Interview with Alighieri!

Band: Alighieri

Facebook / Merch

Genre: Death Metal / Hardcore

Q: Where does the band name "Alighieri" come from?

Joseph: We derived our band named (oddly enough) from Dante Alighieri. To anyone unfamiliar, he wrote “The Inferno” back in the 14th century, which I had read in the summer of 2006. The detailed story and its layout both intrigued, interested and inspired me. Coincidentally, at that exact time when Brandon and I had recorded and started promoting our first demo for the band, the name Alighieri was written over and over again, we liked what it looked like, the odd air surrounding it and the mystique of having a name that wasn’t too obviously a metal band name.

Q: Your album, The Malignant Pulse, has got a lot of attention from other bands and fans. How has that been? Did you expect that amount of praise it got?

Joseph: After our 2011 release of “Moths” we had a really hard time when it got to a point where literally the only 2 band members left in our lineup was myself and Brandon. We were frightened that we would be unable to find replacements and had hoped that we would get another chance to get things rolling much more seriously. Cohen had graced us with his musical presence and we began writing again in hopes to get something out that was newer and a little more finely tuned. “The Malignant Pulse” became our next chance and I am extremely grateful for this.

Brandon: Naturally its a great feeling to know that other people like your music. It's also really cool to have the ability to perform with bands on all ends of the heavy spectrum and still be considered “appropriate” for the lineup. The thought of the EP doing well was wishful thinking, but never a motivator so to speak.  We’re just grateful to have enough fans to merit any kind of touring!

Cohen: I knew it was the best cd I had been apart of, once it released we got a ton of praise and exposure with it. I definitely was not expecting it whatsoever but I am happy people enjoy it.

Q: Alighieri has been around since 2006, but became a more known band in 2012 and 2013. Why do you think you guys starting to become more known now, and not five or so years ago?

Brandon: We are busier now than ever been before. When we first released music in 2007, we had a fair amount of hype. Ultimately we failed to capitalize on it due to lineup changes and other growing pains bands tend to undergo in their early years.  Another detriment was lack of self promotion. We were naive youngsters that wanted to write, record, and perform songs we wrote.

Since our previous bands had achieved moderate success on merely word of mouth, we assumed that putting music on a MySpace or Facebook page and showing some friends was adequate to support your band through the high points and low points. Though I’m sure that mentality works for many bands out there, it didn’t work for ours.  Cohen brought a lot of insight to promoting when he joined and I believe it was for the best.  Better promotion, in conjunction with striving to write better music are what attributed to the increase in popularity; go figure!

Joseph: To be completely honest, it is insanely difficult to find and keep a drummer. That has literally been the reason that we were unable to get out and expose ourselves as hardworking, passionate musicians.

Q: You give yourself the genres "death metal, hardcore, and Avant-Garde." Can you explain to the readers who don't know your music, what that actually sounds like?

Joseph: Well to put it in the most descriptive and simplistic terms I would say our music is technical, abrasive, angry, melodic and emotional.

Q: What were some of your favorite bands/musicians growing up, and do any of them play any influence in your music now?

Joseph: I grew up listening to a lot of 80’s music, west coast gangsta rap, classic metal (i.e. Metallica, Pantera and Iron Maiden) and as years progressed so did my musical taste for lyrical hip hop and for bands like Between the Buried and Me, Converge, Dying Fetus, Through the Eyes of the Dead, Into the Moat, Ion Dissonance and Beneath the Massacre. I would say that I am drawn to the intense energy and all around craziness that this genre offers and it pushes me to try and best my performance in this band putting my own take on modern metal vocals.

Brandon: I was raised in a VERY musical family; my father as a performer and my mother as an enthusiast.  They both have their distinguishable preferences, but their common ground was always metal and considering the radio was on almost exclusively at my house, it wasn’t uncommon to hear Black Sabbath, Miles Davis, Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Whitney Houston, The Delfonics, and Metallica all in the same hour! That being said, its very difficult to pick favorites. I will say that I’m fond of most music out there and it directly influences how I write.

Cohen: I grew up listening to nu-metal/radio friendly metal such as Slipknot, KoRn, SOAD, etc... It definitely has had an influence in the way I play and think about how I want the drum parts to come out in a song.

Q: What are you plans for this year (2013)?

Joseph: To spread Alighieri awareness across the globe in hopes of total domination. *winks*

Cohen: Definitely tour a lot more, get the CD out to as many people as possible.

Q: Do you have any shout outs to give to the readers?

Joseph: I’d like to give a huge shout out first to Pig Squeals And Breakdowns for their constant support and a tip of the hat to Wal-mart, Cracker Barrel, Whataburger and Arby’s nationwide for their hospitality and kindness toward our metal threesome of merry gentlemen.

Brandon: A big shout out to my loved ones for their support through all of these years.  Being in a touring band is hard, but loving someone in a touring band is just as tough I imagine.  Also, a big thanks to the fans of underground music all over the world.  We literally can’t do any of this without you..

Cohen: Shout out to my family and my girlfriend. They’ve been through so much with me and my antics and they’ve always supported me and music.