Symphonic power metallers WINTERAGE are due to appear at Power Metal Quest Fest in a matter of days. Ahead of this, Rock Out Stand Out’s Lotty Whittingham caught up with members Gabriele Boschi, Daniele Barbarossa, Gianmarco Bambini, and Luca Ghiglione. They spoke about the festival, the complex approach to their sound, and wellbeing.
Hello there, thanks for joining Rock Out Stand Out. So, let’s talk about your upcoming appearance at Power Metal Quest Fest. This isn’t your first time in the UK.
Gabriele: Yes; we came last year for three concerts in Manchester, York, and Leeds. That was together with Sellsword and Fellowship. We already have a little fanbase from here the UK.
I really wanted to go to one of those shows but sadly couldn’t make it. I was very pleased when you were announced to play at Power Metal Quest Fest. Are there any bands on the lineup you’re looking forward to checking out?
Gabriele: For me, Twilight Force. I love their sound and we know Alessandro Conti personally. He’s our friend, and I can’t wait to see them.
Gianmarco: And now Bradley Hall is in Twilight Force too. I want to meet him; he is my idol.
Luca: For me it’s Twilight Force too, because I really like the drumming in that band, so I want to meet the drummer.
Daniele: For me, I am looking forward to Skiltron. It’s been many years since I started listening to them, and because of the bagpipes, there was a lot to love.
Both bands are really great live. For those who haven’t seen Winterage before, what can we expect from your live set? I think I saw a video of moshpits breaking out to Vivaldi at your live show!
Gianmarco: That was at a really big festival in Italy and it was amazing. We hope to do the same here in the UK.
Gabriele: That festival was great as it was a folk festival; it was Celtic-oriented, and we also have Irish and folk influences. We wanted to make them jump to Vivaldi, and we were extremely happy about that. Unfortunately we don’t have these pieces in our current setlist, but you can hear some influences from classical music in there. We hope that people at Power Metal Quest Fest will enjoy this.
When it comes to putting your tracks together, what does that process look like?
Gianmarco: When we put together a track, we sometimes start with chords, a guitar riff, or a melody. Then we write a song like the other power metal bands; so we write a song with a guitar and a keyboard melody that mimics the orchestra. In the last phase, Gabriele takes the song and does the orchestral arrangements.
Gabriele: We love to mix many different elements coming from medieval, classical, folk, prog, power metal, and operatic stuff. During the songwriting process, we use sounds that remind us of the final orchestral arrangement; here we might use a violin riff and then an orchestral riff. So we program all of the blocks that comprise the song, and then in the final phase, I put all the orchestration into it. There are parts that were born for the orchestra, like the song ‘Simurgh the Firebird’; after the first chorus there is an orchestral riff. During the songwriting, the orchestra plays a great role for us.
I was wondering when the orchestral parts come in when writing your music. Am I right in thinking that you use a live orchestra?
Gabriele: In the first two albums, we recorded a live orchestra, yes, and the choirs. For the third album, everything is made digitally except for the choirs because of the words. Also because I became a music composer, so I had learnt the skills to make a digital orchestra sound real. Orchestras are expensive; you have to pay around 100 people to record over many days.
The results come from how much you pay, because if you have one week to record a whole album, you can take care of every passage and nuance. But if you don’t have great budgets, it’s better to do it this way; and a lot of bands do, because it means you can do everything by yourself.
Gianmarco: Every series you watch on Netflix will have orchestration with digital instruments. Previously productions would use a live orchestra, but nowadays it’s done digitally.
Gabriele: I have played in orchestras for many years, so I know how it has to sound. So this is of great value for us.
It was Inheritance of Beauty that introduced me to your sound; Nekyia takes a darker turn. I suppose with the ending track being ‘The Amazing Toymaker’ which sounds sinister, it made for a great transition to Nekyia.
Gabriele: Kind of, sound-wise, yes. Many people love ‘The Amazing Toymaker’; it required a lot of effort.
Gianmarco: We’d like to do something similar for the next album – a musical type.
Gabriele: Yes, a symphonic suite type track.
Am I sensing a Winterage opera on the cards?
Gabriele: Maybe! [laughs]
Gianmarco: We already have a lot of songs for the next album, but we haven’t written the suite.
Can we expect these songs in the setlist for Power Metal Quest Fest?
Gianmarco: No.
Daniele: We never play new songs until the album is out.
Going back to your sound, who are your inspirations?
Gianmarco: We have a very wide range of inspirations.
Daniele: We can start with Rhapsody Of Fire; orchestrations from movies and films; and we’re inspired by the traditional style of Irish music.
Gabriele: Film soundtracks, like Daniele said. With Nekyia and this new album, we started orchestrating our songs, which is more impactful. We often draw inspiration from Hollywood film soundtracks. Rhapsody, of course – we played with them many times. Since we were young, we have been in love with their sound. Their inspirations also came from classical music. Manuel, the brother of Alex [Staropoli, of Rhapsody Of Fire] is a baroque flautist; they use a lot of baroque in their music.
It’s similar to us; I came from classical music where I studied violin and I played in orchestras. I started listening to classical music. From that, I discovered Rhapsody, and I loved the mix of two styles. It was our love for that band that made us want to create that music.
Gianmarco: I like a wide range of heavy metal styles and I love music scores. In particular, gaming soundtracks like Final Fantasy; I love Nobuo Uematsu.
