Interview with drummer Zenone
Italy's Ensoph have proven to be one of the most open minded metal bands around. Their sound is indescribable, but takes elements of gothic, black metal, and avantgarde into an incomparable band. Their debut, 2001's Bleeding Womb of Anake, set the tone, but it's their latest Opus Dementiae which has put Ensoph on a new level. Their imagery and lyrics are another creative part of their grand design. Here is drummer Zenone for more information.
What changes have occurred between Bleeding Womb of Ananke and Opus Dementiae? Opus Dementiae is a professional release under all points of view. It has a great sound production, a great artwork, and in the years we grew as musicians, so the songs are caratherized by a more careful song-writing and are also better played. Until now we never had a great international visibility, so it's like this is our first release, because it’s the first time we work with a real label and with a real budget. About the music Opus Dementiae is more straight and aggressive than Bleeding Womb of Anake. We have improved the electro/industrial elements but at the same time the new songs bring us nearer as attitude to a dark ambient project or to a esoteric ’70 prog one, for example, than a common gothic metal band.
I understand that Beyond Productions did not fulfill some promises made on the last album; how does it feel to join Cruz Del Sur and their rather diverse roster?
We don’t want to talk more about Beyond Prod. Cruz del Sur Music made us the best offer we have received. After we have sent to labels a copy of the final work, we have received different replys and offers, but the one of Cruz Del Sur was the most professional, even between the ones of most famous labels. Enrico now is a friend and we have complete confidence in him and his work. We know that he will do the best to promote our music, and so he is doing. We have never had the visibility we have nowadays, and for the first time we are working with serious persons, with really good responses.
Ensoph has always been one of the most original metal bands around; what are some radical ideas you wanted to try for Opus Dementiae?
The idea remains the same: melting together a huge range of emotions and influences into a unconventional extreme metal frame, but our sound is actually more industrial and extreme metal oriented. We have very different backgrounds, from extreme metal to electro/industrial, to prog, neofolk and classical music. We all have in common the passion for the 90’s extreme metal scene, that is our main root: we all have started playing doom and death metal at the beginning of 90’s, and this remains a great influence, even between all the elements that have enriched our sound in the years.
I think that the music we play can be actually described as extreme avantgarde electro gothic metal: something like the melting point between electro-industrial, extreme metal and the esoteric field, all re-read by our personal sensibility, so intolerant to every kind of artistic limitation and musical standardization.
How did you like the remix Das Ich produced? Do you see these type of collaborations occurring again in the future? To collaborate with Bruno was a dream made real. The band is composed by fans of Das Ich, so, when we started to think to the possibility to make a remix, we have immediately thought that Bruno Kramm was the right person for us. He has been really enthusiastic to the idea of a collaboration. We sent him some traces of "Sophia's Fall" and he manipulated all the stuff in a really amazing way. I think that this kind of collaboration is a good way to explore new points of view and angulations of our music that in no other ways could be expressed, in the future there will be more collaboration with other famous names. We are still working on this project and soon there will be great news.
There is clearly a gothic and electronic influence in Ensoph, but I would hesitate to call your music industrial- are you a fan of industrial bands and if so, what are some of your favorite?
We think that our 90’s gothic extreme metal roots are the most important of the elements that compose our music, even if electronics and industrial is becoming always more essential in our sound. Nowadays the most of our listenings are into industrial/esoteric/powernoise scene we to such band as Institut, Folkstorm, Genocide Organ, Pal, Noisex, Coil, or the bands from Cold Meat Industries label, expecialy Zenone, our drum player are a great fans of the powernoise scene. There will be too many band to name it all here. We just play what we think is right to play for us. We don’t want to impress someone with something never heard before; we simply work without limitations, giving creativity no boundaries. It’s more easy than it seems. We put together all our influences without thinking too much if we will find someone able to understand our proposal; it’s an expression of freedom, as art must be. We don't know if is right to call our music industrial anyway we consider the scene very important for us and for our influences.
You have created an interested visual image; bands like Slipknot, Cradle Of Filth, and Marilyn Manson have done this in the past and this image always seems to be what people focus on rather than the music; do you have any concerns of people recognizing you visually but not being able to remember your music?
