Garza Podcast - 232 - FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE: Symphonic Death Metal, Opera, Avatar & Mountain Climbing Incident

Episode Date: May 11, 2026

Get your episodes early, guitar tone & more here: https://patreon.com/garzapodcastGarza sits down in-person with Francesco Paoli & Veronica Bordacchini from Italian symphonic death metal band FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE. On tour now w/ Avatar! https://instagram.com/fleshgodofficial00:00 - Avatar05:25 - Veronica Learning Opera10:58 - Video Games // Snake13:32 - Parenthood16:14 - Writing Music in Kid’s Room18:07 - Shower Ideas21:17 - Learning English & Swedish24:10 - First U.S. Tour31:54 - Staying Productive During Lockdown35:37 - Livestream w/ No Makeup40:29 - Coming Up with the Band Look48:10 - Discovering Metal Bands51:23 - Francesco’s Early Bands53:14 - Boss HM254:47 - Oracles59:17 - The Mountain Climbing Injury1:22:40 - Writing “I Can Never Die”1:24:10 - New Music1:26:06 - How Veronica Found Her Own Voice1:31:24 - Support Good Art1:35:00 - 3 Albums to Check Out

All right, my friends, don't forget to join the Patreon to get early access to episodes, ad-free, easy, downloadable guitar tones, and more. Just check it out. Patreon.com slash Garza podcast. That's Patreon. Dot com slash Garza podcast. Or you could click the link in the description below. And now to our conversation with Flesh God Apocalypse.

Where did you guys come from? Where did we come from? Yesterday we were in Sacramento. No, no, no, she means something. Where are we from? Like life. You guys came from L.A., right? Yeah.

Nice. Hell yeah. And the day before was Sacramento. Yeah. At a venue I never even seen before. Sacramento was amazing. It was the first date. Was it Channel 24?

Channel 24? Yeah. Yeah, it is. Here it is. Yeah. And it was a great starting of a tour, man. Like, it's amazing. Very, like, different dive of tour for us because it's, uh, Avatar is totally, you know,

different kind of, you know, music. Yeah, Avatar's a trip too, huh? It's amazing. Yeah. Like, they pull off like a crazy show every night. Yeah. Insane. Jay, are we, uh, are we chugging?

Thumbs up. Cool. Flesh God, Apocalypse. Thank you for being here. We have, if you're just listening, we got Veronica, the, the beautiful opera voice here. An in person and Francesco. Yeah. I don't even know what you do.

You've been everywhere. Like a bass, you're singing, you're playing drums. I'm like, what is this guy doing? Yeah, I don't even know, man. I'm in, neither. I was like, what's this guy doing, dude? I mean, you know, I do whatever it's needed to, you know, to keep going with the band. And like, for me, it's like a child, you know, so.

Yeah. When we started, we didn't find the drummer. That's why I played drums at first. But when we, like the very first album, the very beginning was me and Paolo and Cristiano. Like, it's like the OG, so let's say. Yeah. And I was playing guitar. I was singing. And we had like a bunch of drummers, but they didn't work because we wanted to,

we wanted to become like a real band. You know, like, and take that next step. Yeah, but not super easy in Italy. Yeah. You know, coming from there, it's not super easy, definitely. So we couldn't find, like, the proper drummer. So we hired another guy, a friend of us, and I started playing drums. And, like, from scratch, like, I played drums for, I don't know, seven, eight years, maybe more. I don't know. I don't remember.

Early more, yeah. Yeah, I kind of gathered that where, like, it seems you play drums out of necessity just to keep it going. Like, if you're, I heard there's, like, like, a, like a, a, a turmoil time in your, band and you play drums just to keep the thing. I mean, like, we were, exactly. I mean, like, uh, I, like, don't get me wrong. I mean, like I like it, but, uh, the thing I like the most is writing music, you know, so, um, best part.

Yeah. It's the, like the main thing. So, uh, when we decided to make, to make that change, you know, we were like, okay, I'm gonna play drums, which is gonna be like pretty tough. But you let me write the songs because I want to keep writing, you know, like I want to make the songs. And everything went very smooth. You know, I mean, at the beginning, I suck bad. I still suck, but less.

Less. And so, you know, they were, they had the patience to wait, you know, like at the very beginning. So I really love the guys for that because at first, you know, we were going on a stage and we were super sloppy. but after a couple of years we started to nail it and I haven't like a standard so we kept going that way until Tommy wanted to

change his life which is normal and then I took that like change line up change as an opportunity to go back to and sing because I wanted to sing and I wanted to play guitar that's awesome yeah and then like I moved to bass

late a couple of years ago because same thing you know like paolo after many years left and uh i we didn't click with anybody else we didn't find a good replacement so i was like you know click with anyone else yet happens man yeah it's like you don't have that like thing you know it's like it's a family man it's our it's tough after all these years you know to we had an option we had the guy that we love uh but they he had a different commitment so he couldn't you know give us priority which is Understandable. So we tried out for a tour, but after that tour, we were like, you know what? Let's go on as a five piece. Yeah. That's great. Well, it's working out. Yeah. I feel like I'm yeah, I'm super happy now.

That that record operas is is a trip. Well, it is definitely. What's for him? Yeah. Oh yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's crazy. We're talking earlier how Yeah, I mean, your band did it. You came from Italy and now you're in California. Yeah. It's something to be proud of, you know, like Veronica taking, hiding your vocal lessons from your parents. Oh, my God, yeah.

Yeah. Is that true? Yeah. Oh, wow. That's how I started. I just realized that I could have done it. I mean, I had it, you know. So I was like, I better invest some time and money in myself.

I was too young to, you know, have a proper, you know, like money on my own. So, yeah. I got lucky because back in the days I was going to high school, but I had to take a very long trip bus. It was like an hour 15, correct? It was like, yeah, 45 minutes, 15 minutes sometimes. But every, like, other week, I just, you know, I invented, like, some excuses with my parents. I'm going to, you know, I'm going to stop by a friend of mine.

We're going to do some projects. And instead, I was, you know, taking lessons. And after three years, I got back with my parents. the paper. Mom, dad, I just graduated. And it's like, what? You're still in high school? No, no, no. I mean. Those three years of that? Yeah. It's like the academic like school of music, basically. Like it's a jazz, pop, and rock singing. Oh, wow. Yeah. And I just, I mean, they had no idea. Three years and you hit it. And she ended up here. I mean, like a stully useless degree. Oh, come on. But after.

that I started conservatory and that's how you know I developed this um I mean the the opera singing voice and that's when they you know they noticed me I was singing with with Francesco Ferini our piano men his brother his brother's band I was you know Gothic metal you know the garage bands where you play just you know covers and night wish lacuna coil epica of course and you know we're having fun at a concert with like 15 people probably pretty crowded and they just saw me, they knew me obviously

because of friends in common that we have and they asked me would you like to step in for for like a guest vocals in our new album which it was agony and it was 2016 years ago 16 years ago yeah exactly I'm old and I say why no

and you were in a I'm sorry if I pronounce it incorrectly. Was this in Ambria? Ambria. Yeah. Umbria. Yeah. It's a small region between

like it's next to Tuscany. Okay. It's right between Rome and Florence. Yeah. If you're looking on the map. Exactly. Very mid-Italy, correct? Yeah.

Okay. Nice. Green landscapes. We have no sea. We barely have mountains, but we have a lot of green, a lot of, yeah, You know, like farm animals

running around. And I was looking at pictures of them. That place looks beautiful. Yeah, it is. Yeah. I'm from Todi, which is T-O-D-I, which is a very, most of the cities and towns and villages that you find in Umbria are medieval. So like, they sit on top of a hill with like.

I know, look, this is beautiful. That's where the power metal soul, you know, comes from. Yeah. Straight. Yeah, you know. Beautiful. Yeah. Yeah, I'm from Spoleto.

Cool. Which is like, like small villages, so all, you know, not very far one from each other. Yeah. It's like, yeah, she lives like 10 minutes away from my place. Okay. Okay. Okay. How did you, real quick, how did you find the vocal school?

