Hi! Can you tell me about The Headless Ghost and your previous musical experiences?
Albe: we were born as an idea for a tribute to Mercyful Fate, but with the arrival of Covid every possibility of playing live disappeared, so Aurelio and I decided to write new songs. He wrote 90% of the music (in less than a month) and I prepared a horror concept, a bit like King Diamond taught us. Then the search for musicians began. The first one who accepted was Tobias from Necrophobic (bass guitar), but then we realized that we needed members close to us in order to have constant live activity.
Thus we arrived at the current lineup. We all come from fairly well-known bands in Italy and Europe. Drakkar, Lionsoul, Daemoniac, Tesla Shamans. Each of us brought our own musical background, some the more extreme, like Omar and I, some the more classic metal (Aurelio and Simone). Steven the singer, who is an excellent keyboard player, brought his energy, his very particular voice and his approach between progressive and hard rock.
Why did you choose your band name, how did you form, and what led you to play classic heavy metal?
Albe: the name of the group was chosen together with the first singer, a very well-known name in the American scene. He left because he didn't demonstrate the professionalism expected of a person of his caliber (I won't say his name even under torture!). Classic metal was a natural choice... what is the common denominator between death metal, black metal, prog metal, power metal... it's metal! We all come from there, despite the drifts taken by our lives, our tastes and our growth as musicians and artists.
Then I can tell you that honestly there is this return to those "ancient" sounds in the air. These modern times sometimes seem to push you to stop and look back. We did it and we saw classic metal.
Returning to the name, however, I can tell you something curious. Only after choosing it, we realized that we had unconsciously quoted a part of the lyrics from 'Evil' by Mercyful Fate.
Can you tell us about “King of Pain”?
Albe: there's so much to say... too much. It's a concept album about a serial killer imprisoned in his house by the spirits of his own victims. He will be redeemed by the spirit of a blonde-haired little girl, who, song after song, will make her identity clear. And perhaps we will come to the conclusion that the serial killer is just one of many victims, and has never done anything... except suffer and hide his pain in anger. It's an ambitious story, which I wrote hoping to make people think, but also move them and make them cry. I myself was moved when I wrote the last chapter of this story. Musically, as I was telling you, there is all our love for metal. The first impact is that of a record very influenced by Mercyful Fate, but if you listen to it with headphones and very carefully, you will be able to hear details taken from Norwegian black metal records, modern dissonances, drum beats bordering on extreme progressive. It's a record that makes us all very proud and we believe a lot in "our" 'King Of Pain’.
What kind of feedback are you hoping to receive for your album?
Steven: We hope that old fans of classic heavy metal will appreciate our work, but also new generations and new types of listeners can appreciate innovative elements in our compositions.
The feedback we hope to have is not only on the web but also, in the old way, under the stage. The listener must receive a rush of energy!
Omar: I expect sincerity in the listeners, I hope that the passion of what we have done can come out, we want to be able to say "hey, this is us, now it's our turn". every musician hopes that their work will be judged well, we have put all our effort into it, we hope that the message has arrived.
You plan to embark on a world/EU tour in the future? Do you think touring the world is an option available to every band, or what does a band need to do to achieve this opportunity?
Albe: Oh! Yes, of course it is an option for every band that has time, money and courage! We can't do very extensive tours, we have our jobs, but we are looking for an agency that can make us play in a targeted way. Few but good concerts, crucial to increasing our following. Our fan base is very strong in South America, we would love to go on a mini tour there to thank them.
What are your thoughts on online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free, and if so, why?
Albe: I don't like giving away my art, but I can't help but do so. Currently our album has been listened to by more than 16,000 people on YouTube alone. Do you know how much we would have earned if we had sold 16,000 records? But there's no point thinking about it, we won't get rich with metal. We are no longer in the 80s. At this point we would just like our name to get around as much as possible, to then allow us to travel around the world a bit. Let's not kid ourselves, anyone who wants to listen to a record without paying knows what to do. It's a useless fight. From the moment music became "liquid", the charm of lying in your bed to read the booklets of CDs or cassettes has been lost. And I assure you that our label, the great Punishment 18 Records, has produced us a 16-page booklet that is marvelous! But who will see it? Who listens to it on YouTube? Guys support us! Buy the CDs!
Who are your musical influences? Did you ever imagine your band could become as famous as your favorites?
Albe: personally, my influences are to be found in the most extreme and experimental music. From black metal to the more technical death metal. Bands like Meshuggah, Emperor, Dissection, Cynic, Cattle Decapitation. With The Headless Ghost, however, I went back to my origins, to those bands that made me jump on my seat as a kid: Mercyful Fate, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Candlemass, Death SS, Judas Priest.
Have you received formal music education? Do you think it's an important factor?
Steven: some of us took private lessons, some didn't. Having a theoretical basis can definitely help. It must be a mix of feeling and theory, but theory alone can do nothing.
How do you balance your music with other obligations such as family, job, etc.?
Steven: obviously it's not easy. You have to know how to take risks logically. We know that being successful is not easy now, but we will always dream. We all work but we will always have energies for music. When the time comes, we will certainly be ready to take a risk
At the moment we work hard and we dedicate every bit of free time to music
How do you deal with mistakes during a performance? Do you get nervous before a performance or competition?
Steven: there can be mistakes during a performance, no one is a machine. The beautiful part of music is its humanity. If you make a mistake you get it right, even during the song. In a second time during rehersals you focus on where you did wrong.
Before a live show you always have a very strong adrenaline rush, sometimes even fear in my opinion... and this is exactly the beauty of playing. It makes you feel alive.
What's next for your band? Thank you!
Aurelio: the second album is already in the pipeline, we already have a valid story and many songs written with the collaboration of the whole band, for the live/concert issue initially the project was born as a studio band, but given the excellent feedback of the album is not excluded some targeted concert. Thank to you guys and follow us!