1) Here on xUax we are not used to presentations, but let's do an exception for this time! Tell us who you are, what you do and your reasons.
Pil: Hell-o xUAx! Here we are, Glad to be an exception!!! We are Slave Steel, a Thrash- Death metal band, formed by 4 members: Paolo Nazzari ( Pil - lead vocals), Daniele Manganaro (guitars, backing vocals), Giommaria Ruiu ( Metal Skin - bass guitar, backing vocals), Riccardo Priori (drums). We met in Rome on about 2007 , and after few years playin' in the scene of that area, we decided to move to England, in Leytonstone (London), to improve and mantain our music project. A deep passion for music and metal, but also a great friendship unite us.With our music we try to spread our feelings to the public, with a lot of attitude (and professionality obviously needed :)
Dan: The project started in a very natural way, a direct consequence of our "playin' together", that grew up as we grew during the years. We want to express ourselves of course, and Metal is the language we use, our language. In music we share the same preferences and we like to influence each other with more personal tastes. Nowadays sharing these aspects daily, side by side in the same house, is for us a great achievement. At the end the main purpose is to be on top of this adventure!!!
2) Your music reminds me both Death of the last period than At The Gates of "Slaughter of the soul". How would you describe your sound? What should a Slave Steel track to came outside the rehearsal?
Dan: We are trying to develop a specific sound that we have in mind since the beginning, and step by step we get closer; a thrash print with a look, a research on progressive elements, that doesn't eliminate the classic lessons. The entrance and return of Pil (singer) brought us to express better our most extreme caracteristics, an today we are having some satisfactions by this.
3) In what consist your thematics? and, most important, what the hell is an Anthrophosophist?
Metal Skin: Our mood and knowledge cross the path with reality, and by the confrontation of these elements our music takes birth... so each song has a specific direction, has a certain theme that the author wants to analyze. Being more precise i can tell you that our interests are on a social level, but you can find tracks where the individuality takes more importance, sometimes the theme could be even a bit spiritual. I think the heaviness and aggressiveness manifested in the musical side is a reflection of what's around us, that we daily absorb and spit it out again.
Dan: "The Anthrophosophist", for instance, refers to the epistemologic discipline based on Rudolf Steiner's teachings, the Anthrophosophy. The song wants to describe an important side about the approach to music as an intangible art, closely linked to performance. Unlike arts that shape the matter, the sound remains elusive and constantly moving. Result of a vibration not different from the one who generates light or matter, except to the frequency spectrum on which it is manifested. But above all, the exposure is always a revival. Charming, but cruel. Kinda like the subject of the song, who can imagine a much wider sensible context, but can not forgive the reality to have it divided into separate sections.
4) Give us 5 or more titles of albums that influenced you ad tell us why they are important to you.
MetalSkin: We give you a short list of the main influences, but talking about anyone would be long and boring, you will understand yourself...
-Vulgar display of power (Pantera, 1992)
-Vertigo (John 5, 2004)
- The Satanist (Behemoth, 2014)
- Iron Maiden (Iron Maiden , 1980)
- The Sound of Perseverance (Death, 1998)
- Rust in Peace (Megadeth , 1990)
- A perfect Absolution (Gorod, 2012)
- The Link (Gojira, 2005)
Pil: The Concert with E-force surely was a good opportunity for growth, and remains a great one in our career. But we always like to see the next gig as the most important till that moment: both as a challenge to improve and as a logic progress of our skills. Last January, shortly after the E-force show, i returned to the band, after about 5 years off the stage. With this line-up change, begins the rising from the first Heat till the Grand final in the Metal2themassesLondon (a competition contest), which we reached through several challenging shows, that made us grow a lot and gave us much more visibility. Speaking of anecdotes, in that period, during the semifinal show, we had a good one. Only 3 of the 7 bands should be choosen for being part of the 6 finalists. Meantime the Dead Before Mourning show, the headamp of their guitarist blow up. Naturally we directly gave them ours. DBM continued their show and were choosen for participating in the final and, twist of fate, we were escluded :( But our fairplay not only pleased Dead Before Mourning who thanked us during the performance, but even judges and sponsor of the Metal2themasses... Next day they told us that we were taken back in the final for the revive, and that we won the reward with "Very Metal Art", which made possible the realisation of "Fat Sunday's Tale" lyric video. Well, karma gave us back what we wanted in the end...