Imagery is an important part of our proposal: our music has a visual dimension that everyone can hear. From the lyrics, that work with symbols’ and myths’ manipulation, to the sound, that I think is able to evoke the images that lyrics describe, our music is something to “see” when you hear it. When we were working to the “package” of the whole work, with the help of Okha Unit, our graphic’s staff that helped us even with the image of the band, we have thought that we needed something really stunning to make the right frame to our atmospheres, so we have worked to a look and a graphic style immediately recognizable. It has taken some time and attempts, but the result is pretty good. Isn’t it? Many people judge freaks or bizarre for what we wear on stage but in the end when what remains in their mind is our music. I think that a great part of the music fans could enjoy our proposal, especially in time of mass-produced records. I think that there are too much productions that remind the others, and something that sounds fresh can be well received, as it’s happening.
Your lyrics are very interesting and sometimes bizarre- what type of mindframe do you write in? Are you a fan of literature? If so, what do you enjoy reading?
Lyrics is the base of our work, the band could not exist without its message, that is its reason of life. They are the expression of my interest into the fields of esotericism, philosophy and literature. I usually use to melt all the symbolic stuff coming from the traditions that I think that could be useful to explain what I want to say into new forms and context, just to explore new levels of meaning and languages. Our lyrics is something like un-orthodox poems that use traditional and religious images to find new way of expression. Opus Dementiae- per speculum et in aenigmate means “Madness’ work - through the mirror and in enigmatic way”. “Per speculum et in aenigmate” is a biblical expression used by Paul in his letters to show how to read God’s signs before the advent of Truth, with the second coming of Christ. It is the base of the allegorical method that the Middle Age used to read the Bible, raised in the Modern Age as criterion to interpretate the whole reality. The historical process culminates in the end of the concept of truth, with all the consequences that this event takes to the subject, that becomes a horrible hybrid, more than god and less than a man. Opus Dementiae is the best expression to name the age born from this kind of humanity. I'm very influenced by some italian philosophers like Pareyson, Quinzio, Givone, expression of a tragical thought that I think is the real key to interpretate our age. Another great resource are german philosopher like Nietzsche and Heidegger, and some european writers like, for example Cioran and Eliade. For Opus Dementiae we have used a lot of biblical stuff, and some matter from gnostic and apocryphal literature.
Is it true that Ensoph will be releasing an album of remixes early next year? If so, can you go into a little detail about it?
It's not exactly. We have planned a new album for the first months of the next year containing exclusively electronic and experimental tracks, and it will be out in a really amazing limited edition and there will be a lot of collaborations from the elcetro/industrial world scene. There will be some great surprise. It will be out on Cruz Del Sur Music. We will be proud to work again with Enrico.
I can see Ensoph being the type of band which will create music that no one else has ever thought of; how are you able to write music which is so creative and without boundaries? Does the whole band have input?
We don't think to do something new or unique we just express our emotions and ideas without limitations, giving creativity no boundaries. All members contribute in different ways to the song writing. Giuliano is the main musical writer and Zenone write all the lyrics and concepts of the band. The other members work in the arrangement phase, and sometimes composing some melodic lines, especially for flute and keyboards. We do a long research about the sounds and the atmosperes the we want to reach and to comunicate and we work to find the sound the sound that can make improve our horizons.
I have surprisingly seen a feel negative reviews of Opus Dementiae (personally I love it), do you think people may not be able to comprehend your band because you are different and incomparable to other bands?
Opinions are like the nose, everyone has his own. We can't like everyone. We know that many people are surprised and confused the first time that they listen to us but if they approach to us with an open mind they will find all the emotions melted togheter into our soungs. To be honest, our way of contaminate extreme metal receives really great reactions, especially from the press. We work in the border line of different genres, and we probably cannot like to everyone, especially to the more conservatives, but the new-millenium-public is enough mature to receive something that breaks all the common standards. If you play something in which you really believe people understand and support you.
Do you think it will take several albums before you are able to accomplish your goals? What are your new songs going to sound like?
I don't realy know how many album we should to release to get our goals we have great dream. We’ll probably never live of music, so be gratifyied by what we play is our major goal. We will probably enrich our sound with more industrial elements, tons of death rock, hardcore, extreme metal influences and, why not, something like a cynic taste of glam self-irony. I think that we will increase the energy, but the way still remains the same. We are not searching something new, but new way to express what we have always been.
Final comments?
If the end is near, could you dare a new beginning?
Discography:
2004... Opus Dementiae (Cruz Del Sur)
2001... Bleeding Womb Of Anake (Beyond)
Current line-up:
Nicola... vocals
Giuliano... guitars and keyboards
Massimo Cocchetto... bass
Leonardo... keyboards
Zenone... drums
| TTM reviews of albums by Ensoph: | |
 | 2006 - 'Project Xkaton' |
 | 2004 - 'Opus Dementiae' |
