Describe Innerload’s process at creating a style from different metal and rock subgenres and lyrical topics, and explain the glue holding it together.
Let me say that on the new album “Mater Tenebrarum”, this process is completely new due to the pandemic and the new lineup. Anyway, the basic point (true even before) is that each member contributes, probably in an unconscious way, bringing his style, musical experience and preferences. Even if we set a “target” genre (at the beginning it was generically thrash), what happens is, step by step it gets different colours from each member’s contribution, and I think in the end it “landed” in melodic death metal. But we love defining that “Innerload sound”.
From a technical point of view, the main ideas were defined by Antonio Tavella [guitars] during the pandemic, and each member could listen, take notes and imagine. Once we met we managed such songs like a “Lego game”: disassemble everything and reassemble with each member’s contributions. That's why our songs may remind you of different bands and different subgenres.
Talking about the lyrics, it’s a little different. We decided to approach it as a “concept album” on human mind diseases. The album is a “concept album” in terms of content. Mental disorders, psychotic states, and the pain of our souls pushed to the limit and beyond. From schizophrenia to madness, from soul-annihilating drug abuse to suicidal temptations.
Yet, there's always a “seed of hope and humanity”. We don't like to work within the stereotype of “death and destruction”. Some have pointed out that we're not 100% into the death themes. But for us, it's something we're proud of because, just like music, it's a means to narrate the messes we have inside. Our inner-load in all its variations and forms. Even those that “right-minded” culture often pretends not to see (actually because we fear the monsters within us).
How important is the name Innerload when it comes to representing your material?
We are all in some way linked to the name of the band, since it is a kind of headlight in our approach more than the musical direction. Our songs are always an expression of what we have inside: our feelings, thoughts, weaknesses and strengths. We change in time, as it happens in life, so our music changes. The new Innerload era is now focusing on mental diseases that are somehow related to the question and (non) answers we find in death, evil and weakness. This is taking us into death/thrash metal, but we keep a light of hope as we think there is always a melody hidden behind the noise.
Is this the soul of the band you were referring to?
In some ways, yes. All of us have been struggling in life and possibly even in extreme disease. But music and this band has always been an anchor. We always tried to find positive things even in bad situations, and we do believe this is a value.
What releases did you have before the new lineup? During that time, how much effort went into developing a distinctive sound?
Let me mention our first album (“React!”) is not technically a full length, but in some way the beginning of everything. It is the consequence of a kind of magic moment we had, so we composed it quite quickly and went to Majestic Studios thinking we would just record a demo. But Marino De Angeli (forever thank you!) caught the soul of these songs and transformed them into an album we are still proud of. Obviously we were much younger and with limited means, but that album let us understand we had something to tell. I think the sound that came out was strongly linked to our “hero bands” like Megadeth, Metallica, Anthrax and Disturbed.
The second album “Again” had a longer story, with many lineup changes and pauses in the middle. It was not recorded by the same people that composed it, so it is kind of a mix of different influences, but still remaining in the same “track” as the NWOBHM.
I think the change we made with “Mater Tenebrarum” is probably also addressing this question: getting a more distinctive sound and style.
How did Innerload's current lineup form? What musical experience did they carry over from other bands?
The lineup changed during time, but I think the turning point was after recording “Again” as we understood we had no more of the right synergy. The pandemic made the rest, since all live events for the album were cancelled. At the time we made the decision to change genres and make a step forward to a more professional production. This made the rest in renovating the lineup but we will always be thankful to our previous brothers who played with us.
I think unconsciously we all bring our musical experience, but probably the most impacting is of Antonio “Tony” Tavella who finally had the space to contribute to song composition. He joined the band just when the second album was recorded, so his “effects” were still to come. Tony grew up with death/thrash metal (he played with Shadow of Soul), so I think this is the most impacting change.
Shadow of Soul released one full length (“Whisper from a Shadow”) in 2003 and one EP (“The Hidden Memories”) in 2006. How much involvement did Tony have writing the material?
Tony was involved in the complete writing of “Whisper from a Shadow”; he was the main composer of all the songs. He later left the band, so he's not part of the composition for “The Hidden Memories”.
