Tommaso Riccardi – Fleshgod Apocalypse

Fleshgod Apocalypse are a band that can be compared with no other in the world of metal, boasting a unique and unorthodox style of heavy, orchestral music that is scintillating to say the least. With three albums to their credit, the Italian symphonic metallers have returned in 2016 with their fourth album entitled ‘King’, a musical tale (and absolute masterpiece) that represents the cruel reality of the world we live in today but with a message that offers a ray of hope and optimism. Metal Obsession had the honour of catching up with lead vocalist and rhythm guitar genius, Tommaso Riccardi to talk about their brand new album, the process of it’s creation, the in-depth meaning behind ‘King’,  Fleshgod’s unique approach to metal among other things.

Almost one year has led to this ingenious masterpiece and the band, although packed with promo work and tours, are very happy. “Yeah, it has been incredibly busy but also very exciting. Even before we released the album, the response and reviews we received were great, even better than we expected. Now we also have to focus on playing all this new material during our shows and I’m pretty confident given the response so far. We’re all a bit nervous, but that’s normal isn’t it? It would mean we don’t care enough if we weren’t! Plus, we’re also excited to go back on tour considering we have played only a few shows and most of them were festivals last year. It’ll be good to be back on the road. ”

The focus having been on the production of ‘King’ to utmost perfection is obvious on first listen of the album. The music is as always if not more so mystical, dark and captivating, a trademark sound that the Italians have mastered over the years. That being said, every album tells a story and in Fleshgod stories, you just cannot skip chapters. “Agreed! You cannot listen to the songs individually, because each one is linked to the next and this is exactly the way King is structured. The writing process itself is now easier as we know how to work and of course we have consolidated what we’ve been doing all these years and we have learned from the past. We actually approached everything slightly differently this time, and we knew how to get certain results – for example, with the arrangements of the music. Although it took a while, we were looking for that perfect balance between all the various elements in our music ( And trust me there are quite a few of said elements – all of which blend perfectly well together).So we were looking for something more dynamic and the best way for all aspects of our music to come out at the right moment. Other factors that influenced the writing were definitely things like writing guitar lines as a sort of string section of the orchestra ( which we have always done). In this case, we wanted to bring back more the metal part of the riffs but in our case we need to work with the orchestrations in mind and make sure heavy riffs sound good with the orchestral parts.”

Immerse yourself completely and you will find that with every listen to the album, there is a new element in the music that will make itself known, which in itself makes the whole album a memorable listen. The difficulty of such layered compositions such as Fleshgod’s does come with a considerable amount of time, effort and even a part of your sanity. ” That’s what we love about the music – some things are really in-your-face while other parts are more subtle. We are very famous for working crazy on every single song that we write. If you consider the whole composition process – it took us 9 full months and I mean 10 hours per day , 6 days per week. We start from a good riff or melodic line and try and build it up into a good song, with, like I said, the perfect balance of all the various aspects of our music. This is the hard part sometimes, because inspiration may not come to you when you really need it. Trying to arrange music to create a really good song is serious. So sometimes, this means spending literally 3 weeks on 10 seconds of music.” On asking whether such complexity in their music is spontaneous or is in fact, well-planned, Tomasso replies, ” The cool part about music is that if you really know what you’re doing, you realize – it’s not you that decides – it’s the music. In our music, we found out the ‘rules’, so to speak, while experiencing the composition. We know what works and what doesn’t whether it’s rhythmically, harmonically or melodically. The combinations are infinite and every time you come up with an idea, you put together and all the differences there can be between various riffs, the drum arrangements that force you to work on certain things, until you feel there is an equilibrium in all the structures.”

‘King’ is a thought-provoking concept album that when paid close attention to, contains quite an enlightening message to the world. “As always, working on a metaphorical level, this story could be viewed on two different layers. The real inspiration of this album comes from the fact that we are living in a pretty critical time in history and it is hard to deny.” Continuing on a very philosophical note, he says, ” I believe that in this day and age, it is very easy for people to lose sight of what is truly important in life, things which are simple yet we don’t realize. Superficiality surrounds us and we are forgetting all that is valuable to us. We are trying to send this message through the rather sad story of a King, the album being set in a court. The theme is set in the Romantic period (first half of the 19th century)and the King, in his court, is indeed a metaphorical representation of the whole world- a character who personifies justice and integrity. All the other characters in the album are various members of the court that represent the reasons why there is a downfall in society such as jealousy, greed and ignorance. The positive message is that everyone has a King inside them – that part of you that is ready to do the right thing and as we say in the album, we must all ‘hail the King’ inside ourselves.”  Tugs at your brain cells just a tad, doesn’t it?

When talking about touring, I couldn’t help but tell this fine Italian how a Fleshgod Apocalypse live show is an experience in it’s own right as the music comes to life and the band not only put on one hell of a musical performance but intensify their stage presence with theatrics, costumes and an undeniable brutal elegance. ” Why thank you, Prat! Besides the fact that of course, we’re continuously working and reinvesting in live shows, we are always trying to improve the show to make it something that we really believe goes beyond a normal musical experience. It has to be something that touches the people who come to see us. You know, when you get a chance to  see a band live – the word ‘live’ already describes it – it can’t just be playing the music although that is the most important thing but it must also be a more comprehensive experience, something that really includes different feelings, a visual side to it etc.” Confessing further that I remember leaving their gig in Sydney completely blown away and speechless, Tommaso continued, ” I think what you are talking about is really connected with something we simply call energy . It is really important for us to reproduce our music in the best way possible and that one thing we can never miss is energy. It’s difficult to describe it, but it’s a sort of flow that goes through us to the people and then back. You have to be aware of that and you have to be able to put yourself through psychological and emotional conditions to feel it, which is certainly the best part.”

Undoubtedly having carved a niche of their own in the world of metal, he also shared their experience of being viewed as a band that is vastly different from it’s contemporaries. ” It does of course, give us a sense of achievement, especially because we have been working really crazy and hard over the last 7-8 years. But the thing is, we never got distracted by anything because we have been building this up and have put a lot of effort into everything we do. Obviously when you do that, it pays off and is the best feeling in the world. Meanwhile, it’s important to enjoy the whole process because music is what we love, although it is also a challenge. There must always be a continuous challenge with things, I believe.”

Related Posts

• 

  HJELVIK – Welcome to Hel
• 

  AC/DC – Power Up
• 

  Depravity – Grand Malevolence
• 

  Pioneering Aussie metal drummer Matt ‘Skitz’ announces 2021 national tour.