1. At what point did you decide to create the band and why did you choose the name Ponte del Diavolo?
KA: It all started from an idea of Erba del Diavolo (our singer), who wanted to form a doom project with 2 basses. We knew each other before forming the band, so we began to gather other musicians that we knew and we just started to jam. Then the music evolved on its own.
The name comes from a place around here and was an idea of our first drummer who suggested that we translate it into English, but then we all agreed that it sounded better in its original form.
2. Since your creation as a group you have released three Eps that have just been continued in the form of a complete album in your recent “Fire Blades from the Tomb”, how has the sound of the new album evolved with respect to the Eps, or do you maintain a certain linearity? How did you approach the process of composing and recording the album? What brands of instruments did you use in the process?
KA: I think that the evolution of our sound has been pretty linear and organic throughout the time. For sure we had a more raw and lo-fi approach on the EPs, but that was intentional as well.
That being said, having a real budget and a deadline to record our first LP pushed us to be more focused and take it one step further. We never changed the way of composing our songs however.
In the recording process we used a Fender Precision and an Epiphone Thunderbird for the basses, a Fender Telecaster for the guitar, but I cannot recall the drumset brand sorry :)
3. Although there is a connection of your sound with black metal, the influence of different styles is undeniable, among which it stands out above the rest of doom, at the same time that a disturbing atmosphere surrounds the entire album, how would you describe the sound? of the album for those who haven't heard it yet? What bands and styles have been an influence in defining the sound of the album?
KA: I like to define our music as a jam session between Siouxsie, Darkthrone and Black Sabbath, with two bassess, all high on acid. We have a ton of influences, also considering we're in 5 people. Some of the influences are individual and some of them are of course shared. You can say that the Metal part put us all together under the same roof, but then we all love less metal acts like The Cure, Pink Floyd, Kyuss to name the first ones that come to my mind.
4. It is not a completely common occurrence to see a woman take charge of the vocals in an extreme metal band, however Erba del Diavolo's voice gives a different touch to your sound, at the same time that it ends up giving it a lot of personality, how was it decided that Erba del Diavolo would take care of the voices? What reference for female voices does Erba have?
KA: Thank you, and yes I agree. I'm a big fan of Erba del Diavolo singing style and the projects began with her. For the instrumental part we tried to create something to help her be as free and creative as possible and not necessarily being a "metal singer". She has a very personal style and even though she likes metal in general, she grew up with post punk and dark wave. We all loved the end result.
5. Returning again to the eclecticism of the album's sound, we see that it closes with a version of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, with that dark character and post-Nick influences, why did you decide to review this song? Until To what extent is Nick's sound and figure an influence for you?
Nerium: We decided to do a cover of Nick Cave because in the band we all have a lot of appreciation for him and his work. Also, The Weeping Song is a duet piece with Blixa, another artist that we love. I don't know if he actually influenced us in the way we compose, but I personally love the 'crescendo' typical of Nick Cave's compositions.
6. What themes do you cover in your lyrics and where do you look for inspiration for it? At what point did you decide to alternate lyrics in English and Italian? Do the lyrics adapt to the music or vice versa?
Erba del Diavolo: language selection is never a predefined decision. Actually I never ever thought about it that much. The voice is an instrument and to put it simply it's a phonetic choice that happens without a conscious decision, but rather by following the emotion that the music evokes in me when I listen to it.
7. For the release of the new album you have made the leap to the Season of Mist record label. How did the contact and subsequent release with Season of Mist come about?
KA: One the guys of Season of Mist discovered us on bandcamp and forwarded our material to the label. We were contacted by Season of Mist while we were doing a mini tour and Erba del Diavolo did the meeting inside the van with her phone, so you can imagine how chaotic and thrilling that moment was!
8. For the recording and production of the album you have worked with Danilo Battocchio and Deepest Sea Studio, as you had already done with your second EP “Sancta Menstruis”, why did you make this decision to work with these professionals again?
KA: Danilo is a long term friend of ours, a great professional and a very well known name around here. He knows us both as persons and as musicians so the choice was very easy for us.
