HELL BOULEVARD

[ Interview with Matteo VDiva Fabbiani from Hell Boulevard by Diego Centurión Photographs: Chiara Cerami _ VDPictures. ]

HELL BOULLEVARD: PAVES THE WAY TO DARK DELIGHT ON 'NOT SORRY' LP

Hell Boulevard return with a new job, the Goth'n'Roll band, a sound characterized by that mix performed by bands like The 69 Eyes, Lord of the Lost or the Type O Negative. In September they released their new and third album “Not Sorry”, the Swiss band formed in 2014 by the vocalist Matteo VDiva Fabbiani, Von Marengo (guitars and vocals), Jan Hangman on drums and Raul Sanchez on bass. And in their new album they redefine the sound that grew in their previous works, making “Not Sorry” their best work. We have the opportunity to speak with them and get to know them and, therefore, introduce them to you in this interview.

Hi! Thank you for agreeing to answer these questions. I honestly did not know the band and I was pleasantly surprised with “Not Sorry” and I wanted to have them present in the pages of our magazine.

Thanks a lot Diego for taking the time to interview us, glad you found us eventually!

To start this interview we go to the beginning, six years is not that long, but if we think about the pandemic and how active they have been in these years, we can say that it has been a lifetime since that initial 2014. Tell us how far away do you feel that beginning and what do you remember from those early days?

Indeed it almost feels like a different life, especially considering the situation as it is today. Music wise we’ve come a long way, half of the lineup is different from the first one since a few years now and our sound has evolved quite a bit since our very first “Hangover from Hell”.

Today we are in a moment of little concert activity, but you are a band that usually perform many shows, tell us how do you cope with this new reality? Do they use social networks to have contact with their fans?

Coping is a bit of a stretch, let’s just say we had to learn to live with it and accept it, after all health comes first, both for us and our fans but we’re eagerly waiting to resume touring as soon as it’s safe again. We’re not that much into streaming concerts as it does really feel just like some sort of “foreplay only” option, a bit like having a taste of something awesome but not being allowed to get the whole thing... However we think we all need entertainment now more than ever so we have recently started streaming on Twitch and turned it onto a twice a week regular appointment (every Wednesday and Saturday). The full band is present and we basically do what we feel like doing, with no rules or planning: sometimes we make music together, other times we just chitchat or play games. These streaming appointments serve multiple purposes: they help us to maintain a steady connection to our fanbase whilst providing some sort of well needed entertainment so it’s

a win-win situation.

In these pandemic months, one tries to think about many things, from the future to reviewing the past. Have you thought about something from the band's past that you don't want to repeat?

Honestly I’ve never been much of a past person, I only ever think about the present and future. Now that the present is not really worth thinking about I’m focusing mainly on the future for both myself and the band. I have great plans for

Hell Boulevard, we’re already writing new music so we will be absolutely ready when all of this finally blows over!

Are you listening to your previous works? And if you do, what have you rediscovered in previous work?

After I finish working on an album I go to my detox phase where I don’t listen to it for months and generally when I finally get back to it I’m almost surprised of how good it sounds. Sometimes that also happens when I do listen to our past records after years, which to be honest doesn’t happen too often as I’m not much of a “past” person. But when it does there’s some things I re-discover I’m very proud of... might be specific songs, just parts or arrangements or even mere sounds. After all that’s the main goal to me: making music I can be proud of even after years and I gotta say I feel like I’m pretty much on the right track with Hell Boulevard... still don’t know where this journey will take me but it’s hell of a good ride.

What differences do you find between "Not Sorry" and the

previous works "Inferno" (2016) and "In Black We Trust" (2018)?

Mhh, I honestly see a constant evolution: it’s most definitely still the same sport but we’re growing in terms of league. We’re still making the music we’ve always wanted to do but we’re digging a little deeper with every new record: whether that means adding more layers in terms of composition or getting into different subjects with the lyrics. But in the end the soul remains the same, we want Hell Boulevard to be a feelgood band with just the right amount of seriousness and still preserving its rock’ n’roll attitude.

I read in an interview that they talked about their influences, they mentioned Michael Jackson, HIM, the soundtracks of John Williams and the Beach Boys, so it leads me to ask... Are you looking and discovering music from the past or do you pay close attention to today?

Both things really, my focus switches a lot but I’ve gotta say there’s not much I find interesting in 2020, I used to follow the rap/hip hop scene because it was super vibrant and interesting (also in terms of videography), then the mainstream scene switched more into trap music and I’m afraid I just don’t get the hype. That’s why I’m currently rediscovering mainly stuff from the past but I’m sure hoping one of these days something new will catch my attention, I don’t wanna end up being one of these permanently nostalgic musicians and I love discovering and falling in love with new things and music.

The work of the videos is excellent, but I am aware of VDPICTURES, was this one of the doors that opened the possibilities for you

to meet other bands and grow as a band?

Both VDPICTURES and Hell Boulevard are dated 2014, they run on mostly parallel tracks that somehow intertwines. There have been times where the company led people to the band and vice-versa so these two sides of my life are separate yet very much connected. There’s still a lot of people who know me as a videographer and don’t know about Hell Boulevard and there’s others who know vDiva and the band but they have no clue I make music videos for a living.

All in all I’m just lucky I get to make and/or work with music 100% of my time, my job is my passion and my passion is my job.

We are at a strange point in the pandemic, when in Europe it was thought that everything had improved, again we began to learn that restrictive measures are returning. This could change the pieces of the game we are in again, they have already delayed the release of “Not Sorry”, they have postponed the tour to support the album for 2021. Are you ready as a band to record a new album on this situation?

We’re currently entering lockdown 2.0 and honestly it was not unexpected. It’s unfortunate but we’re willing to do whatever sacrifice it takes to make sure things can go back to normal as soon as possible. Yes, the “Not Sorry” release was postponed, our tour got postponed to January 2021 and it’s most likely gonna be postponed once again given the current situation... so what’s left to do? New music it is. We already started working on it, I also have a whole lot of new ideas so we’re definitely more than ready to lock ourselves up in the studio if needed and work on a new chapter, for now we just gotta wait and see what happens but we’re most definitely well prepared.

Today thinking about new plans becomes somewhat uncertain, but if one does not have close plans, everything becomes a nightmare. What have you planned with the band for these months of 2020?

Safe to say we won’t have many chances of doing anything of what we planned in the real world but we ain’t giving up on 2020 just yet! We will still keep on promoting the new album by releasing another single and video before the year’s off and we hope in a constant growing of our followers through our music and the streamings, so we will be very active and present online until we’re allowed to get back on the road where we belong.

Thank you for letting me ask you these questions, I ask that you tell our readers what you want.

I want everyone to be careful and safe so we can all return to a normal lifestyle and resume our lives ...and touring! See you on the road!

Thank you.