Describe the origins of your project Oigres, and what you were setting out to do when you started.
Hello everyone and thank you for this opportunity you are giving! The Oigres project has its roots in the late nineties, and at the time it was a real band. With that project we recorded a demo and an EP that were then reprinted, rearranged and partly rerecorded for the first real album that came out in 2019, entitled "Psycho". Already in "Psycho" the line-up was limited to me and some guest musicians, while for the latest "Don't Stay Close To Me" I did everything entirely by myself. The project was born in the wake of the alternative and post hardcore tendencies that were in force in those years and tried, as it still tries, to bring to the fore the restlessness of the human soul and the mental illness resulting from an increasingly dehumanized and dehumanizing society.
Why was there such a long gap between your demo and EP and your debut album? Where did Oigres go from a full band to a solo project with guest musicians? Do you still have copies of the demo and EP?
We no longer have copies of the demo and the ep, also because they had been published under another name and were then mistakenly attributed by metal archives to my black metal band Lilyum. So Oigres makes it official with the 2019 album "Psycho" even if, as I was telling you, this project started much further back and with two other publications under its belt before "Psycho". However, in all these years, let's say from 2007 to 2023, I dedicated myself a lot to the black metallers Lilyum, with whom I published 9 albums, before disbanding them in 2024 and resuming with Oigres and publishing "Don't Stay Close To Me" in 2025. Furthermore, this last album required a lot of work from me, some songs date back to 2022, but due to various problems with some musicians I collaborated with, the album could only be released in 2025. I decided to do everything by myself precisely because the other musicians were making me waste too much time. I can't stand this thing. When I work I put my all into it and I don't accept waiting for someone who isn't ready to dedicate themselves to music as much as I do.
What about post-hardcore and alternative aesthetics inspired Oigres? Did you keep your vision after alternative gave way to nu metal, or did you expand it?
I think on the new album we kept everything we started with, but we incorporated new influences. I can't even tell you exactly what genre we play. I would call it post-core with doom and alternative influences. Also using an eight-string guitar for the first time I think has given a different flavor to the compositions and in a way has influenced my way of writing as well. Having two more strings can make you think of different solutions, expand your boundaries. It's not just having two more strings, it's almost like playing another instrument. Look at bands like Meshuggah or Deftones how they changed since they used eight-string guitars! I think the same thing happened to me and I had to think a little differently than on the last album. It was a challenge, but it was worth it. "Don't Stay Close To Me" has its own sound, and that's the first thing I look for. You may or may not like it, but it doesn't sound like any other album by any other band.
In your lyrics, how do you convey the human soul and the effects of dehumanization?
My lyrics are written in the first person and in this album I chose an imaginary mentally disturbed protagonist who writes in a personal diary his thoughts, his sufferings, his phobias, but also his evil side. All this comes from a deep suffering that this individual lives on his own skin, a tunnel of horror from which he cannot escape. Needless to say, the world around him does nothing but amplify this condition. A sick society produces sick individuals, or rather, individuals who get sick not because of their own fault, but because they internalize the indifference, materialism and arrogance of our times. There are no medicines that can truly cure these disorders. Perhaps medicines are like drugs that anesthetize the soul and make it more malleable. In a certain sense, you don't fix what's wrong with the modern world, but you try to drug (or induce to take drugs, even literally) those who don't accept these rules, and you put them back in line by drugging them. It's like a lobotomy. And there's a lot of autobiography in these texts. This society is dehumanizing because it distances man more and more from nature and therefore from his original essence and puts him in the condition of living in the midst of concrete, technology and blinding lights. This and more are causing people to suffer much more than in the past from mental disorders and the use of psychotropic drugs is now rampant. The same goes for drug and alcohol addictions. But many of these individuals are becoming dangerous, so we should not be surprised if the episodes of crazy and/or terrorist acts have increased dramatically in recent decades.
Besides his being autobiographical, did you research recent historical figures for your protagonist by any chance? Or any events from the last forty or fifty years?
Not really, but I connected it to the society of the last decades, to the spread of digitalization and to the latest events also linked to the Covid-19 pandemic. The criticism of the protagonist of the texts is painful, suffocating. He talks about his psychological suffering but at the same time launches invectives against other human beings, who according to him are guilty of having caused him harm. We could also see signs of revenge on his part, because he is a character now totally out of control, he has nothing left to lose in short, and therefore he is also ready to kill, as the text of "I Walk Slowly" testifies, where he chases a potential victim armed to take his life.
What do you see in the recent surge in digitalization? What impact do you think it has or will have on people generally?
It will be devastating! I already didn't have many expectations about humanity and the future in general, but you can already see zombies walking glued to a screen, just like science fiction movies and books predicted 50 or 100 years ago. The process has started and will lead to disaster. Artificial intelligence has also been added. In 100 years, humanity and feelings will be reduced to the bone and the few sensitive humans will get much sicker. Believe me, it will be like this. People are already very depressed and only find comfort in virtual reality, but it will get worse. Just look at the phenomenon of Hikikomori, victims of their sensitivity, but also of digitalization.
