In 2021, The Remedy formed amid social unrest, revolt, and a pandemic that affected many bands. Did any of this influence your choice of direction?
First of all, thank you for giving us some space and attention. That means a lot for upcoming bands that try to share their work with people and we’re no different. This question is relevant because not only were the songs we wrote influenced by those lockdowns/pandemics, but the core of the band is made from that cloth where you needed a certain “imposed remedy” to move around, to go to work and basically to live. You see, “The Remedy” can be seen in many ways, positive or negative. For some of us it is a positive reaction to what life throws at us every day. Music is a remedy, a way to get out from daily work routines and issues that everyone has. Fenis, our lead singer, is definitely a positive and energetic person and feels that way. For some others in bands (let’s say with darker souls), the answer is something angrier and more rageful, even bitter if I may say. So in the end, those social unrest times fully made the band, they moved each of us to respond to those disheartening times.
Does the band members' prior experience, if any, influence The Remedy’s music, or did you intend to take a different direction?
The band is made from different clothes. Andrea “Rust” (guitar) comes directly from the thrash/death scene, Alessandro “The Sword” (drums) leans toward seventies heavy rock and doom, while Enrico “Jack” (guitar) is an overall listener from Bettencourt to Tool, from Lamb of God to SOAD and more. The Remedy is simply a melting pot of what we grew up listening to, nothing less, nothing more. We don’t have “a plan” and we don’t think it should work in this way, it would be somehow artificial. We prefer to put ideas in the rehearsal room and have everyone work around them. Of course with time we got to know each other, so this mixing-mashing style will finally come to form a final blend (or maybe not?). We are not death metal, we are not power metal, we are not speed or classic heavy metal, we’re not thrash or doom or black or whatever. We are simply The Remedy.
How long did it take the band to write during the pandemic? Did the lyrics reflect your personal views about it, or also reflect media coverage?
The upcoming album “Sore” was created during the pandemic. Basically when the band started to play together, we had Andrea Moretti playing bass (he is the bass player on the album). Of course the older songs were played different from what we play today. Sometimes it was super-fast to make a song, sometimes another one was made, destroyed, remade, replayed and cut so many times. There was no plan to “do that specific thing” rather than explore ourselves and see what five different people can do with the same idea. The album “Sore” is about finding some relief, some solace from the pains that strike us all everyday: being alone, being forgotten, and losing a friend or a beloved one. We do not offer a cure from these heartaches because pain is what we are made of and it cannot be torn out, but still we can offer some temporary solution that can ease the anguish a little. You are free to try it and if you don’t no one will force you or even judge you. This is the difference between The Remedy and what happened in those times.
Would you consider “Sore” an example of a band evolving on its own terms? Seeing who it speaks to rather than determining how bands should grow?
We suppose every band evolves with time. Heck, every person is evolving with time. As Eraclito (Heraclitus) said, “panta rei”, everything flows. So any day, any moment is different from the moment before. Old songs and new songs share the same force, the same “motor”. We do not focus on how a song should be or (even worse) how a song should sell. We come up with an idea, sometimes a melody, sometimes a lyric and we try to shape it in the best way possible in THAT moment. Probably the songs on the album would play different if they were written today!
In what ways do Fenis' vocals channel her reactions to the current political climate? Does she invite her listeners to escape, or does she persuade them to escape within themselves?
Fenis: I try to bring out what I feel in that moment, through lyrics and ways of singing. I don't want to influence anyone, it's a way to make others see what I see every day. In the world there are bad things and good things, my two ways of singing represent them and unite them into one thing, which in the end can also represent a life path where the negative and positive sides are linked, creating a memory. People who listen to us should take what good we put into our music, listen to it carefully and use it in real life to overcome difficulties.
How does channeling social unrest affect your musicianship and songwriting?
Again, we are sons of our times, we live as any other person does through what happens in the world. To be honest it looks pretty shitty right now. We still try to do what we can, trying to offer some comfort to everyone who will listen to us. Music is a way to channel the rage, music is the way we have to clean ourselves from the dirt that society throws at us all every day. We don’t fight to change the world, we fight so the world doesn’t change us!
You've been discussing pain and rage, which are usually viewed as negative. Is it a good idea to redirect these emotions into something positive in addition to purging them?