6) Talking about live and concerts, and knowing that you live in England... how is the atmosphere there? Some of our friends who played there noticed their care of being in time and a good flow of public , others lamented a certain "coldness" in the crowd... what do you think 'bout it?
Pil: We think our decision to stay in London, is one of the most important and right move we made since we play together. The atmosphere, specifically for alternative/ metal genres ,in United Kingdom, is something totally different from what we were used to know. The scene is really supported, the vibe' s so welcoming and full of emphaty that is able to grow and connect bands and audience. The metal musician is very respected and the affluence's not only considerable, but even pleasantly present, involved and engaging; people are genuinely interested to the underground scene of emerging bands. Obviously isn't all "sunshine and rainbows"... That's not easy at all, especially for a foreign band, to make its room in the local scene. But our results , achieved with costant effort, has been well recieved by the scene.
Dan: The metal scene has many important venues and a considerable number of very good bands. Nothing less from Italy, but stereotypes are not worth the time. The same passion for the environment that we left in Rome, we found it here. Certainly the British system is well established and emerging bands self-promotion, can count on an immediate and consistent response
MetalSkin: think about that we are talking of the native land of Iron Maiden, Motorhead, Carcass, to nominate somes, think how much interesting is for us to have a confront with this tradition!
7) " Fat Sunday's Tale", your last lyric video, has released relatively since small time. The song was recorded and mixed at the Outer Studios from Giuseppe Orlando ( ex member of Novembre, Airlines of Terror) , and we think he made a great job! Will you continue workin with him in the future?
Dan: Working with Giuseppe Orlando, was an experience for us, in the most absolute sense of the term. Just stepped in the studio, we felt a pleasant complicity and a really important sincerity. Also Alfonso Corace had a significant role during the recordings, we have grown a lot with them and it would be great to work again together!
MetalSkin: I totally agree, it was so comfortable working with him, he understands immediately questions and musical needs, and the fact that we share the same background and language (the Metal), the approach to work , even if it's higly professional, turns into faster and simpler.
8) What Slave Steel material is already released? Are you planning to release an album soon?
Dan: We are currently working to better define our sound, which as you know is a search that never ends generating new questions. We have already started writing new material and were immediately and pleasantly surprised by the early results. We still want to pick the right time to work on new songs during rehearsals and consolidate them during the next live shows, before step again in the studio. Surely, the next step is the production of our first music video, than we’ll consider the possibility of recording a new album.
9) "Fat Sunday' Tale" certain is an attack to catholicism religion, a classic for any good metal band. What are the reason for a thematic like this, that seems predictable, but at the end it isn't?
Ric: "Fat Sunday's Tale" could be taken as an attack against religion, but basically the point of view we were interested in is socio-politic: it's a tale about those people whose costantly are evil against others, and they hide their evilness with the mask of their religous beliefs. We are talkin' about poeple who may be politicians, but could be normal citizens as well. Now, we're not religion's fans, not only catholicism for sure, but the corrupted way of habit of certain people is probably more disgusting and vile than blind religous beliefs itselves.
MetalSkin: I shouldn't call it attack but rather critic, a positive one: even if we don't agree, we don't oppose to the fact that the istinct to believe in something of the people is associated to common dogmas and laws decided by one of the most corrupted institutions ( and that's the description of most of the main global religions, that you faithful have to accept at first), but the hipocrisy with whom this fact is manipulated: so many "believers" prefers to refuse a logic speech with you (or me, or him), and this is creating untollerance and distrust on a minor level; violence, racism and terrorism (more fake than real), power games, wars, and many other scums on a higher level... all spiritual elements as you can see....
Dan: Is interesting to note that the most different and distant religions of history, in addition to sharing many similarities, actually arise from spiritual progress methods, of which we lost the original sources, attributable to the first astronomical observations. But before they were dramatically exploited, they were considered by people as great sources of inspiration, exciting and educational legends. Today, unfortunately, the situation is quite different.
Surely the intention is to provoke a strong need for reaction, maybe a little nihilistic approach, that is sometimes necessary to give a present and concrete imagery.
10) Free space. Thanks for answering to our questions see you soon!!!
Slave Steel: Thank you for your time!!!! we hope to see you soon, maybe in some gig in Italy!!!!
Peace, Love, Metal!!!
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