Interview with Frontman Lucas Di Mascio of Malacoda
By Mick Michaels
COSMICK VIEW: Hello! Welcome to The Cosmick View. Thank you for taking some time out of your day to chat with me, it's greatly appreciated.
Lucas: Thanks man, I’m happy to be here.
CV: Malacoda’s new EP, “The Year Walk,” releases in December. The EP is the conclusion to a trilogy of releases this year. How does “The Year Walk” wrap things up in a musical sense for you and for the fans? Does it take the listeners to a surprising place unexpectedly compared to the last two releases?
Lucas: I see “The Year Walk” as a culmination of what we’ve tried to do with the previous releases this year. It’s fully embracing that symphonic metal sound rather than tip toeing around it. Whereas the other EPs had a lot more dynamic moments, there’s no power ballads or time changes on this release.
For me personally it’s the best I think we could do in the symphonic metal side of our sound…prior to this year we hadn’t done that style of music since 2016’s “Ritualis Aeterna” and I just wanted to see how much further we could improve on the ideas on that record.
CV: the band has stated that “The Year Walk” serves as a “closing to a long, arduous chapter in the band’s history.” Does such a statement, as well as the body of work presented in the trilogy, suggest that Malacoda may be considering going into a whole new musical direction or writing style for future material and releases?
Lucas: All of our releases have been pretty different. Our first record sounds very prog metal/nu metal sounding, “Ritualis Aeterna” is obviously a symphonic record, “Restless Dreams” a prog metal one… We’ve always been, I don’t want to say constrained, but maybe pushed into writing things a certain way by who was producing the project or who was involved with the band at the time. I love symphonic metal, I really do, but as I’ve gotten older I don’t think it’s something that really resonates with me anymore.
When I look at what I’ve been listening to lately
it hasn’t been the same kind of music from when I started Malacoda. I’m not really into thrash or death metal the
same way I was when I was a teen…I don’t feel that need to rage out anymore. I
want to make music where I can be genuine and convincing.
I’m not the “roar, devil horns, fuck yeahhhh”
kinda guy, so I’m not going to try to pull that off.
CV: Do you believe artists are often more aware and in touch with their inner emotions and thoughts than non-artists due to the nature of their creative personalities? Would you then consider such awareness a benefit when it comes to composing music and songwriting?
Lucas: I don’t think so. I’ve met and worked with so many musicians who are so out of touch with themselves that it’s kind of sad. I own a studio so I’ve worked with a lot of musicians and a lot of them, when it’s their first record, still have this very forced and fake persona or belief because they are trying to be “cool” or something. A lot of musicians do this for the wrong reasons…a lot of them are trying to do it for fame, to get rich or even to just find a way to validate all the time and money they’ve spent trying to make it happen.
Trying to make money is fine, being in the public
eye is necessary, but if you aren’t actually enjoying the process of making art
and are just turning a blind eye to that…then it sucks for everyone involved.
I’ve met many artists who want to treat being in a band as a means to an end,
and it never works out. You have to go on the journey to get the end result,
but the secret is it never ends…so buckle up and enjoy the ride.
CV: Would having an in-depth knowledge of worldly topics provide a stronger pallet of songwriting tools for an artist as opposed to the artist who just writes based on personal experiences alone? Do you see one having more impact over the other in your opinion?
Lucas: Honestly I think having more wisdom, knowledge and experience is always good no matter what. Writing things based on personal experiences might let a listener connect with your art a bit easier and that could do well.
You want to touch people with your art and leave
a lasting impression. Metal and rock are great because it’s really the only
genre I can think of that embraces other things than personal experience in its
mainstream songwriting. I’m pretty sure we’re all into sci-fi, Egyptology and
whatever else Iron
Maiden wrote about in the 80’s because of the decision
to write about that stuff. I think either or can have just as strong an impact,
but I think the creator has to be genuinely into it and be genuinely honest
about their experiences. Otherwise it falls flat.
