Dear readers, in this article we have the pleasure to offer you an interview with a young Italian band playing eclectic and Experimental Progressive Metal. We welcome Benthos.
Hi, it is a real pleasure to have you among our pages, how are you?
GL (singer): “Hey! Thanks for inviting us. Itās a busy time for the band and outside of it as well, but weāre doing well, thanks!
Gabri (guitarist): āHello! Weāre absolutely excited to be part of this interview! Everythingās going great.“
You are young artists, how did your passion for music and Progressive sounds specifically come about?
Gabri: “I was a die-hard metalhead during my teenage years, but when I turned 16, I discovered the majestic band Opeth. They completely transformed my perception of music how I write, listen, and even explore genres I hadnāt been exposed to before. I started playing more open chords instead of just the tight riffs I was used to, incorporating cleaner sounds, and eventually experimenting with tricky polyrhythms. Since discovering Opeth, my journey through experimental and prog music has continued, from classic ’70s bands like King Crimson, Genesis, Jethro Tull, PFM, and Area, to modern progressive acts like Between the Buried and Me, Animals as Leaders, Tesseract, The Contortionist, and Karnivool. Iāve also delved into math rock and mathcore bands like The Mars Volta, Slint, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Car Bomb, and Frontierer.” Ale (drummer): My passion for prog started during high school when I stumbled upon Dream Theater. It was a shock for me as a young drummer – it felt like a totally new language. Then came Tool, Yes, Genesis, King Crimsonā¦ all the classics. Over time, I gravitated towards modern prog (TesseracT and the djent scene) and the math / mathcore scene (Protest the Hero, The Safety Fire, The Dilinger Escape Plan, The Mars Volta, Don Caballero, Slint, Tera Melosā¦).“
GL: “I’ve always had a passion for music; I don’t really remember a time when I wasnāt deeply connected to it. I came into progressive sounds during high school, thanks to my classmate and current band member Enrico (guitarist). He introduced me to Muse, whose music I fell in love with. During one of their concerts in Turin, we discovered a progressive
metal band called Arcane Roots who were opening their show. Since then, itās been a continuous journey of discovering new bands with unique sounds for me.“
The band was formed recently, how did the project and the choice of the name Benthos come about?
Ale: “We were juggling a few names initially. During the early stages of composing II (our first album), we had a demo title āAwake the Benthosā. Shortly after, we realized that āBenthosā was a very cool name, so we adopted it for the band. āAwake the Benthosā then became āDebris // Essenceā, which is arguably the most iconic track of II.“
The new album āFrom Nothingā is out in April via InsideOut Music, how would you describe this work?
GL: “Intense, exhausting, but very satisfying. We poured all our energies into searching for the right sounds, melodies, rhythms, and chords that could express our vision of music – that is, an art able to convey in detail the deep variety of emotions inherent in human nature.“
12 tracks alternating between intense instrumental and vocal parts, what themes do the lyrics deal with?
GL: “Itās hard to explain what the lyrics are about for each song individually, as each has its own unique identity. However, the common thread connecting them is āthe ideaā: it spontaneously arises in humankind (hence the title āFrom Nothingā), and has the power to shape the path and existence of our species. Sometimes it leads to spiritual elevation and
inner research; other times, it is a manifestation of our most instinctive and wild nature.“
You combine Experimental and Progressive Metal sounds, how does the creative process of your music take place?
GL: “I have a simile that can describe our creative process. It’s like weāre five sculptors collaborating to create a statue. Generally, Gabri (guitarist) proposes the subject of the statue and the intention behind it (I envision a human body performing a specific action). He builds the foundational structure of the body, giving the first impression of what the
statue will look like. The other sculptors (including me) refine different parts of the body: the drummer shapes the legs, the bassist works on the upper body, the guitarist handles the arms, and I focus on the head. The key thing is that no oneās work is absolute and final; everyone has the right to express his opinion until the result is approved by all of us. For example, if Enrico (guitarist) doesnāt like the leg position suggested by Alessandro (drummer), heāll offer advice on a way to adjust. If everyone agrees on the change, it becomes part of the final sculpture. In this way, we managed to build up the sculptures that make up our repertoire.“
It’s been 4 years since the previous āII,ā how has your sound evolved over time and how is this work different?
