Necrocene interview
1. Hi! The name Necrocene twists the geological term Anthropocene into something much darker. At what point did you realize that environmental collapse wasn't the central horror anymore, but humanity itself?
Apo (vocals): Hello, this is Apo (vocalist), thank you for the opportunity to speak! The term ‘Necrocene’ is not a neologism; it exists and appears in various articles and is closely related to the geological term ‘Anthropocene’. It’s remarkable that there is a species on Earth whose impact has caused so much death and destruction in such a short window of time compared to geological eras. We are, of course, talking about human beings, and yes, the central theme of this project is the human impact on our planet.
2. Scumocracy paints a world driven by decay, indifference, and self-destruction. Do you see the album as political commentary, social observation, or simply a reflection of the reality you experience every day?
We believe and are convinced that it’s impossible to talk about the planet, exploitation, and the end of the world—or at least the kind of 'world' we’ve known—without doing so in a 'political' way. It’s a word that carries all the weight and negativity of those who practice it: politicians.
Scumocracy is an album that addresses politics in a broader sense; it observes a world falling apart and reflects on who we are and what is happening around us. It definitely takes a stand: in a world divided between those who exploit and those who are exploited, Scumocracy is dedicated to the wretched of the earth.
3. The lyrics seem less interested in fantasy than in the slow collapse of civilization. Was it important for you that the horror on this album remains recognizably human rather than supernatural?
Human horror is enough to convey everything we have to say right now. I won't lie, sometimes reading the news feels like living in a dystopian future or a medieval war between evil old men fighting over land, while poor folks pay the price. Dystopia and fantasy are constantly on our front pages.
4. You deliberately reject hyper-technical death metal in favor of something raw and primitive. Do you think modern death metal has become too concerned with musicians impressing other musicians?
We're not into showmanship; nobody in the band listens to overly technical stuff. We found common ground, chose our themes, and the music grew out of bringing people and ideas together. You don't need mind-blowing technique to impress the crowd, even if the metal scene is packed with musicians. Everyone is free to take the death metal sound wherever they want—we just prefer it raw, primitive, and visceral.
5. The record openly embraces the Morrisound era. When writing Scumocracy, were you consciously chasing that atmosphere, or is that simply the musical language that comes naturally to you?
As I mentioned earlier, the band started with an agreement on our common influences, so we basically said, 'Okay, for us, playing death metal means doing it like this.' That’s why the songwriting immediately took a very specific direction. Death metal isn't the only soundtrack to our lives, but after twenty years of listening and collecting music, that sound is in our DNA. So it felt totally natural to bring it back through our own lens and ideas.
6. The songs balance violent bursts with slow, crushing passages. Do you build that dynamic around the lyrics and narrative first, or does the music dictate where those moments of suffocation belong?
The music and lyrics often come together, especially for the parts that end up becoming choruses. I look for words or a phrase that can work—words that carry weight within this 'necrocenic context'—and that's how the song comes together.
7. The press release describes the riffs as "untamed" and the drumming as "uncalculated". How much of that chaos is carefully crafted, and how much is left instinctive?
There's actually a huge amount of work that goes into the songs after they're born in the rehearsal space—a sort of 'primitivization' of the riffs, if you will. The riffing starts out purely instinctive, but then we refine and reshape it to make it more functional in terms of speed and impact. As far as we're concerned, direct is always better.
8. Before NECROCENE, you all came from Italy's punk and underground metal scenes. What attitudes from punk culture have survived intact in this band?
What stayed with us is the complete rejection of bullshit: no rockstar poses, no corporate social media engagement tricks, and no fluff. We kept that raw, no-nonsense DIY attitude. Over the last two decades, we've watched punk and metal break down walls and come together. A perfect example of this fusion is right here in Florence: the annual 'Inferno' metal festival hosted at CPA, an iconic squatted social center. That spirit right there—a fierce punk mindset driving heavy music—defines exactly who we are and how we bridge those two worlds.
9. Death metal has always flirted with social criticism, but many bands hide it beneath gore and horror. Why did you choose to confront real-world decay so directly?
A great film critic from Livorno, Frusciante, used to say that if you watch zombie movies just for the gore, you don't understand shit because you're missing the social critique. That's exactly how we see it. Re-using horror aesthetics just to make them commercial or entertaining for the public has never interested us. Reality is gruesome enough, and we simply want to be the soundtrack to the end—nothing more, nothing less.
10. If someone listens to Scumocracy without reading a single lyric, what do you hope they still understand from the music alone?
Even without reading a single word, we hope the music itself conveys the feeling of oppression that defines this historical period. Through our choice of tone, the shifts between heavy mid-tempos and fast sections, and the guitar harmonies, the sound alone is meant to capture that weight. At the end of the day, we want the music to hit you right in the gut, making you bang your head and move your feet—just like any proper anthem of revolution.
11. Modern technology is often presented as progress, yet your album suggests the opposite. Do you think technology has made people more disconnected from reality than previous generations?
We've reached a point where we have to interact through a screen to work, socialize, and even make music. If you're not on the internet, you don't exist. At shows, you see rows upon rows of phones in the air, and people live their lives watching other people's lives through algorithms that tighten the chains around our free time and our passions. Technology has brought benefits, sure, but what's the actual price tag—and more importantly, who is paying for it?
12. Looking back at the Detrimental Paratomy EP, what do you hear in those recordings that had to evolve before Scumocracy became possible?
Scumocracy is a natural and conscious evolution of Detrimental Paratomy—that EP was where we figured out what we wanted to do and how to do it. We knew from the start that the EP would serve as a testing ground for a longer, more varied release. On a personal level, we're really happy with our first full-length, and we hope anyone who gives it a listen will enjoy it too.
13. Italy has produced outstanding death metal for decades, yet it rarely receives the same recognition as Sweden, Finland, or the United States. Do you think Italian death metal still remains underrated internationally?
The underground scene is packed with killer bands, but very few manage to break out of that niche and hit international stages to reach a wider audience. Part of the reason comes down to our geography—the long distances make it tough for Italian bands to tour and get exposure abroad.
As for being underrated compared to Sweden, Finland, or the US, I don't think Italian death metal is seen as inferior—it's just that fewer people know about our scene, perhaps due to those geographic and logistical barriers. Having fewer extreme bands exposed internationally definitely affects how the scene's overall quality is perceived, but anyone who’s truly passionate about this music knows you have to scratch beneath the mainstream surface to find the real gems.
14. Your music deliberately sounds abrasive rather than polished. Were there moments in the studio where you chose to leave imperfections because they strengthened the character of the record?
Absolutely. We made the album with a live setup in mind, ensuring everything on the record can be reproduced on stage. No studio tricks, no impossible solos. Leaving raw imperfections was a conscious choice so the record sounds like us playing live in a room. That deeply ties into our punx ethos: playing music as a raw, real experience, not as a polished attempt to showcase a 'flawless performance'.
15. Finally, Scumocracy ends as a portrait of a civilization heading toward collapse. Are you pessimistic enough to believe we've already crossed that point, or do you still see a possibility of reversing the course?
If pessimism means facing reality with a razor-sharp mind, setting hope aside in order to build consciousness and social criticism, then absolutely. I'm pessimistic enough to see a shattered world, something that has changed for the worse for the majority of people. One of my all-time favorite movies, Keoma, ends with a desperate cry that sums up the perfect ending for our conversation: 'The world is rotten!'.