If it was so far away, how did you find it and then commit? I'm going to go to this spot specifically. I had a boyfriend I had a no no no I had a friend of mine We were Going to the same high school not same class She was A clarinet

It's my city Yay She was a clarinet student in this school Like music school And we were talking Oh man I really wanted to You know Start studying

But my hometown is such You know A close-minded very Oh yeah small village. So I don't know if I actually can or if I have the, you know, the material to do that. And she was like, you should come. And it was like actually 10 minutes from my school. So that's, it was like 10, 15 minutes from my school. So it wasn't that far away from that. But it was obviously one minute, one hour, one hour, 15 minutes from home. So yeah. She told me that, you know,

they were like a lot of young and very prepared, well prepared teachers there. So I just, you know, I had a chat with this woman, and she was like 30 when I was 15. Oh, wow. So you started when you were 15? Yeah. Okay. Okay, so you got your first PC and started vocal lessons at the same age. Very informative.

Very reformative. I'm from like, I'm 1988, so 15. When I was 15, it was like when the first like, Windows, 2008. Yeah. They were like popular. Is that era? Uh-huh. Yes.

And, and you found Doom, correct? That was like, that was, that was, that was your gateway game. Yeah. Yeah. You were obsessed with video games, right? Sorry. I was like, dang, she's just talking about video games for an hour. Yeah, yeah.

I have no clue of what you're talking about already, you know, so it's fine. Well, Doom is like, Doom's a classic game, right? Yeah. Okay. It's a classic Duke, Duke, Duke, Duke, Duke, and, well, now, like, more, uh, uh, like recent games but not so recent. Like I like to play like 2000 and five. Super Nintendo, correct.

That's, I played snake on the phone, you know, like the Nokia. That snake you're like it's like a thing like that. Tetris level kind of thing. Do you remember? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. What's this?

I never heard of this ever. Yeah. There was something in Europe. Yeah. In Europe was something. That's the only thing. The only video game I played is a phone game. Dude, those handheld Nokia phones were incredible, dude.

They were solid. I wish there were still a thing. Yeah, I mean, like, yeah, you can play, like, forever with this kind of thing. Nick, come on, I never heard of that game. It looked cool. Yeah. What do you do? There's this snake, and every time you eat that, you know, there is one, I don't know what it's that.

It's like a fruit or something. It's very similar to Pac-Man. Yeah, I was put to see that. Yeah, you go. you just uh... Each time it, like the snake eats that tiny ball the tiny ball, it grows of one pixel

and at some point you have the whole that you have to be very skilled. It was like I think no, almost nobody I don't think I know any person that actually finished it. I did it. You did? Oh. No, I didn't. Last night. I mean like, yeah.

I don't remember if I did, but I was pretty, you know, like yeah, probably is where I learned to play drums there. Like, yeah. Yeah, that's like... Lim's coordination was there? Yeah, and it goes faster also. It's very hard.

Oh, yeah, you're right. It's like a combination of Pac-Man meets Tetris. Exactly. Yeah. Something like that. Yeah. But as I said, you know, I'm not that familiar with video games. So, yeah, I'm...

Your son is. My son is. When now you're forced to watch and play video games, you know? Yeah, yeah. We did like for Christmas, we always do the, what's the name? The Mario Kart tournament. How old is your son? The older one is 14.

And now I have a small one is two. Two. It took us long time to have the second one, you know. Wow. Yeah. So a lot of things happen in between. Yeah. Understandable.

Yeah, yeah. So we are, yeah, we have this super nice guy. How are you, with your 14-year-old, how are you approaching the phone? How, like, when, like, when did you bring in the phone? With him? Yeah. Well, like, lately. I mean, like, we are different. Yeah, we are like, you know, now it goes to school to another city and we need it because we want to.

You're talking about me giving the phone to my kid. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, now it goes to another city for school. And so we need it to keep track of what's going on, you know. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. But we are like, we're lucky. This guy is, I mean, it's been.

Super smart. It's been surrounded by very crazy people, all this, life, you know, like imagine, imagine me and his mother, you know, like it's we are weird people. And so, yeah, no, I think it's the most normal one of the family, you know, like. Wow. So, yeah. And we're lucky. I mean, like, we don't have to control him or anything, you know.

We just make sure that, you know, it takes things seriously because I do believe that taking things seriously is the first thing to become a good man, you know, like, so I want him to go to school and take it seriously. And same thing with his passion basketball. Yesterday we were at the Laker Stadium. I sent him a picture and me with Kobe Bryant statue. And I was like, oh, I'm so jealous. I said, next time you set up drunk, he came with me. Next time, yeah. You're hired. And yeah.

When did you start listing the death model? Me? No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, I think I, I, I think I was playing a nile, uh, for, for him when he was in the, in the, in the cradle. Is that called the cradle, you know, like in the, yeah, playing nile? Nile or, yeah, Fear Factory and, uh, what else, like a morbid angel and it's, yeah, what we, it's, it's weird, but me and that guy there, you know, like, like, our piano player, and, you know, and, you know,

We wrote Labyrinth, our third album, in My Kid Bedroom. While I was sleeping, like, or sometimes, like, you know, like, there was this fucking, what's the name of the bear, like the... We need to do. We need a poo watching and checking that we were playing the right reefs and playing the right drum beats. What? Yeah, pretty insane, man. What was the setup in there in that... It was like just that...

It was a super small room and just a computer and a lot of passion. A lot of passion. We really wanted to make a good album and we, but we didn't have the budget to do anything else, especially for, because the writing sessions for Flash guitar are unending. So you kind of just go in a studio and stay there, you know, you just have to pre-produce and then, you know, delete and then do it again and then delete and it's like it takes months, years. And so we were like, what do we do? We had like a garage where we were playing, but it was so fucking bad. We couldn't ride there anymore. So we decided, you know what? Let's kick my kid out of

his room and take it. And that's what we did it. And yeah, I was I was lucky that my wife didn't kick me out. But we managed to do it. And yeah. And with that album, was game changing and the next time we had like a small studio yeah what song what songs did did you write in in a little room all of them uh yeah like uh like most of the ideas we have are you know popping in our mind in the weirdest moments like oh yeah yeah like one of the places one of the spots where i'm more productive so writing wise is the shower showers. I still remember when I came down like we were sharing an apartment when we were doing agony the second album and it was in we we had like a small room in this apartment where we were riding

before I was moving with my wife and so we were sharing we were living all together and uh I was taking a shower and after you know I just uh I remember I ran in the in the room and and uh Pharaoh was there and said, Oh, bro, you know what? Had this idea while I was doing the show around. And he ended up to be like the violation. And super crazy, right? Yeah.

And yeah, yeah. It was a very productive flower. Like life is unpredictable. Definitely. Man, it's like, what is Francesco doing there? Is he jacking off his wiener in there? Or is this? Yeah, no.

And it was there like, but about, but, about Mozart. whatever you know like pretending to be a director like Bernstein and and then I came out the shower and it's like you know maybe we should do this what was this what was the song again the violation can we uh AJ can we play like five seconds of it because now now I'm that's that's the yeah it's the song that you know kind of change our career yeah like this song specifically change a change your course of your career wow we we played it for the first time Thomas Florida in 2011.

And I was playing drums here. You're playing drums. Yeah. This is me. God, you're a psycho. Bro, I'm also young there. Super young. No beard.

Oh, my goodness. I forgot. You had a chin. Oh, so where's that one part? It's the very beginning when the main reef is like, butabab, but you have the intro here. One more time, Jay.

yeah right after this look at feral how young it was bro you look your you look like your own grandpa oh yeah just like that and sometimes dude you just have like

you just have like a few punches in your head okay and then you do it and just man like the then the creation just starts and like this song because I'm gonna fucking nowhere Yeah, it's like it. It's the best thing.

Yeah. Super magical. Like, I don't know. Oh, that's possible. Me either. Me either. Yeah. We got Winnie the Pooh.

I think, you know, sometimes we have something to say, but we don't. This should have been in cover. Yeah. Yeah. It was watching. No, I think we, sometimes we have something to say, but we don't find the words to say it. Oh, that's my life. Yeah.

