Interview with NOVERIA

Replying: Francesco Mattei (guitars and composition) for Noveria

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?

Hi and thanks for the chat! I always loved listening to music as a kid, but my first experience playing an instrument was probably as far from metal music as you can get - I played the tenor saxophone in the village marching band as a teen. Then one day, a friend of mine was going to his guitar lesson and he asked me to come check it out. It was the coolest thing I’d ever seen and that’s when I decided, I have to play this instrument! And it’s what I’ve been doing ever since. Another great passion of mine is music production and working in the recording studio - In fact if I hadn’t gotten into music I would still have wanted to work with sound!

What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

As a full-time musician I don’t have much free time to worry about, haha! But I do make a point of spending time with my friends to unwind and recharge the creative batteries. When I have a bit of extra time I like to play a cool video game or relax in front of a good movie that makes you reflect about life, in fact some of the ideas and themes for our songs and lyrics come straight out of these stories.

How long has your band been around? Also, please tell me about the dynamic of the band of what brought you all together.

We started Noveria in 2013, I’d just gotten back to Italy from playing for some four years in Finland with a hard rock band and the time felt right to create a project with my own compositions. So I called up the best musicians that I knew and showed them the songs to see if they would like to play that stuff. The guys were all enthusiastic about creating a project together, and now 11 years later, the band is stronger than ever!

Where are you based and how did that influence your music?

We don’t have a single home base as a band - Frank and Davide, our singer and drummer, are from Crotone in the South of Italy, Andrea, our bass player, lives in Rome, I’m from the countryside of Central Italy and Julien, our keyboard wizard, is from Namur in Belgium!

So as you can see we’re pretty much spread out, and we all have different musical backgrounds because of it. The cool thing then happens when you combine people with different musical styles and it all comes together to create something entirely different!

That said, here in Italy there has always been a great appreciation for the progressive music genre in all its shapes and forms, including progressive metal of course. We grew up listening to everything from thrash Metal to Pop Music (the great stuff) and this surely influenced the music we're writing today!

How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?

The official explanation is that we made a combo of the Italian expression for a new era, “Nuova Era” and Casperia, which is my home town, and it happened to be found in the dagaZ, a viking rune that fate brought in my hands. The unofficial version, well… Our fellow video game nerds can probably figure it out! :)

Tell me about your most memorable shows.

That must be headlining at the Ready For Prog? Festival in Toulouse. All of the bands were just getting started touring again after the pandemic, and there was a great energy all around because we could finally play live again after a long time of nothing. It’s hard to describe what it feels like to be on stage and hearing the crowd singing the songs with you, and seeing the people dance with your riffs. I can only tell you we’re determined to keep going, because it’s one of the coolest things you can experience in life!

What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?

We loved playing at the Z7 venue in Switzerland for their incredibly precise organization along with a great looking stage with massive lights and PA system. Of course we want to play in all the big festivals like Masters of Rock, Hellfest and all the classics like Wacken and Tuska.

Another dream would be to play ProgPower Usa in Atlanta!

If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?

That’s a hard one. There’s so many great bands out there we would like to share the stage with… but in my heart it would be something like Noveria, Stratovarius and Metallica.

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band and some advice that you would give to your younger self?

Be strong about it, be focused, be committed and prepare for many hits to take. Stand up anytime you have a door slammed in your face. Do everything in your power to make it happen. Treat it like a job, surround yourself with talented people who have your same goals.

What to say to myself as a kid? “Man, relax and remember to breathe. It will happen.”  

Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?

Every song of course has a special meaning to me as a writer. So every song has its own feel and story. But if i have to pick one out of the box it would be “The Gates Of The Underworld”. That one includes all the emotions I went through while writing it. There’s a lot going on and it has a lot of different situations musically, from heavy as hell parts, to warm and introspective parts turning into epic moments where you can sing along loud.  

Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?

One of my personal favorites would be Stronger Than Before. It has a great riff and it’s fun to play it! And indeed one of our most requested songs is Origins.

What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?

We try to mix it up a bit for every album and sometimes also in between songs - Sometimes a song will start with a riff, sometimes a piece of melodic theme, and sometimes we’ll write songs starting from a different instrument than what we’re normally playing. I’ve seen some good creative sessions come up lately when starting out by writing orchestral parts.

Sometimes I’ll even leave the guitar parts last! It’s a little trick that makes you write with the whole picture of the composition in mind instead of focusing too much on showing your chops on your own instrument… If you’re good at playing, it’ll shine through any way you go about writing your music!

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?

Metal music is all about expressing the deepest, darkest thoughts of the human mind, and for some people it’s an important way to safely express their most difficult emotions. We like to explore the abyss, while still shining a light into the darkest corners, so to speak. Even in the most desperate situation there is always hope to be found, and we like to incorporate that into our music, even though we don’t consider ourselves a “spiritual” band or anything like that at all.

Do you have any new singles, videos, or albums out that you would like to tell me and your fans about?

No new releases at the moment, but, sure as hell we’re working on our next project with new and very strong material. But in case you missed it, just go take a listen to our latest album “The Gates of The Underworld” if you haven’t yet! I promise you won’t regret it especially if you like the genre.

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?

We’re very much looking forward to playing in Japan at the Evoken Fest in October. It’s going to be a great opportunity for us to bring our music to our friends in Japan and it’s also the farthest we’ll have traveled to play a concert, so we’re very excited about going!

How can your fans best keep up to date with you, any socials you want people to check out?

You can find us on our official Facebook, Instagram and Youtube channels! The handle is always NoveriaOfficial.

Web Site: www.noveriaofficial.com

Facebook Profile: facebook.com/NoveriaOfficial

Instagram Profile: instagram.com/NoveriaOfficial

Twitter Profile: twitter.com/NoveriaOfficial

Tik Tok Profile: Tiktok.com/@noveriaofficial

NOVERIA - Overlord (Official Video)

NOVERIA - Ascent (Official Video)

NOVERIA - Descent ft. Fabio Lione (Lyric Video)