SOURCE – The latest studio album Aeternum is probably your most ambitious record to date. How do you feel this set of material advances the career arc of the band, were there any special struggles, obstacles, or challenges to overcome during the process?
Luca Mele (Bass) – With Aeternum we tried to set the bar higher compared to our previous albums.
It was the first time we sat down on a computer doing proper demos for all the songs and this allowed us to work a lot on every small composition detail. We spent more than 2 years writing up to 20 songs and then we recorded 15 of them choosing the ones that we felt were the best.
I guess the main obstacle was that we live in different countries but we still wanted to meet in person to write. And there was covid in between plus we had a lot of tours during this time so it took a while to have the final product.
SOURCE – Was there a specific song on the new album that maybe was a bit more challenging than others when it comes to your playing?
Luca Mele (Bass) – Surely most of the songs are more challenging to play live compared to the old material. Songs like Memento or Captivus are really demanding both in the riffing and in the vocal parts.
Then for example there’s this song Interitus that we only played live one time, because we felt it didn’t work very well on a live setting.
SOURCE – Based on the complexity of the compositions, would you say that Aeternum is an easy listening album?
Luca Mele (Bass) – I’m not sure what I should consider easy listening, it kinda depends on what you usually listen to. Surely it isn’t Pop Music or radio friendly but also not Harsh Noise.
But I will say that this album is more accessible than some of our previous ones. I think most of the songs are more catchy and recognizable than the old material so yeah, I guess Aeternum is easier to listen to compared to Tando Ashanti or Abalam for example.
SOURCE – Where do you see the importance of social media, digital music, streaming etc. in building the profile of the band? Is it as important as what the band can do through live shows to solidify their following?
Luca Mele (Bass) – Nowadays I think those aspects are really important for a band. However we always tried to increase our profile more with touring a lot and solidify our following by going out and playing everywhere.
We surely want to be a live band rather than an internet band, but in the past few years we also tried to push our streaming numbers a little more, and take care of our social media. I think it’s important to have these two aspects going together.
SOURCE – How do you see the state of the world today? If you had the opportunity to give people some thoughts about how to approach life coming out of the pandemic, what are things that you believe they should think about?
Luca Mele (Bass) – I think the state of the world is pretty fucked at the moment, maybe worst than before. I’m not sure I’m the best person when it comes to giving people suggestions about life, but a thing that being in this band teaches me is that if you push enough you’re gonna somehow reach the destination you want to reach. So don’t give up on your dreams and don’t let life drown you with its vicious routine.
SOURCE – In Brazil there’s much fans listening your kind of music. What do you know about the Brazil?
Luca Mele (Bass) – We’ve never been in Brazil yet but we know there’s a cool scene for Metal and that a lot of people listen to this kind of music. But I have the feeling I know very little about Brazil compared to how big it is both in history and culture.
So we are really stoked to come over there and see how things are, meet new people and in general discover the country!
SOURCE – What’s on the agenda for any activities related to Hexis going into the next twelve to eighteen months as far as shows, festivals, promotion etc.?
Luca Mele (Bass) – In the next 12 months our plan is to play a lot and everywhere. Since the release of Aeternum last year, we have played pretty much every place in Europe and Canada so this year we’re gonna focus on other parts of the world.
We are about to leave for a massive tour that will hit Oceania and most of Asia including some new places for us like India, Kazakhstan or French Polynesia to name a few.
Then, later on this year, we’re gonna do another tour heading to South America and a few other places. It’s our first time over there so we are really excited about that!
SOURCE – Is there anything else you have going on?
Luca Mele (Bass) – We just started working on some new material for a future album plus this year we’re gonna release some tracks that were written and recorded on the same session as Aeternum so, be prepared for some new music
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