Good afternoon, thank you so much for answering these questions. How's everything going in Stockholm?
Erymanthon: Hails to you. A bit of a stressful period, if I’m being completely honest. But it will work out, I hope.
Raijinous: Hi, stressful period for me too. Life sucks…
1. Feralia was formed in 2018, initially based in Italy, and now splitting its time between Italy and Sweden. Its three members have considerable experience in music, having played in other bands. So, how did the circumstances arise that led you to create a new band? Why did you choose the name Feralia, and what does it represent? How do you manage working remotely between Sweden and Italy?
Erymanthon: I am the only one in the band who lives in Sweden, so as far as the remote work is concerned, over the past two years we have really mostly been focused on getting the album completed. A lot of the recording had been done before I left, and since we do not have a stable drummer at this point and we have not been rehearsing regularly for two or three years, this really was a non-issue. We have been in touch as far as mixing is concerned, labels, everything, and I still do visit Italy occasionally. So that worked out pretty well.
Raijinous: Erymanthon is the only one living in Sweden, me and Krhura are living in Torino (northern Italy). Feralia was a name that I chose, based on my past studies and my interests, and it’s referred to ancient roman festivals, dedicated to the cult of the dead. The band was born by an idea of our bassist Krhura that contacted me and another guy on the drums for what would become the first incarnation of Feralia. The intent, after years playing other musical genres, was to return to a musical direction that had been so important in the past for all of us three.
2. You've just released your third full-length album, "Ultima Requies." How do you think the band's sound has evolved over your three albums? What was the songwriting and recording process like for the new album? What brands of instruments did you use?
Erymanthon: I have only been in the band since Over Dianam, so I haven’t been there as far as the composition of the debut album is concerned. And truth be told, my input on Over Dianam and Under Stige was very limited. Overall though, I can see that we have been moving more and more into a ritualistic and atmospheric dimension. If you compare Helios Manifesto and Under Stige, you can clearly see that the latter is much more dark and meditative. Ultima Requies takes a further step into the same direction, we have enhanced the atmosphere with longer compositions, choral vocals, acoustic atmospheres, synths and traditional instruments. We have also taken advantage of the fact that I joined the band not only as a vocalist but also as a guitar player, building many riffs that really are made up of two different guitar parts. As far as the composition is concerned, each of us brought up the main ideas for 2 to 3 songs, and then we all sat down arranging and developing them, whether at rehearsals or during pre-production sessions in the studio where I and Raijinous did a lot of the arrangement work. We handled all recording and production ourselves.
Brands? I don’t even remember all of them… I have a Washburn CS-780 guitar and a Boss Metal Zone distortion pedal. GHS Boomers strings. Raijinous is using an LTD-something, LP shaped guitar and an Artec Soloist Distortion pedal. Marshall amplifiers, of course. I have no idea about the bass or drum brands, I do not remember at all. Well, we just use what we have and try to come up with our own sound, a sound that reflects our vision, I guess that is what’s most important.
Raijinous: I began playing bass with my first bands during high school.., then I switched to guitar/vocals for a local Misfits cover band. Then I wanted MY music (playing guitar) and began a band that lasted until 2018. I have a Gibson Les Paul Standard, but with Feralia I play an ESP LTD EC – 1000. If compared with the first days, the sound totally evolved. In the beginning it was me and Krhura sitting in his apartment and jamming ideas for new songs, then we went to reaharsals with whichever drummer was on duty at that time and try to focus the songs. When Erymanthon arrived we also found a more stable drummer and became a sort of “real band”, playing some gigs too. With this lineup all the work for the songs was done during reharsals.
3. “Ultima Requies” showcases a much more ambitious sound, with Feralia demonstrating their mastery of their strengths, such as the balance between aggression and rawness on the one hand, and melody and atmosphere on the other. It also features elements like synthesizers that lend the album a very classic feel. How would you describe the sound of the new album to someone who hasn't heard it yet? What inspired you to compose “Ultima Requies”?
