The Almighty Folk Death Metal Reveries of Furor Gallico

The almighty Furor Gallico has returned with Dusk of the Ages, their third triumphant magnum opus.  Presenting folk death metal at its most imaginative, Furor Gallico is destined to enrapture music fans all across the world with their exhilarating reveries.  Highwire Daze Online recently checked in with the Furor Gallico brigade to find out more about their captivating new album Dusk of the Ages, now available through Scarlet Records!  Read on…

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Furor Gallico, and how long the band has been together.
Hi there! Furor Gallico were formed in 2007 with the aim of blending melodic and harsh tunes. Since the very beginning, we have tried to mix Celtic melodies with black and death metal riffing and vocals (i.e Scandinavian melodic death metal). This goal has been again pursued and – we hope – achieved with Dusk of the Ages!

Where is the band based out of and what is your local music scene like there?
Italy is our home, notably Milan. We really love our land and that’s the reason why some tracks are in Italian. However, unfortunately, the Italian scene is not thriving as it was back in the ‘90s, even though many Italian acts still get much success both in Italy and abroad.

Is there any overall story or concept behind the title Dusk of the Ages?
Dusk of the Ages is a representation of our current situation. We are experiencing the dusk of our era, affected by a continuous social decay: time goes by meaninglessly and we’ve lost contact with nature. So, we are at a turning point: we can chose either to live the final dusk or go back to the roots of life on Earth, in close contact and in harmony with nature.

Select two songs from Dusk of the Ages and what inspired the lyrics.
Waterstrings has been inspired by the journeys by sea many Irish legends talk about, the so-called “Inrama”: Only moving away from the world of men (so, again, the current world we are living in) and getting lost in the sea, thus becoming one with the sea itself, we can go back to the primordial flow to discover our inner self and find musical inspiration from the sound of the waves.

Gates of Annwn, on the other hand, tells the story of a heathen who summons the opening of the gates of Annwn (the otherworld of Welsh mythology) and the return of the Wild Hunt, along with pagan deities, to subvert a world spoilt and corrupted by imposed faiths and restore the ancient spirit of our land, which is of pagan origins.

Other songs, such as Aquane or Nebbia della mia terra (literally “mist of my land”), are sung in Italian and mainly rooted in legends and tales from the Alps.

Who did the cover art for Dusk of the Ages and how much input did you have on it?
For the third time, we decided to collaborated with Kris Verwimp (Vital Remains, Arch Enemy, Suidakra, Arkona, Marduk). We sent him some demo tapes and he particularly liked the The Gates of Annwn and its lyrics, so he drew inspiration from that song to visually recreate the images of the Wild Hunt.

Who produced Dusk of the Ages and what was it like working with them?
The full-length was co-produced by Ralph Salati (Destrage guitarist) and our own guitarist Gabriel Consiglio. They worked both on songwriting and arrangement of the tracks, while the album was mixed by Tommy Vetterli (Eluveitie, Coroner, Kreator) and mastered by Jens Bogren (Opeth, Amon Amarth, Dimmu Borgir). Working with the aces was a real preasure and a honor, and their prowess really gave the songs more “splendor.” Moreover, they always proved able to understand our ideas and materialize them in no time at all.

How does Dusk of the Ages compare to the previous Furor Gallico releases?
It is the natural evolution of the first two albums. We’ve grown and now we have better and clearer ideas on what we want and how to achieve it, also when exploring new musical solutions. That’s the reason why we concentrated more on the lyrics, on instruments arrangement and on the production of this album, which we consider our masterpiece, so far.

If Furor Gallico could open for any band either now or from the past, who would it be and why?
You know, we have so different musical backgrounds, both in terms of past and current bands, that it’d be impossible to chose only one for all us!

Has Furor Gallico ever played here in the States or plan to do so in future days?
Not really, unfortunately, but only time will tell… right now, we have some gigs in Italy and in Europe already scheduled.

What are you looking forward to the most about your upcoming show at the Cernunnos Pagan Fest?
We played Cernunnos in 2015, and the attendees and critics’ feedback was utterly positive. We really couldn’t imagine such a warm welcome for our first live show in France and it was an overwhelmingly beautiful experience. This year, we want to present our new album, hoping to receive again the same positive feedback and with the aim of participating in other similar festivals.

What other Furor Gallico activities will there be in this New Year?
The promotional tour is already scheduled and we can’t really wait! During the first shows, we’ll play many Italian clubs, but we’ll also pay a visit to our friends in France. As for the summer tour, it is being scheduled in these days, but we already have planned a show in Germany, in June.

Any final words of wisdom?
Dusk of the Ages is an album in which we have condensed music, inspiration, love for the Earth, and we hope that the feeling the album gives will enlighten your souls.

Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions!
It’s always a pleasure!

Furor Gallico is:
Davide: Growl, Scream and Clean Vocals
Gabriel: Guitar and Backing Vocals
Marco: Bass
Mirko: Drum
Becky: Celtic Harp

(Interview by Ken Morton)

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