Dead Rhetoric: There seems to be a pretty easy conversion of the original track to get it into a metal framework. It seems to have a good metal backbone beneath it all.
Fiori: For us, it’s important that the song must sound like a Graveworm song. Of course, you can hear that it is Bon Jovi, especially with the keyboards at the beginning, but then it moves into a real metal song. It’s important for us not to play it the same way as the original but to make it as metal as possible.
Dead Rhetoric: I agree, I think that a lot of bands forget that. Do you have a trick to taking a song and making it your own?
Fiori: That’s the most important thing. The song has to sound like a Graveworm song, because we want to play the song live. Because people know the song, they want to have fun. The song needs to be easy to play and has to be a metal song.
Dead Rhetoric: Do you have a favorite among the cover songs the band has chosen?
Fiori: Maybe “Fear of the Dark” – it’s one of my favorite songs. But I really like “Losing My Religion” (R.E.M.). It’s so different than the original that it’s always like “whoa…this will really kick your ass.”
Dead Rhetoric: Have you ever thought about the band putting together a covers album? Or do you think that’s taking it too far?
Fiori: No, we just spoke about it. Six Feet Under has made cover albums, but our plan for the future might be to put an extra cd on a future album with maybe 4-5 tracks as a bonus. We don’t want to bring out an album with only covers – that’s not our way.
Dead Rhetoric: Ascending Hate is your first release for AFM Records. How’d you end up choosing them to sign with?
Fiori: When our contract finished with Nuclear Blast, we spoke about getting a different record label. Nuclear Blast is big – maybe too big for us. If you are in a small band, it seems that they are really pushing the larger bands. But we were happy being on Nuclear Blast, and thought they did a good job for us when we were there. It was just time for a change.
We came in contact with AFM Records while I was on vacation in Hamburg. I called them and asked if I could come in and talk about a new Graveworm album. When I was there, I saw the people working with their heart. They are really putting all that they have into the bands. The most important thing that I saw there was that they worked with their hearts. I called the rest of the band and told them I wanted to go with AFM Records because they work the same way we do. I thought it would be a good collaboration and I’m really happy that we signed with them because they are really doing a good job and calling me every day. I’m very happy about it.
Dead Rhetoric: What’s the most important thing about moving forward with Graveworm?
Fiori: We are all metal fans and we really want to make music for fans. We are not getting money from the music, and all have our own jobs. When we write new songs, we always do what we want and do this because it’s fun. The most important thing is having fun. Maybe traveling around, meeting new people, playing shows and not worrying about all the business stuff. This is a hobby for us, and that’s important.
Dead Rhetoric: I know you’ve played in North America before, but any prospects for a return?
Fiori: I hope! We were last there around 2006 and it was really fun for us and a great experience. I hope that we can come back someday for a tour or at least play a few shows. We met a lot of people there and made new friends and it was a great experience for us. I hope that we will come back soon.
Dead Rhetoric: You mentioned that the band has jobs and the Graveworm is more of a hobby. What do you do outside the band?
Fiori: I work as a youth worker in my hometown. I help kids in school – if they have problems, they come to me to help try to figure it out and find a solution. Besides that, I try to organize some concerts in my country. The kids are my life, so when I have free time, I spend it with my kids.
Dead Rhetoric: Do you feel that there has been a defining moment for Graveworm up to this point?
Fiori: That’s difficult. I don’t know if you could say that this is a moment, but I was looking back at when I started to play music – Stefan and I were sitting at his house and making a list of what we wanted to reach with our music. Just two months ago, we found this list and it was really great: all the wishes on it were done, so we talked about old times. We never expected to go on tour and play South America, or China, or the States. Now we are here with our ninth album and it’s awesome. We really didn’t expect it – we thought we might do one album and be done. Now we are still here, and still having fun – I hope that it will not stop in the near future because it’s like a small family: traveling around the world and having fun.
Dead Rhetoric: So if you made a new list, are there any more goals that you’d add to the list or are you just very happy with what you’ve done?
Fiori: There are some wishes we’d like to reach. Maybe playing in Australia because we have never been there. For me personally, I’d like to play the 70,000 Tons of Metal. That would be the next goal I would like to reach.
Dead Rhetoric: So the album will be out soon, what’s next for Graveworm?
Fiori: We have some single shows in Germany and some festivals in Europe. Then will start writing new songs, because we don’t want to wait another four years. I hope that we will go on tour at the beginning of next year. I don’t know what will come for us, but hopefully it will be a lot of shows.