What role did Tony's experience in Shadow of Soul play in Innerload's writing process? Does anyone else in the band have previous experience?
Probably listening to something from “Whisper from a Shadow” you can find continuity, I would say “Mater Tenebrarum” is the first album where he could express himself while composing tracks for Innerload.
How many studios were you considering when you heard of Majestic Studios? What made you decide to record there?
That was the first recording in the studio. We were much younger and obviously the budget was an issue. Marino made us an interesting offer with a fixed price while all the others were on an hourly fee. We listened to some albums he produced and they were awesome. He probably understood the tracks could be interesting and he gave us a lot of tricks. We learned so much from him.
Did Marino relate to your love for your hero bands? Did his experience help emphasize the band's soul?
His experience has been crucial, and I remember the first question he asked: “How do you want to sound like?” It seems simple but that was a turning point since we had to think to “our” sound and understood that even a “hero band” may have completely different sounds and production on different albums. Now it seems so “basic”, but that was really important for us.
Are there any albums produced by Marino that most convinced you of his abilities? What sort of tricks did you learn from him? How much closer did your working relationship become if he also assisted you with “Again” and “Mater Tenebrarum”?
I don't remember which album got our attention; it was something like thirteen years ago. 🙂 I well remember the idea of having multi tracks for vocals with two different pitches, not for harmonization but just to give the right “color” to the vocal lines. Another thing I remember is that we spent a lot of time on mastering, because he let us understand that we had to choose which was the preferred target “listening device”, for example an mp3 reader, a CD in a Hi-fi player, or a CD listened to in the car. Such things were totally new for us, and at that time there was not the digital technology we have now. We didn't have a chance to work with him on the following albums, but this was not a choice, it was just due to different circumstances.
“React!” was released by SG Records, a small independent record label. How much distribution did it provide? Why did you eventually part company with them?
It was the first EP and totally “homemade”, so it was not easy to find a label, but they decided to support us and made some promotion and distribution of our EP in physical copies in local shops. We had a long time between the first and second albums, and at that time SG Records was no longer working. We started a new approach with management by Irukandji so at that point, they were managing such choices (like the label) for us.
To promote “React!” you released a promotional video for the song “Fake World”. Can you explain what it’s about and how the video represents the lyrics?
“Fake World” is the first track of the EP and we had a chance to record the video with Silos Production who did a great job. The lyrics describe how the modern world is based on appearance, on the way the mainstream describes welfare and how much we are rich and lucky while there is a hidden part of the world suffering from poverty, and even the “rich part” is suffering because this is a “fake” welfare... a “fake” happiness that transforms us into slaves. That's why the video recalls jail bars and TV “distortion”; this is the mainstream media introducing such distortion into the values of our life.
Tell the readers about the fan made video for you second single from “React!”, “Eco Criminal”.
That is quite easy. We just collected some video takes by our fans, generally made with smartphones or simple devices. The idea was to give dignity even to “unofficial” sources and let our fans be part of our “production”.
Your song “The Wizard” from “React!” was included in the trailer soundtrack for Kety Franzolin's book "Watch Me Burn". Can you discuss the story behind that? Before the trailer, the original version of the song appeared on the 272 Records compilation “Kill City”.
“The Wizard” is in some way particular, since it is a fantasy story. From a musical point of view it is very melodic and catchy, thus also addressing non-metal music listeners.
I don't remember when we met Kety, but she fell in love with the song. Since her forthcoming book was a fantasy book and needed promotion, it was amazing for us and we accepted using the song in trailers.
Why did you decide to release “Again” independently? Was it due to SG Records folding or were you just motivated to distribute it?
I think it depends on both. SGRecords was no longer available, and when we recorded “Again” the band was in a period of change. We were trying to get a management to let the project grow, but we didn't have it. We were in the middle, so we had to manage everything independently. Not much later Irukanji put us in contact with Ghost Records and we finally had a label to stamp on it, but as you said “Again” is almost a self-made album.
Were you able to generate significant distribution for "Again"? Had you also contacted distributors or PR companies, or was it solely self-promoted?