Absolutely. To be perfectly clear, “life sucks and then you die” and we know it, but it's what you make in your time that counts. We are a metal band (not so sure what subgenre of metal but who cares), so of course rage and anger and all those negative feelings are our fuel/. But, as Rust usually says, art can be made out of pain and suffering, no matter what kind of art: music, sculpture, poetry. Art is catharsis, a way to purge yourself of bad feelings; everything else is “pop”. So yes, use the bad to fuel the good, resist to exist and vice versa. Maybe we're going a lil' too philosopèhicla here haha.
In your opinion, what songs on “Sore” best reflects your musical and lyrical goals? Are there noticeable differences between them?
Every song on “Sore” is different from the others, “Fog of War” is a thrash-like song that talks about media propaganda in conflicts, on how to build a war to make money. “Invisible” is more similar to a ballad with an odd metric finale that talks about being abandoned, being alone, even in a crowd. “The Remedy” has a nu (now old)/groove metal feel with a weird central part that mocks the time of the pandemic (but not only). Every song has its own feel. Fenis wrote “Invisible” so she's probably more into that. Andrea wrote the lyrics for “Ill-Lumination” that is more of a death and roll style, but in a 7/8 signature time, Rust (me) loves to play the verse and refrain in “S.T.O.M.” But everyone puts something personal into every song, so tomorrow I could give a very different answer (“panta rei”).
When Fenis writes lyrics, does her inspiration vary from song to song? Are there recent events the band has thought about in general?
Fenis: Not really. Inspiration strikes me with no previous hints. Sometimes I've got an idea wandering in my head until it finds the right moment, sometimes it comes out of nowhere.
All our music reflects an idea or a situation that causes harm, maybe to ourselves or sometimes to people in general. There is no precise goal or purpose until it takes form. Alessandro had an idea for an arpeggio that developed into “Invisible”. We put together the mood and Fenis got the lyrics for something she had in mind, so there was no precise direction in the beginning. On the opposite, “Fog of War” was born in 45 minutes, yeah straight thrashy ignorance. We needed to get out some energy, and this time it was Rust who wrote the basic lyrics. The Remedy is like a recipe: every one of us has its own ingredients!
I was meaning to ask you the reasons for Andrea's departure? Were they creative differences or just a desire to pursue something else?
Oh no, it was simply a work issue: Andrea found a new job that is full-night shift, so basically he had no more time for rehearsals, live events or gigs, so he stepped off by his own choice. We have no issue at all with Andrea and we thank him for all his work within The Remedy, hoping only the best for his future endeavors!
Describe making your promotional video for “Fog of War”. Who worked with you and how much creative freedom did you have to put your ideas across?
“Fog of War” wasn't intended to be the launching song. “The Speaker” was the chosen one from the beginning, but in that time we also lost Christian (the bass replacement for Andrea). That not only changed his work, but he moved out of Italy for a job in Zurich. So the bass player in the video is Daniele (the former bass-player of Sylpheed) and yes, it seems we have been a lil' unlucky ’till now.
Anyway, after some feedback from friends “Fog of War” was chosen. Not to mention that now seems just the perfect fitting for the ongoing “world crisis”, so we arranged “on the fly” a location that looked interesting and somehow “urban”. We improvised the playback with Daniele (who is currently learning all the albums' songs), had a couple of friends helping with war props and stuff and there ya go. Basically the video was shot in half an afternoon under a bridge of our city by Samuele Valle, who made various videos for metal bands like Extrema, Hell in the Club, The Erinyes and Sylpheed. We are quite satisfied considering how we had to set the stage up!
How did the urban setting you chose for “Fog of War” relate to the lyrics?
Finding a place that looks like a city ruin-war field is not an easy task. Honestly (luckily) we had not many choices on how to simulate a place like that. Again time and schedules was settled so the option was to take it or leave it.
How did you become familiar with Samuele Valle before shooting “Fog of War”? If you watched the videos of the bands he worked with, what made you want to work with him?
We knew Samuele for a long time. His first metal video was for Sylheed in which Fenis and Rust were playing together in 2010 to 2012. Asking him to film “us” after all these years was like closing a circle!
How was working with Samuele Valle? Was it easy to communicate your ideas to him? What suggestions, if any, did he have for enhancing the video?
It was easy: we let him do his work and we didn't want to “overproduce” the video itself, yes maybe we could have added some “war footage” here and there but in the end we discussed it with him and chose not to, just to focus on the band and let people see who “we are”.
