Posthumous records are often the source of endless discussions, both for their intrinsic value and for questions relating to a sort of ethics linked to their publication, more or less appropriate and not always shared. Without going into inconvenience who knows what events, the controversies linked to the posthumous publications of Chuck Schuldiner’s Death – which have also reached legal spheres – have been a widely debated subject.
A posthumous Necrophagia album has its own nostalgic flavour, it’s true, and we believe (but above all we hope) that the controversial component this time is absolutely a minority if not non-existent. Musically speaking, “Moribundis Grim”, as mentioned in the review, gives us the opportunity to feel Killjoy (who passed away in 2018 due to heart problems) and his associates in some way, even if it is a record for collectors and avid fans and not a new album.
Having clarified this, it is absolutely not badly done, on the contrary, and features a couple of gems such as the title track (where John McEntee of Incantation appears) and the concluding instrumentals, enriched by some very good keyboard sounds created, among other things, by by Mirai Kawashima of the Japanese Sigh. We talked about it with Titta Tani, a member of the band in the 2000s.
FIRST OF ALL I BELIEVE IT IS THE NECESSARY FOR YOU TO EXPLAIN THE GENESIS OF “MORIBUNDIS GRIM” WELL, ESPECIALLY THE TECHNICAL PART. IT IS CLEAR THAT THIS IS UNFINISHED MATERIAL LATER COMPLETED WITH THE HELP OF OTHER MUSICIANS INCLUDING JOHN McENTEE, BUT WE WOULD LIKE YOU TO GO INTO BETTER DETAILS, EVEN TEMPORALLY.
FROM A TECHNICAL POINT OF VIEW, AMONG OTHERS, WITH TODAY’S TECHNOLOGIES IT SHOULD BE MUCH EASIER TO MAKE RECORDS LIKE THIS…
– Thank you in advance for the space given to us! In “Moribundis Grim” there are recordings dating back to 2017, the year in which Killjoy was writing unreleased music and, as in all situations of this type, the material then remained in the famous ‘drawer’. There are also some covers and a live piece taken from the 2017 tour. For the title track, John had to intervene for some missing vocal parts and the result of the entire album, however, is ‘rotten’ at the right point, in the classic Necrophagia style.
WHY JOHN MCENTEE?
– John and Killjoy were linked by a deep friendship, respect and mutual esteem. As soon as Serge involved me in the project to exhume – solely and exclusively for this album – some Necrophagia songs, to solve the problem of some missing vocal parts, the idea of involving him immediately struck me, given that John and I know each other for a while.
I contacted him and after a while he gave me his approval. She thought about it a lot, especially for the bond that existed between them, in order to be able to give the right ‘respect’ to Killjoy’s work.
IN THE DIGITAL AGE – WHICH ALSO COINCIDES WITH THE ‘AGEING’ PERIOD OF ROCK AND METAL ARTISTS – POSThumous OPERATIONS HAVE NOW BECOME QUITE COMMON. HOW CAN WE FRAME THIS? PERSONALLY, EVEN AS A FAN OF THE GENRE, I COMPLETELY MISSED THAT THERE WAS SOME UNFINISHED NECROPHAGIA MATERIAL: UNTIL VERY RECENTLY AGO THERE HAD NEVER BEEN TALKED ABOUT A ‘LOST RECORD’…
– Look, there are no strange things underneath, there was just the desire to let the most avid fans hear some songs that had remained in the drawer: thanks to Time To Kill we succeeded in this aim. The rights go to the family so it is mostly a matter of ‘heart’.
YOU WERE PART OF THE BAND FOR SEVERAL YEARS: BUT THEY WERE NOT THE BEST YEARS FOR DEATH METAL, WHICH WAS REBORN ONLY LATER (THEY SAY SINCE 2016, USUALLY, WITH THE SUCCESS OF BLOOD INCANTATION). WHAT MEMORIES DO YOU HAVE OF THAT PERIOD IN TERMS OF POPULARITY OF THE GENRE?
– I was a full member from 2002 to 2005 with two albums, an EP, a live DVD, a tour in America and one in Europe. In those three years we did a lot of things even if the band was almost like the joke: “there is a Japanese, an American and an Italian” (laughs, ed.). The period wasn’t bad, but obviously we were affected with good and bad concerts – as often happens to everyone, unless your name is Metallica!