Which science fiction books and films, in your opinion, most accurately foresaw artificial intelligence and virtual reality?
I think it all started decisively with Orwell and his writings on dystopian reality, but then I could mention some works that have struck me the most, and I have known some of these since I was a child: Aside from many of George Orwell's writings especially regarding dystopian reality, I must say that these films have left a great impression on me - 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) - Terminator (1984) - Fahrenheit 451 (1966) - Her (2013) - Matrix (1999) - Monolith (2017) And many other books, films.
Could you elaborate on Hikikomori's social disengagement and isolation for the readers? How much worse has it gotten in the last few years?
Much worse, because the more digitalization advances, the more the phenomenon spreads. But it is also their family members' fault, not just society's. A Hikikomori would die if he didn't have all the technology possible in his room and if his parents didn't bring him what he wants. It's a hard situation to manage and I have the utmost understanding for these families. There is a lot of suffering behind it, but sometimes even just a bike ride or starting to practice a discipline, such as martial arts and going to the gym can work more miracles than drugs, psychotherapy, etc. I am for collaborative help, not for the pitying help that is aimed at people who don't need it, they are not terminally ill. I am also a personal trainer as well as a graduate in sociology and I can assure you that sport can help a lot in these situations. However, there must be family members who slowly work in this direction. Everything is possible. A Hikikomori is a depressed person, but many times he is also spoiled. And these things can be solved with the right strategies from the family.
Do you want your lyrics to lead listeners to think about modern dehumanization? It seems people are told to not be so "angry" and to accept the world as it is; we shouldn't be so angry and we shouldn't speak out. Do you see this happening today?
We are told this because if we started to really think about what's around us, there would be a civil war like never before. People are saturated, but they don't have the strength to fight anymore and they know that if they did they would lose what little they have. Society has always suppressed rebellions and has continued to do so. And it uses fear to do so, the most effective method. We see it with wars, with the recent pandemic, with various laws aimed at scaring individuals. We are like meat to the slaughterhouse, all locked up in a society that we don't like, but from which it is almost impossible for us to escape. And it will only get worse.
The protagonist's extreme mental suffering appears to be heavily conveyed through the vocals. How much work did you put into creating that effect?
I recorded everything entirely at my home, including the voice, with few and essential means. Everything I used is old and in poor condition. Imagine that to record the voice I used the bathroom in my house! Then obviously I applied a minimum of effects to make everything coherent with the music and with the result you can hear. I would add that I really identified with what I was singing, in part I also talked about my past experiences, and so that's why everything is very sincere and credible. At least I hope! However, for the voices I tried to take my time, I recorded only when my soul was ready to do it. In all that it took me about three weeks, talking about the voice.
What events in the narrative might have caused the protagonist to experience extreme psychological damage? How, according to the lyrics, does he think about getting revenge?
He was a shy boy but full of hope, energy and life. He only had the "defect" of not being too sociable and of being afraid above all of women's judgment. He fell in love but it was not reciprocated. But he was not the classic frustrated nerd. He played sports, loved alternative music, had a thousand interests. But he tried for years in vain to find friends who could share these interests with him, or maybe a girlfriend, but no one was truly available, except for short periods of time. Then he got sick and everyone abandoned him for good. He helped people in difficulty but when his time came no one helped him, so he started to think about suicide. But after this thought he began to understand that the problem was not him in society, but the problem was society itself! And from here he began his climb back up. Combat sports were his main outlet (as you can see in the video for "Earthquake Of Damned Souls"), but also metal music. From here he regained some strength but by then his mind was ruined and thoughts of revenge and self-harm began. Murders, mass extermination, self-inflicted cuts. Everything will degenerate song after song, until the final "For You", where he speaks to a girl who loves him, despite all this negativity that surrounds him.
To what extent did your personal experiences help with the lyrics you wrote? Or do you find this to be too personal?
The lyrics are very personal and truthful. The character in the story is very much inspired by my darkest part and a period of my life that I overcame with many difficulties (it was 2000-2001). If you haven't been through certain things you can't talk about them. We talk about anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, paranoia too easily. And when you happen to suffer from one of these pathologies you understand that it is the worst Hell that could happen to you. Not everyone manages to get out of it and in my opinion the scars and relapses may not disappear for the rest of your life, but if you know how to dominate these monsters, then you will be a true fighter, a warrior who will hardly sell his skin for a low price.
Some aspects of the album reminded me somewhat of black and death metal. Did you intend it to be something like black metal, death metal or a hybrid of the two mixed with other genres?
No, none of that. I just wanted it to be an authentic and personal record, something that differentiated me from the mass of plastic music that is out there nowadays. I hope I succeeded, but I can't really label the genre he proposes with Oigres. Maybe you could call it Post Hardcore with a doom influence.
