Mataï: First, the very basic question, can you introduce your band for those who do not know you ?Matteo: Yes my name is matteo guitar player from the italian metal band Figure Of six. We started playing with this name back in 2003. Even if me and Peter, the other guitar player who is founding member, started writing songs before, we released the first album in 2005 called Step One on Copro Records, while second one called Aion was released on Locomotive Records in 2008.
Second album like this new one called Brand New Life was mixed by Tue Madsen in Denmark
Mataï: Is this you first band or have you bands before Figure of Six? do you have experience before?
Matteo: Not before but meanwhile i played with other people just for fun though.
Mataï: Ok so it was not very new for you. You play metalcore, but this genre is more and more usual in the metal scene, did you think that you would manage to propose something "new" or more original? I mean that this scene seems quite saturated so ...
Matteo: Well i would not call our album "metalcore"...
Mataï: Actually it is a mix of metalcore/hardcore/electro, no?
Matteo: We have been inspired by music from the 90s combined with something new, also we decided to have a more rock approach on vocals. I would say it is modern metal / rock / hardcore / electro
something like this eheh.
Mataï: Yeah that's true, and sometimes, depending on some tracks, but you sound like modern melodic death metal like soilwork or even Scar Symmetry...
Matteo: You think so?
Mataï: I think about the track "war from inside" especially make me think about Scar Symmetry...
Matteo: Ah yeah i understand what you mean. I would say Meshuggah too and FF (Fear Factory). But i wouldn't say we place our band in the metalcore crowded scene who listen ONLY to metalcore would be disappointed by the album.
Mataï: Yeah, and in the review I wrote down that you were mixing lots of influences.
Matteo: Yeah i agree
Mataï: So it is not just "metalcore" so something mixed and new though.
Matteo: Yes good description
Mataï: So now can you introduce your new album "Brand New Life"?
Matteo: Yes, the new album will be released tomorrow may 20 on Tiefdruck Musik, we recorded the album at Fear Studio with Tue Madsen and DysFUNCTION productions, it will be 10 songs of modern metal and much more, you don't want to miss!
Mataï: Is it a concept album? Is there a story in your album?
Matteo: It has been inspired lirically by personal experiences that everyone lived once in his life
hope for better times is what is in common in each song.
Mataï: Like in "My Perfect Day", is that the meaning?
Matteo: Yeah true.
Mataï: Who wrote the lyrics? Is this something that you do all together?
Matteo: Erk, our singer, wrote all the lyrics but me and Peter helped on them. Mmmmm, we play together eheh. No i mean we haven't any sport or activity we share apart from sharing this dream
but it's enough i mean. It takes a lot of our lives anyway.
Mataï: Sure, but I read somewhere that at the beginning, the lyrics had been written in italian and that after, you translated in english, is that true?
Matteo: yeah with the old singer. I w
rote all the lyrics because he was not really confidentwith that language.
But this time was different as Erk is fluent as well, anyway. As we are not english or american we need to write some ideas in italian and adapt them to the melodies we need to use for the song. We usually write the music, then record vocals, on "fake english" just to have melodies, then we write lyrics to be adapted to the melodies we have.
Mataï: You've just talked about the old singer, now can you tell me about the new one, is this different, have you changed something in your compositions?
Matteo: Mmmm, not that much. Of course every person is different and has different way of working. Erk is a workaholic. He could work on vocals 24h each day.
Mataï: Did you have to adapt you?
Matteo: Well yes of course, we always have to adapt to a new person but everything was natural really natural.
Mataï: And did he bring something "new" to your musical universe? Something fresh?
Matteo: Yes for sure, his background is also from progressive which is something we were not used, but also from american new rock, like three days grace, Nickelback or Shinedown, bands that we knew of course but we were not inspired from. We also have common tastes like Soilwork or Sevendust.
Mataï: Yet we can hear something like soilwork in your tracks, I don't know why, maybe you are more inspired than you were thinking ahah.
Matteo: Yeah maybe.
Soilwork is a band that we like of course but i can not say it is the most inspiring for us.