NARRATIVELY SPEAKING HOWEVER, WHAT ARE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL, UGLY OR FUNNIEST EPISODES OF THOSE YEARS IN THE STUDIO AND ON TOUR?
– In the studio in Norway we had a lot of fun, in a really jovial atmosphere, even if we didn’t know each other that well (each of us had done our homework). When you play you build good relationships: the guitarists and the bass player were Norwegian at the time, and therefore let’s say a little cold by nature, even if we all relaxed a little afterwards.
On tour the matter is different: you always need to give your best, with ‘tough’ music; on top of this, whether you play in front of a hundred or a thousand people you have to rock! The highlight of the European tour was certainly the headlining slot at the Inferno Fest in Oslo, with even Children of Bodom just before us!
CAN YOU GIVE US A PORTRAIT OF KILLJOY AS A PERSON AND MUSICIAN? THE ‘CROCODILES’ LEAVE THE TIME THEY FIND, BUT IN MANY YEARS WE HAVE REALLY NEVER HEARD ANY CONTROVERSY RELATED TO HIM, EVERYONE REALLY SEEMED TO LIKE IT…
– His Italian origins made him always smiling, but also very severe in some situations. He was very short in stature, but the energy he exuded was clear to everyone. He was a great glue for the whole band and a great friendship for me.
We managed to meet again in 2017, fortunately: me for a concert with Goblin and him supporting David Vincent’s I Am Morbid. I shot myself eighty kilometers after my sound check, just to say goodbye: in hindsight, I did really well in light of what then happened to him.
IS THERE ANY LIVE TRIBUTE TO NECROPHAGIA? EVEN SIMPLY IN UNIQUE CONTEXTS/DATES? HAS IT EVER BEEN TALKED ABOUT IT?
– We agree with the family that “no Killjoy, no Necrophagia”. Having said that, the desire to play the songs that I played at the time is great, so who knows…
YOU ARE A SPECIAL MUSICIAN: EITHER VOICE OR DRUMS, AND NOT TOGETHER (LIKE CHRIS REIFERT DOES, FOR EXAMPLE). HOW HAS THIS EVOLUTION OF YOURS AS A MUSICIAN MATURED OVER TIME? I BET YOU CAN PLAY ELSE TOO…
– Chris Reifert (by Autopsy, ed) plays and sings at the same time and to tell the truth I did the same playing Dream Theater with one of the first cover bands dedicated to them. Now I do one or the other because I’m old (laughs, ed). I also play bass, guitar and piano (and this helps me with the students when I give lessons).
OF ALL YOUR COMPLETED MUSICAL EXPERIENCES, ARE THERE SOME THAT YOU PARTICULARLY MISS AND WOULD YOU LIKE TO REOPEN IN SOME WAY IF YOU COULD?
– Necrophagia was a really special project and it would definitely be the only one that would still give me good emotions. But “no Killjoy, No Necrophagia“, as mentioned.
ANOTHER FAMOUS PROJECT IN WHICH YOU HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IS CLAUDIO SIMONETTI’S GOBLINS. MY QUESTION IS: DID YOU EVER OBJECTIVELY THINK THAT AT A CERTAIN POINT METAL MUSIC, EVEN EXTREME METAL MUSIC, COULD CROSS SO MUCH WITH MUSIC OF CINEMATIC TRADITION AND VIRTUALLY FAR AWAY FROM METAL? ON WHICH CULTURAL PRESUMPTIONS IN YOUR OPINION WAS THIS “UNION” CREATED?
– I haven’t played in Goblin since 2019, but I started a project called The Horror Legacy, with Giacomo Anselmi (Goblin Rebirth) and Roberto Fasciani (from Fabio Frizzi’s band) with whom we released a record (“Days Of Horror”, ed) on Time To Kill with a lot of guests, like Chuck Sherwood from Incantation, Dave from Dog Eat Dog and Stian ex Immortal/Necrophagia, Mirai Kawashima from Sigh/ex Necrophagia and Fabio Frizzi himself.
With them we revisited a lot of horror soundtracks in a metal version! Soon we will release, again with Time To Kill, a big project that will continue in the future, a sort of concept with a lot of international and non-metallic guests! Thanks again for the space you gave us, Killjoy RIP!