Gabri: “After II, we completely shifted the way we express our music. We were used to playing 7-string guitars, but eventually, somehow, we found ourselves embracing the single-coil tones of Fender guitars. This shift had a huge impact on our sound. Combined with the use of pedals and various effects, we finally achieved the tone we were looking for. Our songwriting also evolved. We adopted one simple rule: āWhy not?’. This mindset pushed us to constantly challenge our boundaries, and it all came together in āFrom Nothing.ā
We were able to enjoy the first three singles, do you have plans to release more singles to anticipate the album release?
Gabri: “Weāve recently released a new single, āLet Me Plungeā, with a music video. This song is a taste of the album’s diversity, where we go beyond the heavy intensity you’ve come to expect from us. I like to think that this one breaks any preconceived notions about our sounds. āLet Me Plungeā showcases that emotional texture that permeates āFrom
Nothingā throughout, with lush vintage tones and bittersweet melodies. It expresses the inner turmoil that burns inside us when chasing our deepest ambitions, the will to listen to our voice and surrender ourselves to them.“
Many of our readers and your fans wonder if there will be a chance to hear your music live, do you have plans in this regard for the near future?
Gabri: “On May 1st, weāll be performing From Nothing live for the first time at our hometown release show in Milan. Weāve also just announced our return to Germany for the amazing Euroblast Festival in Cologne this September. Weāre working on bringing our music to the rest of Europe and beyond very soon.“
Do you have any particular anecdotes you would like to tell us about your live experiences?
Gabri: “During the promotion tour for our first album, we had the chance to travel across Italy and other countries like Hungary and Germany. We were driving in a camper, but between shows, the camper kept breaking down in the middle of the road. On our way back home, we got stuck in the middle of nowhere in Liechtenstein and had to call the police to kindly help us move the camper off the highway. We finally called roadside assistance, but none of them spoke English, so we had a hard time communicating with the German speakers. While we were Googling the issue described by the roadside service in German, a āMagic: The Gatheringā card came up in the search results, which had us in stitches. We eventually sorted it out, somehow. About seven hours later, a friend from Italy came to pick us up in a van and safely took us home. The camper was scrapped a few days later.“
Italy has always been one of the main exponents of progressive sounds, how do you see today’s scene in our country?
GL: “Unfortunately, the scene isnāt flourishing much. There are few people organizing events, and not many bands in our genre to collaborate with, making it hard to build a live setup that attracts people with similar tastes.“
Gabri: In my opinion, Italians are still anchored to older music, which makes it quite difficult to book shows for new genres, especially on this side of the music spectrum.“
How difficult, if at all, is it to succeed in today’s music market by offering sounds like yours?
Gabri: “Of course, itās tough to stand out. I believe itās all about being in the right place at the right time. But I also see something positive about this: I think the 2020s are really an era of experimentation. This approach to music is making a
comeback, especially outside of metal. We want to bring that mentality into our music and encourage our audience to explore their ideas and evolve their style without trying to be someone else.“
Ale: “It is indeed very difficult. A mix of luck and perseverance is involved. My opinion on it is this: focus solely on the craft and the process, and ignore how others may perceive you. Every choice must be 100% in line with your taste, without
compromise. The more you try to appeal to others, the more your sound will become bland. If you trust your taste and make music for yourself, itās likely that it will sound sincere and interesting.“
How do you see this new technological contribution in the realisation of Rock and Metal music?
Gabri: “If technology helps artists elevate their sound, weāre fully supportive of it. New technology leads to new music, and that, in turn, fosters creativity.“
Do you have any other activities or artistic passions outside of music?
Gabri: āAbsolutely. Weāre huge fans of movies from any genre, art (painting, sculpture), stand-up comedy, sports in general, and of course, videogames!ā
Ale: “Yes! Paintings, sculptures, theatre, operas, cinema, drawing, gamesā¦ everything. Personally, Iām into coding (itās actually my other job), and Iād love to develop a game. Itās a form of art that incorporates many others: writing, art, photography, composition, modellingā¦ the list is infinite. I also see coding as a form of art, but thatās me being a huge nerd.“
I thank the band for the interview, wishing them all the best for the release of their new album and the continuation of their artistic career.
Pre-Order the new album here:Ā https://benthos.lnk.to/FromNothing-Bio
