1) Hails, Vito! How are things in Italy these days? Are you having a nice time?
Hello guys, how you doing? I am actually resident in the Netherlands at the moment and here we’re doing pretty well, actually!
2) Can we start with a little bit of the history of Pentesilea Road? What made you do it?
I started this band as a solo project in the UK, back in 2014. For a few years I have been publishing demos on my SoundCloud, mostly instrumentals, in which I was basically playing guitar, bass, keyboards on a (mostly) synthetic drum. The idea behind that, was getting demo portfolio with the aim of getting some other musicians onboard. Actually, this went on for a few years, but I hadn’t found a real match in the bands I have been playing with, mostly because of musical background difference. Last year I finally decided to record the whole thing properly and working on the final structure, by also finalizing the lyrics. At the end of the polishing work, the material was good enough to start looking for some session musicians to play any instrument other than bass and guitar…this was more or less around July 2020. A couple of months later the recording line-up was completed, so in September we started recording the album. It took at least 3 months to complete the recordings, as we started with drums and all the other instruments were recorded on top of that. It’s been actually a lot of work the coordination of 8 musicians, all living in different places!
3) Is there any special meaning behind the band name Pentesilea Road, or the name of the new single, Memory Corners?
Besides being the Amazon Queen in Greek mythology, Pentesilea is the name of one the cities from Italo Calvino’s book “Invisible Cities”. I particularly love the chapter of Pentesilea, the diluted city, liquidly spread, with no defined boundaries. I did like the idea of using it as a metaphor of the globalized world. Pentesilea Road therefore is the archetype of the, mostly unnecessary, travel around the world. It is loosely autobiographic, but I am pretty sure it is a concept known to many people.
I like to describe it as an act of dissidence, a protest against the new world order recently imposed to us and the one that it might be coming shortly. It talks about globalization, surveillance and behavioural capitalism, the role the mainstream media play in this big game, as well as roots, identity…all those things that involve familiarity and that once were considered the fundamental of life. The album does have a deep philosophy behind it.
Memory Corners is in line with the overall philosophy: the reminiscence spot, starts the whole journey as described in the rest of the album.
4) What are your influences to create the Pentesilea Road sound?
I have been listening metal for over 3 decades and enjoyed hundreds of bands: I think very many of those have left something in terms of influences, whether in a conscious or unconscious manner. However, if I have to name the main ones, I’d say Fates Warning, Queensryche, Iron Maiden, Dream Theater, Opeth, Porcupine Tree, Savatage, Riverside, PFM, Russian Circles, Pain of Salvation…so many! From the perspective of guitar playing, I have been strongly influenced by Marty Friedman, Satriani, Petrucci, Adrian Smith…
5) All the songs until now featuring different style of vocals. Please let us know about this thing!
Well, there are 3 singers on the album, each one having its own peculiarity. I like the versatility of Lorenzo, the passional side of Michele and Ray has simply a fantastic voice. I have tried to distribute the 3 singers among the songs that, in my opinion, match their personality the most. I hope you guys appreciated the outcome!
6) What are some of the challenges you faced when combining Progressive Metal with various elements?
I might be controversial here, but I do think that rather being a challenge, mixing different elements actually provides that extra degree of freedom that makes your life easier. I have tried to match the different moods in the lyrics, to relatively different elements. Of course, this is an extra complication in the mixing session…we had to work a lot to keep the mixing balance, considering the substantial dynamic range of the record, but we’re satisfied with the result!
7) With the new album released, what is next for Pentesilea Road? Your new album sounds really awesome!
Thanks, we all genuinely appreciate your words! Currently we are working on the next album. I can’t say anything about the timeline, but this time it won’t be only myself in the song writing process. Both Ezio and Alfonso (keys and Drum, respectively) have officially joined the band and we will work together on the new songs! It will definitely an interesting piece of work!
8) Do you have a family or a job that must be balanced with the band's activities? What are the challenges you face about your personal life?
Yes, I do have family and I work within the field of technology, I am an engineer. Of course, music is not a full-time activity for me, but that’s one thing I really like about it. It’s my passion and my time to get out of the daily routine; of course, in some cases balancing the time is very hard. Last year being on top of the composition, the artwork, the recordings, it’s been a real challenge for me, but what really counts is the result and I’ve been happy with it!
9) How has the Internet helped and hurt Pentesilea Road? I'm sure social media has made it easier to get the word out about the band but illegal downloads probably make it quite difficult to make money recording albums, right?
Difficult question and I’d say the answer depend on the point of view. As a compulsive consumer of music, I can’t deny the Internet opened a new world: basically, nowadays everything is at hand, just open YouTube or Spotify. The drawback is that is truly difficult to enjoy an album like it was happening in the past. The huge amount of available music makes it quickly, and sadly, disposable. The age of fast-food, made also a lot of fast-music or call it whatever you like. The problem, from an artist point of view, in opinion, is not to emerge, but to keep the head above water enough to endure…anyway, yes, I do confirm that “making money” is hard; the bright side is that that was not my objective: I wanted to create something and giving it some life. In this sense, my objective has been fully achieved.
10) What is the most important thing, in your opinion, in order to have a long, successful career with Pentesilea Road?
Respect. Gaining respect in the Progressive domain. Listeners should have some nice time while playing your music and, hopefully, play it again and again. Being able to communicate your feelings. If you don’t achieve these simple, basic targets, it would be just adding another drop in the ocean of good-but-to-be-forgotten bands…there plenty of those out there. I mean, I do not have the presumption of being part of those few standing up, only time and perseverance will tell, but we try our best 😊.
11) Well, congratulations on the new album, Vito. I hope this is the new step down a long and successful path for you and the band.
Thanks! After all this hard work, your words are very welcomed! All the best to you guys and I hope to talk to you again soon!
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