Genus Ordinis Dei Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording of the new album?

We recorded “Great Olden Dynasty” in May 2016 and on the very last day in the studio we were informed of the opportunity to join Lacuna Coil’s Delirium World Tour in Europe and UK as their opening act with Forever Still. We then had to plan meticulously for an intense run of 31 shows!
After being on the road for a couple of months, we signed a deal with the American label Eclipse Records. We’ve spent the last few months planning all the details, press releases and videos for the launch of “Great Olden Dynasty” which will be released on November 24th, we will complete the day by playing in Belgium with Hell!

2.You have a new album coming out in November, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

“Great Olden Dynasty” is a mix of modern death and symphonic metal. In general, it is more “rhythmic” then our previous releases because it has been written by our drummer Richard, but has also given the right space to catchy melodies and orchestral parts. Tommy, who plays guitar, made a huge step forward in arranging orchestrations and mixing them into the song whilst Nick, our singer, has improved his vocal technique and man, he has a huge variety in his vocal sound!
For sure, it is a more mature work compared to our previous material as we learned a lot when we worked with Marco Coti Zelati, founder, composer, producer and bass player of Lacuna Coil on our EP back in 2015.
We are really happy of the result!

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?

The album is like a spin-off of the band’s main trilogy started with the first chapter “The Middle”.
In “Great Olden Dynasty” we tell the story of some important characters of the history and how they all bond together.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Genus Ordinis Dei’?

Genus Ordinis Dei is a latin name which means “the origin (or the stirp) of the divine order”. It comes from, as we said in the previous question, the main trilogy that we are telling in our albums.
Essentially, we wanted to have a name who also reminded of our origin, we are from Italy, and what’s better than to use latin for it?

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?

For sure every single show during the Delirium World Tour was outstanding! We had the chance to play in front of more than a thousand people every night in some of the best venues across Europe, vibes were breath taking.
We will always remember the show at the KOKO Theatre, in London, which was sold out and the location was amazing. Also, the show in Milan, at the Live Club, was insane, we had also the chance to record a video of our performance.
We try to put the best of us on stage and we always try to improve ourselves in terms of sound and choreography as we think that the “visual” part of the show has the same importance as the music itself.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?

Yes, we will play some local shows in autumn, and on November 24th we will play in Belgium for the release show of Great Olden Dynasty. After that, we will play in southern and central Italy in December, Naples and Rome, and Switzerland in February. More shows are going to be announced soon as possible as we recently started to work with DW Bookings and they are already planning our shows in Europe for 2018.

7.On the album you had the singer of 'Lacuna Coil' do some vocals, can you tell us a little bit more about this contribution?

We came up with the idea of having a female vocalist on a song in this album and as soon as the song was ready we immediately gave a call to Cristina if she was interested in recording it… and she said yes! She has been so cool with us and she recorded the song at Marco Coti Zelati’s home studio in just one take like a real pro… as she actually is!!!

8.The new album is coming out on 'Eclipse Records', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

Eclipse Records is a boutique independent record company focused upon hard rock/heavy metal music, best known for discovering & developing artists such as Mushroomhead, A Breach of Silence, Bobaflex, Scum of the Earth, and many others! Chris Poland, the founder, thinks that we can start to publicize our music also in USA, which is a brand-new audience for us. We chose this label also because has great promotion and distribution channels which is what we were looking for!

9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of deathcore, death and symphonic metal?

It has been great! We noticed that metal music is becoming more popular again compared to the past and people are starting to listen to some new bands and subgroups like metal core, deathcore and so on! Could be the right time for us all!

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

We always try to grow up as much as we can! We can’t tell you what our next step will be, because we still don’t know it, but we have only one certainty: we will make our way to the top of the Olympus of Heavy Metal! This is our goal, and we will make our best to reach it out!

11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

We have all listened to metal music since… ever, but everyone has a different background. For example, Nick and Tommy always loved classic, epic and heavy metal. Steven used to listen to thrash metal and Richard came from progressive metal. We have always tried to play what we love and to put some of our influences in the writing process. Nowadays we are pretty much listening to the same kind of music like Lamb of God, Gojira, Dimmu Borgir, Periphery, Insomnium, Dark Tranquillity and others.

12.What are some of your non-musical interests?

We basically live for music as we are also music teachers and producers. In their spare time, Nick and Tommy, usually play sports; Steven is a gym addict and he loves country life; Richard instead has a deep passion for cooking and watching tv series!

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Thank you so much for this interview and cheers to all the readers! We hope you will enjoy our next release, and we can’t wait to play in front of you all one day!
Stay Metal! Hail!