Interview with death doom metal band from Italy - INTO DARKNESS.
Answered Giulia Warrior (Guitars, Vocals), thank you!
Recenze/review - INTO DARKNESS - Cassini - Huygens (2023):
https://www.deadlystormzine.com/2023/06/recenzereview-into-darkness-cassini.html
Ave INTO DARKNESS! Greetings to the underground. I hope everything is fine with you. It should be because this year you have released a second EP in your band's career. I have to admit it has literally blown my mind. It is dark, energic and as if it cuts by the sharp edge of the knife. I can hear from the record you did a really good job and you added a big portion of the talent, too. How do you perceive the new album in comparison to the previous work? Where did you want to move and in what are these two records different?
Hello Jacub !!! Greeting to you, from the very depths of galaxy ! We're glad about your kind words on the „Cassini – Huygens“ EP, this makes us so proud of what we have done. Well, compared to the „First Encounters“ demo, which is in my opinion one of the best things I ever wrote in my life, there are two main differences. First, I wrote and recorded First Encounters alone, while now Into Darkness can be proud of a complete, stable line-up, that gave life to „Cassini – Huygens“. Second, the two tracks you can hear on „First Encounters“ are way more complex than the last EP. Which is not bad after all, but maybe „Cassini – Huygens“ can resume what this band has become through the years. A bit simpler riffings and drum parts – but still of impact, with some atmosphere at the same time. This is, in the end, the quintessence of the music I love, helped by the wise advices of my band's mates, that gave me not one, but two big hands in the songwriting.
„Cassini - Huygens“ includes all attributes of good death and doom metal. For me personally, it represents the record, which I really like to listen to. How did you produce it? How look the writing process of new material in the case of INTO DARKNESS?
And you're right ! There are both death metal and doom metal influences, but I have to say I don't get inspired that much from doom metal bands. We're a small underground band, but if you're asking to someone that knows me or this band which are the main influent bands for Into Darkness, he will answer sure, for first, Asphyx. I have not that good knowledge of doom metal to be honest, even if I like it. Just the main bands, you know. But it's a kind of music I prefer to avoiding listening to, it's definitely very introspective and deeply emotional sometimes. There are many subgenres in Doom Metal and I'm so ignorant about it, I can just tell you that sometimes when I listen to some bands I simply have to stop the music and choose something else from the shelf to listen to, because it's too much for me, it's nearly painful. The last time that this happened, I was listening to Black Oath „To Below and Beyond“. However, let's return to the topic ! And … The doomy influence come from sure by the bands I use to listen to, as the death metal one, a mixture of records that I love. When I started to wrote the new material for the last EP, I had four tracks ready, but I wasn't rehearsing with the current line-up. Only Eros (also guitar in Extirpation) was in, but after some months I forced the drummer to left. With the new line-up I kept 3 tracks, while I wrote the other two, helped by some arrangements the guys suggested me, then we recorded five new tracks in less than one year. We entered the studios in less than eight months!
Who's signed for the sound and mix? I have to confirm that they literally kill. It keeps making me turn up the volume on the hi-fi tower. You've got a sound that's harsh, raw and dark and animalistic at the same time. How did you achieve it? What studio did you record in and how did it all work?
Carlo Meroni from ADSR Studio is the responsible of recordings, mixing and mastering. It was such a beautiful experience that I cannot wait to enter the studios again ! I'm glad you liked the sound, we wanted this EP to be exactly as it came. I don't dislike dirtier productions, but I wanted to reach a good balance between a powerful, pounding old school sound and the clearness of what I'm listening to. Which is, basically, something I learnt listening to the bands I love. Carlo was able to accomodate our requests, starting from the backline we used. Mix and mastering phases are always the longest and most difficult part of the recordings, but I have to say we really worked on details, cause we were lucky enough to start from an excellent backline and a natural, powerful sound.
An important part and a kind of extra bonus for fans today is the physical CD. You released the new album at CD in El Unholy Domain Records, and it has a „cosmic“ cover art. Who is the author? How did you choose the motif and how does it relate to the music at the record?
