Interviews: Athenesi

On this new occasion, we have had the opportunity to interview the Metalcore band Athenesi from Italy. Check out the interview and follow the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

1. Where did you get the idea for the band name, you planned it or came out just like that?

For a long time, we were looking for the name of the band, but we could not think of anything interesting. We wanted a name that was easy to remember and not very long. The name appeared inventing and mixing words and has no specific meaning for us, just a funny story behind it.

2. Why did you want to play this genre?

We are Heavy Metal bands with different influences, sometimes we enjoy other musical genres besides metal and sub-genres. So our music was, in the end, a mix of what we liked. But we feel more like a Heavy Metal band with many influences. (of course, the extreme influences are there)

3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?

We knew each other for a long time before officially forming the project, we were just a band that made a few covers and demos to play in the city, me and Mattia (former guitarist) met online, through an ad on Facebook, he already had a friend who played bass and I another friend who played the drums that a few months after forming the band left us. Alessandro, who was already playing in another band, decided to enter our project. Our bass player then left us. We have been changing many musicians, but in 2020 while we were recording the album we met the current bassist of the band Matteo, who was suggested to us as a member of the band by a friend.

4. Each band member's favorite band?

Marco Espada (Vocals/Lead Guitars): Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, Metallica, Nirvana, Enigma, Rammstein (there are many bands I love like, In flames, Judas Priest, etc but the others motivated me to play in a band when I was a teenager) 

Alessandro Ferraro (Drums): Judas Priest, Paradise Lost, Machine Head, Sepultura.

Matteo Boschini (Bass): Alcest, Archspire.

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

The songs were composed according to the need to get rid of the emotions of those times. Of course, they were not created in a day, but they were many moments of that period transported to the music. It's something that helps us to feel better.

6. Where was your last gig?

Our last concert was in our city's Bergamo at the Ufo club. It was a concert we did a week after releasing the album. It was fun, but obviously, we want to do more shows now that we have the album on all the streaming platforms.

7. Where would you like to act?

Surely like every band / artist when it is at the beginning, we would like to leave our country and make a European tour and as the dream of every musician to make a world tour in the future. At the moment we would like more concerts in Italy and go out as soon as possible to other European countries. Festivals like Wacken or Hellfest would be fantastic.

8. Whom would you like to feature with?

We would love to feature with some of our favorite bands. That's another dream that we have after the world tour.

9. Whom not?

There are many bands in the underground scene that already think they are world-famous rock stars, with these bands surely do not.

10. Have any of you ever suffered from stage fright? Any tips for beginners on how to beat that?

We have not yet played on big stages, so maybe at that moment, we’ll feel more adrenaline than fear. A tip for beginners: always check that your gear is working perfectly during the soundcheck

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

Our favorite bands of course and some other bands that released amazing albums during their career.

Marco: The Cure has inspired me a lot (Disintegration is an amazing album).

12. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for?

Until now, they haven't asked us anything weird, but maybe one day they will.

13. What do you think of your fans?

We are currently growing on social media, and everyone knows that it is much easier to communicate with people around the world. There are people from different countries like Brazil, Germany, Argentina, or the USA, etc who share our music on their social networks and sometimes ask if we will play in the future in their country, etc. They are all great! We are not very "famous" yet, we released 3 singles and the full album almost 3 weeks ago, but we love that there are people loving our work! That's amazing for us! We love you all!

14. What do you think of our site?

We thought there should be more websites like "breathingthecore.com" that help new bands make themselves known online..

15. Something to add?

Don't forget to follow "breathing the core" on your socials and of course visit our website www.athenesi.com. Subscribe / follow and share our social media profiles. (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Spotify) Thank you so much!