What sound were you trying to achieve with "Don't Stay Close To Me"? The guitars struck me as having a kind of electronic/industrial vibe. Was this your goal or was it something else? How does this reflect the concept we're discussing?
Well, the eight-string guitars already have a particular sound, then honestly, I didn't think of a genre, but rather I worked on the sound using only my personal parameters of taste. For what were my possibilities and for what is my taste, Oigres came out like this. Surely it has a vague industrial flavor in some songs, but as I mentioned before, there are also different elements, such as doom, hardcore, sludge and something nu metal. I think that the rough, powerful and scratchy sound represents well the themes the album talks about. I certainly didn't want a too clean production, well, it wouldn't have been ideal. Everything had to sound damned, sincere, spontaneous, sick.
On the album, what aspects of those musical genres you mentioned did you seek to recapture? To achieve the genuine, impromptu, and sick impressions you wished to convey, how much of your own creativity went into the songwriting?
Look, I'm an instinctive musician and I only write down what my heart says. Everything you hear and read in the lyrics comes from my heart and I didn't try to sound like anyone else. Bands like Deftones, Meshuggah, Pantera, Yob, Nirvana and others have been a big influence for me, but I tried to find a meeting point between them, and I could only do it by putting in my vision of art in general, because they are bands very distant from each other in style and so I only received input to set up the album, but in the end the album tells who I am, how I sound, how I think in everything, including production. I don't have much else to add and I wouldn't know what else to say.
I relate because I listen to what I like, regardless of genre, and don't bend over backwards trying to be “openminded.” How often do you see bands composing instinctively, or is this something you’d like to see more often?
There are genres like punk, doom, stoner and hardcore that are more genuine, but metal is becoming a bit too homogenized, even in terms of sound. I often hear albums evaluated more for the sound they have rather than for the content. I would like every band to have its own style, its own sound, its own attitude, but I realize that we are now very far from the eighties or nineties. Many kids start playing for fashion and not because they have something strong to convey to the world. This is why music is no longer a cultural phenomenon, because it's just music and not attitude. No one has the strength, the anger and the discomfort to create a movement that unites music and attitude, and I don't say politics, because that's not part of my speech. People in general have been anesthetized by the media and technology and have become flat and standardized and this is also reflected in music. Obviously there are exceptions, but in general I see it this way.
Can extreme metal still produce anything fresh and imaginative, despite how homogenized it’s becoming?
Sure, if you look hard enough you will find something.
In your personal experience, which bands are the exceptions to what you’re describing?
Talking about bands that I have been listening to for many years and more mainstream I would say Meshuggah, Deftones, Neurosis, Darkthrone, Yob, Electric Wizard, Superjoint and many others.
Some people think mainstream music is getting simpler, losing its inventiveness and capacity to express anything meaningful or challenging. What are your thoughts on this?
They are all right, but as always I say to look long and hard. I don't think a band like Jinjer is that bad... They may not be liked but they are definitely trying to do something new, and so are many other bands.
The 1980s saw the crossover of metal and hardcore, the 1990s saw the crossover of metal, hardcore, and hip hop, and so on. Could some metal bands could take a lesson from punk, doom, stoner and hardcore bands?
Yes and some have been doing it for years. Think of bands like High On Fire, the aforementioned Darkthrone, Entombed, Autopsy and many others. These bands are a bit transversal and have incorporated all these influences from their typical metal.
Have your attempts to differentiate your sound from other bands been noticed by listeners? In what ways is “Don’t Stay Close To Me” a progression from “Psycho”?
There is a huge difference compared to the two albums. “Don't Stay Close To Me” is heavier, rougher, enigmatic, sinister and sees the entrance of the eight-string guitar. “Psycho” was a more instinctive and linear work, while the last album is like a snake that wraps you up and suffocates you. From the few reviews we have received so far I have to say that it is noticeable how people have perceived the new album as something complex and not easy to listen to. “Psycho” was much easier to assimilate and many could identify with its anger. But it is much more difficult to identify with mental pathology... I would like to have a review from you sooner or later, I am curious to know how you perceived it, ahahah!
All being said, would you like to see more people (including your listeners) think for themselves rather than believing what media and advertising tells them?
It is essential to think for yourself, and this in many areas. Getting information from multiple sources and forming your own opinion is the first way to live a unique life and not similar to anyone else's. Personally, I live my life thinking only about what I want to do and my goals, I don't really care about what others do or want.
In what ways do you see your music evolving from "Don't Stay Close To Me" to your next album? Do you have ideas for new material as of yet?
Not yet, I don't have any new songs in the works. I have no idea what direction I'll take, but if I ever make another album, it will always be my own doing and not the imitation of the imitation of the imitation of a style, band or production. For me, playing is freedom and will remain so until the end of my days. Thank you for this interview and goodbye to your readers.
-Dave Wolff
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