Our bassplayer and backing vox, Darak, took care of the cover artwork. He's also bassplayer and singer in Extirpation. Darak is a talented drawer and he's also a tattoer, it would have been a pity to not let him doing draw for „Cassini - Huygens“. He often said that who better than us could ever interpretate exactly what we're looking for, and I totally agree with him. He's also responsible of all the Extirpation artworks. What I appreciate the most is the completely different style from the common extreme metal artworks, and that's a point in our favor. The layout and all the visual part – merchandise, advertising … - comes from Santo, our drummer. He's really skilled into that stuff – it's his job, to be honest ! - and I have to say I'm more than satisfied of the final result of the visual part, it totally represents the music.
I have been wandering the underground for over thirty years and I still go to Italy for music with certainty. I think we have a similar nature and taste when it comes to metal. I like your bands a lot and I monitor your scene carefully. Maybe I envy you a little, because we only have a few death metal bands that are worth it. How do you explain that death metal are doing so well in your country? How do you perceive your scene, fans, labels?
Oh ! Well, I thank you on the behalf of the italian underground death metal scene for such kind words on our music ! But I have to admit I see things differently. I'm sure death metal music is the most listened one in the current italian scene now, but I don't think there are so many death metal bands here. Extreme bands for sure, but not purely death metal, which is not bad, it's just a consideration. If a gig in the north of Italy it's a success, you'll count 120, 130 people attending. After the covid period I saw people more encouraged to attend underground gigs, to buy records, to be part of the scene. And that's good for local bands, small promoters and labels.
You play doom death metal influenced by, among other things, the old school. Today, the band can't avoid comparisons, but I would like to know how the idea to start INTO DARKNESS was born, who was and is your metal idol? Where do you want to move your band? Are you attracted to large foreign festivals, for example, are you willing to go on tour with a more famous band?
The idea of starting a death metal band was still present while I was playng with my very first band, called Sign of Evil. We were three, young people really involved into heavy metal music and enthusiastic of sharing our passion for it. We played a sort of raw heavy metal a là Venom, early Bulldozer: we all came from different listenings so we found a good compromise to do something we all liked. I was already into Death Metal, but the dream became true when I moved from my hometown to Milano, which was a nevralgic centre for metal music in general, both for the many local bands that used to play back in the years and for live shows. I started the band with an old friend of mine, Nor, and after we involved AnguiciouS, ex-drummer in Mefitic, w entered the studios for the first demo recordings. I admire different bands and songwriter in music, the most influent bands for Into Darkness are Asphyx, Pentacle, early Soulburn. Inspiration comes from many different listenings of course, but many records – or all of them, in the case of Pentacle – from these bands are just what lead me into songwriting, the very first intention in the music I do. Where do we want to move ? To everywhere we deserve to go, I suppose ! Big festivals or cool underground gigs outside the country … I don't see the difference, it would be great in any case if we'll be able to do our best for who's listening. We play for people like us, that love the same music we love, that feel the underground spirit as we do.
When I started my blog six years ago, I had a vision that I would try to support bands that are not so much popular, or they are lost in underground. To let the world knows about them. I think I'm doing quite well, at least according to the responses. How do you approach the promotion of your music? Do you rely upon the label or do you send the CDs for various reviews by yourself? For example, I buy albums that I really enjoy. What about you? Are you also fans who often support your colleagues? Do you go to concerts?
I use to promote my band on my own. I wrote to many webzines and fanzines sending the audios – rarely the physical CD, differently when I started the band I used to ship many promos - to get a review or an interview. Sometimes it has just came by the webzines, sometimes they accepted to dedicate some time to Into Darkness. I'm sure you know better than me the underground world in metal has been changed so much during the years. Now we're so many people … bands, labels, writers, promoters, webzines, fanzines … I'm not sure if that increase comes from social medias, which connect all of us so easily and faster than before, or what else. But now it's more difficult to approach the underground audience as a band if you're not skilled into that sort of stuff. I made an Instagram account for the band, and I'm still really a newbie, to post something requires me more or less one hour each time I do it ! But I'm conscious I have to adapt myself a bit to a world that keeps on changing. Sadly, I see that music is taking a secondary place compared to … pictures. And pictures, pictures and more pictures. It seems that to show up means everything today. That's why I'm convinced the job you, as a webzine writer, is so important for smaller underground bands. Your words in this question touched me, „ … or they are lost in the underground“. What you do it's a precious help for bands like us, and I také the occasion to thank you again for this opportunity.
