Patristic Interview

 

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

I've been putting music together since late 2018, it all became Patristic in 2020. The world stopped around me, so I could take a good look at the music I've written, and trust myself enough to say "I have a new project". Jacopo from Bedsore helped with vocals and that's how the "Apologetica" EP came out. Then he called himself out being too busy with his work and Bedsore. I had to find new people, and almost by mistake met Sathrath. He learned all the EP songs in a blink of an eye and I couldn't believe how tight he was. For the first time I thought, Patristic could have a real lineup. Plus, some of his musical ideas turned into new songs. That's how "Catechesis" came out. Then I met L.S. when we shared the stage in Germany (me with HD, him with Liber Nvll), loved his vocal style and asked him to be part of the new album. It took forever, but here we are.

2.You have your first full length coming out in June, musically how does it differ from your previous ep?

 Like night and day. There are real musicians behind it, a drummer especially, the approach is less frantic, less notes but hopefully the right ones. Everything is more cinematic, there's no urge to fill every second with a thousand notes or transients. We're starting to develop our own style. 

3.A lot of your lyrics cover Paganism, Gnosticism and the work of the early Christian writers, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in these topics?

It's more an historical interest. And a philosophical one. I've always been fascinated by those rarefied centuries of Roman empire decadence. What happened during those 300 years of sleep, when, quoting Excalibur's Merlin, "the one god came to drive out the many"? How was the religious warfield prepared? It started with philosophy. Pagan thinkers were plagiarized then replaced. The apogee of civilization was stripped of its pagan culture, melted and poured on the cross. 

4.I know that the band was named after the study of the early Christian writers, what are some of the early church philosophers that you have studied?

I started with St Agostino during my school years, long long time ago. Then others came, Ippolito, Filone, Atanasio... all parts of the same - I apologize for the childish term- "plot". The Christian plot, crafted in Greek language and wrapped in the purple of late imperial clothes. What a glorious mystification.  

5.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?

The Tauroctony is a very popular image of the Mithraic cult -the religion that ended being one of the many embryos of the cult of Christ. I knew Manuel Scapinello would, through his low relief art, turn this classic image and silhouette into something that would fit perfectly the mythological breath of the age we (tried to) give music to. 

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?

We have never played live.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?

If there will be interest, we'd love to. 

8.The new album is going to be released on 'Willowtip Records', how would you compare working with this label to 'Pulverised Records' which released the previous ep?

Roy and Pulverised were great to us, they gave us a chance we'll always be grateful for. We hope with WIllowtip to reach a broader audience, their core is death metal but this is not totally unrelated to our music. 

9.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black and death metal?

Still too soon to say. My only hope is that people would get at least to half of one of our songs before starting spitting comments and reviews. This should be done with all music: listen before criticize, the musician deserves at least ten minutes of your precious time. 

10.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?

Sathrath is busy touring with Infernal Angels and has a tighter and tighter schedule with Nocturnal Depression, L.S. is quite busy being a dad now, and I guess soon he'll have more duties with Frostmoon and Liber Nvll. Let's see if we'll be able to get onstage at least once before the end of the year. 

11.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

Only one possible answer: into our own identity. "Catechesis" is, still, the beginning of our journey. Some things worked out better than others, that's where I'll start when it's time to write new music. In fact, I'm already working on it. 

 

12.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

I'm literally consuming the latest albums by Barshasketh, Thy Darkened Shade, Dormant Ordeal, Blaze of Perdition and Chaos Invocation. These are my primary sources of inspiration these days and I'm thankful for their music.  

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

 Thank you for taking the time to ask these questions. To the reader, thank you for taking the time to read. 

https://patristic.bandcamp.com/album/catechesis