Yeah. So that's why we start writing music or, you know. Like I'm now I'm also into writing lyrics more and more, but first it was like I really couldn't find, probably was a also language barrier because we write in English, but we're not from, you know. Yeah, yeah. So, yeah, but we try our best with our English, but it's different, you know, like it's not your mother language. So sometimes you try to be poetic, you try to be, you know, refined, you kill it. refine the lyrics as much as possible, but it's not the same. Like music is universal language.

It is. It doesn't, you know, from a shower in Umbria to Los Angeles, we all speak the same language. So that's a great way to put it. It's true. Yeah. You and Veronica speak very great English. Really?

Yeah, it was those. It's best conflict in my life, you know. I want my mother to listen to this. You want to show her. We should clip this and send them. No, and Veronica, you know three languages, correct? Well, I lived in Sweden. Swedish, right?

You're Swedish. Yeah, it's very rustic. But, yeah, protestvinska. Elite. Oh, so that means a little bit? I speak Swedish a little bit, yeah. Oh, wow. Yeah.

Well, how did you guys learn English then? Survival instinct. Survival? Well, back in the school for me. Yeah. The very beginning was at school, but we kind of... Like an English class? No, it's like it's...

We have... Yeah, it's an English class when you do like high school, for example, or middle high school, you go there and you have to. But it's very, very basic, you know. Then you... Now we can change a little bit. It's much better than before. When we were kids, he's a bit younger than me,

so he probably started English. Probably like I think when we when I was a kid it was like right the beginning of it, you know, like so even now that teachers didn't know English. So like they were like, okay, Europe is telling us that we need to update our programs, something like that. And we need to teach you English. So this is the English class. And we started, okay, the pan is on the table and, you know, the apples read, this kind of things. More and more. And then, but I think that most of our English comes from, you know, watching movies and probably, you know, yeah, lyrics, listening music.

Yeah. And then touring, of course. Yeah, touring, especially in America, you know, helped us a lot to develop. And my pronunciation still sucks. I still, you know, I still speak like Super Mario, I know. Me too, trust me. Fine. Make it work.

Yeah, yeah. As long as people understand, it's fine. Yeah. When was your first tour here then? Suffocation in 2010. Okay, so 16 years. Yeah, we did a run with these guys in Europe in 2010, and they liked us. And we were a super big fan.

I am a super big fan of American death metal and Swedish death metal, of course. So I was like, they were, they still are my idols, you know. was like, oh, we can do it with suffocation. We will do whatever it's needed to go there. You know, like I remember that everybody was, you know, working and we did that whatever possible to, you know, make the money to, to buy the visas and the flights. Like, was crazy. You know, we did whatever, you know.

You get the visas and the flight. Yeah, yeah, yeah, everything. Yeah, this was like insane. Uh, working in where I was is and doing like whatever. I was. Yeah, good memory that, you know, we, we keep in mind when we, when now we have. have two big expectations we remember those days and yeah you know what was you back to earth anyway well we had this chance to go uh in america with saffo yeah blowthot tour yeah amazing

uh was uh with um uh no this one is europe i guess uh yeah because in in the united states uh there was uh the faceless oh wow was a planetary duality tour yeah oh what a line of the dead uh the Cropid Bert and we were opening and we did the tour and we did that we couldn't afford a van so we did it we did it in a car we did it in the car we were yeah we were driving and playing and uh safo were carrying the minimum gear that we had i was wow yeah inside the guys were like i love them you know because they were helping us a lot and then for because of that tour we met the guys a nuclear blast and the next year we we got the offer for a summer slutter and we moved one position up so we played second air if i'm not wrong at somerslaughter and uh and that's when agony

came out and uh and yeah and then more and more and now we are we're here i don't know how Did you like did you tell him hey Like we're we're doing a tour But uh we're didn't do it in a car And uh can you take like half our gear Did you do you do you exactly Do you ask him? No we were like we we were like I would just said no how to say it

I mean like we were Barely put our shit in that They said you know we can We can you can borrow the hands You can borrow the kit because The guy in uh through the house of the dead The guys were touring with a with a van with a small trailer, if I'm not wrong, so they had to keep.

And we were basically putting everything in the car. We were like sleeping with the guitars, like soft bags and stuff. It was brutal. And every three hours we were taking a shift because everybody had to drive because we were for people. But we were young. And sometimes we were very close to die, but we survived. And, you know, look at us, young guys. Oh, my goodness.

That's me. That's me. That's me. That's me. That's cool. That's beautiful. Yeah. So I was looking at the timeline and, uh, so Veronica, you were involved, but you

were a session artist from 2011, 2012, 2020. Yeah. I mean, I've never. Yeah. What was that? We don't know. Like, we really don't know. The other thing we just thought of, of, like, announcing that I was part of the band.

I mean, I've always felt they always made me feel like part of the band since day one. Okay. I had to skip a couple of tours because, you know, there was, like, enough budget for them to bring me. But it was mainly, I think one was in Asia, and one was South America, maybe. No, South America, we did all the tour together. It was your first tour with Francesco, the piano man, Francesco Frini. It was your first tour. Yeah, Summer's order.

Yeah, summer. I was in there. You skipped summer. You started when we came back with the Winterson in 2013. Yeah. Was my very first tour ever, ever. Ever. But I've always felt like it was part of the man like member.

Okay. So when they, when he came up in 2020, oh, we're going to announce you as a band member. I was like, what? No, the thing is like it's, you know, we are that we were always been very, very bad on managing these kind of things. Like the band is a family and we know how it is within like in the room and we are very bad of at you know telling people how it's like you know like she was in the band but we never thought or never managed to announce her in in the right way at the right time but it's just like we were very bad manager

of ourselves in like promotional wise let's say in a way you know most most fans are okay so so when um i think was like right before or maybe with covid covid happened you know the pandemic and we were like uh or you know what you know why don't we fix this thing you know you are playing with us for 10 years now what should you should be like you're singing all the songs and uh and same with with the guitar player, you know, like Fabio, we call him Snoopy. Snoopy. Yeah. Snoopy is with us since 10 years. And we also

announced them in 2020. Yeah, they wanted to make things stupid. I mean, like, official, but. Because we under, we can underrate these kind of things. Like the, the, you know, the presentation of the band, the, you know, the promotional side of the band always comes

second in our mind, which is probably not super smart these days, but it's how we are. We are like kind of old school people, you know. So for me, it's much more important to write the good song or having something to say than just saying that I wrote a good song or that this is like an official member or whatever, you know, like as long as she's with us in singing and delivering, That's what counts for me, you know? So, but, but now we are kind of to, to update this. Yeah, but we're otherwise, we're going to be, you know, out of the game.

Yeah. Because. But we have this kind of like relationship also that it's, I don't want like, it's obvious that I'm not going to leave that I'm going to. I mean, this is my life. Yeah. And I'm here because of them. Yeah. No, I know.

That's the thing, you know. Like we know, but they. It makes sense to, you know, to. announce, celebrate and, you know, make it official. But to me, it changed nothing. So I just, I didn't even realize that I wasn't officially part of Ben. Yeah, it's like weird. So when he wanted to announce it, I was like, okay, okay, I guess.

