Interview with VIOLENT SHIT
!!!THRASH METAL FROM ITALY!!!
We had a conversation with Giorgio Credaro (Guitars), Cesare Sannino (Vocals) & Samuele Spandrio (Drums). Enjoy!
Welcome to the FILTHY DOGS OF METAL Webzine.
Tell us a few things about VIOLENT SHIT (Members, Starting Year etc).
Cesare: I started the band with Giorgio in 2007. In the beginning he was a guest guitarist on my historical one-man-band Animae Capronii, and also helped me to release my music switching from handmade tapes to cd-r format with printed covers. Then we decided to create a new project together, an underground death/grind garage band with lyrics inspired by horror movies. Violent Shit (name inspired by the self titled movie) were born. Our first recording include covers of classic rock bands (including AC/DC, Nirvana, Focus & many more) made in a grotesque death metal way, and the title of the upcoming album was supposed to be 'All in Hell'. In the end we made original songs & kept just few covers as bonus tracks. The album title remained the same & we also added the original soundtrack of our old short movie 'Vengeance from Beyond', directed by Giorgio himself with me among the actors. Through the years the main core of the band was just me & Giorgio. We recruited another member, Paolo, to be the bassist on 'Monster of Scorched Hell', but he haven't participated in the very last recordings. At every album we switched to different styles, until 2010 when we definitively forged our classic Crossover/Speed/Power/Thrash sound. In the current year 2024 the drummer Samuele from my other band Nocturnal Flame (black metal) joined our ranks as drummer.
You have recently released your EP ''The Four Faces of Fear''. What is the feedback from your audience as well as from the press?
Giorgio: Until today we never had the ambition to spread our music out of our little community, but maybe things are changing. So, the feedbacks were mostly from our listeners and yes, fortunately they really appreciate it! The traditional and more old-school sound of the EP surely helped a lot to approach even our friends and listeners that don't like very much the contaminations we usually put in our albums.
Cesare: I'm really satisfied from this actual EP, cause it also helped the new audience to discover our past releases, and cannot wait to see their reaction for the upcoming full length album in 2025!
Samuele: I’m happy to having taken part in this project for the first time and as said Cesare, I’m happy for the fact that it also helped to discover the old releases that deserve a listen!
The cover artwork has a sick atmosphere! Tell us a few things about it.
Giorgio: Thank you for the question! Like all our artworks it's made by myself, in the daily life I'm an illustrator and a graphic designer. So, the idea was obviously to associate an image that can match the music, so using the old school aesthetics of an 80s demo audiotape seemed to me the best idea. For the first time I redesigned our band logo to better fit the rest of the graphics. Luckily my bandmates are really open minded and they let me do whatever I want!
Cesare: If you check it, you'll see that the artwork portrays the four themes of the song's lyrics: the wurdalak, the alien abduction, Karl the Butcher of the Violent Shit movies & the Mothman. To me it reminds a lot Warfare's Hammer Horror re-release cover artwork, which has the same old school b-movie poster style. Giorgio made a great work (as always!)
And what about the lyrics?
Cesare: Ehh, here we are. I'm the main author of the pure non-sense madness that we call lyrics on Violent Shit. The EP songs has the classical horror themes approach, with much normal lyrics, while i often add tons of crazy ideas on each songs. Sometimes Giorgio suggest me the main topic the songs he composes, and then I add my insane ideas making very sick lyrics. Then Giorgio correct/adjust them again to fit better my voice over his guitar riffs. Anyway our main inspiration were old horror/sci-fi B movies, craziness, humor & sometimes critics to modern society/politics or everything we want.
Your previous album, ''Monsters of Scorched Hell'' was released in 2015. Nine years have passed since then. Why does it take so long to release your new album?
Giorgio: The eternal forced break was caused mainly for personal struggles, but the comeback is a consequence of external motivations. I was the only one in the band that stopped all the musical projects where I'm involved for all the these years, but after 2020, seeing the terrible cultural collapse of our nation I felt the need to express my thoughts and creativity with the music, so I started writing new riffs and contacted Cesare for the lyrics and vocals, this time a bit more political than the past. The EP, instead, was born in the exact moment we meet for the first time Samuele, who immediately showed interest in the Violent Shit project, so we started recording the EP just for fun and to involve him as soon as possible. The EP was written and recorded in only three evenings, one for the drums (all improvised!), one for guitars and one for the vocals, everything was really spontaneous and I hope it work as it is!
Cesare: At certain point I tought that our band was forever done, because of our lack of time, involvement in family & work etc, fortunately Giorgio came up with the idea of a new album, and everything went on natural like years never passed.
Label or DIY and why?
Giorgio: Our idea is again to self produce and self promote our music, at the moment we don't like the idea to sign contracts with labels, we need to be independent in every aspect of the production without any kind of pressure due to budget and deadlines.
