ROAD TRIPPIN’ FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE
One of metal’s most unique bands gear up for a flying visit to the UK with Kataklysm
How is everything in the Fleshgod Apocalypse camp? Francesco paoli (vocals/guitar): “Everybody is very excited! “We’re very grateful for what is happening right now as we’ve had such a massively positive feedback from people. People have been going crazy for the new songs, we’re really happy.”
What songs from Veleno are you most looking forward to playing live?
“We’ve already started playing Sugar and another song that we have prepared is Fury. We’ve started performing Fury and the reaction was so fucking good! We’re also going to start playing a couple of new songs for the festivals. We’re discussing playing Carnivorous Lamb and Worship and Forget.”
You are now performing as a guitarist and vocalist rather than drumming – how has that experience been for you? “I really love to play guitar. I like playing drums but for me it was a bit of a compromise, and I ended up drumming for four albums and eight years! The line-up change was a disaster; it was one of our lowest moments, but we survived. It’s always weird to change a frontman and replace him with someone unknown, so we thought this was the best option for the fans, and it was. The trickiest thing for me is that I didn’t have enough experience to deal with an audience. That side of my job was the most complicated, I found it very hard to find the right way to deal with a crowd of people. I was shy, I felt weird, but luckily I got the love and energy of the audience and it gave me the motivation to carry on.”
What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever seen at a Fleshgod Apocalypse show?
“Let’s be realistic, you can do whatever at a show. You can get drunk, mosh, crowdsurf, whatever. That’s part of the game, it’s part of the show. I’ve seen people flying from all over the world just to attend a show. That is dedication. We’ve got fans from all over the world flying to Perugia. They flew from all over the world for the special show that we recorded as a Blu-ray for the new album. Craziest thing I’ve seen? Taking a fucking 15-hour flight to attend a one-hour show!”