar player. We worked hard for one year or so but
we disbanded in 2003 due to serious frictions between the founding
members. It was a big blow for everyone. Luckily me and Massimiliano
were enough motivated to reform the band some years later, I think it
was around 2008. I moved to vocals and we started to work on our
debut album „Morning will come no more“, which contained some
songs re-arranged from the demos and some other completely new
tracks. Then Gianmarco joined us on drums and we finally stabilized
the line-up that recorded „Speech of the Flame“, an album we are
still very proud of. The latest ep „Seal of Phobos“ has been
released this year and features our new rhythm guitar player
Umberto.I think it contains our strongest material to date.
I
admit that even though I have been listening to death metal for over
25 years, I first heard about you in 2012. "Morning will come no
more" literally broke me. I listened to the album all the time
again and again and looked forward to the next album. With another
recording of "Speech of the Flame", I already knew who you
are and enjoyed the album a lot. But the best for me is a last EP
from this year's "Seal of Phobos". I like the gradual
development. Do you practice as a musician a lot? How much time do
you spend in the rehersal?
I'm
glad you consider our last EP our finest hour, we also think we are
progressing and positive opinions are rewarding! We practice a lot
individually but we do not spend much time together in the rehearsal
room due to the fact that we live far from each others. But we share
the stuff via e-mail and talk a lot about it, we take care of every
detail!
Let's
go to the new album. The first thing that interests me on "Seal
of Phobos" is the sound of the recording. Where did you record
and who is behind the production?
Umberto
took care of the production, he mixed and engineered the Ep. He did
most of the work in his home studio. We opted for a different sound
this time and we kinda divided the audience a little bit. But we are
still very satisfied with the final result, and most of the comments
are highly positive!
The
package is also great. Who is the author and how did you choose him?
I admit that it will be quite unethical for death metal but more
interesting. The readers would probably be wondering what it should
represent and express?
I
am the author of the cover. I wanted to create something different
this time. Me and Massimiliano discussed a lot about the title and I
came up with this idea of a demonic jewel representing cerberus, a
subject we already used in the past. I think it is a symbol of fear,
well connected to the Ep's title and easy to remember, we are a
straightforward band and we do not like to be too critptyc in our
concepts.
VALGRIND
lyrics contain a lot from History. How did you get to this topic? Why
history? And what the lyrics of the last EP "Seal of Phobos"
are about.
I
don't know exactly why we are so fascinated by the ancient times
hahaha...I consider the music a sort of haven from the daily
struggles and probably this leads me and Max to write lyrics about
something that guides our minds far from here. The music itself is
quite evocative and we think it needs powerful images. I want to
state that I'm freely inspired by history and ancient times, I'm not
interested in giving lame history lessons in my lyrics. I am not a
scholar, I just pick up things here and there following my sensations
and personal interests. On the last Ep the themes vary from bloody
wars to obscure ancient funeral rituals and reflections on the fall
of the ancient civilities.
Who
is the lead author of music and how VALGRIND compose a new songs? Are
you creating new material as a band together or is someone in
the middle who is the main "brain"?
Musically
speaking, Massimiliano is the main songwriter. He writes like 70% of
the music, while in the beginning he was the sole composer. I come up
with some music occasionally and write most of the lyrics. Umberto is
also working on some new stuff. Despite that, everyone contributes
with ideas and arrangements, and they are free to add their own touch
to the compositions, specially Gianmarco, who creates the drum
patterns on his own at home. Since we live far from each others we
trade files of the new material and start working individually on the
songs. When we are gathered in the rehearsal room we take care of the
details.
For
the last couple of years, I think the Italian death metal scene is
going up incredibly. You have a lot of great bands, many of them
played in our country too. Is that really so? Or is it just my
opinion, like a fan from abroad? I wonder how your scene works? Are
people going to concerts? Support bands?
The
quality of the italian bands is now very high. Your impression is
right, during the last ten years the scene has grown a lot and so has
the professionality of the musicians involved. It is still difficult
to organize succesful gigs here though.
The
new album was released at Everlasting Spew Records. Why did you
choose this label and how satisfied you are with their work?
Totally
satisfied. Giorgio and Tito are supporting our music in the best way
possible. We weren't searching for a new label when we signed with
Everlasting Spew, they were interested in releasing some cool
old-school stuff and offered us a good deal.
I
think "Seal of Phobos" would be the best in vinyl edition.
Do you think about it? What is your relationship to the vinyls and
their sound? Are you a collector?
It
would be a dream come true! I've never been blessed with one of my
albums released in vinyl. Since „Seal of Phobos“ is an Ep I think
chances are slim. We'll see, never say never! I'm not a collector but
I own hundreds of cds and vynils anyway hahaha...I only buy the music
I love, I think this is the main difference between me and a
collector. But I respect the collectors point of view, they are an
essential parts of the underground Metal scene.
Do
you have some albums which got your attention recently?
A
lot of them. I'm impatiently waiting to buy the new Incantation and
the new Unaussprechlichen Kulten, they always produce killer
material. I also appreciated the last Suffocation and Immolation
despite the production. Another band that impressed me a lot is
Horrendous, classic and fresh at the same time. I'm also interested
in more experimental stuff like Phyrron and Mithras, look forward to
get them soon.
Do
you know or are you listening to some band from Czech Republic?
Ma
favourite Czech band is definitely Heaving Earth! These guys are
incredible, I shared the stage with them in Pilsen with my other band
Hateful and I've been blow away! In the old days I witnessed the
performance of many killer Czech acts, like Hypnos, Alienation
Mental, Godless Truth and Krabathor...i also liked Lykathea Aflame a
lot, I don't know if they are still active. I hope that your
scene will come back stronger soon.
What
about the plans of VALGRIND in the upcoming months?
We
are still promoting „Seal of Phobos“ but of course we are also
working on the new stuff. We do not like to waste time, we are in a
good creative phase and the the new songs are coming fast. In the
meantime we hope to play other great shows like the one at ETEF!
Thank
you very much for the interview. I wish your new album good sales and
gigs full of crazy fans and tons of a great ideas! I look forward to
seeing you on the show and we will take a some drinks together!
Thank
you very much bro for the support and the killer interview! I hope
we'll have some other shots of Fernet soon!
Recenze/review - VALGRIND - Seal Of Phobos (2017)
Recenze/review - VALGRIND - Speech Of The Flame (2016)
Recenze/review - VALGRIND - Seal Of Phobos (2017)
Recenze/review - VALGRIND - Speech Of The Flame (2016)