Despite going with another song, are you still planning to shoot a video for "The Speaker"? Is there a setting or a concept you have in mind?
Currently we are focusing on getting some shows and gigs (and a well-established bass player!) and promoting the album. In the future who knows.
How has your search for a steady bass player gone since you began booking shows?
Chaotic I'd say. It's always annoying as fuck to have to step back and rebuild the lineup. Not only because it slows down the booking operations but also because it stops the new writing. Hopefully we won't have any other issues in the future!
How long have you been signed to The Triad Records? How did you connect with them, and what efforts have they made to support the band?
We’ve been in contact with different labels from the end of the summer in 2023, but it was in May 2024 when we made our choice. In the first place what captured our attention was the roster of The Triad. They have many great bands from different genres; we felt that this “diversity” could fit our shoes. We also liked the idea of building ourselves on a growing label like The Triad, and it was like planting our roots in small but very fertile soil. There is no better home than the home you help to build. Also, these guys are very passionate about their work and the bands on their roster. You don't go into a big restaurant if you wanna drink a special good wine: you go to the vineyard of a farmer!
What efforts is The Triad making to assist your promotion of “Sore”? Do most promotional efforts take place online or by snail mail?
We let them do their thing, I think we can discuss some better options than others but in the end we trust them. It's their job to promote the upcoming album as best that we/they can; they have the expertise in that.
Are you also receiving support from The Triad for “Fog of War”? Is there a place online where people can watch it if they're interested?
Go straight to The Triad Rec's YouTube channel and you can watch directly. All the guys in the label are doing their part to support us, but we specified that we do not want any "artificial" view with payed bots, AI or stuff like that, we like the old fashioned manner of the "word of mouth" and to be honest it did quite good until now!
Has the band been performing live in support of “Sore”? Are there any particularly interesting events happening at any of these shows?
We had a couple of gigs programmed, but we had to cancel them due to the missing bassist issue ya know. We are again open for bookings now, Daniele is a quick learner, and we think he will be full ready in no time!
Has the band considered playing any metal festivals since the release of “Sore”? Are there any festivals, local or national, where you would like to reach a larger audience?
We're opened to any chance that we can get, there are many interesting Italian festival like Luppolo in Rock (just to name drop a couple) or the EResia festival, but of course booking needs some time so let's see in the foresee future if you can manage to get some cool stage. Anyway we do not dislike at all small venues and locals where the band and the audi-ence are pretty close, we definitely prefer the vibe of the crowd and in smaller places it's easier to get in touch with peo-ple!
Since the release of the video, has The Remedy received attention from fanzines, webzines, or major underground magazines?
Well we have some online interview scheduled for this fall with some local radio but, at the moment, you are the first (hope you won't be the last!)
Recently, you mentioned being recognized by Tony “Demolition Man” Dolan of Venom, Inc. What were his comments on the band?
First lemme say that the Tony Dolan's “cameo” was totally unexpected ad truly made our day, The Demolition man (and the Venom Inc. as a brand) is one of the founding fathers of extreme metal and when we saw his delighted face naming our video it was very exciting, visit our social page on Facebook and Instagram to re-watch it!
Is there any new material that the band is working on with Daniele, and/or are you planning to address any societal is-sues in new songs? In this regard, are there any other genres you would be interested in incorporating into your work?
Not at the moment, even if we have a plethora of new shit and ideas boiling over, we are focusing on let Daniele get into the fray with the album's songs; hey he is already adding some different flavours to the songs so we are expecting a very good synergy with him also with new stuff!
How does the quote by Oscar Wilde, “Craziness is the only thing you never regret”, relate to the band and the impact you hope to have on underground music?
Life won't last forever so why don't try live it to the max while you can? We play our music with the only purpose of shar-ing our feels, our emotions even touching madness if needed. We don't know if we will make an impact in the under-ground but it's not up to us to decide it, we can only offer our "remedies" to our listeners hoping that someone will find some joy in it: our goal is not to "become the next sensation" in the rock-metal world, we just wanna reach out to all people possible and help 'em forget, for some moments at least, the weight of daily routine: most of our songs plays "different" from one another, so maybe not all will like everything but everyone could find the right one for his tastes, we bet we have just the right remedy for all!
-Dave Wolff