Erymanthon: I suppose you do a very good job with describing it as a blend of aggression, melody and atmosphere with a raw feel. I would highlight that it features a strongly ritualistic atmosphere, with a lot of elements that trace back to ancient traditions like the inclusion of clean chants and traditional instruments such as a mandolin, which evoke an ancestral feel. A lot of the songs give off this feeling of “falling out of time”, or travelling to another dimension, at least in my view. Still, the aggression and the oppressive atmosphere are always there. As far as inspiration goes, the album started to be composed in late 2021, a point in time that was very difficult for all of us in the band, each for different reasons. For me personally, working on the music for this album was a much needed catharsis, especially in the early days.
Raijinous: I have to say Erymanthon did a really good job managing our idea of sound. The intention was easy to describe, but not at all to bring to completion: a raw sound in which you can distinguish the instruments (the guitars above all, given that we often make different notes).
4. Your lyrics continue to be inspired by ancient Rome; however, in “Ultima Requies,” the figure of Erichto emerges strongly, which might suggest a shift from lyrics more related to death and history toward more mystical and occult themes. How did you approach the themes of the new album? Do the lyrics adapt to the music, or vice versa?
Raijinous: my lyrics always adapt to the music. I begin with the music, then I add the vocal melodies, and at the end I adapt proper lyrics. Regarding this album (and Pharsalia, Defigere and Marpiter in particular) I simply took Lucano’s “De Bello Civili” on one side and tried to develop Italian lyrics from the latin verses. The hardest challenge was incorporating rhymes, more than the METER, wich ofet comes naturally to me. Marpiter lyrics are no taken, of course, from Lucano’s opus, but come from my knowledge about god Mars.
5. The mixing and mastering were done at Darkwoods Studios, although the production was handled by you. How did this whole process unfold, and why did you choose Darkwoods Studios? How involved were you yourselves in the process?
Erymanthon: Like I said before, all recording and production duties were handled by ourselves. Darkwoods Studios is my own studio that I run and it was natural for us to choose it, I have been recording music since 2018 so I am very comfortable handling production duties. So the whole mixing and mastering was actually done by me, though with Raijinous present a lot of the times during the sound design phase, and everyone involved could chime in with their inputs during the mixing phase.
6. The new album will be released by Aeternitas Tenebrarum Musicae Fundamentum. I imagine you consider this a crucial step in gaining greater recognition for the band. How did you manage to work together on the release of the new album?
Erymanthon: Our bass player Krhura was in contact with several interested labels over the years we worked on the album. A few of them inexplicably backed off when the record was finally ready, but ATMF was very eager to release it, so we went with them and things so far are going just fine.
7. The cover art by Francesco Gemelli, which depicts the soul, has a certain connection to the figure of Erichto mentioned earlier. Why did you choose Francesco for the cover? How important is death to you, and what symbolism does it hold?
Erymanthon: The cover represents the necromantic ritual carried out by Erichto, as described in the song Pharsalia. We decided very early on that the cover should depict just that one scene, as Pharsalia is, to us, the central song in the album. Francesco was the graphic designer appointed by the label, and we could not be happier with his work, he did an excellent job with the cover as well as the whole CD booklet which depicts different scenes from the ritual and a funereal Ancient Roman setting.
Death? An inevitable passage. Existence, consciousness and the afterlife are big philosophical problems that I don’t think we can solve, though I contemplate them quite often. I am not convinced that there is something after Death, certainly not in the way we can think about it, though I do not fear it. Life is just one manifestation of the force of Mother Nature, and that will never cease to exist. Overall, we just don’t know. Probably never will, so it’s okay to fantasise.
Raijinous: Death is part of life, whether we like it or not…, but the front cover is not inspired by Death itself, but on Erichto’s ritual towards a soldier.
8. You've been active with Feralia for almost a decade, but you were previously part of other bands. How do you think black metal has evolved over these years? What significant differences have you found between the Swedish and Italian extreme metal scenes?
