Grab a cuppa, crank up the stereo and settle in! This is a big, detailed read from the lovely guys of Aeternum who have provided an in-depth history the band as well as an update on their current plans…
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
Aleister: Proudly from Italy! To be precise, from various parts of Italy. Erik and Carmine from mid-southern Italy, sco and I from Rome, Filippo from mid-northern Italy while Leonardo is from botu Switzerland and Italy. ⅚ of the band live in Rome and nearby. Leonardo is actually living in Switzerland.
Filippo: We’re from Italy, and it’s no secret that our country is not exactly metal oriented, but still you can find some precious gems (not necessarily us) in the underground scene.
Actually our bassist Leonardo is from Switzerland and currently working there, which means he travels for like more than a thousand kilometers to come perform with us!
Leonardo: We are an Italian band
How did you meet?
Aleister: Well, it’s a large story. Let’s start from the beginning. Prior to starting Aeternum, I was singing with Limen. At that time (it was 2008 or so) the band was searching for a new drummer when Filippo showed up. He is a friendly and funny guy, so it took us a few days to establish a link.
Few months later that project was over so we decided to start Aeternum (which at the time was a nameless band). Some years and lineup changes later, we were looking for the ninth bass player. I don’t know how and where but Leonardo heard of us. He was really excited about our music and wanted to do the audition. Guess what? We dared to discard him! We found a bassist but 6 months later we got stuck in the same situation so we scheduled new auditions. Leonardo showed up again, with a lovely and maleficent smile on his face. He literally demolished us with a roaring thunder bass, playing our own songs much better than us. Leo’s audition was literally jaw dropping, considering that it was only a few days later when he told us that it was a few months he had started playing bass.
Aeternum was ready to rock the stage again. We had a rock solid lineup and for 3 years or so, everything was going pretty fine but you know…beware the deadly donkey…Leonardo had to go back to Switzerland to start his shadow doctoring.
So we had this show and it was impossible for Leo to come to Rome. I knew this big guy, Erik Natale and I knew he was a great bass player, ’cause I saw him onstage with Nexus Opera so I talked to the guys and we asked Leonardo for permission to ask Erik to replace him for one shot.
Erik did a unique job and performed extraordinarily. By talking to him I knew he was mainly a pianist. To be honest, for some time I was suggesting Aeternum to put keyboards in our music and this seemed to be such a sign of destiny.
Well, the story doesn’t end here but I promise it’s almost over.
It’s March 6th 2019. We are supposed to be onstage here in Rome the day after when our beloved brother and axeman Franco Salvati communicates to us this will probably be his last show with us and he’ll retire from music ’cause he is overwhelmed by engagements and feels he cannot put in the band the effort it deserves.
Kaboom! Gigs cancelled due to Covid19 lockdown start the very 7th of March! Here comes Carmine, aka Karma.
I met him when he was running a rehearsal room, a couple of years before, when Filippo and I were invited to be part of a beneficial event, so we went there to rehearse. Well there was this tall and very long haired guy, practicing with his guitar, behind the main desk. It is quite a common thing but this guy…he was only practicing without even being connected to an amplifier but he was sounding so interesting.
When it came the time to search for a new guitarist, my first thought was him. For the very first time I didn’t ask the band. I immediately texted him to propose to get into Aeternum.
Due to we are crazy, the first show we had with Karma onstage with us was at Ariston Theatre, in Sanremo for the Sanremo Rock festival. Last but not least, we met sco.
Again we were searching for a new guitarist, due to Edoardo Taddei’s left.
It was a little while we were talking about abandoning the dichotomy Lead guitar – Rhythm guitar. Eddy is amazing. He is literally a guitar hero but, despite this, we and he realized together we and him needed something different. Once again, destiny is a funny mate. Basically, sco and I met ’cause I started working in his same company at the beginnings of December 2021. You know, being colleagues we started talking about music and it pops out he is a guitarist. We talked a bit about Aeternum and boom! By the end of March sco was ready to perform with us at Stazione Birra, after a two years stop for the band. It was an amazing show!
As I told you, this is a large story (and I tried to shorten it up as much as possible) so please don’t blame me for being so long.
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Filippo: When I moved from the northern part of Italy to the southern one I had to abandon my former bands, which I can guarantee is not an easy task at all!
Luckily in Rome the music scene is bigger and I was able to intercept a couple of “drummer requests” from the local music market, and drummers are always needed, so good for me! In 2008 I ed a band called Limen, we could consider it the egg that gave life to Aeternum some time later, even if now only Aleister and I remain from the original formation. That’s because we had a lot of changes in our lineup, for a lot of different reasons, everytime losing something and adding something else, but also everytime consolidating the voice-drum core that moved us forward.
Leonardo, our bassist, is the third older member of the band now. He has been auditioned a first time but was not picked since we had a better candidate at that time. Not that it stopped Leo from studying harder, improving a lot, and coming back in the time of need, when the bass role became uncovered again.
