When did you first discover death metal music and what is it about this genre that drew you in?
Max "During the '80's with Sepultura and Death, then Morbid Angel, Carcass, Autopsy, Napalm Death, Cannibal corpse and Obituary came to take the pace with Dismember, Grave, unleashed, Entombed and Carnage in Europe after all the thrash wave!".
Jacopo "My first approach with death metal was with Children of Bodom, I have never had a hard approach with this genre, it was mostly just...well, amateur. But during these years I managed to explore more, and luckily so!".
Tiziano "It happened a long time ago when I was 19 or 20, I went to my first music school for leaning guitar indeed and there, I met a guy who introduced me bands like Death. I didn’t know death metal before and get started right with them was a bit difficult, understanding this genre at first hear I mean, but time after time and discovering much bands as possible I become to appreciate it".
Who were the first bands that you listened to?Who are some of the current bands that have caught your attention?
Jacopo "Well, I started with the classic bands like Metallica or Slayer, just like everyone I suppose. Currently I'm so involved with Kanonenfieber and Gaerea!"
Tiziano "Uhm, actually it tooks a while to find something that captured me, I always like doom metal and the first ones were bands like Asphyx, Winter and stuff like that including early Anathema and Paradise Lost too, because of their slow and decaying mood. Then, I approached to the first Entombed songs, Gorefest, Autopsy and so on. About the current ones I’ll go with Necrot, Undeath, Tomb Mold, Lik, Undergang, Mortuous and Morbific".
Max "Surely one between Iron Maiden and Metallica, then Saxon, Judas Priest and Black Sabbath as for Led Zeppelin, Ac/Dc, Kiss and Black Sabbath, The Who, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and Peter Frampton".
When did you first meet the other members of the band? And was it long before you formed Kaivs ?How did you choose Kaivs as the name of the band does it have a special meaning?
Max "We all knew each other for previous experiences, especially me and Jacopo who met at gigs as performers or between the audience. Then I quickly got in touch with Tiziano, as Leonardo joined because he was in touch with Jacopo and he easily joined the band mainly for this reason".
Jacopo "I've been knowing Max for years but never talked with him very much! I've been playing with Leonardo in other projects, but then we went on other ways, and I met Tiziano in the summer of 2022 when we founded the band! Kaivs takes the name from the villain of the second act of Hokuto no Ken, which I'm a huge fan of!".
Tiziano "I initially met Max Foam in June or July '22, we spoke about the band to create and I found it interesting so I decided to join, after that I had a meeting with Max and the others who were already in".
Who would you say are Kaivs biggest influences I hear a variety of death metal groups? And for the readers who have never heard the band how would you best describe the musical style of Kaivs?
Max "Surely all the early Stockholm death metal rampage!".
Tiziano "Since the first rehearsals we had together, our influences quickly moved to an HM-2 Swedish sound which certainly had a foundamental part in the songwriting process. Well, our style is indeed a simple and well played death metal having the rotten and dirtier sound possible, mirroring what probably are the same bands you listed and you heard in our music: Entombed, Bolt Thrower, Lik, Dismember, etc. I think these are the most recognizable in our songs".
Horrend is the debut that was self released would you like to find a label to work with or do you prefer to self release your music?
Max "We'll in release the full-length for Brutal Records! Do it yourself is great, but it disadvantages you in terms of visibility, for doing that you have to give up with your job and I can't!".
Jacopo "Michael (the owner) is a fantastic person and we are so proud of working with him and his team!".
How long did it take the band to write the music for the debut release? Does the whole band take part in the writing process or does one member usually writes everything?
Max "In half of a year we got eight songs for the record, then three were for Horrend and reprised for the album. We're very quick to write an arrange, Tiziano gets all under control as I do for the lyrics".
Tiziano "The songwriting didn’t take so long as we expected and that’s was quite surprising, each song comes out naturally and in very few time from the previous, we do not had dead periods from that point of view. I made all the guitar riffs and Max wrote all the lyrics".
