Obsessed by cruelty

-Heavy New Year! Are you satisfied with the album? Why did you decide to have it mastered at Hertz?
(Max) Happy new year to you too! Of course we are satisfied about the production and mixing we did at the Orion recordings studio, a good studio located in Turin where we live, and things are going really in a positive and unexpected way!
(Vale) Happy new year to you too! All magazines and webzines are talking about our work very well! We like very much the Hertz studios' work because they can make and plasmate every kind of music genres. Their works sound very good and natural, not "plasticky" as the others album all around the world!

-Which are the main differences with your previous album? And what caused such a long period of silence?
(Vale) "Us" is a very strong and straight album. It was born in one month. Our previous release "Dead Black Sun" had a very long "gestation" period caused by some personal problems that came out inside the band.
(Stefano) In the meantime we recorded some promos and an ep titled "Mechanism Dead" until you get to this new release which we are very happy about.

-9 songs + an intro aren’t too many after 8 years. I’m curious to know if you’re one of those bands writing few compositions and improve them in the years or one of those writing several songs or structures and then working on the few ones that really convince you. Moreover, how is a song of HH born, arranged and then brought to a final shape?
(Stefano) We wrote many songs in these years, but we have a formula for a number of songs per album! We like to put 8 songs because we can concentrate our fury in a real short time. We want to involve the audience in a kind of nucleus without loosing time! I think a lot of songs in an album make it boring or at least less powerful, but this is my opinion!!!
When we wrote the songs for this album we were really excited to be considered ready for recording without having to process till you drop!
Every time we left the rehearsal session we had a lot of riffs available but it was clear in our minds where we had to carry the songs.
The songwriting was immediate and instinctive, something that I feel and I hope you can feel in the album from WORLD DECLINE to SIGN OF THE DEATH the importance of this record and eventually force you to listen to it again!

-Did you get other offers? Why did you choose Buil2kill recs? How many records is the deal for?
(Vale) Yes, we had other offers but Buil2Kill was definitely the most professional and most importantly we liked them a lot as people, which at the present day is not easy.
(Stefano) We have signed for one album at the moment.

-Do you want to introduce us your new entry, Daniele Bidoggia, and explain to us why he didn’t join the recording and composing processes? If I’m not wrong it’s the first time you’re using a second guitar…
(Max) Daniele has been very important for the resumption of the activities of the band, but for a few reasons we did not find on the same line, so we've already had to separate our streets. All the guitars that are on the album were recorded by me, which isn't a problem in the studio. Problems come when you play live and you have to work around one guitar less, but we hope to solve this with some guy ready to dedicate to HOMICIDE HAGRIDDEN his time as much as we all do.

-All your lyrics deal with social protest. How come?
(Max) We live in a world that is nothing more than the contradiction of itself in any respect and in our country this situation is currently very present, I would say almost overwhelming. I respect those who decide in their text to talk about different topics that do not fit properly in reality, but I personally feel on my skin the negativity I feel living in a corrupt country like ours where social justice does not exist, where the power of a few is getting stronger and at the same time there're more and more people uncaring  about it, but I will not go for one that judges, certain things you must know to talk about it and I think that the issues addressed in our songs are more than in depth even if in an innermost a point of view.

-You’ve been around since 1994 and into the scene as followers since even before. What was good in the 80s that’s disappeared now and what’s good in today’s scene that didn’t exist back there?
(Vale) In the 80's it all sounded new, people attended concerts, urged the band, bought their merchandising. Now talking about a "scene" is very difficult, the market is saturated with all kinds of bands , but also to find a label that believes in you is really hard!
(Max) I think that nowadays music does not hold the first rank, perhaps it's become less important than the visual approach, and for me it is the defeat of music in general without distinction of genres and styles.

