Reviews & Interviews
Reviews / Interviews

Album: Roma S.P.Q.R. ( 2012 )

INTERVIEW

Date: May '13
Author: LTH Staff Editor
Vote: n/a
Language: English
Website: http://WWW.louderthanhell.net
Direct link: click here

Martiria has many of the markings of a doom band. First and foremost, the Roman-based band employed legendary drummer Vinny Appice (ex-Heaven and Hell, Kill Devil Hill) to drive the beat on their “ROMA S.P.Q.R.” album. Doom on. If you listen to the first track “Northern Edge,” you might think “Wow, this sounds like Candelemass.” However, as the player continues, you’ll find the group has so much more to offer, stylistically. Hard rock, heavy metal, and power metal styles keep their music dynamic. Still, one term defines the group, epic.

Martiria: Moving To The Beat of Mars
by LTH Staff Editor


Martiria has many of the markings of a doom band. First and foremost, the Roman-based band employed legendary drummer Vinny Appice (ex-Heaven and Hell, Kill Devil Hill) to drive the beat on their “ROMA S.P.Q.R.” album. Doom on. If you listen to the first track “Northern Edge,” you might think “Wow, this sounds like Candelemass.” However, as the player continues, you’ll find the group has so much more to offer, stylistically. Hard rock, heavy metal, and power metal styles keep their music dynamic. Still, one term defines the group, epic.



LTH: What's going on with the band right now? What are you currently working on?

Andy Menario (music/guitars): In autumn we released the new CD ROMA S.P.Q.R. and, since then, we’ve been really busy trying to promote it through live shows, radio interviews and so on. But, right now, we’re back in studio since there has been a big change in the line up! New singer, Flavio Cosma (still unknown, but not for long) and new drummer: Vinny Appice, straight from Black Sabbath to Martiria. You can guess we’re working very hard to some new, hot material. Actually, from February we will be already in pre-production.



LTH: People become a musician for a wide variety of reasons. What are the factors that originally inspired you to play music? Are you playing for the same reasons today as you were when you started? Why or why not?

Andy: Well, I began to play to follow the steps of my elder brother, then I got in contact with hard rock and heavy metal and the passion of a teenager began… the reason of my life. I started to study hard, I got lessons and I began to practice every single day, for hours and hours. I think I’m lucky because I had a chance to share my music with thousands of people all around the world. And it is something I don’t want to renounce; I still feel the need to share my feelings using all the possible shades of the seven notes! Of course, time and experience teach a lot, I’m different, I’ve a better knowledge of my capabilities and of my limits and, since I know exactly what I can do, I also know exactly how to focus all my energy on it.



LTH: How would you describe your music? Can you recall a description someone has given about your music that is the most accurate?

Andy: It’s a mix of epic, dramatic, sometimes sad atmospheres, together with very linear melodic lines and choruses. We also mix modern and traditional instruments. Difficult to define, indeed… but I think that our fans can recognize immediately “Martiria’s style”. It’s our… trademark!

Marco Capelli (Lyrics): Metal Observer wrote this about us, I do like the way they express it: “It is exactly this conjuring voice and the adding of all manners of classical instruments/choirs constitute a lot of MARTIRIA’s appeal. Epic arrangements and progressive song structures and many acoustic passages are able to captivate you throughout the playing time.”



LTH: Choose one or more specific things about the music on your album to talk about. This could be guitars, lyrics, drums, production, etc. Please explain what you like about this aspect of the album and how you created it.

Andy: Well, I think we’ve a very peculiar way to create a song. It may begin with a vocal line recorded on a mobile phone, at home, in the car, even walking on the road… Then I swiftly build a guitar riff and, finally, I switch on the drum machine, to study the rhythmic parts. Once I’ve an idea of the melodic line, I write down the syllabic scheme for the lyrics and send it to Marco (who’s very lazy, so he must have them way in advance). While Marco produces the lyrics, I work on the arrangements and, only when all the parts are ready, I involve the other members of the band in the process and, while playing and replaying it, each piece gets enriched by each musician experience and the “final” song comes to light.

Marco: I must admit I am – actually – lazy. And that the most part of the time I slow down a bit the process. But hey, you cannot compare me with Andy: he’s both volcanic and hyperactive! Someone must slow him down!



LTH: What and who are some of your influences? Fans love getting to know their favorite artists. Please give them a few details about why you like creating music and what things inspire you to make it.

Andy: Oh, that’s difficult. I mean, I like almost all the metal form the ‘80s. That’s the base on which I’ve built my music. Maybe my preference goes to those band who were a bit more into the “dark” side but without losing some “melodic” touch, I’m talking about Warlord, Candlemass and mainly Black Sabbath and Manowar. Still, many of my melodies are in debt with ‘70s dance music and there are influences from Verdi, Puccini, Vivaldi! When I compose, I try to transmit deep sensations, intense feelings, my purpouse is to reach directly people’s soul, to leave a seed and let it grow slowly. I think this is the reason why critics have failed till now in the attempt to classify our music. I think we can’t be tied to a genre. We play Rock, Metal, Epic Metal, Prog, Classic Metal, Dark Metal, Power Metal all together! And also Doom, Hard Rock and any other sub-genre you can think about.



LTH: Every person is a product of his or her environment. Would you say the music in your home area has influenced your group? Please explain why or why not your area has inspired your music.

Andy: Actually, I don’t think so. Maybe just for what it concerns the Opera, living in Italy, in Rome, allowed me to get in touch with this music genre and to familiarize with traditional musical instruments, even those that are normally not used in rock music, like accordion, flute, liute… I really like to experiment new sonorities and I look everywhere for inspiration.

Marco: Well, for what I concerns the lyrics; I think that I am in debt with the Italian musical tradition. It’s not a matter of inspiration, is the whole idea that the lyric IS important into a song not just for the way it sounds (even more) for the message it delivers, the image it can create. And all this aspects, sound, image, message must mix together with the music in a way so soft, so smooth that none should be able to tell where it finish the music and where it begins the lyric…



LTH: Have you opened for any major acts or toured? What is the first performance that pops into your head when thinking about your gigs?

Andy: In the past, we’ve had the chance to play with groups like Exciter and Jag Panzer, but the concert we enjoyed the most was the last one here in Rome, in a famous club where we had a chance to play for almost two hours; organizing a real "ad hoc" show and using a maxi-screen to show a different video for each song we played. A real, epic multi-medial event!



LTH: What can your fans expect from your shows? What aspect of your band brings in crowds?

Andy: A deep experience, full of pathos and epic... our music goes deeply inside. All our fans agree that during our shows they "vibrate" on the same wave-length. We make real shows, there is nothing "artificial" in what we do!



LTH: Chemistry within a band is very important. When the band originally formed, what was it about playing with the other musicians that made you the most impressed? What is it about the chemistry between the members that makes the band unique?

Andy: We all have a different musical background, even if, of course, we all listen to rock. This is why everyone brings a slightly different contribution. It's the mix of so many different experiences and sensibilities that makes everything magic.



LTH: Thank you for taking the time to speak with us about your music. Do you have a special event like a concert or tour coming up that you'd like to discuss? What's the next step for the band?

Andy: Nothing certain, for the moment. Since we're closed in studio, recording. But there will be news pretty soon... so, stay tuned.

© LTH Staff Editor