PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
Channeling the testosterone fuelled, bluesy grooves of Motörhead, with a pinch of James Hetfield vocal snarl and a Guns N’ Roses swagger, Badmotorfinger have impressed greatly with their debut album, It’s Not The End. Founded and built around two brothers, the Italian quintet started out life as a covers band before making the creative leap. With It’s Not The End they have shown that they can do much more than just imitate. It’s a record dripping in attitude and an impressive charisma, each track yielding hip-shaking grooves and catchy-as-hell choruses.
First of all, for those who haven’t heard of Badmotorfinger, who are you and what are you all about?
– IL REVERENDO (vocals) – The band started up from an idea of the ‘guitar brothers’, that wished to run a musical project reflecting our personal musical influences.
– ALEX (guitar) – After a past as a cover band, we decided to rise up with the proposal of our own music. We hope that people appreciate our effort and come to our gigs and share our passion for classic metal.
– TOMMY (bass) – We all came from other musical experiences. When we met together we found on us a great will to play together.
– HEAVYRICO (guitar) – Our music is heavy metal, but with many hard rock influences and also thrash ones in some cases. In 2006 we came out from different bands that had deteriorated for several reasons. Our genre choice came naturally, because it was the one liked by us all!
So what bands do Badmotorfinger draw influence from, because, to me there is a definite Motörhead vibe and your name is taken from a Soundgarden album.
– HEAVYRICO – From Metallica to Deep Purple, from AC/DC to Megadeth, from Guns N’ Roses to Motorhead, from Iron Maiden to Judas Priest and many more. I remember that when the name came out, we all started to laugh but meanwhile the beer pints were arriving on the table, the name became cooler and at the end of the night it acquired a sense for us!
– TOMMY – Our band is loyal to the 80’s classic metal school in all its characteristics that we interpret in a modern way, mainly for the sound aspect. About our choice, we all aged with these musical influences, and this is essentially the music that amuses us!
You don’t seem to get many rock and metal bands emerging from Italy, do you feel this is true and, if so, does that make you underdogs in a way?
– HEAVYRICO – We absolutely do not have the feeling of being underdogs! We know that it’s very difficult to emerge in Italy; only few bands succeeded. We play Metal simply because we love it; we never thought to emerge with this genre. Due to it we never accepted any compromise and we continue to play the music that we like.
– BARRA – For the metal genre it’s not a favorable moment. Except for 2 or 3 bands that have still many followers, many others plays in clubs with 200 or 300 people. In Italy it is difficult to emerge for many reasons. Howewer we reached an important target with our first full length; we would like to reach many others and we’ll goin’ on until the fun will last!
What do you make of the rock and metal scene in Italy?
– HEAVYRICO – There’s many wonderful bands, both historic and young.
– BARRA – Paradoxically Italian metal has improved compared to the eighties and nineties. Today musicians are more aware of their skills, there’s more tecnique and originality. Moreover there are good productions and with YouTube and Facebook the promotion is simpler. It satisfies!
There are plenty of pauses and clean guitars in the album, which I feel helps break up the heavy parts of the album really well, was that your thinking when writing the album, was it to create plenty of light and shade?
– HEAVYRICO – You got it! That’s what we wanted to do. I like that you have interpreted our intent exactly as us!
You guys started life out as a cover band and on your debut album “It’s Not The End” closes with a fantastic cover of Motörhead’s “Rock n’ Roll.” So, what is it about that track you find so appealing and made it the only cover on the album?
– HEAVYRICO – It’s a song that we all like, with no compromises! Its sound reflects ours and we’ve played it for a long time.
– BARRA – It’s a song with many things inside: determination, energy, the real essence of rock’n’roll as the title says. We always play it live, so we all wanted it on the album.
Two brothers make up the foundations of the band, other bands like Pantera and AC/DC through to modern bands like the Kings of Leon all have brothers in them, what is it about playing with blood that seems to be so successful?
– HEAVYRICO – Me and my brother are really attached, it was normal to play together. In my thought, the trump card is the unique cohesion between two brothers that were raised together in the music experience
– ALEX – Raising this project with my brother is a great satisfaction; we have a great understanding due to contemporary start of our playing careers. In a band this is fundamental.
Finally, if you wanted to play a Badmotorfinger song to someone who had never heard you guys before, which song would you choose and why?
– HEAVYRICO – I would like to tell all the tracks, because in all of them there is our spirit, but if I have to choose one only, I choose Nightmares, for the aggressive charge that have inside.
– BARRA – If I have to choose one of them, I’d say that as Rock’n’Roll represents rock’n’roll itself, then Nightmares represents the Badmotorfinger essence.
– TOMMY – Obviously we love all the album content, born by our hard work, but I personally think that the more representative tracks are Nightmares, Loser and No second chance. They are a mix between melody and malice.
– ALEX – Nightmares and No second chance are two tracks that reflect the full energy Badmotorfinger sound.
Badmotorfinger are:
Il Reverendo-Vocals
Alex-Lead&Rhythm Guitar
HeavyRico-Lead&Rhythm Guitar
Tommy-Bass Guitar
Barra-Drums&Cymbals
For more infomation, visit their official website: http://www.badmotorfinger.it
