Interviews About Albums: ExpiatoriA - Il Segno del Comando - Voci Notturne (Split Album) (2026)
In this new interview, we sat down with two bands ExpiatoriA and Il Segno del Comando to ask questions about their split album "Voci Notturne".
1. What can you say about your new album Voci Notturne?
The new album is titled Voci Notturne and is a split recorded together with Il Segno del Comando, a historic dark prog band from Genoa, our hometown. The seven tracks on the album are inspired by the TV series Voci Notturne, written by Maestro Pupi Avati and broadcast on Italian television in 1995.
Although it is not a concept album in the strict sense, all the songs deal with the dark and gloomy themes explored in the series: discoveries of corpses, esoteric rituals, secret sects, pagan cults of ancient Rome… all interpreted through a heavy metal and prog rock lens.
The album is released by the historic label Black Widow Records and will be presented live on March 8th in Genoa.
2. What is the meaning of “Voci Notturne”?
What could be darker than the night—and its voices? The entire TV series revolves around mysteries and events that are barely whispered or hinted at, constantly recalling the legendary Italian TV series of the 1970s (including Il Segno del Comando itself), where this kind of atmosphere was predominant.
3. Who is the composer of Voci Notturne?
As far as ExpiatoriA are concerned, the songs on Voci Notturne date back to 2022 and 2023 and have been rearranged many times over. One of them, Sublicius, is a permanent fixture in our live set.
The main composer of our music is Massimo Malachina, guitarist and co-founder of the band. Starting from Massimo’s ideas, the band collaborates intensely to achieve a result that is fully in the ExpiatoriA style: rich harmonizations, minor keys, epic vocals, and a precise rhythm section with interesting solutions.
The lyrics are written by our singer AngeleX, who also drew from some writings by former vocalist Krieg, to whom we owe the original idea behind the entire Voci Notturne project. Some sections feature Latin texts—another tribute to the references to ancient Roman pagan rituals found in the TV series.
4. If you had to pick one song, which one would you choose?
I would definitely say Sublicius, which we are all very attached to and, as mentioned, never misses our concerts. Between sulfurous doom and Slayer-like echoes, it’s a very diverse and powerful metal track.
5. Is there a special message in Voci Notturne? If so, what is it?
It is mainly a tribute to a forgotten masterpiece of Italian cinema. If we wanted to draw a message from the TV series, we could interpret it as: “not everything is what it seems”… and a healthy dose of mistrust can save your life!
6. Are there some lyrics you’d love to share?
Our three songs are titled Emily, Sublicius, and La canzone di Lady Valover, so they focus on places and characters from the Voci Notturne series. We leave it to listeners to discover how we chose to pay homage to the series and recount its events. Bonus point: there are lyrics in Latin!
7. Which inspirations were important for this album—musically or personally? Is there someone you’d like to thank?
The album is dedicated to the memory of Tiziana, a dear friend of Massimo who passed away some time ago.
8. Anything else to add?
Voci Notturne represents a major evolution for ExpiatoriA because we left behind the total classic doom of our debut album, Shadows, to move toward a direction that will be explored even further on the next record: dark heavy metal with doom and prog elements, strongly indebted to bands such as Mercyful Fate and King Diamond, as well as the obvious masters, Candlemass.
The prog vein emerges a bit more prominently in Voci Notturne, perhaps also due to the influence of our friends in Il Segno del Comando, who wrote the second side of the album.
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