Interview with S.Z.P. by Dave Wolff
Describe how you recorded your latest single "Apathy": what inspired the lyrics, how you incorporated them into your music, and how you mixed extreme metal with acid and other sounds. It seems a lot of effort went into it. What makes it unique from other bands? Stefano Zani [guitars, drum machine]: Thanks Dave for the hospitality, we are honored to be here as the first interview since the lyrics video of our single "Apathy" was released.
This new work, nicknamed an extreme fluid madness, began to make space in my mind around May 2023, I felt that the time had come to evolve the sound of my project into something particular, something malleable, without haste, without setting limits to the final result.
Andrea from The Triad Records put me in contact with Tato, who took care of the vocals and bass, and with whom there was immediately a great alchemy. The work lasted over a year, they are incredible and generous people. I believe a sound was born, although not exactly unique, but personal enough to be recognized in the stagnation of modern extreme metal. As for the production, mixing/mastering, everything took place at my Escape Room studio.
Giuseppe “Tato” Tatangelo [baas, vocals]: The songs of the entire EP were recorded "at a distance". Unfortunately we do not live close, so each had to record their tracks at home, then channel all in the wise hands of Stefano himself, who provided the mix and especially every arrangement also in terms of inserts, samplers and mastering, which precisely made this interesting mixture of extreme metal and acidic and claustrophobic environments.
The text of "Apathy" aligns with the theme of the other songs contained in the EP, covering the consequences of living in a society that gradually strips away from all forms of vitality dragging you more and more towards the hell of a mental malaise of dissatisfaction, Resignation, rivalry and unhappiness. After all, there were no efforts or studies to unite the musical contexts, everything comes out of itself, already having in mind a framework on which to work and full freedom of expression, without constraints to specific canons. It’s not a unique project compared to other bands, it’s simply a project that expresses its music in a very personal and subjective way, as every other band does.
What is the meaning of the term “an extreme fluid madness” and how does it relate to your music?
Stefano: I needed a name that suited the new sound we were producing, it would have been easy to continue with thrash, death, black but I wanted to dare, the world is imploding, madness is fluid and flows everywhere without finding obstacles, so it seemed like the right term.
How long had Andrea of The Triad Records known Tato before he introduced you? How did Andrea come to the conclusion that the two of you would make a good team? What is his previous experience as a musician?
Stefano: Andrea has known Tato for over a decade, but has followed and admired him for much longer, as he is a fan of Zora and Glacial Fear.
Andrea Curse Vag [The Triad Records]: The idea of involving him in the S.Z.P. project came to mind given the reliability, professionalism and passion that Tato manages to impress on every project he collaborates on. See for example Antipathic or Astral Fortress.
How do you see the world imploding and madness flowing rampantly? Is this more frequent today than it used to be? Do your songs reflect this perception?
Tato: I don't think that madness is more rampant today than in other eras, just read old or even ancient treatises, or without going too far back just listen to what was sung, narrated or reported in writings of a few decades ago, you realize that the moods, anxieties and worries were the same as today. The difference is that in our era everything is made more usable and quickly accessible, thanks to the media, telematic channels, the internet and so on, and there is an unbridled search for click bait, so any fact is reported just to give something to the readers, consequently it seems that the world has suddenly gone mad given the enormous quantity of facts reported daily, but it is simply that today every story is talked about more than then. Clearly all this progress has paradoxically led to a widespread isolation of people, as each person from their armchair has the perception of having the world in their hands without necessarily relating or socializing with their peers, and since man is a social animal all this has resulted in mental and behavioral disorders that we do not even believe or suspect we have.
In your opinion, why is there a need for click bait along with media spin and cancel culture? As a result of so much isolation, what kind of disorders have developed?
Tato: The isolation of people actually began many years ago with the advent of the internet and social media. It is a paradox, something that should make people socialize, as the word itself says; in reality it isolates. We are full of friends and virtual acquaintances, our human relationships take place online, and without looking each other in the face, the consequence of this is that each of us is no longer ourselves. We present ourselves online with a mask, everyone plays a part, a character, and no one really knows anyone. This isolation leads to paranoia, depression, dissatisfaction and a sense of not belonging, we are afraid of coming out of this glass bell, due to the fact that we are not the character we play, and we do not want to be known for what we really are. It is a cage, or a trap to be honest, that we can no longer do without.
As for clickbait, media spin and cancel culture, I think they are simply the mechanism on which the network moves, through which it is possible to feed users what users want.
Are you still making an effort to engage with people offline? Do the band's performances attract a sufficient number of people who want to do the same?
Stefano: Clearly a band that is physically located stimulates the desire for live performances much more but it implies a considerable expenditure of resources, the level is now very high and it would be impossible to start from scratch.
Tato: Ours is a purely studio project, we are not in a position to be able to do live, mainly because of the distance that separates me and Stefano, as we live in places that are not close. This does not take away the fact that when and if there will be physical copies of this first work or any subsequent ones, Thanks to the distribution we will do in person we will be able and will try to reach even those who do not use the internet.
What is the title of your EP and how many songs were selected for inclusion? How does it differ from your previous work?
Stefano: At the end of the lyric video and the cover of the EP coming out in November and the title are shown. “Descent Beyond Hell” will contain four new songs plus a cover for those nostalgic for my former band Endless Pain, a song entitled “Sindon” from 2008, I dusted it off and now it sounds much cleaner and more powerful than in those years.
The new songs are much more refined from all listening points of view, I dedicated about three months to each track, and this allowed me to descend from the thrash death sound of previous works.
How did “Sindon” come to be selected as a cover from Endless Pain's repertoire? Describe how you adapted it into S.Z.P.'s style.
