Interviews About Albums: Expiatoria - Shadows (2022)

In this new interview, we sat down with the Italian Doom Metal band Expiatoria to ask some questions about their new album "Shadows". 

1. What can you say about “Shadows”?

“Shadows” is Expiatoria's full length debut. It represents the culmination of a long and troubled journey that began in 1987. After several demo tapes, multiple lineup changes and forced breaks, the band finally freed itself from all those negative factors that have always held back its growth, and now it is ready to stay and leave an important trace in the scene.

"Shadows" will be released on November 4 2022 via Black Widow Records and Diamonds Prod. The album contains 6 tracks of doom, gothic, obscure and atmospheric heavy metal. Pre-orders are open on our Bandcamp page: https://linktr.ee/expiatoria.

“Shadows” was written in 2022 and it features the contribution of some outstanding musicians within the Italian rock and metal scene: Diego Banchero (founder and bassist of label-mates, the dark prog band Il Segno del Comando) in "Asylum of the Damned", Edmondo Romano (wind instruments for countless projects and bands) in "Asylum of the Damned", Raffaella Càngero (voice of heavy-prog-folk band La Janara) in "Ombra - Tenebra Part 2", and Freddy Delirio (keyboards in Italian cult horror metallers Death SS) in "7 Chairs and a Portrait".

2. What is the meaning of the album’s name?

The Shadows of the title are our collaborators/performers on stage, and they are the symbolic embodiment of the dark side and the mystery that the lyrics deal with. Shadows are around and within every human being. We are the Shadows.

3. Who are the main composers of “Shadows”?

The main composers of the music on the album are the two guitarists Massimo Malachina and Edoardo Napoli, assisted by the whole band in the arrangements. Each of us has contributed with small, precious suggestions, to build and perfect the work as you can listen to it. The lyrics, on the other hand, are my prerogative entirely.

4. If you had to pick one song, which one would it be?

Each of us has his favorite song, which probably won't be the same for everyone. On a purely personal basis (and at the cost of sounding self-centered, since the song in question has my own pseudonym as its title), I choose "Krieg (My Last Song)" for its strong drama and emotional charge, as well as for its significance on a personal level.

5. Is there a special message in “Shadows”? If there is one, what is it?

The only implicit message between the musical notes and the lines of the lyrics is this: introject within yourself and probe that darkness that scares you (or that, on the contrary, you think you know so well)... you will finally find an unknown casket whose treasure will blind even the sun itself.

6. Are there some lyrics that you'd love to share?

I must admit that it is difficult for me to highlight one or more lyrics than the others because each topic has a strong emotional/spiritual/psychological imprint and multiple interpretations are well distributed equally in each song. Even a track like "Seven Chairs and a Portrait", apparently "only" a horror story with dreamlike hues, hides a subtext of psycho-magical symbolisms and chthonic archetypes, designed to awaken a sort of consciousness asleep in the arms of pseudo-totemic memories that they veil its intimate real essence. If I really have to force myself to choose just one lyric out of all, then I quote again "Krieg (My Last Song)" which represents a painful, heartbreaking, but also angry confession in the form of a sort of spiritual testament.

7. Which inspirations have been important for this album? Like musically or friends, family, someone you'd love to thank specially?

Musically, the roots of our basic inspiration are and always will be Candlemass, King Diamond, and Mercyful Fate. From these foundations, we build brick by brick a fortress that from time to time we will make more and more accurate and rich in details. Specifically, "Shadows" thrives on elements attributable to a certain type of dark prog, Type O Negative, Death SS, even 80's darkwave vibes. Coming out of the strictly musical field, our album is born from the awareness of being "different" , with the consequent contradiction between the impetuous, uncompromising pride of our uniqueness as persons and the sense of loneliness (more or less undisguised) in front of the overwhelming power of the "normal", the "winners", the "saints" and the "heroes".

8. Anything to add?

First of all let me thank you for this interview and your support. The only other thing I want to add is: see you on all the stages that we will be able to tread. We will not leave you indifferent. There is nothing else to say, our show will speak for us. Our next show will be in Genoa, our city, on November 5, 2022. It’s the release party of “Shadows” and we’ll share the stage with Italian Cemetery Rock legends L’Impero delle Ombre. Pre-orders for “Shadows” are open on Bandcamp: https://linktr.ee/expiatoria