By Nicholas Jason Lopez
Regarded for their heavy-hitting singles “Thousand Ghosts” and “Fault,” Fano-based melodic metalcore act Not My Grave recently dropped their latest album ‘Naked,’ which showcases just what they can do when pushed beyond their creative boundaries.
The group was formed in 2020 by members Luca (vocals), Nicola (bass/synth) and Tommaso (guitar), before they were joined by Francesco (drums/chorus) and Nicolò (guitar) soon after.
The Music Bugle had the opportunity to chat with Luca about what they’ve been up to lately and more.
Music Bugle – How did you guys decide the band name?
Luca – The choice of our band’s name was pretty tough. We started by thinking what really defined us as individuals and what motivated us to create this project, but it was harder than we thought to merge all different ideas into a well-defining name, until, like most things, it came out itself when, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we were forced to postpone the release of our first single “Thousand Ghosts.” In those pretty hard days, we realized that nothing could have stopped us from doing what we love most and not even a global pandemic could have been “our grave,” so here we are.
Music Bugle – What excites you the most about your style of music?
Luca – We really like our style ’cause it’s a deep and intimate elaboration of all the genres and artists we’ve been and still are growing with. We offer a sound that stretches from nostalgic and personal vibes to aggressive and energetic patterns without ever losing a strong sense of continuity.
Music Bugle – How would you describe Fano to someone who has never been there before?
Luca – Fano is a fascinating cradle of history for the Roman Empire that spreads from beautiful ruins to still intact buildings and is also located near the sea, so it attracts a lot of people during the Summer and this allows a lot of events to happen and most of them involve live music, which helps bands like us to grow and make new experiences.
Music Bugle – How have you been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic?
Luca – As a band, we certainly faced some issues. We were forced to slow down and that caused some delays in releases and due to the restrictions, we had less time to pass together working on our project, but we put in a lot of team effort and we’ve managed to make it anyway.
Music Bugle – Which of your songs were the hardest to write?
Luca – We got to admit that all nine songs came out pretty easily. When one of us has an idea that catches everyone’s attention, we start working on that and if we come to something we really like, then we work to give it its final shape, which could be something as soothing as “Thousand Ghosts” or raw and heavy like “Until They Can’t.” This one and “What’s Wrong” were probably the roughest ones to compose though, ’cause we wanted to put a little bit more of ourselves and our past into it, but we’ve managed to proudly get what we aimed for.
Music Bugle – What has been your biggest challenge lately?
Luca – Doing all we planned to do during a global pandemic was definitely the hardest challenge we’ve been going trough, but that strengthened our bond and we look forward for new and interesting challenges.
Music Bugle – Who are you listening to right now, music-wise?
Luca – Everyone of us has different tastes and come from different roots, but the band that unites us the most is certainly Bring Me The Horizon. Some other bands we get inspiration from are Architects and Falling in Reverse. We really like how they always try to experiment with this genre and open to us new possibilities and ideas for original content.
Music Bugle – What are your goals for 2021?
Luca – We would really like to play live to promote and let people truly enjoy our music, but it all depends on the evolution of the pandemic. We’re also very excited to work on the new stuff and ideas we’re all creating and the main goal will be to release a new album that follows but evolves the sound of ‘Naked.’
Music Bugle – What’s something you wish happened more in today’s music industry?
Luca – We love that everyday people come out with new and original stuff and we try to learn and reshape our sound based on all we get to listen and enjoy, but we also believe that today’s music industry is too full of pop and rap and we’d like for our genre rooted in heavier grounds as metal and rock to get more space, mostly in Italy.
Music Bugle – If you had to pick your own theme song, what would it be?
Luca – That’s a hard question, ’cause each of our songs represents in a way or another what we are, but among all the nine tracks of the album, “Grey” really stands up for us as an anthem about the hard and sometimes, violent relation between man and nature, which is a topic that deeply touches everyone of us. We love “Grey.”
