1. Greetings GLORIOR BELLI. It has been four years since my colleague interviewed you about your album “Manifesting the Raging Beast”. Since then we have been graced with two albums. I guess you were busy during these years, weren’t you?

Indeed I've been quite busy, just how I like it, *Challenge accepted face* Not only with GLORIOR BELLI but other projects as well. So much that actually, “Manifesting The Raging Beast” feels like it was released in a past life already!

2. Since the first album you have changed your music quite significantly. Could you elaborate on your progression till today? Do you have any ideas or vision how GLORIOR BELLI might sound in next years?

I believe that in terms of composition we've never done the same thing twice over the years, so it's hard to say how exactly GLORIOR BELLI will sound next. “The Great Southern Darkness” is still young and we have to defend it first and foremost. But I sure do have a lot of ideas for the future, just taking it easy for the time being as we are focusing on improvements for stage performances.

3. Your line-up has also changed a lot. The contemporary line-up seems strong and full of inspiration. How do you enjoy working together? Btw, G. is your second Italian drummer. Do you have a soft spot for Italian drummers? :)

It has never been easy to find the right line up for GLORIOR BELLI... Yeah call me a tyrant. I understand how it looks like a freaking circus to the eyes of the people, but in the end I'm feeling pretty satisfied about those changes now. Unfortunately I have been working with Italian people way too much it seems, but at least they're pretty cheap *Troll face* No seriously, Gionata is a great guy. It's just a shame that he's from Italy. Just kidding. Not.

4. The new album “The Great Southern Darkness” has been released through Metal Blade Records. How would you describe it to fans that haven’t heard it yet?

“The Great Southern Darkness” is a monolith that combines New Orleans stoner grooves and vicious Black Metal riffery. It's packed with bluesy riffs but still charged with all the screeches and technical dexterity known to black metal fans. It will take you through the blistering deserts of the abyss and though the burning swamps of hell, to Satan’s private chateau, where he actually spends most of his time.

5. “Meet us…” has already included some blues and stoner influences and the new album seems to include these aspects even more. When did you find yourself interested in those genres? Do you think that some future GB’s material might be more about blues than about black metal?

I sure feel like “The Great Southern Darkness” has found the right balance between Blues and Black Metal and I'd like to mess with that somehow, even destroying what we've built and start again. There ain't no rules around here. We're trying to accomplish something.

6. GLORIOR BELLI has always dealt with Luciferian doctrines. Because the nature of music on “The Great Southern Darkness” has shifted quite a bit from “O Laudate Dominus” I am wondering whether lyrical themes have shifted as well.

If there is only one thing that never changed it is actually the lyrics and themes explored over the years. They reveal a sincere inclination for rebel-ism and developed sense of poetry, an intriguing and almost hypnotic journey through dark deserts and evil fields with Lucifer as personal guide.


7. By the way, do you think that black metal is the only acceptable medium of “devil-worshipping” music?

Of course not, it would be too restrictive to say that. The "devil" can be worshipped in many aspects of life and the same goes with music. I for one am not the greatest fan of Black Metal and get goose bumps when Dax sings "No man can hold what the darkness can sow".

8. The new album is also much more compact and conceptual than the previous one. “Meet us…” is more varied in my opinion. Did you want to create such coherent record from the beginning or it simply came out during recording?

“Meet Us At The Southern Sign” was still "confused", hence the sensation of being more varied but lacking of handleability sort of. It was totally my intention to create something more coherent this time, where the Black Metal and the Blues are one.

9. Videoclip was made for “They Call Me Black Devil”. Why did you choose this song and how many people were involved in the creation of the clip? The clip takes place in a bust up old van. So why did you choose that place?

Basically, there’s a lot of humor in that video, starting with a fake budget-denied letter that I made myself underlining the cheapness of what’s to come. It’s kind of a fuck off to the music industry that echoes to the Red Fang video clip “Wires” where they waste 5,000$ on trashing random stuff with a car. I understand it can be confusing but that was the whole point of the video clip anyway. The rest is just really random, as I did it on my own with just an Iphone. The most important here is the music, and there’s a reason why they actually call me Black Devil. The place is simply my personal retreat that I use sometimes to spend a few hours quietly.

10. In the old promo pictures as well as in the new video clip you have your face covered with a hood. But the latest promo pictures are very informal/casual. Why this change? How are you dressed on stage?

Well it turns out that I don't really have rules when it comes to wearing or not that special mask. The very last promo pictures that we did with photographer Alina Neurotica show that I'm using both. Our recent live pictures will also tell you the same, it really depends on the situation and conditions that we get at the venues. And my mood.

11. The new album was streamed in its whole on the website of Decibel magazine. Why did you decide for this move? Was this an idea of your label?

It was not our decision but most likely people from our PR team, Earsplit PR. It's common thing nowadays to do so before the release of an album, not sure if it limits piracy or just help with the promotion but that's how it goes!

12. Every album of GLORIOR BELLI has been released by different label. So I guess that you weren’t really satisfied with their work. Did Metal Blade fulfill all your requirements?

Well, shit just happens sometimes you know. What’s done is done and I can’t complain, as being signed on Metal Blade is definitely the greatest achievement for what started 10 years ago as a small yet ambitious band. I only expect the best out of this collaboration as we are absolutely determined to do what we have to in order to promote our new record the way it should be. I can feel that not a single drop of energy is being wasted and there’s a cool symbiosis in the collaboration. I’ve never been confronted to such professional and yet really supportive people, they know exactly how to take care of business with high levels of passion and perseverance. So that’s one less thing I need to worry about as a musician, and it takes a lot of weight off my shoulders to be honest.


13. Many readers are also interested in your project 11 as in Adversaries. Could you tell us something about its past and future endeavors? Hopefully we won’t have to wait too long for a next album…

2012 will be the resurrection of another project that was sort of on hold while GLORIOR BELLI was defining its identity. That's my priority on the side of GLORIOR BELLI's activities as of today so I guess 11AIA will have to wait some more before anything new comes up. But you know I'm a busy little bee already so it won't take too long hopefully.

14. “The Full Intrepid Experience of Light” was supposed to come out under GLORIOR BELLI moniker. I remember that first samples caused quite a ruckus among the fans of previous GB stuff, have you received any death-threats? I’m joking… Was the fans’ feedback one of the reasons why you released the album with 11 As In Adversaries?

I did actually receive death-threats, but it wasn't the first time though as we had the same reactions with "Meet us...". It's absolutely not the feedback from the fans that made us change our minds, we just realized that this album was a beast of its own and if it's actually released under a different name it's because it gives us the opportunity not only to carry on distancing ourselves from what we do with GLORIOR BELLI but also from the standards of the scene. With this record we forged the weapons of our own liberation sorta.

15. What are you planning to do with GLORIOR BELLI in the future? Is the new material in works? What about concerts and tours? I hope that fans from central and Eastern Europe will have an opportunity to see you live!

It's still too early for us to talk about new material. As for the live appearances, we got a few festivals confirmed this year, starting with Kings of BM in April, Hellfest in June and Summer Breeze in August. Other plans are in progress as we speak but until everything is confirmed 100% I won't mention those.

16. Thanks a lot for your answers and I hope we’ll have a chance to talk in person at some concert. Take care and if anything wasn’t mentioned feel free to tell it now. Thanks! …you French frogs ;-)

Thank you for your time and patience, I've been busy like hell lately. I guess we covered a lot of topics so the only last remaining thing to say is that we will defeat and bring down the cosmic scheme. Hopefully see you somewhere down the road, Hail!