1. Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since
the recording and release of the new album?
First of all, greetings to all the followers of A Different Shade Of Black Metal
Zine and thanks to you in the editorial team for this space that you dedicate to
us.
The composition process behind the new album was really long, because it
was our first time creating a concept album. It started in 2016 and ended in
2019, when we recorded all the tracks. After the recordings, unfortunately we
had to postpone the works on the mixing and mastering process due to the
Covid pandemic. In 2021 we started again to work on the album and in 2022 it
was delivered to our label Earth and Sky Productions. Unfortunately, they had
some post-pandemic problems, which caused the album's release to be
postponed. But now, on September 15th, it was finally released and we are
looking forward to letting everyone listen to it.
2. Recently you have released a new album, musically how does it differ from
the stuff you have released in the past?
We think that “Rise” it’s quite different from its predecessor “Gloria et Morte”,
but it is also a natural evolution from that starting point. Since “Gloria et Morte”
we started reducing the folk influences, but there were still present. With “Rise”
me maintained and evolved the extreme metal music base (adding also some
death metal parts to the already present black metal ones) and completely
removed the folk metal instruments, like flutes and bagpipes. But we gave more
importance to the epic and symphonic part, hiring the talented Gabriele Gilodi
as a session member that composed all the orchestral and piano parts of the
album.
3. Other than a few singles this is your first full length since 2014, can you tell
us a little bit more about the long wait?
Yes, as we said before it was a mix of causes. First of all, we wanted to create
a concept album and we took all the needed time to do researches about
history, to compose tracks that could also fit the story atmospheres, to find the
right guests and their characters and so on. Then, we also spent the right time
to record and mix this album, which was not easy: we had a lot of orchestral
tracks and instrument, many guests and we wanted to reach a professional
sound quality, in which all this sounds wouldn’t have been confused. The last
years, unfortunately, were not in our hands: we were forced to stop for the
Covid pandemic and our label had some problems related to it.
4. A lot of your lyrics cover the history of the Roman Empire and the Viking era,
can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in these topics?
It’s true, we are fond of history and, in particular, of the one of Italy and all our
lyrics since the beginning of the band are related to these topics. With this
album, we decided to focus on one character, Arminius, the chieftain of the
Germanic Cherusci tribe who defeated the Roman Empire at the Battle of the
Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD. The album is all about his life, telling some personal
and introspective events, but that also are intertwined with very important
historical events, of which he is the protagonist.
5. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Gotland'?
It is quite strange, because we are from Italy and we tell about Italian history in
our lyrics. So, why choosing the name of a Swedish island? This is because
historians say that it was the island from which the first Barbarians moved and
met the Romans. The meet and clash between these Barbarian population and
the Empire is what put the basis for what Italy would be in the next centuries
and even nowadays.
6. Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the
new album cover?
The artwork cover represent a mask that was discovered by archeologists on
the site where the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest was fought. This face mask
originally belonged to a helmet of a Roman cavalry man. The fact that it is
broken with a skull behind symbolizes the loss of the Roman Empire in that
battle against the Germans. The background is divided: on the left side we
have Roman ruins and on the right side you can see a Germanic forest. This
represents the two parts that fought, but also the two souls of the protagonist
Arminius, who was a German that was raised in the Roman Empire.
7. What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years
and also how would you describe your stage performance?
We are proud of many live shows we had, but surely one of the bests was our
opening for Abbath here in Italy in 2016. There a lot of people came and it was
really fun to play in front of so many fans. But we also like festivals like Fosch
Fest, Italic Pagan Fest, Malpafa Folk & Metal Fest or Eresia Fest, because we
can have a better contact with the audience there and there is a friendlier
atmosphere.
During our live shows we firstly want to play our songs on the best way possible
and with best sound. But we don’t want merely to reproduce the songs, but we
try also to give a show to the audience, with face-painting, stage props and
acted parts.
8. Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
We have two release parties here in Italy, one near our hometown Turin and
one near Milan. During these shows we will play all the songs of the new album
“Rise” with some guests and surprises. For more information about future live
shows, keep an eye on our social channels.
9. You also have done some 'Windir' and 'Bathory' covers, what was the
decision behind doing your own versions of their songs?
We don’t do many covers, but sometimes we decides to do some first of all in
order to pay homage to great artists, who are a great influence for us and
without whom we probably would never have started making music. This is
surely the case of our Windir and Bathory covers. However, we must say we
also have real fun playing this tracks and the audience seems really to
appreciate them during our live shows too!
10. On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of
extreme metal?
Our fanbase is mainly in Italy, because we aren’t able to have many live shows
outside of Italy due to our jobs. However, thanks to Internet, social medias and
webzines like yours, our music is starting to be listened also abroad and we
always had positive feedback for now. Our fear was to be too epic and
symphonic for the death/black metal fans and too extreme for the melodic metal
ones, but many people seem to appreciate the compromise we have tried to
create between these two aspects.
11. What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these
days that some of the band members are a part of?
In this moment, all our member are mainly focused on Gotland. However, I (the
singer Irmin) recently released an album with my ex-band Desecrate. Even if I
won’t sing with them for the live shows, the vocals on “Lights of Contradiction”
album are still mine! Our singer Insanus also released an album with his side
studio project Le Horla, called “Remords”. Our bassist Var and guitarist EG
Orkan released some tracks with their electronic/avant-garde project Acronym
during the pandemic, but they don’t have any plans for more releases in the
near future.
12. Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
We are already working on the new material and we are really satisfied with
the results! From one release to another, we always evolved our music and
this time won’t be different. It’s really to soon to reveal something, but you can
expect an evolution from what you heard on Rise.
13. What are some of the bands or musical styles the band members are
currently listening to nowadays?
What we listen nowadays is what mainly influences our music. Our musical
tastes are very varied: we are five members who listen to a lot of music. We go
from world-class bands like Bathory, Septicflesh, Emperor, Nile, Windir and
Summoning, to masters like Ennio Morricone, John Williams, Hans Zimmer
and Alan Silvestri, just to name a few. But we also appreciate many local
bands, which in our opinion are proving to have nothing to envy of the
international giants: Furor Gallico, Atavicus, Selvans, Veratrum, Ponte del
Diavolo, Lou Quinse, Hopeless, Scream3Days, Voltunma and many others that
are making the Italian scene is increasingly interesting and above all
increasingly high-level in its musical offering
14. How would you describe your views on paganism?
With our band we want to tell the history of the clash between the Barbarian
population within the Roman Empire. Surely, the theme of the pagan gods and
religion are sometimes present in our lyrics, but only on an historical level.
15. Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thank you so much for the space that you dedicated to us, both for this
interview and for the nice review you wrote about our album. Greetings to all
your readers and all the friends who follow us. We are waiting for you under
the stage
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/gotlandmetal/
Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/gotlandmetal/
Youtube page: https://www.youtube.com/@Gotlandmetal
Bandcamp page: https://gotlandmetal.bandcamp.com
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