Interview with John (bass)
Q>>
Salve! I've known your music for a very long time and the first thing I want
to tell you is that I've always liked the choices you made throughout your entire
career. Have you ever regretted anything you did though?
A>> We've ever regretted anything! We are proud of what we did and of
what we are doing, we are proud of our albums and we are proud of our gigs.
We worked hard, even if we're an underground cult band and we had our satisfactions,
from reviews and from the feedback of our fans, which are many and support us
every day!
Q>> The new
album sounds amazing! I heard that, this time, you took more time in the studio.
Did you have a good time or was it hard to keep concentrated?
A>> We didn't take more time in the studio. We spent three weeks in the
studio, the same as for "Black As Pitch": two weeks for the takes
and one for the mixing. The difference with the previous albums is that we recorded
the tracks in March and we mixed in April. We wanted to relax one month before
mixing, in order to come back to the studio without pressure of such things…This
time we didn't go to Sweden as usual; we went to Rome at Outer Sound's Studio.
The master of the studio is Mr. Giuseppe Orlando, drummer of Novembre. We are
friends and we had some very good times together - working during the day and
drinking during the night! It wasn't hard to keep concentrated because Giuseppe
made our stay in Rome enjoyable… and he did a very good job in the studio,
as everyone can hear.
Q>> I know
your genre isn't quite the same as theirs but the overall production of "Ton(e)s
Of Hate" really reminds me of the latest Death albums... Did Chuck Shuldiner
have an influence on your writing?
A>> Death are not a main influence on Necrodeath's songwriting, as we
our main influence was always Slayer. But we are influenced by all the 80's
thrash and Death is one of these bands. It's the first time that someone says
that we sound almost like Death, and I'm proud of it because they are very good
musicians! Thank you! Ahahah!
Q>> Many people know that Peso's drumming is fantastic; the guy seems indeed very open to modern patterns and sonorities. Has he never "exaggerated" though? I don't think he did on the album but maybe sometimes the rest of the band needs to calm him down a little during the composition process, I don't know, you tell me...;-)
A>> Peso can play any kind of music and on this album he wanted to use some non-Thrash patterns. For example in "Ton(e)s of Hate" he uses an octoban; I don't know if there's any other Thrash drummer who uses that… "Ton(e)s of Hate" was composed for 90% by Peso and when he let us listen to some of these strange patterns we enjoyed them; so why calm him if he's such a good drummer? Let him play the way he wants to play!
Q>> Tell
us something about the lyrics... Are there key songs to you?
A>> The lyrics talk about criminals, assassins and mad people killing
innocents… or about mad doctors doing strange things to their patients.
They are all true stories, taken from the newspapers. Peso wrote them all and
in truth I like this kind of lyrics more than the ones of the eighties Ingo,
our previous singer, wrote…
Q>> One song
surely will surprise the listener; I'm talking about "Evidence From Beyond".
I like it very much! How do your fans generally react to such melodies?
A>> "Evidence From Beyond" is a strange song, but in the beginning
only. In the end, the song has the typical Necrodeath sound and it's a bit reminiscent
of Slayer too… Usually our fans don't have particular reactions to one
song; they listen to the entire album and judge the whole album. A song has
a meaning in the frame of the album but not if taken apart.
Q>> The Japanese
version of the new recording will feature "The Flag"... I know it's
a cult song but why didn't you pick another one? Like a never-released one...
I mean, "Into The Macabre" was re-released by Scarlet a couple of
years ago so... the fans should know the song already... Don't they? Maybe it
was just for the pleasure of re-recording it...
A>> There are no never-released Necrodeath songs. The Japanese label asked
for a bonus track; they always want a bonus track, in order to have something
more than the European fans… and after talking with the guys at Scarlet
we decided to give them that song, as we didn't have enough time to come back
to the studio. We're not professional musicians, don't forget this!
Q>> Did you
really hurt that poor doll I see on your cover? (Tell us some more about the
artwork...)
A>> The artwork has been made by Flegias, the singer. It fully expresses
the meaning of the title and of the lyrics: Hate. Where can you find more hate
than in a girl hitting a doll?
Q>> Last
comments and goodbyes...:)
A>> I hope to soon meet all your readers at some gig somewhere around
Europe, with Necrodeath or with another project we play in (Cadaveria, DyNAbyte,
Raza de Odio…). And for them who can't meet us at the gigs, come to our
site www.necrodeath.com and tell us how hateful our songs are! Ciao!
RNO