Jacopo "Generally one of us brings an idea at rehearsals and we study together its anatomy, and only when we are fully convinced on how the song sounds we can call it a day, mainly because we are listeners before musicians! For "Horrend" it took about 2-4 months to complete the songs and record them, we still are pretty confident with the results!".
If anyone is interested where can they purchase the debut cd? Does the band have any other merchandise currently available at this time? If yes what is availible and where can the readers purchase it?
Max "Search us on Bigcartel, it's all there!".
Has Kaivs played any live shows yet or do you prefer to work in the studio? What have been some of the most memorable shows so far?
Max "Just for myself i like both: writing new songs, rehearse and record, but the best thing are the shows: different approach and possibility to travel in the world!".
Jacopo "Playing live, to me, is the key core of a band. The atmosphere, the people, the rush of adrenaline... makes it too special for not to play. We love rehearsals, but playing live is a whole other story which we are heavily focused to".
Are there any tour or shows planned in support of the new release?
Jacopo "We have some gigs scheduled and soon they'll be revelaed! In due time a tour will come, it's a matter of organization".
Max "European tour in in store to support the album, but don't ask me where and when: we gotta ask our label for that! Single shows, dates and festivals too".
Tiziano "The very next one will be in Milan in September, and it’s gonna be crazy..."-
Max "Oh yeah, a festival with 4 or 5 bands!".
Tiziano "We hope to arrange an European tour for the beginning of 2025".
Have you all started working on new music for the next demo or would you like to work on a full length?
Max "New songs are ready, maybe we'll start in the next months of during the summer to practice them, I don't know as it's still too early for that!".
Jacopo "We know that our riffmaster Tiziano has lots and lots of stuff in his lab and can't wait what he will show us! New music is now on hold, but I'm pretty sure not for so long".
Tiziano "We have already worked on a full length, it will be relesed this year".
What does underground metal mean to you?
Max "Basically it's all where all the bands come from before facing the commercial aspect, that is where all is set and done for the bands in a certain way to become professional".
Jacopo "The underground environment is a pulsing nexus of live wires: I have to be honest, there are some bands which are pretty much strong, I like them and wish them the best! But I can also say that, dude, it's a crawlspace: we are so many, but in the meanwhile we are distant. I love the scene but it needs to be more cohesive, more genuine... at least here in Italy!".
Kaivs comes out of Italy's death metal scene what is your opinion of the scene in Italy over the years?
Max "Cool!".
Jacopo "In the last few years, Italy has been a great cradle of very awesome bands, but the hard truth is that they are the very few that put their head out of the water surface. We haven't well equipped venues, too much personal interests over genuinity, and also there is no mutual support whastoever, beyond the very rare cases. It kills me man".
Who are your all-time favorite bands coming out of Italy?Are their any new bands you could recomend to the readers to check out soon?
Max "Extrema, Bulldozer, Necrodeath and Death SS from those the audience could know, then there're too much from the underground!".
Jacopo "Well I'm a huge fan of Rhapsody! (The old ones) I basically grew up with them! But also smaller realities like Furor Gallico, Draugr, Selvans and Black Faith! Love me some Italian black metal!".
When you need to take a break from working on new music or band's business, what do you enjoy doing on your free time?
Max "I always work, my only luxury is to sleep sometime!".
Tiziano "I would rather take a break from my job, that’s really stressful not working on music ahah Anyway, I’ll say movies, some videogames, concerts, walking and relaxing".
Jacopo "Well, other than working in a pretty good job, my way of relaxing is made of Magic The Gathering Cards or D&D dices! But my mind's always connected to the project, you just can't turn off a musician that is proud of his work!". Kaivs https://kaivs.bigcartel.com/ https://www.facebook.com/kaivsofficial https://www.instagram.com/kaivsband/ https://www.youtube.com/@kaivs