Then we have Erik, who ed the band initially as backup bassist, since Leonardo had moved back to Switzerland to study and work and we weren’t sure he could be there for us at every show. It turned out that Leo was able to comply with the band’s needs, so Erik switched to his other instrument: keyboards, and boy was it a nice addition to Aeternum sound!
The guitar section was almost stable at the time, but then in rapid succession we lost both guitarists and were able to replace them with Carmine (Aleister neighbour) first and sco (Aleister coworker) right after. The sound changed slightly again, but every time this happens we have more experience and knowledge to guide new to their right spot in the band.
Leonardo: Well, the band At that time, back in 2015, was looking for a bass player, so I was sacked at the first interview, but they gave me a second chance a few months later, but in the meantime I practiced A LOT, so there I am.
How long have you been playing as a band?
Aleister: We’re playing together since 2009, even if the only two left of the original lineup are Filippo and I
Filippo: Not considering the previous Limen project we can say 2009 is Aeternum year of birth. If we want to talk about the current formation, then we must say 2022 since sco ed just recently.
Leonardo: The band is playing, with so many lineup changes, since 2009
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
Aleister: It’s another large story but I will not go into details. Aeternum is a Latin word meaning Eternal. It refers to various things for us but fundamentally it is focused on time and situations coming back again and again in one’s life, just as if Universe was giving you a gentle flip on the back of your head telling you to pay attention not to drift from your growth path…let’s say,like a good father would
What are your influences?
Aleister: We have multiples. Of course, we all are metalheads but as you know, metal is a whole world. Each of us has his own specific musical preferences but let’s say that our lowest common denominator is 80’s /90’s hard & heavy thus “dirtying up” our music with a mix of different traits
Filippo: What I like the most about original bands is the mixture of influences that come from each member. Not being forced to be categorised in a specific genre allows to span across different ideas and variations. For what matters me, I started with italian pop back in the days, moving to american punk rock and nu metal, to land finally in the mighty world of power metal.
Leonardo: As a bass player, my main influences are CLEARLY Steve Harris and Geezer Butler, but in the end I created my own style, I love the way flea from the RH does his thing, and I learned so much watching him play and playing his songs, of course I love Lemmy, and this Italian guy no one knows that plays the bass divinely, Mr sco Gallo, who thought me the basics of groove and slapping. In the end as a band we have some “classic” influences like Maiden, Sabbath, Priest, but we love to do our stuff our way, so…it’s our own style that emerges from what you hear
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
Aleister: Mmmh….Not trying to be unique at all costs, I suppose. I mean…I think music is about feeling and communicating, at a primitive level. Everyone of us is unique, until he doesn’t try to force his uniqueness to come out. It is a matter of intentions. It lays in the difference between playing because you wanna be famous and doing it because you want to tell other people the world inside you.
Filippo: Unique not always equals good, as difficult doesn’t, the point is hitting the fans hard with a wall of music, giving them something to excite them when we play. Did that sound like something heard before? It’s ok for us anyway, until it’s not a complete copy of someone else’s work. I think every band that allows its to express themselves putting their experiences and influences into the cauldron all together is unique in its own way.
Leonardo: It’s indescribable, it’s just a mixture of…riffs, emotions, double bass and…well Aeternum
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
Aleister: Yes. Aeternum is bound to the Serpent Brotherhood. Despite the appearance of its name, its ideals are noble and ancient. It is a journey from darkness to light, so basically our lyrics are about life and society viewed from a non political perspective. Through our music, we analyse our lives, our world as well as society and human behaviour, including ourselves. Through our music we try to evolve into something better. We try to tell people our points of view by telling ’em stories or talking about situations. We do it our way, trying to give listeners the possibility of enjoying our music as it is or trying to get our ideals by going a little bit deeper, analysing lyrics. It’s a secret you can choose to uncover or not. It’s up to you…ex umbris ad lucem, after all
Filippo: Our mighty singer Aleister is the creator of our lyrics, so who better than him to answer that?
Leonardo: Yes, we do, it’s not so easy to talk about it because we actually want people to discover the themes by listening to the songs, and reading the lyrics if they are interested in what they hear, so…it’s not like us to give away the hidden messages within our lines
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
Aleister: I’d say our typical show could be described as a Hard and Heavy night with little veins of darkness and a few more serious moments. In general, we try to establish a strong connection with the audience, because our main goal is to have a two way connection with people so, basically, our audience is onstage with us, in some way.
Filippo: I’ve heard people claim that professional bands are all straight and composed on stage. Well in that case we’re not professional at all!
We like to interact a lot with our audience, make puns, then hit them hard with our sound until us or them cannot take it anymore (usually me, drums are tiring when played live!).
