1.Hello Ferdinando please introduce yourself to the readers?
I'm Ferdinando Aka Herr Morbid and I'm the founder, guitar player, vocalist and main songwriter of FT.
2.At what age did you first discover metal music and who were the first bands you listened to? Who are some of the current bands that have caught your attention?
I started listening to hard rock when I was 8 years old in 1988 with AC/DC, shortly followed by other classic hard rock bands of the 70s and 80s as well as the main metal classics from the 80s and early 90s. I delved more into the underground stuff around '92-'93 when I focused on grindcore, death metal and shortly afterwards black metal. I'm not really interested in today's bands; I estimated the extreme metal scene quit being interesting after 2004 for me. 90% of the time I just don't like what's being released today and the best ones are still a copycat of the old stuff, so I'd rather listen to the old stuff. There's still a lot of bands from the old days that are missing in my collection, therefore I usually buy old stuff and I listen to pre-2004 music, or I buy new albums of old bands when they release one. I like my metal old! Only current/new music that I listen to from time to time is synth pop and rap/hip hop, or crust/hardcore punk.
3.Ferdinando you started Forgotten Tomb back in 1999 what gave you the idea to start this band? And you satisfied with how everything has gone with band over the years?
The first demo/mini-cd "Obscura Arcana Mortis" was pretty much older material that I originally wrote around '97-'98 for my previous black metal band Sacrater and it sounded more like Mayhem's "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas" kind of stuff, but I put it out mostly to let the world know that I had a new project. I quickly realized I was bored of the fast black metal style that was popular around the second half of the 90s and I wanted a sound that was more personal and atmospheric. Also, I wanted black metal to be dangerous and unsettling again. Nobody was really playing a mix of the most eerie black metal and extreme doom and dark wave, so I figured I could do it. I was breaking new ground starting from a very limited number of influences. The whole "depressive" thing didn't really exist back then and nobody sang about the themes I was singing or had the image I was going to portray. It was quite unorthodox back then. The whole "DSBM" thing didn't exist.
The band went a long way over the past 21 years both in terms of stylistic evolution and popularity, still I feel we're extremely underrated. I always did my best and stayed true to the sound I like anyway, I'm proud of all we've done and I think we kept releasing quality stuff which always tries to break new ground. What people like or endorse is beyond my control unfortunately, so we soldier on and hope for the best I guess.
4.What is the current line-up of the band? And how do you feel the bands musical style has changed over the years? Who would you say are the bands biggest influences?
The band started as a one-man band, the other guys joined in 2002-03. Since then we only changed the lead guitar players, one in 2011 and the other in 2016. After that we went on as a three-piece in the studio and we had a revolving number of session-players for the live-shows. Last one is Joschu from the swiss band Chotzä and hopefully he'll stay for a while.
When I recorded the first album I was influenced mainly by Manes, Strid, Burzum, Forgotten Woods and Thorns for black metal plus early Paradise Lost and Celtic Frost, classic doom metal such as Saint Vitus and Black Sabbath and 80s dark-wave/dark-rock bands like Joy Division, Death Cult/The Cult, Christian Death and Sisters Of Mercy. I also always had a soft spot for southern rock and for sludge metal bands from the south of the US like Eyehategod, Crowbar, Acid Bath, Buzzov*en and the likes, as well as some punk/hardcore. I really have a wide range of influences and over the years they all found their way into my music to a certain extent I guess. I also never forgot my hard rock roots and they've been more audible on most of FT's material from 2007 onwards.
All our albums are divided by trilogies, it started out as a casualty but now it became some sort of tradition. Every trilogy features some sort of similar sound between the albums, even if we like to always make each album different; but if you compare “Songs To Leave”, “Springtime Depression” and “Love’s Burial Ground” they all have things in common and they’re all considered depressive black metal classics, “Negative Megalomania”, “Vol 5” and “Under Saturn Retrograde” marked a different era of the band, with the introduction of some clean vocals and more progressive structures and unusual elements, while “…And Don’t Deliver Us From Evil”, “Hurt Yourself and The Ones You Love” and “We Owe You Nothing” shared the increased heaviness of the sound and and sludgier elements. “Nihilistic Estrangement” opens the 4th trilogy so I guess the next two will follow in its footsteps, at least in the general approach, but with FT you can always expect some surprises especially since I’m the first who never knows where the next album will lead me.
5.Nihilistic Estrangement is the bands newest full-length how long did it take the band to write the music for the new release?How long does it usually take to complete one song?
This time during songwriting I felt the need to shut the world outside, be it fans expectations or band members expectations, and I just let the songs flow out of my hands onto the guitar, without thinking too much about it. I wrote and demoed the bulk of the songs in two weeks or so and the guys of my band then listened to it and said it was the best stuff I wrote in years, then I knew I had been doing the right thing. We did three rehearsals and went straight into the recording studio. I wrote lyrics along the way.
I never take long to write songs. I don't write often but when I do I usually write, record and finish a whole demo version of the song in a couple of days, featuring all instruments and arrangements.
6.Who usually handles writing the lyrics for the music and what are some topics written about on the newest release? Which usually comes first the lyrics or the music?
I usually write all lyrics and all music with a few exceptions for music, depending on the albums. On the new one I wrote everything. I usually write the music first but I write down some notes for the lyrics on my phone from time to time.