We were like, I don't know, because we were starting, we were starting doing some kind of like live streams and stuff. Yeah. With the people just to staying, you know, in touch with the fans. And, um, I saw that. It was pretty cool. You guys were doing like, you guys were doing like a, like, a. full band podcast i saw that yeah we were trying like uh yeah because you know it's our life and then

we kind of felt guilty that we could you know deliver concerts and even if there wasn't like our fault overnight everything was gone so we were like we need to figure out the way to stay in touch with these people and we don't want to like you know lose this contact that we have because it's like a lot of the energy comes from there you know so even if we want to write a new album whatever you know we need to stay in touch with the world you know we just can't you know stay home and say okay there's pandemic see you in five years you know there's still a lot of people that you know still like nowadays thank us and you know remember us from from the podcast that we used to do he used to do a podcast with like guests and stuff yeah i i tried i tried i'm not as good as guards

oh no but i i try i tried you know for for for where we live was something like crazy yeah because in a remote place in the end, you know, like it's even in Europe we are like like very, very we're not even in Milan, which is like closer to the rest of Europe. Like a melting part and we are southern. We live southern. So yeah, even having people at that specific time was impossible to travel of course but even now would be complicated and so. I actually now haven't thought about that. I remember they were talking about Italy being super strict was that it was insane yeah i remember like i remember people like specifically talking about because i think in the western in the western countries uh ealy was the first country that got hit

yes that's that's so we got a lot of i think in milanda was a very first death it's it was it was at the very beginning was so was super crazy and like i remember that uh we have this um Like at the very, very beginning, there was this super, like, big contagion in the Milan area. Yeah. And they couldn't find a way to put the bodies of these people died. Yeah. So they made like last minute coffins. They put them these guys in there.

And they were, yeah, the military trucks were carrying them. Because it was, they couldn't find a way. to, where to store these people. Yeah. It looked like a horror movie. It's horrible, but it is what it is. So because of that, the government and like all Europe, you know, where I started to be very, very concerned about this.

And so we started having like super heavy lockdowns and everything. And yeah. So we we had to figure out. We had to figure out the way to stay alive, you know, mentally. Oh, yeah, totally. Oh, yeah. We couldn't even, like, exit our houses. If you wanted to go grocery stores,

you have to have, like, a piece of paper printed and, like, signed by the local, I don't know, mayor or whatever that say that you were going. If I wanted to go with my husband, so, you know, we just plead the, you know, the errands. We couldn't have done it. Yeah. We had to go by ourselves.

You had to self-declare what you were doing, basically. Gloves, two masks and stuff. So they were counting at the entrance of the grocery store. They were counting how many people. talk about this. Yeah, no, no. I mean, but we made it. We survived and we, and people, you know, they, they appreciated the fact that we didn't

just stop doing what we were doing. And it's... We changed it. We changed the four months. What was the live stream you guys did? Because we, because we did something. It was fucking hard. The lifestyle, we let the show?

Yeah. Oh, my good. Bro. Ours was a fucking disaster. Ours? We had the... had the like to have this friends in this studio, a crazy studio, and we managed to go there and do it, but it was like very, very complicated to pull it off. Like, it's super, super complicated

because... No one knew how to do anything. Yeah. And also, even just getting there and like investing in something like that was very risky at that time. So we were like, I don't know, maybe it's a bad idea. I don't know. Indiana turned out very cool. And another concern that we had is that we are when we go on a stage, we dress up like zombie-fied

musicians, you know, that kind of thing is so important to us. It's, we try to bring like a show in terms of, you know, like entertain several levels, let's say. And doing the same thing in front of a camera,

it would have been so weird. You know, like how do I dress up? Because when I go on stage, I transform into that character. It's on me. It's that thing, you know. It's somebody else. And while you do like a studio session or live streaming like we do here, you know, you are yourself.

You don't pretend. You don't act. Okay? So we felt like, you know what? We just go and play the song so we let the music speak this time.

So we did that thing without dressing up. And people appreciated it so much. It's like it's crazy that I could watch you play without their makeup and everything. That's a cool concept. Oh yeah.

But yeah. You see? Because I really... Oh, still. Yeah, that's me like in my, you know. Flannel. Yeah, my pearl jam flannel. And because I really, you know, I really felt like I, it was weird to to dress up like a flash god, you know, with the flash god costume and everything and play in front of a fucking cameraman.

That was, it was very weird. It flattened things up. I hear I play a little bit. Oh, yeah. This is no. Yeah. This is Pharaoh, yeah, with the fucking mask. We were playing the fool here, I remember, because we put a mask on.

Yeah, the guys had to play with the masks. Yeah. It was, it was different. And I, I loved it. I loved the concept, even though I felt very embarrassed at first, because it was the first time playing without my mask, without my makeup. It's weird. Without, you know, the, even just a backdrop that someone may think that it's, you know, if it's there, it's not there, it's, it doesn't change much. For us, it's just part of the environment.

It just makes. it makes things, it completed everything. Changes the atmosphere. Yeah, I mean, puts you in the right mood to watch what we do. Especially now that we have a like, to me, very beautiful theater, like a very ruined theater with like skulls and stuff.

So we're like in this. We are in the right context and all of a sudden we are like. In a rioche, very fancy riosher room with like, exactly. So like 10,000 K worth, 10K worth it. cameras like pointing at you and I don't have makeup yeah I mean like yeah as I said you know we were very like true there so we didn't want to make it fake with with with stage customs and

it's a cool concept I didn't really put tuned together until you guys pointed it out oh yeah you weren't you didn't wear the makeup interesting yeah we have we did a live stream for a month and I yeah it It broke us. Like, every, like, we were doing, like, 10 live streams a week. So, like, so two shows a day. Wow. I mean, did it for a full month and we were like,

I don't want to see any of you guys again. Okay, okay, okay. But we made a little bit of money. We made, like, two grand each. No. It's something. I mean, it was, like, something. Those times, you know, everything was, you know, something.

Oh, Garza. No, yeah, here's the. Eddie. Yeah, it was. like oh yeah you got to like do something else like you're like you're like you couldn't you get you had to like turn something else on it was crazy yeah but it's cool but but you guys did something yeah well we had to good yeah how what what how did you guys come up with the idea now now that we're talking about it of like uh putting like visuals to it okay like we're

gonna like like dress the whole part how did that how did that come up shower was the shower it was in the shower Shower, man, I'm telling you. Okay. I mean, like, I was like, I always loved, let's say, you know, the bands. I always admire bands that were given something different on stage than, you know, just playing shows, you know, in different ways, you know, sometimes is the stage customs, the makeup, or sometimes it's the production, sometimes is the attitude, you know, like, I mean, like, you. the hardcore scene imagine they don't wear anything

they go with shorts and whatever but that kind of attitude you know make you part of the show changes the atmosphere somehow so I wanted to do something that matched the music somehow and I always dream to be something like

you know like composer and like a classical musician because that is the main influence that we have in our music and And so I was like, why don't we try to, you know, bring the people that come to the shows into this different world where we are zomified musicians because we are basically playing death metal, but it's symphonic as well, you know. So elements that are taken from the music can translate it into visuals, let's say. we started doing that and when we started we did it like just for you know for having fun and we

realized that that thing made us kind of feeling better on stage you know like oh you know boosts the confidence people you know yeah so we improved that thing and we try to involve other people other form of art to boost that thing as much as far as possible with the batch as the had with the ideas that we had at the time and yeah and it grow it grew and now it's uh it's it's something and make us kind of you know different unique in a way you know so it's like we're super um happy that we took that path even if if at the very beginning you know we we got a lot of shit yeah yeah it's just i mean like Almost everything we've done in our career, you know, was very, very...

People talking shit out there. It was debated a lot at first, you know. Like we were kind of contaminating death metal with symphonic stuff, with orchestrations, and that was something wrong. And then the clean vocals, and that was something wrong. And then, you know, and then Veronica, and then the costumes, and then the show, and then but we always did it for ourselves so we were more like okay we do this i totally get if you don't like it because you are into this member and you don't give a shit about us and you even hate us for

what we are doing now but i have to like it as well and i want to do this so yeah out of the context i mean it's in the symphonic metal context it's just is the way it yeah we were yeah it follows a path. It's not like just taken. I don't know. Like it's a yeah. We were we took always the hardest route. But in a way we're still here. So I'm very proud. You got to do what you want to do. Yeah. Because otherwise it's fake and and people say oh this is fake because it looks more commercial than anybody else. And I was like yeah, that's a good thing. I don't see anything. I don't see anything. wrong to be more catchy, you know. But I didn't do it for you.

I did it for me. And I'm glad you liked what I do. It's cool that something that I like is also liked by other people. Yeah. Yeah, with your music, what tends to resonate is people only knew, like, you kind of selfishly do it. Like you write something for you that you're feeling and hope that resonates. Exactly.

