Please tell us a few words about the new release, about the music on it as a whole or a few words on each track in part. How are you happy with the final release?
First of all, thank you for having us! Our new release, the second so far, is entitled Make Madder Music. It consists of four tracks and 34 minutes of rather experimental extreme metal. The main purpose of our music is to evoke a dark and poetic world, filled with scraps of disfigured beauty… Quite clear, isn’t it? I can tell you that I am very happy with the results and I think that, compared with our previous release (2015’s Livores), we definitely took a big step forward both in terms of songwriting and productionwise.
How would you describe/label the music on it? Does it sounds like anything we might have heard before?
I have always had a problem with borders and frontiers, both literally and metaphorically. That is probably why, when it comes to music, I am not able to think within the limits of a specific genre. In this new release of ours you can hear traces of death and doom metal mixed up with groovy math riffs, sad melodies, horror and gothic atmospheres, some ethnic flavour, and even a little black metal in the last track… A friend of mine recently told me he thinks Hertz Kankarok stays some place between Arcturus and Meshuggah (with all due respect to such monumental bands, which of course are thousands of times better than us). This can maybe give you an idea about how our music sounds, although the best way to figure it out is going for the direct approach!
Where was it recorded and how much time did it take you to record it? Any interesting stories from the recording/producing the material?
It was recorded in Sicily, somewhere between Mount Etna and the Ionian Sea. The recording process took us about a year, I would say, between mid-2017 and the beginning of 2018. I only recorded vocals, although I am the one who writes the songs (at least their structures and main ideas); not being able to play any instrument, I ask some great musicians and friends of mine to arrange my music and take care of the recordings. This time around three songs out of four were arranged and recorded by Andrea Cavallaro, the fourth one by Dario Laletta who is also responsible for the outstanding production and mixing he did at his SiNe Studios, in Acireale. No special stories behind the recordings, actually, except the fact that we are Sicilians and do everything so fucking slowly… We are probably waiting for the volcano to erase us all.
What can you tell us about the cover artwork? Is there a link between the artwork and the lyrics? What are the topics of your lyrics?
The author of the cover is a close friend of mine and great artist, Gianlorenzo Di Mauro, while the layout is the work of the incredibly talented Azmeroth Szandor, founder and guitarist of the black metal combo Heretical. I do believe there is a link between the cover and my lyrics. That ghostly and livid face with an open mouth, who is screaming and vanishing at the same time, has a lot to do with the lyrics of “Deceive Yourself!,” a quite esoteric song about the inconsistency of identity, and with “Who Is Next?” as well, in which I talk about the inexorability of death. When I write lyrics I take inspiration from a pretty wide range of sources, mainly books I read and music I listen to, and I usually deal with topics related with the human nature and condition.
What do you expect to gain through this release? What are the band's aims at the moment?
I am not particularly ambitious and I don’t know what to say about my expectations… First of all, I wish to find a little audience that could appreciate our weird stuff, then I would also like to find a label, get some promotion, maybe print some physical copies of Make Madder Music. Despite everything, my main aim is to go on writing, recording and releasing my music anyway. The next step will probably be our first full-length album.
Is there a special format the material is released in? Or is it released in multiple formats? How many copies were pressed?
At the moment, Make Madder Music is available only in digital format on Bandcamp. I am seriously thinking about printing some copies in the near future, but I first want to see how people’s reaction will be.
Where and how will you promote this new release?
I am just making contact with some webzines and magazines in order to have our EP reviewed, and trying to give some interviews as well. Nothing more than this right now.
Where can we order it from?
You can purchase Make Madder Music in digital format from Bandcamp. Thank you very much for letting me introduce our project on your page, Pest Webzine!
June 2018