Veratrum Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
Veratrum are a blackened death metal band with various influences from Bergamo, northern Italy. We are active since 2008 and we have released two full length albums: Sentieri Dimenticati (“Forgotten Paths”) in 2012 and Mondi Sospesi (“Suspended Worlds”) in 2015 and a demo “Sangue” (“Blood”) 2010.

2.Recently you have released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
The sound of the new album is an epic blackened death metal with various influences (death, black, ambient and others). It differs from the past works because it is much more mature and personal, the arrangements are symphonic and powerful and the overall quality of the work stands out.

3.The band has been around since 2008 but so far have only released 2 full length's and a demo, can you tell us a little bit more about the gap between releases?
Well, the line up was fully completed with the arrival of our drummer Sabnok in early 2009. We took our time to get to know each other as musicians in order to understand what kind of band we wanted to be, where to go and so on. Therefore, practically we released 3 works in less than 6 years which is not too bad. Writing songs and, especially, arranging them takes time and we are determined to explore new artistic solutions in every album avoiding repetitions as much as possible and we rarely find our first intuitions satisfactory.

4.Your lyrics cover ancient spirituality, theosophy and mythology, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in these topics?
These themes were explored by our singer Haiwas while looking for inspiration for the concept album Sentieri Dimenticati. However, both in Sangue and Mondi Sospesi the lyrics tend to be more intimate and personal, using spirituality and mythology as excuses to talk about present days and ourselves. By the way, the lyrics are in Italian but duly translated in English into the booklet of the albums.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Veratrum'?
Veratrum is the name of a poisonous plant capable of causing deformations and mutilations to newborn animals that eat it. It is a good example of the duality of nature and of the world.

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
The band has often performed on the local scene gaining experience as well as standing out in metal contests. During live shows we try to be always focused and professional, our main concern is to deliver a good performance involving the audience in the atmosphere and the meaning of our songs.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
 A part from local gigs, we will take part in Fosch Fest, an important Italian metal festival supporting Carcass and other well-known names. Also, we are working on other things: stay in touch!

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black and death metal?
The band has constantly received good reviews from national and international webzines and reviews. Among the others, “Sangue” won the “Demo of the Month” prize awarded by Metal Hammer Italy. In general, our internet pages have a good number of visitors and we manage to keep a good position in Reverbnation’s charts. Therefore, I would say the response is good.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
The new album “Mondi Sospesi” has developed further some experiments and ideas that were only marginally present in the old works, first of all the epic sound and orchestral arrangements. It is too early to talk about the future but we will keep on searching for different ideas, that’s for sure.

10.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?
All the members of the band were part of different projects before: black metal (Fosch); symphonic black metal (Voland); doom metal (Winter of Souls). I’d say these projects influenced our growth as musicians but they are no more. Currently we only focus on Veratrum.

11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
In general, we listen to different kinds of music, many of them are not metal. The key influences, however, are Behemoth, Nile, Dissection, Belphegor but many others indeed, including brutal stuff and ambient.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?
Everyone has their hobbies such as sports, travelling, reading, playing chess and others.

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thank you very much for the interview. We ask to all the readers to listen to the music of Veratrum and support the underground scene. For more info and news, check out our Facebook page, look for us under the name “Veratrum”, as well as our Reverbnation account www.reverbnation.com/veratrumdeath .