Yeah. Yeah. Other people. So you can't write for someone else. because then you'll miss that secret sauce. Yeah, it may sound selfish, but I mean, it's what it is. If you want me to be true on stage,

if you want me to express my feelings and, you know, to open up and, you know, write my music about what I feel, you have to let me do what I like. And in case you like it, thank you. I appreciate the fact that you like it. Yeah. And yeah, I guess that's how you create a very true fan base. Because they, they, they, you,

let them know you with you know through throughout your your music what you have to say and I believe that that's more important than just write something catchy or you know more commercial I would say also let's be honest

nobody here is going to get like become billionaire with this music you know so if if I have to make so many sacrifices in my personal life I want to do I want to do it because I love what I'm doing You know, like I stay away for a long time while touring and writing music and video clips and whatever. And, you know, all this time that I subtract from my family time, for example, needs to be worth, you know.

And I want to live 1001% of this time being myself without pretending. And the sacrifices never stop. Never. Never. It's a key. It's a part. That is the secret souls probably, you know. Maybe we are all, you know, like masochist.

Maybe. There's like a sickness to it, I think. I don't know. Like, like something's kind of loose up there. Oh, no. Like what would make you, okay, we're at this point. I'm going to sacrifice again. Yeah.

Like, why do you, it's like, why do I keep doing that? It's like we were to. I was talking about this with my, I mean, with my drummer, Eugene is like, we call it voluntary suffering. like kind of yeah you were yeah

it's um it's an addiction bro it's like uh whenever i i i like we we export

the last song of each album uh i always remember I was like this is the last thing I'm gonna do in my life that's it

I'm done fuck you like I don't want to see you anymore you know like and 24 hours later, I was like, oh, maybe we should have done this. Let's put it in the next album. Give it a few days.

Yeah. Do it a few days and something starts turning again. It's brutal. Yeah. Or something comes up. Yeah. I thought I was done with what I had to say. Yeah.

And then something else. Yeah. And then. You want to say more and more. I know. I told you it's an addiction. But it's good. I mean, I like it.

You try to. It's fascinating. It kind of is. Oh, so. So. Did it really start with a, in middle school, you got a cassette, right? Like a Frank gave you a cassette with the Fear Factory, Diumu, right? Is this?

It was insane, man. Because I remember that day, like if it's yesterday, it's, I was, this guy was next to him, you know, on the desk. And it's like, oh, bro, check it out. You know, this is trigger drums. And I was like, what's trigger? What's trigger? What's trigger? It's like they put some sample on the drums.

It's like it's insane. And we had this cassette and I don't remember what was something like Latin or something like math lesson. And it was like, we were hiding beyond the desk with one, just one here. And a replica started. Oh my goodness. And it was, imagine me. Imagine me. Imagine me.

Yeah, there. Hey, that's not my teacher. And my teacher was looking at me and was like, fuck you, man. I found what I want to do in my life, you know. I want to trigger drums. That's what I do. Oh, yeah. Wow.

And, yeah, Fear Factory, Dimo, and a bunch of other Blind Guardian was there. It was a compilation, insane. And it's crazy because if you go there and you pick those bands, there are still the bands that influenced me in my songwriting. It's like magic Because a long time passed But still We still have the power metal thing

Because also Rhapsody was there Black metal And you know This vibe that we have like dimmish vibe Extreme music with sinful And Fear Factory Because we also love groove metal

And It's like So crazy Still there It's still there It's like Imprinting We call it.

Oh, yeah. So it's like I was, my brain was virgin. And all of a sudden, somebody played the manufacturer. And my, and I was, you know, I was violated. And from that day, you know, I was gone. Oh, my God. I felt the same. Look at that thing, you know.

When I listened for the first time, New Millennium Sonny's Christ, they stripped me. I was, I was probably 16, 17, and I was, what is this? It's over. What is this? You sign up for a light that Yeah You have no idea where you're going Exactly exactly

Do you still have that cassette tape somewhere No Maybe he has it Maybe maybe I can ask His name is Matia I can ask him Like is So talk to him

Yeah of course Oh cool We're all Yeah yeah That's a very cool way They always had this You know Super nice relationship

And friendships that lasted for years. Man, your whole life. Yeah, yeah. It's like, we're talking about, like, probably 30 years ago, no. No, 30, but 25, 25. Man, if he still has that tape, holy crap,

and then that started your whole journey, and then you're starting bands. Yeah, yeah. You only had to play instruments. You started a band called Tyrannic Reconstruction. Yeah, yeah, that thing goes, who was with this guy? This guy was playing drums from that band.

And it was playing guitar. and all of a sudden the singer left and the other guy is like oh you should sing it was like I never sang and I was like do it and I did it and a couple of years later Tyrannic ethical reconstruction Yeah yeah that's a fucking band logo

What the hell is that? I did it You did it? Yeah I did it That's evil as fuck dude Yeah yeah I was like I was pissed bro I was super pissed when I was young What year did you make this? Yeah I did it

2004 Yeah. And then a couple years later, I got, yeah, the guy was like, yeah, this, or T-E-R. Yeah, ter. And after this, you know, I got, like, the, you know, the guy's Hour of Penance? Yes, yes, of course. Yeah, I started singing in Hour of Penance. Nice. Because I sang in this.

And this is high school, correct? This is like, yeah, like right after. Right after. I was in high school. I remember. I did two albums. I did the Vile Conception, the guy with the cheek with the boobs out. Yeah.

Oh yeah. And the other one, Paradox. And it was an event when they were playing nearby my hometown. Everybody was like, well, it's playing. I still have a band with these guys. I still have another band aside project, which is like HM2 type of metal. like it's more like this bambor and into and yeah yeah and uh and yeah coffin birth is called and uh yeah it's funny how people uh like hm2 is like a genre right it is

it is yes it's like that sound is yeah hm2 it's a hm2 that's my own someone uh someone someone gave me someone gave me that pedal right before it got hyped so he's oh i i have this pedal it sounds like shit can you want it i'm like i know you I'm like, I'll take it. And then it's, oh, I know, it's like, I think it was like, uh, I don't remember the chain, but it was like, uh, we had to be like two noise suppressor because we were, like, cracking this, like, 11, like all the knobs were in. Oh, yeah, yeah.

With a tube screamer, like at the max and going into a fucking Mesa, the old dual, you know, the, they, they all said. And it was like, and also that was like everything was cranked to 11. Yeah. And basically you couldn't hear a note, you know. Everything was like super noisy but so fun. I'm so fucking good. Bro, yeah.

I was like, fuck, I'm so good. This, yeah. And I know, I remember that we were tuning the guitars and it was completely pointless, man. Like, really made no sense to tune the guitar, you know. Is that the, is that the sound where people putting also, were they, I mean, I guess they call it stacking? Like they put a two screamer in there two? Yeah, yeah, maybe, I don't know, like it's. It's pretty good, yeah.

Yeah, it's super cool. And when we, like with this band, a Coffinbert, we, we had that kind of sound. It's fine, but because also I had the chance to play with some guys that are still in our penance, Giulio and Marco. I was jamming an Oracle, my thing. That's a fucking, that's a fucking brutal technical record, dude. So we were young and we were like very, you know, into this technical stuff. And I wanted to add this the Coffinberg album, yeah.

Oh, nice. Yeah, it's super. very evil. Yeah, very evil. Yeah. You're fucking pissed guy, huh? No, well, like, I don't know, like we, we love it, we love it, bro. That's really nice. That's my life, so, of course it. You got to live it, dude. That's cool. Yeah. So when we did the oracles, we were, like, big fans of this up-and-coming bands, like super technical bands, like neurotic and wheelotip type of bands like Unic leader

So Spawn of Possession Visceral Bleeding and Necrophages of course And all these kind of bands And yeah we wanted to make an album But we also have I also had this big influence Of like much more

Let's say easier and a guitar driven type of metal Like Vader Decapitated and Kind of like for of course American and like That one like Ed Gates and for what concerns the Swedish or this member and for what concerns

Americans morbidential these side this kind of stuff like very like it's it's death metal but still melodic yeah so yeah we try to to emulate and put all these ingredients in and and we came out with that album and there's already like some small uh approach to the symphonic stuff i wanted him to do the album. He just did the intro and some part here and there. But he had a different job and he didn't want to join. A piece of shit, you know? And

like after a year, you know, I had to, you know, convince him. And we were like, oh, no, basically he lost his job. It was like, what you're doing this summer? Oh, we do the summer's older. Okay, I'm on tour with you guys then. Like, and that's probably that's how here it worked out.

