"Hateful" Interview

HATEFUL

This is my interview with the very talented and wonderful “Hateful”. The italian band has been intermittently on the metal scene for over fifteen years.

Though, it was only until 2009 that the band released their debut album "Coils Of a Consumed Paradise". Recently, “Hateful” released their second album entitled “Epilogue of Masquerade” through “The Spew Records”.

What they put on the table is an "intricate" death metal characterized by an unique and whirling songwriting. Here, I caught up with Daniele Lupidi, bassist and mastermind of this band, to get the skinny behind the new album.

As “Hateful” undoubtedly have a multi extreme metal approach, with a healthy dose of death metal, hints of grind, and technical leaning, how was the impact of these styles in the formation of the band?

Since the beginning we just wanted to do “our own thing”. Of course we are fans of many different styles within the extreme music realm and what you can hear is the combination of all our influences. In the early days we weren’t able to play fast or intricate

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stuff. If I look back to the band’s history I see some guys that improved their skills slowly, but constantly. The current sound is the result of the hard work and I’m happy we found our identity as a band and that our sound is not immediately comparable with a specific band or niche.

The band’s brain­twisting meters and multipart structures aren’t the kinds of things you usually learn in school. What do you do to get this

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creative inspiration?

I’m really happy you noticed this side of our music. I admit it takes more than a couple of listening sessions to be assimilated. As a composer, when I write the music, I just try to be as natural and flowing as I can. I usually pay a lot of attention to the song structure and then try to improve every single riff of melody. I know a lot of people just collect riffs and then merge them together to create a song, but it’s not my case. Everything must be flowing and every part must be functional to the final result.

If a rhythm comes out odd or twisted it is not because we forced it. It’s probably the natural brainchild of a twisted mind hahaha.

What appeals most to you about performing technical death metal songs?

We never wanted to play technical stuff for the sake of being “technical”.

We simply write some intricate stuff following our inspiration and then try to play it as best as we can! It’s challenging but very satisfying.

Death Metal has changed significantly since the early 90′s.

What are your thoughts on the way the genre has changed?

I have some mixed thoughts about the way it changed. Of course we are early nineties Death Metal fans, I think the stuff that was created in that period is still the best expression of extreme music. The scene is now fragmented into a lot of sub­genres but I admit there is a lot of great stuff out there!

Anyway, I definitely miss the early days unpredictable evolutions of the band, even if sometimes they resulted

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in complete flops!

Has recording “Epilogue Of Masquerade” been a different process from recording the first album?

We took care of the production by ourselves once again, but we had much more experience this time. Another important factor has been the addition of our guitar player Massimo, who is also an experienced sound engineer, as well as a great musician. We had better equipment and a proper place to try different solution and mixes. We did appreciate the result on the first album but “Epilogue of Masquerade” sounds way better!

What was it like working with Dan Swäno on the mastering of “Epilogue Of Masquerade”? What level of input did you receive from him?

He only took care of the mastering and did a great job. We tried two or three different masterings and he was very patient and supportive. His huge experience has been very important to add the final “professional” touch to the album.

I wondered if the longer period of time for the sophomore full­length “Epilogue Of Masquerade” was a necessity or a delay. Could the album have been completed in less time?

Would the songs have been different, simpler and have less arrangement if you have used less period of time?

It was a necessity. As you said, the complexity of the songs and the arrangement needed a very focused work and we wanted to take all the time necessary to record pre­ productions and verify every single February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

detail. We wanted to start the recording sessions only when completely satisfied.

In my opinion, it’s better not to rush the whole process in order to have all the details at the right place.

In which ways “Epilogue Of Masquerade” continues the work introduced on "Coils Of a Consumed Paradise", aesthetically and lyrically?

We picked up where we left off. I wanted to paint a cover that represents the ominous intricacy of our music. It’s obviously the same mind that created “Coils of a consumed Paradise” but this time I wanted something deeper and more abstract. Lyrically I didn’t change my style, once again I wrote starting from concepts and images that were floating inside my mind. I develop this Ideas for a while and then I start writing when I feel inspired. The inspiration comes from different sources: paintings, books, personal experiences, weird scientific stuff. Our albums are very diverse, thematically.

I saw you guys for the first time in November 2013 at “Tipografia” alongside “Vomitory”. What it’s been like touring Italy with “Vomitory” on their last ending tour. What do you remember of your first gig here in Abruzzo?

It’s been definitely our best experience as a band so far. “Vomitory” are a killer band and very nice guys, we had great timed with them! We also gained a lot of experience and visited places where we’ve never been before…we couldn’t ask for more! The gig in Pescara was amazing, we have to thank our friend Riccardo for helping us, filling in for our regular drummer Marcello. I remember the event perfectly: good

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place, killer audience and last but not least very beautiful girls!

Who have been some of your favorite bands to share the stage with?

It a difficult question! Probably “Napalm Death” were the biggest band we supported, that gig was awesome, even if we had to cut our setlist due to weather problems….We already mentioned “Vomitory” and I remember another killer experience when we opened for “Malevolent Creation”, one of my fave bands! But we had many other great experiences. In 2012 I remember an incredible show with “Ad Nauseam”, “Death Mechanism” and “Psychotomy” but I could go on for hours hahaha.

With the band musically stronger than ever, what the future held and what would you like to add to your sound?

We just want to improve as band and as musicians, see new places and spreading our name around. We had a lot of good responses recently and we’ll keep promoting “Epilogue of Masquerade” as best as we can in the next months. We are already working on some new material and I can say our sound won’t change drastically. The formula is still the same but of course there are some new and maybe more “progressive” sick ideas coming out!

Its’ nothing premeditated, as always we just follow our inspiration and try to let it flow naturally Is there anything you want to say to close this up?

I want to thank you for this cool interview, I hope your readers won’t find my answers too boring hahaha. I also would like to return to Abruzzo for another sick show, we’ll see…..Thanks Rossano!

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