9. It is true that for the new album you have also had some collaborations, with a second bassist and with the mixing and mastering work of Dimitris Douvras, do you think all this extra effort has resulted in a better sound and perhaps with it being able to reach a new audience?
KA: We contacted Dimitris because I'm a big fan of Hail Spirit Noir (particularly "Mayhem in Blue"). I looked up the producing credits in the record and found out about Dimitris. He did a very good job so I'm sure that helped us with our sound. That being said, the second bassist is not a guest musician, we always compose/arrange and play live with two basses.
10. Your covers, in general terms, always tend to be quite abstract and free to interpret. Who designed the cover of the new album and what does it represent?
KA: The drawing was made by our former bass player Laurus (who also designed all our previous covers) and it represents her vision of the album title. The design was then completed with the help of Nerium, our guitar player.
11. Have you already started the live presentation of the new album? What dates do you have closed for the next few months? Would you like to go on tour with a specific band?
KA: We already played the first three shows of the first leg of the tour and the response was above our expectations. Here is the complete list of the shows already announced:
24/02/24 Genova @ La Claque w: Malombra
01/03/24 Torino @ Ziggy w: Shores Of Null
02/03/24 Mantova @ The Academy w: Shores of Null, Die Sünde
12/04/24 Milano @ circolo Bellezza w: Sacri Suoni
13/04/24 Liestal (CH) @ A-way
26/04/24 Roma @ Traffic w: OTUS
27/04/24 Pescara @ Tubecult Fest
04/05/24 Modena @ Notte Tempio w: Me and That Man
05/05/24 Pinerolo @ Church of Crow Fest w: Shape of Despair Official, Dawn Of Winter, Kypck Headquarters etc
17/05/24 Vicenza @ csa Arcadia w: October Tide
18/05/24 Bergamo @ Molto Male Fest w: Bongzilla, Raw Power, etc
01/06/24 Erba @ Centrale rock pub w: Voland The Scars In Pneuma
16/08/24 Francavilla al mare @ Frantic Fest w: Marduk, Darvaza, Undertakersgrind etc
EdD: Personally I would love to tour with "La Fura dels Baus". Have you seen one of their shows? Amazing!
12. What can you tell us about the extreme metal scene in a city like Turin? What bands would you recommend to us? How do you see the health of Italian black metal today?
KA: Turin always had a history of great bands in the extreme scene and still does. I suggest you check Tipheret, Tons, Adversam, Maldoror, Putridity, Feralia, O, il Capro, Nibiru,There are of course a lot of other underground bands.
I think the Italian black metal scene is very healthy right now and we're of course very happy about it. I'm guilty of not listening to a lot of new records lately, but I can tell you there are a lot of good bands around at the moment.
13. How were your beginnings in music: first concerts you attended, first albums you bought? What happened in your lives that pushed you to want to be musicians?
KA: If I remember correctly I was 14, so we're talking 1994/95, and it was with the cassette of Powerslave from Iron Maiden. One of my neighbors handed me that piece of plastic and from there I went nuts.
I still remember fondly and giggling that some years later I had a strong fever during which I dreamed about carrying the bass of Steve Harris. As soon as I woke up I knew I had to play the bass. At the time I was trying to learn guitar but I couldn't connect with the instrument on a deeper level. When I first touched the bass it immediately felt right and it was love at first sight.
14. What album represents for you the essence of black metal? What latest albums have you bought?
KA: If we speak about black metal I recently bought the first and last record of Departure Chandelier, Darkspace and Deletere.
Then I bought the remaster of The Cure's Pornography and the latest Moderat album, one of the best electronic acts of the decade in my opinion.
I cannot really quote a single name to answer your first question, but I guess you kinda knew :). I can tell you about my personal taste in terms of black metal classic records, but the chart is always changing depending on the month you ask me. This month's list happens to be: Bergtatt by Ulver, Filosofem by Burzum and Dark Medieval Times by Satyricon. We'll see how the chart goes next month.
15. Thank you very much for taking the time to answer these questions for Black Metal Spirit, if you want to add something for Ponte del Diavolo fans this is the place. I hope the questions are to your liking.
Thank you and thanks for your interesting questions. Support Ponte del Diavolo
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Vigilance – Hammer of Satan's Vengeance 11,99 €
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