Cesare: Fukk labels!!! I hope they fukk themselves in the ass, those fukking motherfukkers that never believe in the bands and give zero support! DIE FUKKERS!!! Of course there are some exceptions: I want to thank Nocturnal Iridescence & his label Annihilated Pentagram Productions from U.S., the only one who gave me real support for my work.
Is there any funny or weird story from the recordings or from your live shows that you would like to share with us?
Cesare: I remember the old days recording in my old garage in cold winters where Giorgio played guitars with wool fingerless gloves on, and my breath was visible while singing! At the contrary in summers seemed to be in a sauna! Good old days!
Giorgio: Playing guitar and sing in that garage at 0 degrees for hours was unreal, I remember that we used candles to warm our hands! One of the strangest thing about us is that in 17 years we recorded a lot of music, but never played live. There was only just one case when a singer of a local band, that really appreciate our albums, taught one of our song to his bandmates and a the end of a small fest he organized he hosted me (and our ex bassist) on stage to play together that song. This is the our only appearance live!
Do you prefer Vinyl, Tape, CD or Digital Format and why is that?
Giorgio: I'm convinced that the digital format (for us that can afford an internet connection) is the fastest and most democratic way to get people involved in the music world. The problem I noticed is that the new generations of listeners (in general) are increasingly influenced by the algorithm, it's very difficult for them to open up to new things, despite the fact that the internet offers literally everything, a thing we could never even imagine back in the days. On the other hand, for physical copies, I think that the CDs are the best, they have the best sound quality and format, for the collectors is the most affordable thing to buy and, as a band, to produce. Vinyl and tape are awesome too (as an illustrator I love any kind of physical support), a good illustration on a vinyl is even better, but I think is just a passing trend.
Cesare: CD of course. I also love tapes, but my old tape recorder is actually out of use. Samuele introduced me to digital stuffs, that are very useful, but I prefer old school physical formats.
Samuele: CDs! I like to collect them because they seem to have a little treasure in your hands. My favorites are the ones that contain lots of photos and some pieces of history of the band, plus it's always interesting to read the lyrics. It’s also cool with the digital format because you can search what you want and have fun with playlists and it’s cheaper, but we all know that it ruined music.
Which are your main influences (Favourite Artists / Bands etc.)
Giorgio: I'm a huge Italian progressive rock fan (from the 70s), but speaking about metal I'll try to name some bands that I listen to hoping your readers will will find interesting: for sure Insanity Alert (Austria) regarding the crossover, they're fast, heavy and really funny, Hellripper (Scotland) my favourite 'black n roll' project around, Cryptosis (Netherlands) is the perfect match when I need some tech-thrash with fast and groovy riffs and very good lyrics and also some 70s keyboards in it (for real!), Coffin Mulch for the daily rough old school death metal dose, in the end Cosmic Putrefaction and Vexovoid, both from Italy, highly recommended if you like death and thrash with a lot of experimentation and innovation in it, satisfaction guaranteed! I also like a lot of power metal bands, Dragonland and Lost Horizon above all, bands that have heavily influenced my taste in melodies.
Cesare: This is long to say. I take influences from a vast range of music. I listen to Black, Power, Epic & Gothic influenced Metal mainly, but I'm quite open minded. Here's some artists I love: Enid, Varathron, The Sins of thy Beloved, Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius, Rhapsody, Kamelot very early Dimmu Borgir, Gehenna, Darkthrone, Immortal, Satyricon (always early I mean). But for Violent Shit I'm inspired by thrash/crossover legends like Lawnmower Deth, Warfare (UK), S.O.D., Prestige, Lich King &... yes, Sadistik Exekution too!
Samuele: On drums, I dare say that my favorite drummer that inspired me more that the others is Inferno from Behemoth, I love his style and technique. For thrash and death metal I take a lot of inspiration from Dave Lombardo, Gene Hoglan and Lars Ulrich.
Which things do you think a band should sacrifice in order to succeed? Have you ever sacrificed anything in your life for a better future for your band?
Giorgio: As a project we made in the spare time and a very low budget luckily we don't need any serious sacrifice. But if we had more serious ambitions I would make any kind of sacrifice to achieve the target, as I do with my actual job, which is also in the art sector, that requires constant sacrifice to keep it alive.
Cesare: I think to sacrifice my enemies on an altar for my bands. Ok, I'm joking, eheh... Or maybe not. Who knows? Who knows, knows. I know.
Samuele: I’m maybe still too young to have sacrificed anything for the band, but I think that if I feel that a project is important for me and I feel good with the members, I’m ready to sacrifice something in order to improve the band and be satisfied with it!
Describe your ideal live show as a performance band. Have you already experienced that?
Giorgio: I like the "minimal" performance in live concerts, no special FX, no big productions. This kind of show make me fell good as a spectator and musician, for sure. For me less is more, music will be always a the center of the stage. I like "stage invasions" by the audience, not the Police ones.
Cesare: I want tons of fake blood, spikes & nude girls dancing while we play! This is my favourite kind of show. We can have everything but we may need some extra to pay the naked dancers.
