Last year, Italy’s Thulsa Doom released their debut album, ‘A Fate Worse Than Death’ via Invictus Productions. The album is a breath of fresh air in a musical landscape in which Death Metal is becoming more and more similar, in the process also showing a clear change from their 2018 EP ‘Realms Of Hatred’. Now that we’re a year on, this is a great time to look back at the album with bassist (and, first, drummer) Lorenzo and take an early glimpse into the future.
Hi there Lorenzo, I always like to start with some kind of reflection, your debut album has been out for almost a year now: how do you look back on the past year and what has the reaction been like so far? I assume you’re happy with how the album turned out?
Hello Felix, and thank you for the space you are dedicating to Thulsa Doom. We are pleased with how the album has been received in the past year. We often receive positive feedback, and when we perform, we see that the audience is engaged and receptive. Even from a sales perspective, we can’t complain. We sold all our copies, forcing us to restock wholesale from the label, which is a clear sign that metal fans enjoy our stuff. A significant part of the credit for how the album turned out also goes to the people we collaborated with. Chris Verwimp for the artwork, Carlotta Valente (Bayard Studio) for the photos, and Marco (The Forge Music Prod/Flamekeeper) and Guglielmo Nodari (Snake Studio) for the recordings and mix.
Following on from the previous question, there are quite a few years between the first EP (2018) and the debut album (2022), so it seems you’ve taken your time to further perfect the art of Death Metal. How do you look back on the creative process in making ‘A Fate Worse Than Death’
Between the EP and the Album, a lot of time has passed due to various factors, the first and foremost being that it is tough to get things going during a pandemic, as well as right after it . Another factor is that the EP was the last thing I did before I moved from Rome to Milan. This change certainly affected the rehearsal and composition process, as it stretched out the time and led to a reduced number of rehearsals, which isn’t ideal for working on an album. It is undeniable that Nail and Filippo are the backbone of the composition in the band. They have an astonishing ability to create mind-blowing songs. Therefore, the absence of the drummer during rehearsals only slowed down the composition process, but it did not compromise it. Now that the band has reorganized, with me switching to bass and welcoming Luca Herald as a drummer (who took over the same role after I left Demonomancy in 2015), it’s likely that future works won’t suffer from similar slowdowns.
For the (relative) outsider, the difference between ‘Realms Of Hatred’ and ‘A Fate Worse Than Death’ is mainly in the overall sound. Although both times the production (recording and mixing) was in the hands of Marco S. of Necromorbus Studio (and who also has an excellent CV in Italian extreme metal bands), there is a clearly audible difference in perception. First of all on a musical level, the EP sounds much more Old School and very much in between Possessed and Sinister’s debut album in terms of sound, early Death Metal in which there is still clearly a remnant of Thrash Metal riffs. The album has considerably less of that. Was this a conscious choice?
Marco is no longer working at the Necromorbus studio sincefor quite some time. He has started his own business under the name of The Forge Music Production. Despite working with the same person for both productions, we approached them in very different ways. For “Realms of Hatred,” a significant part of the recordings was conducted in our rehearsal room, while for “A Fate Worse..,” we worked in a professional studio. This alone made a tremendous difference in terms of sound quality. Marco was able to assist us effectively in bringing our ideas to life. The result is a blend of all these elements and our personal and background influences.
Then the production itself. The EP has a much more authentic Old School sound that fits well with that more primal sound. The album has a heavier and more unwieldy sound, but then that fits well with the riffs and the slightly less Thrashy nature of the record. Personally, I find it admirable that the sound has moved with the (slight) musical evolution. I am very curious to hear your personal thoughts on the, noteworthy or not, difference in sound.
Partly, I think I have already answered you, but I can tell you that we are striving to evolve even further. I believe our musical offering is quite distinctive in today’s world (I can’t stand endless blast beats, cavernous growls, and fucking masks anymore!). Therefore, it needs to be presented with a “unique” sound. We are working on it, and it’s one of the key points for our future – along with being able to consistently bring this unique sound to our live shows as well. Speaking personally, looking back after a year, I would have liked to retain some of that “dirty-vibe” from the EP in the album.
Thulsa Doom’s music is well packed with blazing blast beats, catchy riffs and even some wild guitar work and overall strong songwriting. In short, the music here speaks for itself, the influences of early (and still Thrashy) Autopsy and especially Morbid Angel dripping off on all sides. But, how do you see the main drivers, musically, for Thulsa Doom?