When did the sound really start to take shape and like develop to where to where you're at now? The next album, Agon. Okay. Yeah, 2011 is the first album were me and him, Pharaoh, we were writing together all the time. Because Oracle, I wrote it like 99% by myself. And this one, it's already 50-50. Okay. And from these album to the last one, it's all 50-50.

Okay. And this is like, okay, this is like, what? I find a soulmate in the songwriting. Oh, yeah. It's very hard to find somebody that you click. Don't cry, bro. That's cool. You owe me a pizza, bro.

And no, I mean, like, it's very, sometimes it's very tough to you to find somebody that you can be completely honest, you know, with, you know, like, When he comes and something is shitty, I can tell him, bro, what did you do? And the same way, you know, what's this riff? What's this drums? It's too much. So we have this kind of freedom, especially at the very beginning. We had this complete, like, transparent relationship that helped us to shape what we were doing.

Yeah. And slowly we became better to handle this, like, very, very. weak, like very fragile, like a balance between the symphonic and the death metal thing, you know. So it took us years to kind of find, like, let's call it a formula that work. And so the next album, Labyrinth, we were already refining it, but still too messy, still immature in some ways.

And then with King, I think we started to be like, okay, we know what we're doing, you know. finally and and and I think the the best expression of this is the last album opera because it's the more I think it's the most balanced album between you know these two souls that we have yeah people up there have been jamming opera when did you start because Italy is very like it's very hilly a lot a lot of mountains so at what age should you start mountain climbing early early because yeah like a child right Yeah. Like there's a like the area we live it's like mostly hills no real like real mountains.

But like one hour away, there's the highest peak in the Appanines, which is the second mountain chain that we have in Italy like after Alps. And there is a super big community of, it's a super, super, you know, crowded community, climbing community in where we live. there is also like many crags where you can go and spark climbing and my father was a big was into skiing so when i was three years old they started me skiing so i always uh been in the mountains all my life i took like a break when i went to university and then i started the band and because in that time frame I was very concerned about my like physical condition because I was I was playing drums it was very demanding so I didn't want to do anything that would you know compromise that prefer kind of performance style of drums like it's yeah crazy so that

that that kind of thing took me you know away for for a while and then COVID came Not really COVID. Like when I, like, I think I restarted when Tomaso left and I was, I started playing guitar again. I was like, you know what? I should go tracking a little bit. But that kind of thing is also addiction, like addictive, let's say. And so I more and more.

And I basically went back to where I was before, you know, like so I climbed a lot in 19 and 20, like 18, 19, 20 and 21. And then in 21, like, a small misadventure, right? Yeah. You climbed a bit too much. It was, I was listening to an interview that you did. And it was 2020. And it was, it was before the accident.

And you were talking about how much you were climbing. I was like, oh, shit. Like this is, I was like, oh, this was probably right before he had his accident. Yeah, well, like, um, two weeks. before I had the accident like four weeks before me I don't remember I was I I I climbed Mount Blanc which is the highest peak in Europe you serious yeah I was on top and and and then I I had the accident like one hour away from my place like in a very like I I wasn't even supposed to go there like my friends just ate me up like

Saturday night where we're like oh bro tomorrow morning let's go let's do a classic route there and it was like oh I don't know I have to see with my family I took my wife and said, you know, go, you know, it's fine. And I was like, okay. And I stayed with the kids. No worries, go. And I woke up at three and we left. And yeah.

So you weren't even supposed to go. No. But you just decided to go. Yeah, because it's addictive. Yeah. I like it. Like I still, you know, feel, yeah, it's me. You don't really talk about the actual fall.

What, what, I mean, what, if you know, you don't want me asking, what, what, what happened? Yeah. It's like, um, this, like, this is mumbling. Yeah. It is, it is beautiful. Yeah, it's beautiful. Yeah. Well, what happened?

It was like, um, we were climbing on, um, 21st of August 2021. And me and two other guys from my city, Spolito. Yeah. Wow. You see that the guy next to me with a red helmet, you know, that guy was with me when I was hanging, you know, for an hour bleeding. Yeah, it was with me, that guy. Yeah, Jaluka. Yeah, yeah.

If I'm still alive, it's also because of this guy. Wow. Yeah. Thank you for putting the like. We disliked it. Yeah, well, we went there and it was a classic route. I don't know how familiar your audience is with mountain climbing, but basically you go up with ropes and you.

There are spark climbing routes, which are like, let's say, like fixed nails. So when you go up and you, you know, you put quick drows and carabiners into like a safer kind of environment because those nails are put by guides, let's say. But this route that we were doing was more like a classic route. Like we were doing a route of the early century, like early 19th century. Okay. So we were like, and you know, you divide the route in, like you basically go up,

you get to a station and then you belay the other people, they come up with the top rope. But when you go up, your rope is below you. Okay. So we got, I was leading for the first two length of this route,

and I was supposed to, Jaluka was supposed to go on the third one, but the station was so, bad because it was super old so we decided not to switch the rope and whatever so he said why don't you go i was like okay let's do it and i and i went and i got lost and uh and uh and uh i was you know put in production myself like um putting nails and everything in the wall and uh but it was like at the end of a ramp like it was like an easy ramp so i didn't want to waste nails basically because you have material with you but it's not you know an ending material you have to

save stuff you know so at the end of this section i got lost i couldn't come back and i tried to find a way to to to go up but uh probably i like uh i lost uh or just it popped off the wall uh like a rock where while I was hanging to this rock, you know. So I fell and the first, the last nail that I had was like three meters below and the other one was like 10 meters. Oh shit. And that nail popped out. So basically I made a pendulum on the last production and I put it was like 15 meters below me.

So I went down for 30 meters. But I was lucky because there was no, like, there was no rocks underneath. It was like a, like a nose, let's say. So I fell and then I was still here somewhere hanging. And I lost like I was, I, you say it, I lost consciousness. Fainted, not fainted, when you just you pass out I passed out yeah and for for a while and you were also bleeding that's why really fell out and yeah and your head in and and then uh I was like upside down and

for some reason I woke up I don't know how I woke up and I saw that my arnest was sleeping because it was upside yeah so I I and I was like, and my disarm was like, somewhere. Because you broke it in several parts. Yeah, it was super fucked up. And so I was like, I don't know, like what do I do? So I had some like small cards with me. So I put the card around my neck and like with a carabiner.

I tried to stay attached to the rope because it was very, very weird. I don't remember well what's going on. And I just remember that it took this arm and I was moving the fingers a little bit but the arm was on the other direction. And I was like, I put it like a scarf around my neck. And then I was like, I don't know, like when I did it, like a lot of blood was coming out on foot.

To me, that thing lasted five seconds. But I've been there for an hour and 15 minutes. But in my mind, it's like five seconds. Yeah, it was a very hard to reach position for the helicopter. Yeah, so the helicopter came, they called the helicopter, and he came, and there was like one of this guy that worked with them. You know, he saves people that goes in the mountain. I don't know, you call it here in U.S.,

but we have this incredible, you know, it's voluntary kind of thing, you know, they don't get paid for that. Oh, you serious? Yeah, yeah. So, yeah, it's a service and it rescued me. And I was attached to the helicopter and the helicopter took me away. So I made a flight outside an helicopter for. You were dangling. Yeah.

Yeah, like. Because they need to go. farther from the wall because it's risky for all the whole thing you know so you go there and then they pick you up you know and and i remember this thing clearly that's all i remember it's kind of thing and i remember this thing that when i when i was uh in the helicopter you know there was uh they were checking me and there there was this this girl that uh opened the helmet with which was broken. And she started to, you know, trying to seek something in my head.