I think the point of live music is involving people like they are part of the show, because they are indeed! If someone wants to hear the perfect reproduction of the studio track, they can always stay home and put a CD on. When you come to a live show you get a live show, where every single minute is spent in delivering the best experience for the audience.
Leonardo: We try to put an intro sometimes, but we’re really “fluid”, we adapt to the venues we play at, we play our songs and we are actually trying to figure out ways to be graphic even in small venues, which is not easy
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
Aleister: Well, we were playing at Carsoli, it was the show before Sanremo Rock and we were playing our last song “Blinded no more”. Eddy was playing an insanely fast solo and people were singing the chorus notes. Usually, during that part , I move away from the stage center, to leave the necessary space for guitars (and to take a breath .I don’t know what came into my mind, because the moment was so exciting but when it came the moment to get back to my place I climbed up the stage lateral fence and i took a jump towards the place u was supposed to be. Me, the other guys and I suppose the audience, as well, thought I was going to break my neck. Fortunately all went good, so the band ended up with a “circus” moment in its carrier and a “air jordan” style shot of the frontman
Filippo: Seen? Probably Manowar coming up on stage riding motorcycles.
Done? Probably tying the kick drum to my seat because we didn’t have a proper stage and the kick drum kept moving away from me as I played, lacking grip on the ground. Oh also one I almost blinded a fan when I lost a drumstick, throwing it like a spear in front of me after striking a crash.
Leonardo: It’s not really wild, but when I can I go into to the crowd and headbang with them while I’m playing.
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
Aleister: I use a Shure beta 58 A onstage and a Jz Bh1s in studio
Filippo: My main set is a Tamburo+Paiste with three toms and two floor toms, two crashes, a splash, a china, a ride, a hi-hat. I use a Speed Cobra as my pedal. The problem is that at our lever we mostly end up on stages where the drumset is already there, so I just put in my snare, pedal and cymbals there.
I also have a Roland electronic drumkit at home, for practising and recording without killing my neighbours.
Leonardo: I have my Dear Friend in Nadar Guitars who made my bass for me, the “sacred fire bass”, which is literally a monster, I LOVE IT, and well, I’m a big fan of Laney, Trace Elliot and Ashdown amp heads depending on the type of venue
Erik: My setup is composed of 2 Master keyboards MIDI (Alesis and M-Audio) connected to Receptor 2 Pro Max. I also have a KORG Digital Piano.
Carmine: I use a Jeff Loomis Jl7 Schecter, with a Line6 POD HD500X, Elixir strings
sco: I use a Fender Stratocaster having a Seymour Duncan humbucker at the bridge. The amplifier is a Bugera Bc-30 pumped by a Boss Ds-1 distortion pedal with Keeley-mod and a TC elettronica mojomojo as OD. The modulation effects that I prefer to use are Boss GigaDelay, TC elettronic Corona Chorus and MXR phaser.
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What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?
Aleister: At the moment we are completing our album, so we are focusing on it but we’re still promoting our EP ‘cause, you know, underground music struggles to be discovered sometimes
Filippo: We’re trying to give the finishing touches to our first album, since the pandemic added two whole years of delay to it. Meanwhile we promote our shorter EP to keep people from starving for our music (like they did anyway!).
We are also planning our first single video, but that might be a secret I should not have said here.
Leonardo:
At the moment we are working on putting out this album, and mostly we are writing new material
What are your plans for the next 6 months or so?
Aleister: As I was saying, to complete the album is our main goal and, actually, we’re focused on that. By the way, we are writing new songs for the next one.
Filippo: Due to the recent change in formation one of our short plans is to align our guitarists to the full song list, so that they can perform them like they wrote them. We also are finishing our first album and planning our first video. A photo shoot is also under planning.
We want to renew some of the old songs, to adapt them to the new formation and the new sound of the band. And don’t forget composing new stuff! We have a lot of incomplete songs that are waiting final refinement before they can be brought on stage!
If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be ing and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before!
Aleister: Well, we opened for a lot of artists we really love, like Mark Boals, Pain of Salvation and Edu Falaschi but, yes, there are many more bands we’d like to play with. It’s a hard choice, you know, ‘cause the Hard and Heavy world is so vast and there are almost infinite possibilities.
In of other underground bands, we met so many talented ones, such as White Thunder, and Kingcrow, for example. There’s a mate’s band i’m literally in love with: Neverhush. I really like their Italian style hard rock.
Filippo: Ouch this is a hard one! Too many choices! Probably my dream that’ll never come true is to open for Blind Guardian.
There are a lot of friend bands that I would like to bring on stage to open for us, so I really wouldn’t be able to chose and I would let Aleister pick for me, probably.
Leonardo: My dream is to open for Maiden. That would be my true only life long dream. Which band to open for us? Well, I would say that there are so many great bands in Rome, and in Italy…we had real fun with Half Life, a local band, we should really do something together!
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