I use to go to local gigs, but except the underground ones, when there's quite a big gig with important bands – and many times, even not that big or important bands – you never find a single supporting act that really comes from the underground. Many bands, out of our scene, and really far from the musical tastes and attitude of the most part of us, just pay to play a gig, convinced that they will gain a good return. What they really gain is to pay a lot of money to open a gig playing for ten people, without anyone that will really remember their show.
I love to buy records, I only buy Cds, that is my favourite format in music. When I meet a recent or a new band that I like, I buy their stuff. I'm more into older stuff, that is the 95% of my usual purchases, but if I'd have enough time, I would buy and listen all the records of this world!
On the one hand, today the new band has a lot of opportunities to make themselves more known, but on the other hand, there are a huge number of groups and the fans are getting lost in this big metal sea. A lot of people just download mp3s from the internet and instead of to visit the concert they prefer to spit poisonous saliva on Facebook. How do modern technologies affect you as INTO DARKNESS? What do you think about downloading music, google metalists, streaming music, etc.?
That's an interesting topic to spend some words on. I've been enough time into the metal scene to tell you things are keep on changing that fast, that much, that it's pretty difficult to not feel disoriented. I grew up buying records at the locals records stores, asking the owners to find some rare pressings that now I'm quite sure they were buying for me through Ebay or something similar. I used to download music too of course, before having enough money to buy real records: I was like 12 or 13, and I remember there were those websites called „Blogspot“, in which you could find tons of music to download for free. To be honest I don't have anything to say on those who prefer to download music instead of buying it. I don't care, it's a choice I guess. What is really destroying the underground spirit of heavy metal music, or shortly, what we can call „attitude“, is the trend of showing up instead of listening. Showing up instead of supporting. Showing up instead of shut the fuck up !!! Cool pictures, many likes, tons of followers or … listening to music ? You see, there's an ocean between those things. I am not able to tell you how this trend could be related to heavy metal music … But, if you want to stay alive as a band, or as a label ... cause this topic doesn't involve only heavy metal bands, you have to choose your compromises and being a bit used to the current way of being known in the metal scene. Well, you must do your best to be sure you're reaching exactly those people that love music as you do, and the music you do. Just this.
I like to ask the musicians what death metal means to them. How would they define it, whether it is more the philosophy and lifestyle thing for them or "just" relaxation? What does it mean for you? How do you perceive and experience it?
Death Metal music is my life. Music is part of me, I'd say the biggest part of my life. What it means to me ? Well, in a concrete way of thinking is to buy records, go to gigs I like, play with my band, have a good chat with my friends about records, bands, stuff like that I guess. How I feel living this life with music at my side ? I can still be surprised and amazed by what I listen to, the feelings I get from it, and since I play in a band, I just can tell you that writing music keeps you alive ! Dreaming of a good riff, being inspired by something you listened to recently, keep on singing it in your mind the whole day while you're working … and then, finally, when you come back home and go to rehearsal, or simply being at home, with a good beer and a couple (hundreds ???) of cigarettes, turning on the amplifier … can you feel what I say ? To anyone who's reading this: music keeps you alive !!! Don't leave it, never !!!
Finally, a classic but important question. What is INTO DARKNESS planning in the upcoming months? Where can we see you at the stage and what about a tour of Europe?
Classic but important, you're right !!! We planned a very cool gig near Milano, hosting our partners in crime Apparition from Spain and … mighty PENTACLE from the Netherlands !!! Other great shows inside and outside the country are gonna be announced soon, and … there's also something else planned for the next year, so, definitely, I can be satisfied. We're also working on new stuff, so expect many more things to come !
Thank you so much for the interview. I wish a lot of success to the new album and let the number of your fans expand as much as possible. I will look forward to seeing you somewhere live again. I wish you a lot of success both musically and personally. I'm going to push „Cassini - Huygens“ into my head again!
Thank you Jakub and to the awesome job you're doing with Deadly Storm, thanks for hosting us and to your support !!! Keep the underground live !!! UUUUUGGGHHHH !!!
Recenze/review - INTO DARKNESS - Cassini - Huygens (2023):
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