It was like, and she was trying to. And all of a sudden, I saw her taking scissors. And she was cutting my hair here. And I freaked out. You can't cut my hair no matter what. And I said, don't do it. Don't do it. It was like, what are you talking about?

It was like, don't do it. And I said, I have a show next. week. Main concern. Yeah. And she said, bro, if tomorrow you're still alive, you know, maybe you can think about playing in a couple of years. And I was like, what?

I was like, is that bad, you know, because adrenaline, I didn't feel anything. You know, bro, it was like. And they were keeping asking me stuff like a. my name and you know things about my job things about my life because they wanted to make sure that my my brain was that wasn't damaged you know and they checked my toes yeah you call it toes to see that if my spine was okay you know that kind of thing yeah and and then I went to the hospital and the first hospital and that is the that's when the calvary started because they didn't know what to do because my harm was super fucked up

they were talking about amputated correct yeah like they didn't tell me they told my mother and my wife and they were crying all the fucking time and I was asking and asking what's going on what's going on what's going to happen what's going to happen and they were saying oh no it's going to be fine. You damage your nerve, but it's going to be fine. Don't worry because I didn't feel my aunt, you know. And I don't know, they couldn't really figure it out. So my mother had this idea to seek for another hospital that would, you know, just take me and try because they wanted to cut my harm here. They were more specialized.

Because my elbow, but the problem is that my elbow exploded. I still have a piece of my elbow that I took and put in my pocket. I thought maybe they were going to use it. They will need it. And yeah, I have it in a small jar. And

yeah, it's fun, but it's not. And so my mother was singing for this guy and all of a sudden she found this number like a friend of her gave him this number and we I've got moved to another hospital in Bologna and this guy said this is serious but you're a musician I want to try to save you wow yeah and I remember I told him you know if you give me the chance to you know

keep like keep my life you know together I will honor, you know, the second life that I get, you know. And I will not be as stupid and as arrogant as I was before. I promise. And I promise this to my wife, to my kid. And they rebuilt my fucking elbow, bro. And it was a mass. Like, I stayed in the hospital for a month,

and I got injected for antibiotics, age 24, seven days a week, like for a month, and then I went back home in a wheelchair. And, yeah. And... I remember the day you stood up for the first time. Yeah, and I was like,

I would do whatever it's needed to keep going. And as soon as I got home, I called Pharaoh and I told him, you know what? Come here. Let's write an album. Because I feel like there's the fucking hell inside me.

I need to do something with this because I couldn't move. I need help for everything. You know, like even like, you know, even going to peace was a problem all of a sudden, you know? And I watched my wife and my kid

and they were looking at me like, you know, in a compassionate way. So I was like, I owe you so much, you know, guys. So I need to get back on my feet and do something with my life. And so he came and we wrote some cool stuff that ended in opera. And yes, and then it took me a year. to just try to figure out. And yeah, it's never ending because when I go back from this tour,

I still have to do some stuff in my hand. Yeah, because I got like nerve transplant. It was a mess. Wow, a nerve transplant? A nerve transplant? Yeah, from a leg. They took a nerve from my leg and they put it in my elbow

because they wanted to save my hand. Because my hand is fucked. I don't feel it. I can move two fingers probably. The rest is fine. So they tried to save it as much as possible. And they made this like a small thread with a useless kind of nerve that we have in the leg. And they put it in my elbow.

This happened in 2022. And yeah, and I do therapy and I tried my best to recover as much as I could. And now I'm doing very well, you know, like it's impressive how, you know, know, far I went and how much I owe to the energy that, you know, helped me to go through this and to the guys and to my family. And like, you know, I owe my life to these people. You know, like even if I did it and they tell me, oh, you're great because, yeah, but if I was alone, I wouldn't make it, you know. So now I owe, like my life. My life. is their life, you know.

So that's, that's a thing. So I try, I still try to improve. That's why when I go home, I, I try to do this extra surgery in the end to at least try to fix it. It's a plastic surgery, but maybe it was going to help me in the next years. So let's see. Yeah, I was looking at pictures and like there is, you had staples like all up your arm. Yeah.

Yeah. It was on, on your feet. Yeah. And random places in your body. I'm like, damn, what that will happen? Yeah. I was lucky at my head and my back didn't got harsh like really bad because then would be like totally different story.

Even worse than dying probably. So yeah. I was very lucky and and and also when the whole thing started after. the accident because the accident is like the tip of the iceberg like everybody's focused on the thing even when we we I did the interviews about this because

we made the last album about it you know and I said you know like it's one song only is about the the accident because there's so much to say about it but there's a lot to say about the war

that I still have inside myself you know like it's fighting with myself every fucking day because I think that some stuff I will never accept it. Like I cannot play guitar as I was playing. I was playing. I cannot like this kind of thing is going to stay with me forever. So it's not like before. It will never be like before and I have to figure out the way to accept it. and it's the hardest thing like way more than fucking fixing an elbow or whatever

but again I don't do this for myself I do it for for these people so I will accept it I must and that explains opera

yeah yeah I really wanted to get the full story of opera my man Francesco doesn't really talk about the fall I kind of want to lead into that and talk about about the record. I can never die.

How did you guys write that song? I can never die is that's my help. That's bad. How many screws is that? I don't know many. That's fun. Five, six. Wow.

Thankfully, thankfully, thankfully, thankfully, yeah, that there's great people around the world that you know, save our life every day. I really, you know, I really want you to to thank them publicly for this. This guy was an artist and what it's done.

Yes, it's the Michelangelo of my elbow. Yeah, the professor that took the, you know, the responsibility in doing this. Yeah. Like when he said, you know, like, I will, I will make, I will do whatever I can to fix you. Isn't it amazing? Like when he goes around the word and it's... Yeah, and then I repaid him because, My thing was so desperate, but still, you know, he worked out so well that he shows this pictures to the, and in pictures of me on stage at the conventions.

Like this guy, like almost lost his, is limp and not limp, harm. And now he's still playing, you know, like, wow. And so I'm very honored that he does it. And he's proud of the job that he's done. Yeah, he brings Francesco to his convention every time he goes, you know, with the doctors. It was very, very painful. Surgeon's conventions, these kind of stuff. Very, very painful at first to make it work again.

But then now I'm happy that we did all the therapy at the very beginning, you know, to do. Anyway, I can never die is a hymn to life. It's a hymn of our. lifestyle. It's, you know, the topic is how much we are lucky and at the same time we have their responsibility to carry on with what we're doing as artists, you know, look. So yeah, it's like, it's an anthem for artists new artist

we have the chance to make art for living and the biggest you know thing is that whatever we do is going to live

after you know we're gone after this is over so yeah I wanted to start the album with something very positive because that's the core of the album. We get challenges every day.

You know, it can be whatever, you know, job, relationship, health, you know. But we have to overcome these things. and in whatever we do we are artists even if you are a baker you are an artist and if you put love in what you're doing that's going to stay you have a legacy you know

so I can never dies about that and the album is you know it's like we wrote it as an opera and this dialogues between me and her you know she's when that blastby comes in

and just opera singing and I'm like Holy fuck, oh, it's sick. I'm happy you liked it. Beautiful idea. Thank you. It's you guys. Your own, it's your own sound.

Yeah. It's cool. Like the most insane blast beat is Veronica is like, it's going off. Yeah. So Veronica, just, just. Just do your thing. Just do it. I'm very likely to be surrounded, but this guy is, you know, like they're very talented, you know.

And create enough to, you know, indoor. Yeah. Yeah. Beautiful. Is it too soon for you to be guys to think about like a, this record came out in Chesson. Yeah. Are you thinking about anything else post or what's? Yeah, we have some ideas, but we never really, you know, sat down and, you know, talk about.

He needs a few more showers probably. For my mind. Thank you. Yeah. I don't know. Like, we need a custom shower. Yeah. Yeah.

