Crimson Moon: How did the band get started?’
Vito: Hello guys and thanks for hosting us, Vito here. The album released this year was supposed to be released initially as the project of an individual; I opted to recruit some session musicians in the last phase of creation and it was indeed a great choice. For this album I took care of the music, the lyrics and the artwork. I am really happy with the final result, actually: I do like the idea of merging different musical styles.
As the album has been recorded last year, due to Corona crisis, if would have been impossible to gather in the same studio. Hence, we opted for a distributed recording. Guitars and Bass were recorded in my home studio and the rest of the instruments were recorded by all the other members in their respective studios. So, there is a quite strong coordination activity behind the album.
Crimson Moon: What kind of music do you play?
Vito: I actually like to play anything related to the progressive metal or progressive rock…you can clearly hear the influences in the album.
Crimson Moon: How has the fan response been?
Vito: Definitely, it’s been really positive! the album has received a very warm welcome from the audience and so the response from the critic has been truly excellent! I think it’s quite an achievement for a band moving its first step as an independent production. It’s been really nice to see the album has been listened and purchased from many countries, in all continents…
Crimson Moon: Where did the band name come from?
Vito: Besides being the Amazon Queen in Greek mythology, Pentesilea is the name of one the cities from Italo Calvino’s book “Invisible Cities”. I particularly love the chapter of Pentesilea, the diluted city, liquidly spread, with no defined boundaries. I did like the idea of using it as a metaphor of the globalized world. Pentesilea Road therefore is the archetype of the, mostly unnecessary, travel around the world. It is loosely autobiographic, but I am pretty sure it is a concept known to many people.
I like to describe it as an act of dissidence, a protest against the new world order recently imposed to us and the one that it might be coming shortly. It talks about globalization, surveillance and behavioral capitalism, the role the mainstream media play in this big game, as well as roots, identity…all those things that involve familiarity and that once were considered the fundamental of life. The album does have a deep philosophy behind it.
Crimson Moon: Introduce the band members.
Vito: Sure, on the vocals we have Lorenzo Vincenzo Nocerino. Lorenzo is quite active as session musician and he’s been playing in a lot of bands. Michele Guaitoli and Alfonso Mocerino, are also well known for being members of the band Temperance (as well as Visions of Atlantis). Ezio is a professional keyboard player with whom we started a band several years ago: he’s always been my first choice on the keyboards section and I’m happy he came onboard. Regarding the guest musicians, I don’t think Mark and Ray need any presentation 😊
Crimson Moon: How many albums/CD’s have you released?
Vito: This is actually our debut album…so far it’s the only thing we have released, with this band!
Crimson Moon: Who writes the music? Lyrics?
Vito: In this album, I did take care of everything. It was supposed to be a solo album at the beginning…
Crimson Moon: And where do the lyric ideas come from?
Vito: From the lyrics point of view, Pentesilea Road is a rather complex project.
There’s a clear philosophy behind the lyrics: PR is an act of dissidence and protest against the new world has been imposed on us. Globalization, surveillance capitalism, ruthless erosion of what were the most basic elements of the life we were used to know, are constantly being de facto imposed. PR is an invitation to never give up in thinking and keep fighting the intimidatory power of politically correct. The whole album is loosely, metaphorically autobiographic and I’m truly convinced the lyrics are not secondary to the music itself: its full enjoyment requires reading the lines. And between them.
Crimson Moon: Has the Covid Pandemic impacted the band at all?
Vito: Actually, the band was started during 2020, so exactly during the pandemic. We had to learn how to make it work and coordinate us remotely. Of course this had a big impact, especially because, let’s be honest, planning some live is really hard at the moment…
Crimson Moon: Do you have any side projects?
Vito: Not me, I do only dedicate my music time to this band. However, this is the side project of all other members…
Crimson Moon: What is the music scene like where you guys are from?
Vito: Italy is currently infected by Trap, that’s the real pandemic 😊
Crimson Moon: Who are some of your musical influences?
Vito: I have been listening metal for over 3 decades and enjoyed hundreds of bands: I did start with some classic heavy metal, bands like Metallica, Iron Maiden, Metal Church, Helloween.
I think very many of those have left something in terms of influences, whether in a conscious or unconscious manner. However, if I have to name the main ones, I’d say Fates Warning, Queensryche, Iron Maiden, Dream Theater, Opeth, Porcupine Tree, Savatage, Riverside, PFM, Russian Circles, Pain of Salvation…so many! From the perspective of guitar playing, I have been strongly influenced by Marty Friedman, Satriani, Petrucci, Adrian Smith…
Crimson Moon: What is the band like when you play live?
Vito: Unfortunately, we did not play live yet: as I said, the band just started in 2020, in full COVID time…
Crimson Moon: Do you do anything special warm-ups you do before you play live?
Vito: Yes, just a calming beer will make the work!
Crimson Moon: What made you want to be in this band?
Vito: Well, this band it’s the summary of a big part of the music I have done…and it gives me the opportunity of expressing my feeling through music, to talk about things…it’s a beautiful thing…
Crimson Moon: If you weren’t in this band would you still be involved in the music industry?
Vito: I personally dislike a lot the word “industry”, whenever is associated to “music”…I think music is an artistic form of communication. I am personally not particularly interested in the economic side of it and it’s definitely not the main driver.
Crimson Moon: As a musician what advice can you give to fellow musicians just starting out?
Vito: An advice I would have received many years ago: if you think you got some good stuff, do not wait for other people to release it 😊
Crimson Moon: What does the future hold for the band?
Vito: We are currently busy writing the new album and we got already plenty of music available; it will take some months to get everything ready but we are confident to release the new album next year. Finger crossed!! If interested, please follow our Facebook page!
It’s been a real pleasure talking to you guys!
All the best!
Contact them at:
https://www.facebook.com/pentesilearoad
https://pentesilearoad.bandcamp.com/album/pentesilea-road-2
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKeoz8TsveQC6MOzQPysoKA
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2dfuaABjoufPDGwPHAp090?si=WrdQZTXzSVCAKXihhtdeGQ&nd=1