Samuele: I experienced that with Nocturnal Flame and my previous band, it’s always cool to play live, it’s that moment when you realize that you have to kick ass and make people understand how much you are worth... I feel alive and myself!
Tell us a few things about the New Underground Metal Scene in Italy (Bands, Fanzines, Webzines, Metal Clubs etc.)
Giorgio: Unfortunately I don't know very much about the newest bands in the underground scene. But I can tell you that where we live (a valley in North Italy) during the the last 15 years the local scene kind of died. New generations of music listeners are "disconnected" from the music played with the instrument, as I said before all the music the algorithm forces them to listen to is trap, K-pop or some terrible proto-80s pop/dance with stupid lyrics and no musical sense at all. All the rehearsal rooms in the main cities around here had to close, so, it's not the best moment for the music scene in general. The metal scene is not dead, new fans and musician exists, but I don't know if they're enough to keep alive this industry, perhaps this is my perception. I don't want to sound rhetoric, but if the society continue growing enjoying this capitalistic and ignorant lifestyle, things can only get worse.
Cesare: There is always a great movement in the Italian underground scene. There are lots of fanzines, bands and devoted metalheads. You just need to get in touch with the right persons. Of course everything is now more digital/commercialized, the times are changed. I'm no more into DIY tape/cdr trading & stuffs like the old years, mainly because now my time is more on family/work.
Do you know anything about the Hellenic Metal Scene?
Giorgio: I don't know so much about it, but 'The Brutal State' from Exarsis is for sure one on my favorite thrash metal album ever! Sometimes I listen to Aphrodite's Child, a prog rock band from the 70s, maybe a little bit off-topic, but I highly recommend the concept album "666", some open minded metalhead can really appreciate it! Demetrio Stratos, frontman of the band Area (prog/jazz) was one the best Italian singer of all time (maybe the best one?) had Greek origins! I should explore more Hellenic metal bands...
Cesare: Of course! I had intense corrispondency/tape trading with a lot of Hellenic underground maniacs in the early years of 2000. I love Varathron and I was in contact with Stefan 'Necroabyssious' Karavansas, which put some songs of my old one-man-band Animae Capronii on his Radio program 'Twilight Zone'. I also drawn the cover art of the 2nd demo of Swamp, the black/thrash band of Haris 'Nyarlathothep' Karagounis. Other guys of the Hellenic black metal scene that I was in touch with were Isaak Akritidis of Nocturnal Vomit & Necrofiend 9th of Heptameron, plus many others.
Samuele: Yeah, but only a few bands. Now I remember that “Firewind” are one of my first metal bands that I ever heard, with the song “world of fire” and they’re from Greece!
In the last 4 years, worldwide in the world, we have faced many dark, strange, and new situations in our everyday lives (covid, lockdown, etc.). Did all of this affect you positively or negatively?
Giorgio: Fortunately my personal life wasn't affected in any way. But speaking about music the lockdown forced a lot of live clubs to close the activity and technicians to change jobs, so right now the situation in Italy is very critical. Our nation is in the hands of the people who grew up in the 80s and in Italy means people who prefer the individualism and the ignorance over the culture and the democracy. The situation was not good before 2020, the pandemic has only accelerated the process of "decay", politically and socially speaking.
Cesare: Negatively. From 2020 on the world became a worst place. I underline what Giorgio said.
Samuele: I also confirm what Giorgio said. I was not very influenced by it but if it were to happen now it would be much worse for me personally. I absolutely disagree with the way the rules were imposed.
What are your future plans?
Giorgio: For sure the post production of the upcoming full length, hoping that our private lives can allow us to practice more together and let us bring the Violent Shit project live on stage!
Cesare: Same for me. I hope Violent Shit get the visibility it deserve, and that much audience will discover our past and present albums! And my hope is to be active on stage, making at least one or two (or three, four, five..) live concert per year, maybe together with our black metal counterpart Nocturnal Flame. It would be a blast!
Samuele: Talking about music, I want to continue with metal music and my projects like Nocturnal Flame, make new albums and new concerts. This music will be eternal!
Thank you very much for your time & keep up the good work! The closure is yours.
Giorgio: Thanks for the space guys! And thanks to anyone who has reached this point in the interview. Whatever your musical tastes are, continue to share and push independent music, buy records and go to concerts, let's keep the underground and culture in general alive! Cheers guys, see ya!
Cesare: Thanks for the interview, and hails to all the fans of the Hellenic metal scene! Check out our bands, and hope to share the stage with your hordes sooner or later! Hail Underground, hail Varathron!
Samuele: Thank you for the interview, never stop supporting Metal music! Buy CDs and check out our bands, from the misanthropic landscapes of the Alps...
For anyone interested, these are our socials:
Bandcamp: https://violentshit.bandcamp.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/violentshit_band
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@violentshitbandchannel1085
By Steve the Filthy Dog.