Mataï: Sure but there is a little something...well I stop with that! and, what is the main difference between your last album Aion and the new one? what did you want to highlight?
Matteo: With the new album we wanted somthing musically more solid, you can hear less orchestrations
because we wanted to highlight on groove, and wanted keyboards to be a main instrument not only a background. So we focused on having more lead from them rather than having a background for the music
main difference from aion of course is vocals. We wanted to distance from the hardcore scene
having more rock vocals then hardcore, there is also more work on production on this new one.
Mataï: You work with Tue Madsen and Dysfunctions Prod
Matteo: We made a hard work with our production team from Dysfunction. This time Tue came to Italy to record the album with us, while last time we only mixed sending files to him.
Mataï: This is a special privilege though.
Matteo: Yes it was great.
Mataï: How was the recording, the mixing with him?
Matteo: Recording was really cool. He is a great professional and he can find the right sound for each instrument. Mixing was cool too, as we went there with him at his studio and worked as a team
even if he is always the boss of course.
Mataï: I was talking about Figure of Six with one guy of Logical Terror, about production, because I find that you sound like LT and LT sounds like you, the reason seems to be dysfunction prod, what do you think about it ?
Matteo: I think that it is normal when you share the same production team. But each band has his peculiarity.
Mataï: What is your peculiarity?
Matteo: I think we are less industrial, the meaning of what i said is that each band has his identity even if we shared the same produciton team.
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b>Mataï: Yeah I understand it.
I think that the electronic sounds and of course the keys on that album are more worked, well made and well inserted in the tracks and now I think about the last one, "Something".
Matteo: Yeah i agree, they are more industrial.
Mataï: It 's true and in this song we can hear more keys.
Matteo: Yeah it's the electro song we have, we used to have instrumental songs in the other 2 albums
this is the 2011 version of those songs.
Mataï: And why have you not added instrumental songs in this album?
Matteo: Because we wanted something new on this album. We had like 3-4 songs in the first album
with was a bit too much. I think that "something" is a good evolution of those songs and 1 is enough eheh
Mataï: The cover is quite neutral, is there a particular meaning?
Matteo: It is a phoenix, which is mithological symbol of rebirth.
Mataï: That is linked with the album's name?
Matteo: Yeah, and album's mood more than concept. It is linked to the period we had to face
after recording of instrumetal, where we had them ready bu we had not a singer eheh. We had to be strong and go on, until the rebirth of Brand New Life.
Mataï: Have you a favorite song?
Matteo: mmmm, i would say "I Guess".
Mataï: Why?
Matteo: yes
Because it is the most complete song, it has the 90s mood, intricated construction, good vocals and good keys.
Mataï: Have you projects planned for the future?
Matteo: Yes, to play as much as we can. We want to play in our country and we are planning an extended tour in fall, to promote the album.
We will shoot an official video for the song my perfect day this saturday, while the live video we recorded in Cologne will be released in a few days.
Mataï: Do you have ideas for this official video?
Matteo: Yes, but it is secret.
Mataï: And if I ask you a little "something"?
Matteo: Ahahah, mmmm different video from our previous ones you will see .
Mataï: Have you planned to come in some Europe's countries, like in France for example? For some shows
...
Matteo: Yes, in the extended tour i talked about, it will be Europe wise so France too .
Mataï: I hope that you will have an audience!
Matteo: Ahahah, not so easy. I hope so but i think we will be supporting a more known band so hopefully we will have some audience eheh.
Mataï: Logical Terror told me that it was difficult to Italian bands in particular to be signed and known but you've managed to find labels and to be produced by a major productor.
Matteo: Yeah we are lucky but it is also hard work, it is not easy for french or german or another countries bands. In general market is a bit fucked up. We hope for better days.
Mataï: Well, I think it is over, thanks for the interview matteo, now if you have something to add, to attract the readers or to convince...this for you.
Matteo: Ok, guys tomorrow is the big day, Brand New Life will be out. I invite you to look for it in stores and virtual stores like Amazon or EMP of your countries...you will find good deals there and of course, take care and support music !!
r>
Interview done by Matai
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