I need that. I mean, like, we are, we have. we are always working on something new but yeah we are also super picky so takes time let's see for now we're super proud of what we've done i'm very happy that i like in the end the guys convinced me to talk about what happened in the album because it was some kind of a treatment like for me because at first day it wasn't like 50 50 because i don't know maybe now i'm very I'm very thankful for that because I know that this thing clicked with many people and they found inspiration in this.

So I feel very proud that we do something, that we did something together that is helping other people to go through our times. So, yeah, it's even the next level of, yeah, everything is much bigger than what I expected from my career. I don't know. So it's amazing. Yeah. It's awesome.

Well, Veronica, I want to get something from you. Yeah. It's so much. I talk too much. No, because I was like,

you know, is he going to tell the story? You know, I really appreciate that. A little touching story. Thank you. That's, I wanted to inspire people.

Like, never give up because you will find somebody that thinks you. Wow. Yeah. Cool, man. It's beautiful. Oh,

yeah. Yeah. Veronica, you're in a very, like, unique spot. You know, if someone wants, if, you know, somebody, you know, wants to sing like you, how do you even start? You want to. This is weird because when I started singing, like, singing like, I was like, probably before I started taking classes.

I was in a gorg rain. Meadowland and it was big squealing. Oh, really? Trying to, I mean, I had never, like, you know, took classes or lessons before. So it was doing, you know, by heart. It worked. But at some point, I was like, I remember it was just running some errands and I heard, I think it was Nightwish or Epica.

And I was trying to, I tried to emulate the sound. And I was like, I've got it. So, I mean, yeah, as I told you before, I, They took classes, modern music, and then I started conservatory. But I didn't really know what I wanted to do, like what my sound would have been. You know, you have to, as a band has to find its sound. You as an artist, you have to find. I mean, you can recognize Eloyke has a grande because of the touch.

You know, and I mean, you don't have to see him playing. And that's like, you know, every single artist, every single musician has its own sound. So I wanted to find my own. I wanted to find my own based on what I liked, based on what I had, what I started and what I could say to people. The music influences helped a lot. They were like probably 80% of my sound. I don't know. I got smart enough, lucky enough probably to make, to, to, to, to,

blend every single detail of what I like in music. So from, yeah, from Gothic metal to grindcore to, I don't know, like anything that I liked in my life, pop, Beyonce, Gaga, I don't know. Oh, sick. So, yeah, I started to, I don't know if it makes any sense, but to find my own personality in my voice, which it probably makes sense. But. And then these guys came. and I was like And we ruined their life

Yeah I mean you remember No no You made my life so much easier Because I understood The assignment The life gave me So I was like Let's make this word

So I absolutely love The music that they write So I just try to To build If I see the character It sounds like if it's fake

It's not fake I just, you know, the mask that I wear on stage is me on, you know, seeing from another light. So under another light. So I think the sound and what I do on stage is just my personality. It's like a part of my personality that I take, you know, is hidden every other day when I'm off stage. I have, I have students that, you know, they actually, you know, ask me the same question that you said. And I just simply cannot answer. How can I sound just like you?

Just, you know, the only thing that I say is just, you know, obviously study a lot because that works. But try to surround yourself with people that appreciate your perks and your flaws and that help you make it work and, you know, to build this huge fortress with what you have. Don't change anything about yourself. make it work and just go with the flow because I mean if it works it will work if it makes sense it does very metaphorical but I don't know how I do it

I just love being on stage with these morons and they're like brothers and I just you know I feel I feel free on stage I feel free to do what I want when I like because I know that they will agree that I'm not going to do

anything that, you know, once I'm off stage, what the fuck did you do? Why did you do that? Yeah. We trust you. And that's the main thing. You surround yourself with people that trust you, people that know how much you're worth it, you know? So, and besides that, you know, study and get yourself, you know, build your ear and do what you like the most. Don't accept compromises because people they might like it less. That's not the key. Like yourself and then if they don't like you. Yeah. You know, fuck them.

Yeah. Don't fuck off. I don't have time for that. No, never. Yeah. Okay, well, thank you for sharing that. I got one more question after this. Is there anything that I missed about your band or you that, that you want out there?

It's a wonderful interview. Okay, cool. Thank you. All right, last question. What are, and we get to have two answers. What are three records people should check out? In general or? No rules.

Could be old, new, yours, anything. Wow. Oh, I don't know. Like, at the moment, my brain is full of records. I'm so much like into old generis and subgeners. I don't know, like it's too much, three records. it's impossible. Did it have to be metal?

No, no, anything. Anything. It's impossible. It's impossible. I love music so much that... Okay, one of them is opera? Yeah, I wanted to say opera because of, like, reasons. Yeah.

Well, you know, like the... We are happy if you check out our music, but we are happy if you check out any music because I think what is needed now is to bring culture. at like you know to put the spotlight on that once again because we are living hard times

right because the culture is really really you know underrated so whatever you whatever you whenever you have the chance you go to move to the movies you have the chance

to check out an album new or old or to go to a museum to check out whatever theater opera whatever you know whatever whatever whatever is an artistic expression even if you go on like in you know uh Santa Monica on the you know and you you find some somebody somebody there just dance i don't know okay also that you know brings you back to what's important and what's important is to appreciate this thing which is the best manifestation of human mind yeah so get inspired just by just by living if we were more I don't want to be like

ideologist or anything like no no but it's just like I feel that there is this lack now everything is super fast it's too fast everything is digested even before we eat it you know and we we need to take a moment and see okay this guy you know can do whatever you know like play the Diablo. And that is a skill that he worked on that. And he developed with time his skills. And that is already something that makes humanity better,

even if you think that it's just a superficial thing that doesn't really matter. So that kind of approach, that kind of commitment to something, it's what humanity lacks right now. And I hope that you find some, something, maybe these three albums that I don't tell you. Just just tell you.

Something that, you know, uh, gives you the motivation to, to stop and take a break and focus on what, uh, a human being can do. Like, that's the thing that, like guards are with a podcast. Thank you.

Thank you. You know, something like this. Listen to the podcast. Yeah. So yeah. That's more important than any kind of album. Thank you. Well, I could give three albums.

All right. Flesh God, Apocalypse, Oracle, King, and Opera. Well. I thank you. My favorites, too. You have the same taste. I wanted to say, Faith no more. Fate no more.

Kings for a day, full for a lifetime. Okay, cool. Yeah. Okay, nice. And incubus, I think. Morning View. Oh, yeah. And let's get back to some metal, I think.

Something that really helped me growing as a singer, was Nightwish once. Okay, nice. Once my night wish. Beautiful list. Thank you. You're welcome. Thank you for asking.

So this comes out on the fourth. So on Monday the fourth, so you're currently right now, as this comes out to the internet on Monday, in Alabama, exactly halfway through the tour. Okay. So if you're listening, watching, check them out on tour. Sway home. Alabama, Atlanta, Knoxville, South Carolina, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Connecticut and New Hampshire.

And New Hampshire. I have been there in a long time. Awesome. Yeah. Many of these places we have never been. Beautiful. I think there's like a few, actually a bunch of cities that I've never been. We never played.

And on tour with Avatar. and Frozen Soul. Frozen Souls are amazing. Cool. So what can people find you guys? Instagram, TikTok. We're not very good at that, but, you know. We're trying.

We're trying. Try to figure out. We're boomers. At least me. At least me. I'm very, you know, I'm a dinosaur. So. Yeah.

Same to your affiliate. Man, like, I just bought the first pair of wireless headphones. Congratulations. It's a big deal. It's a big step ahead for me. Because I was going around with this fucking wires. And you know what's the worst part that everybody noticed? Like, we saw him with his headphones.

Dude. Actually, I didn't buy the headphones. He did it. Because I didn't know how to buy stuff on Amazon. But, you know, like, yeah, that's the thing. Congratulations. All right. TikTok, Instagram, Facebook.

You're everywhere. Yeah. Check it out. thank you guys for your time at being here on your day off. Thank you so much for having us. Appreciate you guys. Thank you.

Absolutely, man. Amazing. All right. That's it. Love you guys.