Luca: I also like a lot of genres and music, like fusion of funk and pop. When I started playing drums, my teacher suggested I listen to metal music: classic heavy metal such as Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, and bands like that. When I joined Winterage, I started to listen to power metal, such as Rhapsody and Nightwish, which meant I had to practice more drums, because I had to play fast double bass, thanks to Gabriele! [laughs]
So my drum idols became Mike Mangini, Mike Portnoy, and all the drummers like that. I had the luck to study with Mike Mangini; I have practised with him a lot of times. They taught me to listen to the music that I play, so when Gabriele sends me the music he has written, I try to follow the music in the best way that I can, and to play the best for the band. So not like classical drums in power metal, and not the same pattern for all the songs. For me it’s prog power metal because drums in Winterage are very different.
When recording your music, what’s the most challenging aspect?
Gianmarco: I don’t know, because every riff is really challenging! [laughs] Recording Nekyia was really difficult; for some months, the songs were full time work. From recording drums to mixing everything, it was really difficult. I think every aspect of our music is really difficult to record.
Gabriele: We start with recording drums, so Luca is always the first to record something for the new albums. Everything has been scheduled because we already know what each of us has to do during the recording phases. Every aspect of the music is challenging in different ways. Luca surely has many difficult and fast parts – very fast BPMs.
Luca: For me, when I record the drums, I try to record the songs and some percussion in three days. It’s hard to do, because there are – like Gabriele says – a lot of difficult drum parts, and I try to focus on the beats in the most precise way I can. I also follow advice from Gabriele on what changes can be made. So I’ll try another way. That is challenging for me.
Daniele: There is always that challenge to find a compromise between what you can do and what you want to do; there is a difference between the two. We have to say when something is too difficult, or if something is okay.
Gabriele: It’s true, because in a live setting, we want to sound like we do on the album. In my opinion, when you can listen to the band live and say, “This is the same as the album” – this is a goal for the band. With the right technology, you can do whatever you want. You might create strange things or incredible things on the album, and then live you don’t reproduce it for whatever reason. We might have some discussions, so for example Daniele might say he can’t do this melody at the end of the song, because he knows he will be tired; so maybe we can change the melody so we can do the same in a live setting.
It’s the same for solos. I do a lot of violin solos. On the stage there are a lot of noises, a lot of difficulties when listening to yourself. I can write all the styles on the album, but on the stage, I have to know whether it’s going to be a comfortable situation to play in that style.
One of the messages we like to push at Rock Out Stand Out is keeping the conversation about your wellbeing going. What’s the biggest lesson you have learnt when it comes to looking after your wellbeing?
Daniele: For me personally, it’s not being too much of a perfectionist. and that it’s important to take breaks. Without breaks, you can’t go on working, so you have to accept what you can do in that moment. It’s not easy for everyone to understand this.
Gianmarco: I can say two days that I said I couldn’t work because I was due to play a concert with the band in the UK. So I can say that passion moves me.
Gabriele: Passion is one of the best qualities of Winterage. Being in a band is very challenging, because there are very few bands that can do the music as full-time work. Maybe bands like Epica and Nightwish do; however, if you are not at the top and are mid-level, you need to find a day job.
Gianmarco: Elvenking are really famous; they have released twelve albums and performed a lot of live shows. All of the members have day jobs because they can’t just live off the music.
Gabriele: So this passion shared by all of us is very important, because you have to push ahead even with life difficulties. But we love our music, messages, and what we do.
Luca: Like Gabriele said before, when you are in the band and you have a lot of things to do in your life, that’s difficult. For me, I teach drums at a school. What the band have taught me is to stay focused on what I want to do. I want to play music, I want to play drums, and I want to make music with Winterage and other bands. When you are in a band, it’s like a second job; you have to be a family within the band, so when I need something, I can ask the rest of the members and they will help.
Is there anything you like to do to relax and unwind?
Daniele: For me personally, I eat. I like to cook.
Gianmarco: A glass of wine relaxes me after a stressful day, or a pint of craft beer. I also play video games.
Gabriele: My work is also in music; I am a composer for movies and video games. I also do arrangements for other people. So when I stop working with music and for the band, I don’t want to have to do something music-related. So I play video games, and I read a lot. It helps me to turn off my mind.
Daniele: When I finish my work as a software developer, that’s a lot of hours spent in front of the screen, so I personally lose interest in video games! [laughs] I have to do something completely different. I work out and practise kung fu.
Luca: I work in music too and recording things, so I try to do something different. When I come back home, I relax by watching TV, playing video games, or drinking.
Who would you take with you on an adventure?
Gabriele: I would say Jack Sparrow. I love the [Pirates of the Caribbean] films and the soundtrack.
Daniele: I have always been a huge fan of sci-fi including Star Trek; I would like Captain Jean-Luc Picard to join me on a space adventure.
Gianmarco: I don’t know, maybe the main character from a Final Fantasy game. Let’s say Zidane from Final Fantasy 9.
Luca: Sid the Sloth from Ice Age because I can talk like him! [laughs]
That would be a very cool and chaotic quest. Do you have a message for Winterage fans, anyone going to Quest Fest, and our readers?
Gabriele: We would like thank anyone who has listened to our music and joined our musical path. The main message we have is that we love doing music, and we especially love doing music for the fans. So a huge thank you.
You can catch WINTERAGE this Saturday at Power Metal Quest Fest. Tickets are on sale here.
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