You only need to say the name of Death metal act Fleshgod Apocalypse and straight away it draws your attention in to what they have to offer, soon after you'll be blown away by the array of heavy music this band produces. We were lucky enough to have a Q&A with guitarist Tommaso Riccardi ahead of the band's upcoming Australian tour...
Last time you were in Australia was your first time correct? Is there anything that you missed out on that you really want to do this time?
"Well, honestly we had such a great time that I didn't have the feeling of "missing" anything, even if I guess there's still so much to see and to do in Australia. We just hope to have a good time again, meet some friends and play great shows!"
How does Australia stack up in regards to live shows? Versus say, Italy or the rest of Europe?
"Well, Europe is really various on the live side! Some crowds are crazy, moshing and screaming all the time, while others are more into listening. I have to say that from what I remember Australian fans are more into the moshing/freaking out side... And I really like that!"
Previous album Labyrinth was undoubtedly amazing, replete with relentless musicianship (seriously, shit is fucking nuts). King, whilst not lacking that same speed, has a lot more space between the instrumentation, was this a conscious decision when you were writing?
"Yes of course." "Labyrinth was meant to be extremely complex and introverse, in a way, also reflecting the kind of concept behind the music."
"King, on the other hand, even if respecting the complexity naturally contained into Fleshgod style, was meant to be more direct, like a punch straight to the face!"
Labyrinth was also a concept album. Is it more conducive to Fleshgod’s epic soundscape to write albums like that? Or do you just have narratives that you wish to impart on the world?
"I think this aspect is something that really came naturally since the beginning. Maybe the same thing that pushed us to develop our live image and the cinematic approach to video clips is the one that makes us write stories. It is the fact that images and sounds are in some way deeply connected, in our vision."
'King', with the inclusion of 'Die Leidenschaft Bringt Leiden', would it be accurate to say that German composers were more influential to this album than your previous ones?
"Well, I would rather say that this album is more based on the pre-romantic, romantic period compared to our previous works. This also means, for sure, that it is german-influenced, considering the amount of important romantic composers that existed."
"Beside the musical aspect, "Die leidenshaft bringt leiden is also" a tribute to the licterary movement of the "Sturm und drang", being based on the lyrics of one of the most important poems written by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe."
What would you say have been your greatest influences to make you want to write music in general? Was there a formative moment when you were listening to a piece of music and you thought yourself ‘this is what I want to do’?
"Well, we really have various influences. All of us listen to such different music that it would be hard to identify a 'main inspiration'."
"Of course if we are talking about the Heavy Metal aspect of music, I think that one of the most important seeds of our curation is based on the american old school death metal scene, with bands like Morbid Angel, Deicide and Cannibal Corpse."
What has been your favourite band lately?
"Well, I don't know about the other guys, but personally I'm spending a lot of time going deeper into the blues scene of the past with artists like Skip James and J.B. Lenoir... that stuff blows my mind away!!"
Anything else you would like to add?
"Well, what can I say... See you all on the road!" \m/
Fleshgod Apocalypse begin their Australian Tour This Week
Fleshgod Apocalypse - Australian Tour
Thursday, June 1 @ Crowbar,
Brisbane
Earth Rot and
Amicable Treason
Friday, June 2 @ Oxford Arts Factory,
Sydney
Earth Rot,
Rise Of Avernus and
The Seer
Saturday, June 3 @ Max Watts, Melbourne
Hybrid Nightmares, Earth Rot and Hollow World