Stefano: “Sindon” is a song that we always performed live from 2008 to 2010, in that album there are several interesting tracks and “Sindon” with its beautiful shot really needed a cleanup, I took care of the recording, editing and mixing phase in the smallest details, this is how it should have sounded, and I am very satisfied.
During the recording, editing, and mixing, how much of the original song was changed before you were satisfied?
Stefano: “Sindon” is 99.9% original, except for a small central part I slightly rearranged to give it more emotion.
Where do you see extreme metal stagnating in this decade? What makes Descent Beyond Hell” unique in comparison to what other bands are releasing?
Stefano: I would also say twenty years of stagnation. Before, bands were recognizable, they resembled each other at most if they were from the same nation, see Swedish death, Norwegian black and German thrash. Over time with the birth of important labels and studios they have homogenized the bands by flattening the sound that belonged to them. This is why I speak of stagnation, I'm sure you will evaluate whether “Descent Beyond Hell” will be unique with interesting ideas or the usual mediocre album.
Tato: Personally, I don't see a specific flattening but with the excuse of wanting to make this genre known and appreciated I see a tendency to transform Metal in general into something more approachable, a sort of “softening” of sound. There are bands in the underground that continue to play their music in an extreme and genre-appropriate way but in general the tendency is to bend to market logics that end up undermining and compromising every aspect of this musical genre. I think that to make Metal something more marketable you have to strip it of all its primary essence, consequently what you will sell is not Metal therefore the aim of making Metal known to the masses does not succeed and above all you kill a musical genre.
Regarding our EP, I can say that it is made with instinct and passion and without ulterior motives aimed at selling or anything else. I don't consider it unique compared to what others publish. We don't have this sort of presumption, it's what we feel and what we wanted to express.
Is there anything you did to make "Descent Beyond Hell" stand out from other bands, or did you focus more on writing what you felt?
Tato: A record, like a book, a sculpture and any other form of art, is always made based on what you want to express. It is wrong to set yourself the goal of distinguishing yourself from others. It is not a competition. Rivalry is not good for art, much less for the artist himself.
Granted, most genres become formula after a while (it happened to hard rock, grunge, and especially pop). But quite a few bands still strive to take underground/extreme metal in new directions, often incorporating other genres.
Tato: We must distinguish experimentation from forced collage, in the sense that many times this desire to take a genre in new directions turns out to be a forcing in itself, a jumble of musical solutions taken from various other genres and put together only to appear innovative. This causes boredom and disinterest towards the listener. The right formula is to give free rein to one's inspiration, without setting limits but not too many objectives either, instinct is for me the main and most important ingredient when you want to make art.
Do you often see bands competing over how “versatile” they are, trying too hard to outdo one another? Is this likely to lead to further division down the road?
Stefano: Competition is useful in any field, it helps raise the bar and stimulates personal or group growth if thought in good faith. In the music of underground bands I think there are hardly any divisions. We can call them frictions but the common goal has always been the success of live evenings.
Tato: Competition in the music and art fields in general is already stupid and harmful in itself. If you don't have something interesting to say it's certainly not a competition, and you can make a difference.
Are you in contact with bands who have similar goals to yours, including mutual support? What are some of the differences S.Z.P. seeks to contribute to in the long run?
Stefano: At the moment I am not aware of any bands that do "long distance" work, the possibility of working without pre-established times can give life to very particular sounds without falling into the repetitive, Descent Beyond Hell is proof of this.
Tato: Well certainly since we both have been playing for years we have created a network of friendships with many other bands and people that we consider valid and worthy of support, this happens with the exchange of material, long chats, mutual promotion and invitations to play in our areas when the opportunity arises, all this without ever demanding or expecting anything in return. The support must not be a commodity that is exchanged, it is sincere and spontaneous.
What motivated you to record “Descent Beyond Hell” at your own studio rather than at a studio with engineers and a producer? Do you decide handling the recording, mixing, and mastering independently would aid in bringing the material closer to what you imagined? In what way did Tato contribute while you recorded at home and so on?
Stefano: In May 2023 after four years of a noisy silence I said to myself now or never and I started writing the new songs. Recording in my studio gave me the freedom to do everything independently, without time constraints as well as improving in the home studio and sound physics. I didn't have a precise idea but the final result was above my expectations thanks also to Tato who with his experience suggested small and precise changes.
When working on the album, what liberties did you take with the equipment and the sound board? What were the benefits of Tato's small, precise changes to the final mix?
Stefano: The main freedom was the time dedicated, if there was something I didn't like I would leave the studio, open a beer (yet another one) relax my ears and after a few hours I was ready to start recording again. Tato responded precisely to my requests and directed me in the final mix to some volume corrections on certain parts, it was very important to have a comparison.
What songs on "Descent Beyond Hell" did you perform the best studio work on? Is there potential for growth in songs you'll compose in the future?
Stefano: All four of the new songs have a different impact between them, I won't reveal anything since it will be released in November via The Triad Records. More than growth potential, I think the next material will be even more complicated and with a better sound quality, I hope that Tato can accompany me again in this adventure.
What distribution are you planning for the new album? What is your expectation of the response of those who've followed you from the start? Will your label help out this November?
Stefano: The distribution will be global on a digital level but for those who want it, they can request their own physical copy without obligation through a qr code. For this reason we are working through the triad rec on the graphics, I don't want to rush the times and details too much but it will be a surprise for all the old and new fans.
Has S.Z.P. already begun writing new songs? Or is that something you will be taking up in the near future? Do you have any ideas as far as expanding your sound further?
Stefano: I haven't started yet but I'm getting ready for an upgrade. I have some ideas about the next sound but I'm being cautious, I prefer to wait for the critique of “Descent Beyond Hell”.
-Dave Wolff