It was initially totally self-promoted, and obviously this didn't lead to great visibility. Once we had a label, it was in some ways too late. The main problem was, we decided to completely change genres, so any investment and promotion was on something “old”. I love that album because it has a lot of interesting ideas and it’s a musical growth compared to the previous albums. It simply arrived at the wrong time.
What made you choose Great Dane Records (France) for the release of “Mater Tenebrarum”? How has this label contributed to your publicity through emails, band biographies, etc.?
This label supports a couple of bands we know and we received very good feedback. This label was in the same area/genre we were looking for with our change to death/thrash metal. Finally we understood our album was a good product and this helped in finding a space for collaboration with GDR who understood and believed this album had great tracks so we could “invest in each other”. We are very happy with this choice, since it is the first time we received good promotion and distribution. We can see it from the numbers and reviews we received, even months after the release date. GDR is definitely the most professional partner we could find at this part of our story.
In what ways has the band enhanced lyrical content and songwriting from release to release?
We are now managing songwriting in a much more mature way and we'll proceed this way (we are already working on new tracks). The lyrics and content may depend a lot on the genre, and I think that death/thrash also helped us investigate emotions, disease and the dark parts of our minds that may make for a more intense lyrical content. Let me simplify by saying we moved from protest songs to a unified approach between music, notes, words and meaning as part of the same creative process.
How much attention has “Mater Tenebrarum” received in independent and mainstream press?
We are almost surprised by the level of attention we received, mainly in independent press, and the good level of feedback we have. We didn't force any reviews (you know how the music business works) and spontaneously we received attention from the most distant places in the world, from Cuba to Poland, Greece, and obviously Italy and France where Great Dane Records is stronger.
Even our Youtube channel got a relevant boost in visits, and we are happy that thousands of people are now listening to our music.
Describe the making of “Mater Tenebrarum” and your intent on making it stand out from “React!” and “Again”. What role did the band's experience with recording play in it?
That was a “cold decision” since we decided to address a wider public and start making songs that could also be appreciated by young metalheads. We had been producing classic metal because we grew with that music. But we needed a new challenge to grow and give new energy.
This was not an easy decision and also required a lot of effort from a technical point of view: I personally had to restart studying singing, since growling and screaming were completely new to me. But that is the “key point” of the album: we had to get in the game, produce something new, and take care of technical and musical parts, Honestly, I think “Mater Tenebrarum”, regardless of the genre, is a big step forward. That is why we are proud of what we did.
The other relevant point is this was the first album composed with (and by) Tony who is a great composer and helped us change the way to create and arrange songs. Technology is probably also much more effective than it was ten years ago, so we could make a lot of work remotely and when we met we could concentrate on arrangements and the “feel” of the songs.
Provide some information about the new material you're working on. As your songwriting continues to mature, how does anything new you’ve written sound?
We are working on a new album, internally called “Innerload IV” until we decide on the title. We'll continue with the method we used for “Mater Tenebrarum”, starting from tracks/ideas mainly by Tony and then tuning/arranging them. We are still at the beginning and it will possibly be a “concept album”. Maybe we'll make a further step with lyrical content driving music lines. It’s too early to know.
On what will you base the concept for the new album? Do you have any ideas for a concept or are you still determining it?
We’re still searching for good ideas. Since it’s a hard work we need to take care of the initial choice. You can't pick a “topic” and see what happens. You need to have the entire picture in mind; the entire story. It may be a story with some “character” or a general theme, but I think it will dig into the human mind, feelings and soul.
In addition to Great Dane Records, are you looking to expand label distribution in other parts of the world, such as North and South America, etc.?
Our approach is to raise the target at every step, so we are committed to doing better and better. At the same time we must follow as things proceed. We are now concentrating on producing the new album (while performing live gigs as soon as they are available) and having a “good product” so promotion will be much more effective. Anyway, we are receiving a lot of spontaneous promotion requests, and this means that “Mater Tenebrarum” was very effective.
Where are your promotion requests coming from? What countries would be most important to expand to as you work on the new album?
We are receiving requests from the U.S., U.K. and Nordic countries. I think all of them can be an interesting targets for this genre, but I would also like to see what happens in South America. Once again, I think that “Innerload sound” is not a well-defined genre, like a cliché, so it may adapt also to countries like these.
-Dave Wolff
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