-How do you see the future of Thrash metal? Are there any bands that are going to become legends like Slayer, Kreator, D.R.I., and so on after some time or is the scene overcrowded and fragmented to achieve this goal?
(Vale) In recent years, many valid bands came out but legends like Slayer, Kreator, Overkill, Testament, Metallica overall still dictate the law, but support the new generation, just as the movement Thrash / Death / Black will put strong roots! We must hope for a turnaround because the market is overwhelmed by these big names that bring respect, but do not allow others to explode. As I said now I do not see names on the horizon that can get the right position on the world stage in the metal.
(Stefano) I hope that from 2013 onwards people will start eating more bread and HOMICIDE HAGRIDDEN!!!

-Can you describe a typical show of HH? How did your tours go? What feedback did you get from the crowd and how does the reaction change from the Italian audience to the central or northern Europe one? What’s the secret to impress the public if they don’t know your songs or are just too cold and detached?
(Vale) HH in every show they put all the grit and "balls" they have!
We get a tour of 10 dates in Ukraine where the public response has been fantastic and the audience in Italy is very flat with all the bands except for a few big names.
In May we are leaving for another leg of tours in southern Europe.
The audience sees that we give ourselves in when we are really on stage and prefers pieces that I think are "World Decline" and "Dimension Zero".
If people want to enjoy the show is good, yet with anybody you find in front of you you have to give 150% to wake them from their slumber, but we do not complain about this ...

-I have one compliment for you: the vocals in “The Ones” are the record’s highlight and the riff at the beginning of “Dimension Zero” stands out as fuck. Do we have to expect more songs on this path on your next release or is it too early for new songs? How long shall we have to wait this time?
(Stefano) Thanks for the compliments! I can not reveal the direction in which we are already composing the songs for the next album will be, but I can guarantee that those who were satisfied with us will not regret it!
We must consider that the new album was released only three months ago and gave us the opportunity to have a lot of things at the moment to do but we are moving forward step by step in doing things in the right way, but I do not think that its successor will be late to arrive.

-Any videos in the work? Do you have official videos of old songs (not live)?
(Vale) For now, we have not shot any video but we hope to have the opportunity as soon as possible while the old songs, unfortunately, there is no official video but only movies on you tube.

-Tell us about your personality. How do you consider yourself: a warrior, a misanthrope, a philosopher, or what? What ideas and beliefs lead your life? What are your most important values?
(Vale) In life if you want to get something you have to believe and fight until the last as long as you get it, you have to persevere! I am lucky to have a family that supports me in everything and for everything regarding my work as a musician thus the values I believe they are the ones and finally the guys in the band that I found hard heads who put all their energy for 19 years in the service of the band having never stopped believing!

-Are you interested in other art forms besides music? Could you mention your favourite authors, painters, sculptors, movie directors?
(Vale) I live for metal and my favorite artists are Emperor / Ihsahn, early Metallica and being a lover of stoner Kyuss without forgetting the most seminal band, Black Sabbath! By writing and sculpture while I do not mean I love Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola, my favorite movie is "the Godfather."
(Max) I can personally say that I have taken care of all the previous work of the band and also the booklet of "US" as well as all the social networks and the site of band. I love art in general although I find relax in my short time reading comics.

-Do you play other instruments and how clever are you at? Would you be able to replace one of your mates if they were unable to attend a show?
(Vale) I just play bass! Yes, before I try to relax and perform constantly repeat some things but I would not say I'm too personal!

-I’m an avid collector and love tapes. Is it still possible to get one of your demos? Any copies left?
(Stefano) We do not have any tape of previous works at the moment although we kept the master and the printed copies so it is always possible, but it is said that we could evaluate to re-record the whole thing if we get the chance.

-Let’s stop here. I’m very grateful for your contribution to my magazine. Give us your last words.
(HOMICIDE HAGRIDDEN) Many thanks to you and ROCKMETALBANDS for the visibility you've been giving us !! We hope to hear from you very soon! Bye!

MARKUS GANZHERRLICH - January 2nd , 2013