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Finally, after much anticipation, and on the occasion of their splendid
new work, we are pleased to interview Doomenicus, the Christian
doom band from Puglia. One understands immediately how important overall
are the definitions for the different circles that they embrace: first
of all, the lyrics are Christian oriented, which is really rare in the
Italian metal scene; moreover, they espouse a special type of metal,
Doom metal, that has many critical fans; finally, they come from a
region in the South that has contributed much to the metal scene, but
 have
had a hard time finding the right setting in which to promote
themselves. So here we present to you, Doomenicus!
The first question …How did the name Doomenicus come to be?
Please clear up the mystery! And also, why do you use nicknames? Do they
have a particular significance?
S (Stefano) - For each of us the nicknames have a particular personal
meaning. Given my Christian faith, I chose “Iubal” since he is the
first musician mentioned in the Bible.
Do (Domenico)
-
Doomenicus originated from a play on words using my name and the name of
the style of music we play.
A (Alessandro) - Murnau. Personally I am a great fan of film belonging
to the current of German expressionism, a tradition that, in my opinion,
calls to mind many atmospheres present in our genre. My nickname is a
tribute to one of the greatest directors of this movement.
How did you come to decide on playing doom metal, a "niche" genre we
could say, considering that the majority of young musicians dream of
being the
 next
Iron Maiden?
A - In the first place, it’s because we’re not little boys anymore, our
median age is about 23, and we found more satisfaction in dedicating
ourselves to a niche in which we could express ourselves more anyway.
In Italy, death metal, thrash metal, and heavy metal are found on every
street corner. Doom metal on the other hand is a style rarely heard,
and rather frequently snubbed, therefore we can be more individualistic
and we can work with greater tranquility. We give great respect to Iron
Maiden, but one needs to look forward. The eighties have been over for
a long time.
Do - The passion we bring to playing this type of music.
S - Fundamentally the paths that we have taken in our lives were not
simple. The style played personally helped me and to get through
certain unhappy experiences.
Da (Davide) -
Because Doom is different. We don’t play it in order to emulate others
but because of our passion for it.
Choosing to write lyrics that reveal a certain connection with
Christianity is not an easy choice, some would say unfashionable….In
what way are you close
 to
white metal?
And how do you
live
your spirituality?
Do - It’s difficult to move forward in life when one is confronted with
bad situations. An difficult period lends itself towards writing lyrics
with a religious background.
A -
I have a very personal idea of God and of faith. I’m not practicing but
I believe in the presence of something greater. Only the names change,
but the concept of an infinite greatness remains always the same.
Writing or focusing concentrating on aspects of this kind does not imply
that we have a super-devout relationship with faith. It’s a useless
prejudice. Certainly we don’t toss Bibles to the crowd like Stryper
does!
S - The style of music weds itself very well with the lyrics. If the
music brings to the surface certain emotions, why not combine the words
to a Christian view with this sound? And anyway, not all of the lyrics
have a direct connection with the Christian faith.
Da - Personally the words don’t concern me much, but I don’t think they
are all connected to "white metal".
Moving on now to examine your latest work, "Sacred", above all, I must
first congratulate you seeing that
 you
won us over at first listening! We have noted an increase
of perfection.
How were the five months of working on the album? What did you work on
the most?
S - Thank you very much for your compliments. We concentrated on the
rhythms, to give the whole album a throbbing rhythm. The production, the
recording and the artwork were done in a professional manner. It was
very expensive and we were happy with it; this is why we decided to move
forward.
Da - If you say this it means that we did a good job and this can’t help
but please us. We worked on all aspects: from the music to the artwork,
leaving nothing to chance.
Do - A lot of the time I focused my attention on the deep vocals. I
wanted to give them a mournful, heavy tone on the album.
The current arrangement is comprised of the four of you. How did you
meet each other?
S - In our city few people appreciate this style of music. The only ones
who could discuss this style also created a band – ours.
Do you have other projects or other groups? Or
 do
you give all your heart and soul to this project?
Da - I have an insane Grindcore project, Collapse of Humour. It’s sort
of an outlet for me to vent my feelings.
Do – One night Alessandro and I went to play in the garage for the pure
joy of doing something different. Out of that came Remember November.
Subsequently, with the arrival of Stefano and Davide, we gave our hearts
and souls to Doomenicus. The first time that we played together, we
understood what a great chemistry there was between us.
Tell us a bit about yourselves. Who are your musical influences? Which
particular groups inspire you?
A - I have always been a big supporter of Chuck Schuldiner. He was a
true advocate of his style until the end. (May he rest in peace) Then
there’s Frank Zappa, Robert Fripp, Eddie Van Halen, Fabrizio de Andre,
Paul Chain,
 Litfiba,
Giovanni Lindo Ferretti, Fred Buscaglione, Black Sabbath e many others.
S and D - Paul Chain, Mario “The black” Di Donato, Candlemass, St. Vitus,
Black Sabbath.
Da -
Definitely Black Sabbath, Slayer and Faith No More above all, however I
don’t restrict myself to a style, I prefer a range of styles from
Prozac to Jamiroquai, from Duke Ellington to Carcass.
I read in a review that the voice of Domenico Caruso was compared to
that of the great Ozzy Osbourne. How do you respond to this flattering
affirmation?
Do - I’m very flattered by it but for me Ozzy remains the one and only
unreachable father of heavy metal.
A -
Domenico sings better, hahaha!
Given your affinity for doom metal, how would you convince a hardcore
 unblackster
to listen to "Sacred"?
Do -
With a new crusade, haha!
How is the scene in your area, Puglia? What air does metal breathe
there?
S - There is a strong underground scene, but the number of kids who
believe fervently in what they do are few. They don’t invest themselves
in their work and their ideas, because they are afraid that their ideas
will fail. There are tons of bands, but they can’t get themselves to
progress.
Da -
Before playing in Doomenicus, I was in a hard rock/heavy metal band, and
it wasn’t easy to find places to play. Imagine how hard it is playing
doom metal! A lot of the time the principal problem is envy.
Cooperation is lacking between bands.
A -
Puglia is a beautiful area, rich in history, of culture, and
unfortunately, also in problems. The cancer that afflicts this specific
musical scene is the lack of communication and cooperation between the
bands and this makes it very difficult for the scene to grow, even just
a little bit. Paradoxically, if you go south of Puglia, from Bari and
on, the situation is slightly better.
Do - The Partenopean Music is controlled by the Godfather.
Finally, how do you say goodbye in the style of Doom?
Requiem æternam dona eis and Light the candle in this days!
Roberta Cannone
(translation
of Paolo Tiseo)
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