Erymanthon: Yeah, we are getting old, heh… I am not much into the current scene, though I have to say that a lot of so-called “Black Metal” nowadays just became another trend, a meaningless product for the masses. That’s the social-media-black-metal generation. I believe this really is very different from the original meaning that the genre’s originators envisioned behind it. Though do not get me wrong, there still are good albums being made. You just have to dig a little bit deeper. Differences between Italy and Sweden? God, I can’t even… it’s impossible to compare. And it does not only affect Black Metal, but Metal as a whole and even music in general. Let’s put it this way: we really do have many good bands in the underground in Italy, but the audience is just not that dedicated as a whole, there’s virtually no place to play (except if you are a crap cover band), and not a whole lot of people who take it seriously. In Stockholm we have at least one rock or metal show every week, be it underground or “mainstream”. The scene is much stronger up in Sweden, with very dedicated individuals. I believe this has a lot to do with cultural issues.
Raijinous: nowadays black metal is a “trend genre”. And if you thing about how it came into being, with what ideas and principles, it’s actually quite an absurd thing. So, it has evolved for sure, regarding the audience involved, but it has definitely regressed, considering the pure principles that gave birth to it. It’s by no means easy at all to get noticed these days, given the myriad of bands existing and spring up every day, across the global black metal scene.
9. Is there a possibility of you presenting the new album live? What circumstances would need to be met for that to happen?
Erymanthon: A stable drummer would be a good place to start… also, I live in Stockholm, so it would depend on if and when I or the others would have the time to travel, where the shows would happen, and so on. But we would like to, of course.
Raijinous: not easy at all in this moment, but we’ll work on it. It’ll depend on how the album will be precepted too.
10. How did you get started in music: the first concerts you attended, the first albums you bought? What event in your lives pushed you to want to become musicians?
Erymanthon: The first concert I attended, I was still in my mother’s womb and it was a traditional folk band playing ancient music from the Alps. As you can see, the archaic and traditional element stayed with me until now. The first album I bought was Wishmaster by Nightwish, though I have been listening to a lot of different types of music my whole life before that, as I come from a very musical family. I began playing the piano at 6, quickly gave up after one year, and it was not until I turned 14 that I started playing the guitar, after listening to the album I just mentioned. It just really snowballed from there. My whole life became centred around music and I could not think of doing anything else with the same level of passion and priority, it really is like an addiction.
Raijinous: I got started to music by my father, because he played piano and guitar and listened to bands like Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath and some Italian seventies prog stuff too. When I began listening music alone, the first band was of course Iron Maiden (they put me on the track of playing bass), and then Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Sepultura.., and then I came across Bathory, Burzum, the first Cradle of Filth album.., and a new world opened up to me.
11. Which album represents the essence of black metal for you? What are the most recent albums you've bought?
Erymanthon: Tough question… Black Metal does not have one face, yet it has many. And different albums give me different perspectives on the genre so it really is impossible to pick just one. The most recent albums I bought? Greatest Hits by The Police, and Nothing like the Sun by Sting.
Raijinous: Easy answer: Burzum’s Hvis Lyset Tar Oss is the essence of black metal for me.
Regarding the recent stuff I enjoyed, I have to mention two Swedish and an American: almost all the Svartadauthuz projects I’ve come to appreciate, as well as those by Magnus Eriksson (particularly Wagner Odegard, in which he truly takes the concept and boundaries of black metal into new territories). The America is Alex Poole (from Chaos Moon), another incredibly prolific musician with an enormous number of projects, almost all of which are excellent.
12. Thank you very much for taking the time to answer these questions for Black Metal Spirit. If you'd like to add anything for Feralia's fans, this is the place. I hope you enjoy the questions.
Erymanthon: Thank you for your time and for the good fucking questions. To our whole audience, thank you for your support, for the great feedback so far on Ultima Requies, and for sticking with us throughout the years. Keep Metal at Heart. Ave.
Raijinous: Thanks to you. “Gutta cavat lapidem”.
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