As I was saying, in my opinion, Thulsa Doom is the fusion of the bands we individually enjoy and our musical backgrounds. Nail had a band called Necromancer for a long time, with influences from early-Sepultura death/thrash. Filippo is a fan of American death metal, and I grew up playing primitive black death stuff. The bands you mentioned, along with many others we listen to on a daily basis, have undoubtedly influenced us (consciously or unconsciously) as they embody an absolute standard of perfection for us. Their music and style have left a lasting impact on our own artistic direction and creativity.
If we separate it from the musical part, Thulsa Doom is a creation of Robert E. Howard, of course, and popularised mainly through his Conan the Barbarian books, comics and films. The figure of Thulsa Doom has come up many times in metal, but really mostly only through to bands venturing into the musical territory roughly betwixt Manowar and Reverend Bizarre. What made you guys choose this name?
We’ve all always been fans of dark/action fantasy books and movies and from the beginning we wanted to play death metal that was also epic as well as brutal. Thulsa Doom immediately seemed like a unique name. Nowadays it is really difficult to find a name that is not trivial and Thulsa Doom was perfect: epic, majestic and solemn.
Further catching up on the above, the textual content seems to be somewhat in the middle between, indeed, those battles from Howard’s fantasy books and the somewhat more standard Death Metal subject matter (death and destruction). Who of you is responsible for the lyrics and what provides the main sources of inspiration?
As mentioned above, fantasy imagery is a central component of our texts, as is the medieval period in general. for example Demons Conjurer is freely inspired by the events of Gilles De Rais. We all take care of the writing of the lyrics and the arrangements. the choice of the subject of the lyrics is generally one with the phase of instrumental composition that inspires us, we never start from an already defined concept.
Something that also stands out without further ado on your most recent work, the ‘A Fate Worse Than Death’ debut album, is the beautiful artwork by Kris Verwimp. How did this come about in such a way? Was this an existing work of his or was it made especially for the album. If so, did he have free rein or were you able to give him some pointers in what you had in mind?
The process of coming up with the cover art went really smoothly with Kris. We are all fans of his work and the bands he has collaborated with over the years (ABSU, DESASTER, ENTHRONED, MARDUK, MELECHESH, NOCTURNAL, SATHANAS…). All we had to do was provide him with some images that inspired us, the song lyrics, and the recordings. Even the first draft made it clear that he perfectly understood what we wanted. It was effortless, and undoubtedly, he’s an artist we’ll recommend to anyone to consider.
Both your first EP and this debut album were released by Invictus Productions. I assume your connection with the Irish label via Demonomancy, a band on the label’s roster that three of the four of you play/played in, played a role in this?
That’s incorrect: only Luca Herald and I had dealings with Demonomancy. I am a co-founder of the band, and Luca took over the drumming after I left. However, all of us have a long-standing friendship with Marco. Since he handled the recording of our material, he had the opportunity to directly showcase our stuff to Invictus, which was undoubtedly helpful.
A slightly more personal question perhaps, you switched from a position in the back, on drums, to bass two years ago. Remarkable move! The Into Darkness interview in Voices From The Darkside mentioned that you actually didn’t want to play drums anymore, where did that turnaround come from?
Yes, the change was primarily driven by the need to ensure that the guys could continue rehearsals even without me (after my move to Milan). This allowed the band to practice without me having to take expensive trains multiple times a month, especially near live shows. It also helped address the issue of not having a stable bassist in the lineup. I strongly believe that it was a providential choice, as it allowed us to welcome a now essential and enthusiastic member like Luca. As you know, I haven’t completely given up on the drums. I still play it in INTO DARKNESS and in a personal project of mine. Recently, I was discussing this with a dear friend of mine. The difference between a musician who truly LOVES his instrument and one who merely plays it is evident and, honestly, if I had to choose an instrument to take to a deserted island, it would undoubtedly be the bass.
A bit on the standard side, perhaps, but with ‘A Fate Worse Than Death’ now approaching its first anniversary, the question naturally springs to mind what we can expect from you guys in the coming period. There were four years (and a pandemic) between your EP and the album, are you going to be a bit quicker with a follow-up this time around?
We are already working on new material at the moment. I can’t guarantee that we will be able to record within the timeframe we set, but I believe it won’t take too long. The enthusiasm and ideas are definitely there, and I strongly believe that we will come up with something really good!
Thank you so much for your time and giving me an insight into the world of Thulsa Doom, Lorenzo. As usual, I would like to grant my guest the last words…
Thank you very much Felix for this opportunity and the time you have dedicated to preparing the interview. I hope we can have another chat upon the release of new THULSA DOOM material!
Band photos by Carlotta Valente (Studio Bayard).