The title-track of the new album talks about reaching a mental estrangement from the modern world and from humanity, living in a world of my own. "Iris' House" (pt. I & II) it's a mini-concept about cancer or some other terminal illness; part one is about finding out you've got a few months to live, part two describes the last days in a hospice bed before you die. It was inspired by people I knew that got sick and/or died and the title comes from the name of a hospice nearby where I live. "Distrust3" (which means "distrust cubed") is obviously about my extreme distaste and distrust for people and relationships. "Active Shooter" is some sort of cinematic tale where somebody who's fed up with everything decides to take weapons and go on a killing spree. "RBMK" invokes a global disaster that wipes out humanity; the title refers to a Chernobyl reactor but it could have been anything, even Covid 19 at this point. It was written before it happened though.
7.Besides the upcoming Nihilistic Estrangement release are the bands previous releases still available for the readers to purchase? Besides physical releases does the band have any other merchandise currently available if yes what is available and where can the readers purchase it?
Besides our label's mailorder (Agonia Records) they can be found pretty much everywhere with a Google search, from Amazon and big retailers to underground distros, Discogs, EMP, Indie Merch etc. and some of the stuff is available also through our own Bandcamp page. Official clothing (shirts and such) are available just through Agonia webshop, from our Bandcamp or at our shows. Everything else you might find is probably a bootleg and should be boycotted.
8.Has the band ever made a music video for any of the bands songs If yes which one? Are their any plans to make a video for any songs off of the new release?
We did official lyric videos and visualizers through our label but we don't have official proper videos yet. It's complicated especially because our songs are lenghty. We did a live DVD in 2013 though.
9.What have been some of Forgotten Tomb's most memorable shows and tours over the years? Who have been some of your favorite bands that you have shared the stage with?
The 2012 tour with Enthroned and Impiety was pretty fun especially cause it was our first tour in a nightliner, we usually tour in a fucking van. We played with a lot of bands over the years and we often headline the shows so I really don't know. Our main concern is basically blowing the other bands off the stage regardless of how big, small or important they are. We also enjoy playing festivals usually, unfortunately it doesn't happen too often. Hellfest 2012 was a blast, Kings Of Black Metal was cool (where we did the DVD) but also last year's Metalitalia and Madrid Is The Dark festivals were nice. Metal Camp was another cool one too. There have been cool shows all around Europe though; first time we played in London was great for instance, people went crazy. Also Romania was great. But really I like it everywhere when the place gets packed and people show some enthusiasm.
10.When it is safe to play live again are there any shows or tours planned for the future? If yes where are some countries and cities the band will be playing?
Technically we're rescheduling our european tour for October but we'll see how things evolve from now on. We are also due to finally tour the fuckin' USA but it also got postponed so hopefully sometime in 2021. We play everywhere we get paid what we ask and conditions/terms get respected/fulfilled. During tours, it also depends on the routing; we'd play everywhere but sometimes it's not possible to include all the countries in the routing.
11.What does Underground Metal mean to you and how do you feel it has changed over the years?
It's just hard to say what's underground in the first place. What defines underground? Is FT underground? To me underground in the 90s was the demo-scene, the unsigned bands. Mayhem, Darkthrone or Marduk were not underground to me, to make an example. So I don't know what's the underground now. These days I suppose underground is the Bandcamp unsigned bands; if that's the case, I don't follow it. Wish them the best but I'm just not interested cause I listen to old stuff. The way the underground changed (at least from how I lived it in my teenage years) is that there's no more tape-trading, no letters/snail-mail, no flyers, almost no printed magazines, no printed fanzines and everything pretty much moves through the internet, the social networks, streaming services, blogs, webzines and such. In general there's a lot more information available to young bands on how to make things happen and a lot more channels to spread their music, which on the flipside created an overload of useless bands who somehow manage to have an audience anyway. In the demotapes days you either were good enough to get a record deal or your band would disappear in about two years max. Also, now pretty much everybody with minimum skills can record at home and release poorly-produced crap on the web and everything in general is a lot more politically correct. Another thing that drastically changed is that back in the days a demo band could draw 200-300 paying people to a local show, which today is pure utopia. These days a crowd like that is already a very good one when you're a fairly established band. I don't particularly like the direction things are going now so I try to be oblivious to most of it. I still think YouTube and everything that followed was the last nail in the coffin of the underground as I knew it. "Underground" and "internet" are two things that never went along well, at least since ADSL exists.
12.Besides working in Forgotten Tomb do you or any of the members currently play in any other bands or projects? If yes please tell the readers a little about them?
At the moment I sing in a band called Formalist who released its first full-lenght a couple of years ago, titled "No One Will Shine Anymore". It's very extreme doom/sludge with some industrial elements in the vein of Khanate, Burning Witch or Corrupted. Alex plays drums in Triumph Of Death (which is basically Hellhammer) along with Tom Warrior; he still has also his own black metal project Hiems and he plays guitar in the electonic band Kirlian Camera. Kyoo-Nam plays drums for Whiskey Ritual (black 'n' roll), Tulpa (crust/black) and plays guitar in Caronte (doom). Our live guitarist Joschu plays guitar in Chotzä (black 'n' roll) and in a number of other black metal projects.
13.When you need to take a break from working on new music or band business what do you enjoy doing in your free time?
I listen to music, buy records, watch a ton of movies, write reviews for movies and play retrogames on a C64. Sometimes I hang out to bars for some drinks.
14.Thank you Ferdinando for taking the time to fill this interview out do you have any final comments for the readers?
Go get our new album "Nihilistic Estrangement" if you like heavy, dark and atmospheric music with some ballsy riffs. Support us also by buying something on our Bandcamp page since we can't play live now and we're broke as fuck. Come out and see us live when we can finally tour, cause we'll be on fire.
Band Contacts
https://www.facebook.com/Official.Forgotten.Tomb
https://officialforgottentomb.bandcamp.com/
Label Contacts
http://agoniarecords.com/
https://agoniarecords.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/agoniarecords
https://twitter.com/agoniarecords
