Getting down, dirty and heavy today with an act from Italy…
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
We are from Ancona, a little city in centre-north Italy.
How did you meet?
Rust (guitar/vocals) and Frank (Bass/ Vocals) met each other at University and during summer 2016 they met with the idea to form a band. Sometime later, Rust met Briareo (Drums) during the live video rehearsal of a Downfall (Thrash Metal band) music video. That’s the birth of the band. Pest (Guitar) joined during March 2018. Frank and him were doing box together and we accepted his proposal join us since he was a resource to expand our sound.
How long have you been playing as a band?
Since late 2016
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
The name come from ancient Greek mythology but we prefer to rely on its metaphorical implication.
What are your influences?
Really….a lot. By genres: Sludge (Melvins, Yob, High on Fire, Eyehategod, Crowbar), Black (Darkthrone, Dissection, Mgla, Enslaved, Borknagar), Death Metal (Dismember, Entombed, Morbid Angel, Autopsy, Immolation), Stoner & Psychedelic Rock (Sleep, Kyuss, Black Sabbath), Post-Metal (Neurosis & Agalloch), Post-Hardcore (Russian Circles) and Ambient (we’re working on adding dark synths and samples).
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
The huge amount of different influences we have is the main point. We have a Sludge Metal core but we don’t like to limit ourselves to musical etiquettes. That’s why we see every track as a way to mix our core with something different (in a certain way we have a proggish approach to composition).. At the same time we have a really old school hardcore-metal sound that it doesn’t permit us to fit ourselves perfectly on the Post-Metal (which have a much more modern approach).
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
We usually start from a cultural reference and we wander around it. We also love to concentrate onto the metaphorical and psychological meaning of “fall of a giant”.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
Since we are a little band, we never have any expectation from a live gig. We played 10 lives more or less. We’re from a region of Italy where is difficult to find shows since it has a low population.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
Even if we have a certain kind of punk approach, we hope to release a meditating approach to listeners: Considering that, we don’t do anything wild.
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
Bass
- Bass: Epiphone Eb3
- Head: TC Electronic BH250
- Cab: Ashdown MAG 414T “deep”
Guitar I
- Guitar: Gibson Les Paul Studio 1996
- Head: Engl Fireball 60 watt
- Cab: Handmade cabinet with 2×12 Celestion
Guitar II
- Guitar: Epiphone Les Paul Custom
- Head: Engl Fireball 100 watt
- Cab: Framus v30
Drums
- Drumkit: Mapex Saturn
- Cymbals: Diril
What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?
Actually we’re promoting a Split, entitled Highwaymen at the Vesper we did with a Death/Doom/Gothic band called Grodek. We recorded it during January 2020 but unluckily all our promoting plans has failed due to Coronavirus pandemia. We also released in October 2019 an EP called “Enter the Abyss”
What are your plans for 2020?
Actually, considering the sanitary emergency, we know that we cannot play live shows for long. Apart from that, we have been working on an album that we hope we could release on 2021. We also have some live rehearsal we’re working on and that we’re thinking to master and publish this year.
If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be supporting and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before!
Frank – Bass/Vocals
- Opening for: Sleep
- Supported by: Neurosis
Pest – Guitar
- Opening for: Mournful Congregation
- Supported by: Mortiis
Briareo – Drums
- Opening for: Meshuggah
- Supported by: Russian Circles
Rust – Guitar/Vocals
- Opening for: Neurosis
- Supported by: Melvins