CV: From your experience, can specific songwriting styles or arrangement formulas pigeon hole a band over time, possibly even creating limitations or stagnation? Or does having one specific style create a level of freedom and uniqueness for both a songwriter and a band?
I think having a style is important, but one of
my favorite bands is Paradise
Lost and they’ve changed styles more times than we have. The thing I take
away from that is as long as it’s done well and the band is honest about it and
just really embraces that style in the moment, the true fans will get it, and
if not, well then you’ll have new fans.
CV: Would having a specific songwriting style or arrangement formula be more appealing to fans then as opposed to an artist or band having a widely diverse approach to their music and writing in your opinion?
Lucas: Stability and consistency is good because it’s predictable. But we can’t deny that there are a lot of bands that bounce around in style or have evolved over time. Look at Katatonia for instance. They started off as a melodic death metal band on their first album, became a doom/death band on the next, and then after that they did a gothic metal record and evolved that sound over time to where they are now. We’ve played with our own songwriting formulas and just winging it across different releases, at the end of the day it’s just making sure that the song doesn’t suffer from these creative decisions.
Kamelot has used
a similar songwriting formula on the past few records opening and ending tracks
are keyboard instrumentals, the opening single is usually in ¾ timing and has a
female guest vocalist. That band just keeps getting bigger and bigger though,
so it’s working and their fans are eating it up. I think as an artist you also
have to do it for yourself, that’s the only way you can come up with convincing
material. If doing a drone record where you just play feedback for an hour in
different pitches is your thing, then hey there might be an audience for it.
CV: Does music still hold a place in the hearts of our current culture of social media distancing and instant gratification? Does music still have the same meaning as it once did in our world? Or should the question: “did music ever really have a place in our culture’s heart?” first be asked?
Lucas: Music kind of feels like the thing you are ashamed of and keep locked up in the attic. Sure, you can hear it pounding around on the ceiling and getting frustrated until you go up there and give it attention, but it’s totally taken for granted and abused. Music is still important though because it’s still needed to make other forms of art - video games, films, theater all need music. Live music is a bit tougher, I don’t know how often people go to see bands play other than when the big guys come to town, but it’s not as much as it used to be.
I find a lot of people that are really into music…like
discussing it, nerding over it and stuff and actually building a community over
it, are people who like the music from video game soundtracks or movies. Some
of the best and most valid pieces of music that has come out this decade came
from soundtracks. I think music has a place in our culture, but it’s
transformed from what it used to be.
CV: What does music mean to you?
Lucas: To me music is a form of expression. It’s art, it’s escapism…it holds a kind of power that is wholly unique in the way it’s experienced by individuals. Music is integral to the human experience.
CV: In addition to “The Year Walk,” what more can we expect to see coming from Malacoda in 2022?
Lucas: We’re trying to figure out what we can do these days, I don’t know how I feel going on tour and it’s not really because I’m being overly cautious about COVID. I’m trying to figure out logistically if it’d be financially viable to go on tour with so many places still having restrictions on capacity and stuff.
It’s a weird time. We’ve got a new drummer so I
think we’ll be spending some time writing new material and really developing
the direction we want to go in. We’ll probably have some snippets of stuff in
2022 once we’ve developed things a bit more.
CV: Thank you again for spending some time talking and sharing with our readers. I wish you all the best and continued success.
Lucas: Thanks for having me on, it was a pleasure.
Check out Malacoda at:
Official: www.malacodametal.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MalacodaBand/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/malacodametal?igshid=w228qqemi2lz
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0uSMLxN5CQhtsuekp5sGqe?si=Xgzoc6k6SI-6luMdUH7vyg
Bandcamp: https://malacoda.bandcamp.com/album/ritualis-aeterna
Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCLPNpJWXL5ejV2X03ZHwXYg
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My name is Mick Michaels...I'm an artist, music fan, songwriter, producer, show host, dreamer and guitarist for the traditional Heavy Metal band Corners of Sanctuary. Writing has always been a creative outlet for me; what I couldn't say in speech, I was able to do with the written word. Writing has given me a voice and a way for me to create on a multitude of platforms including music and song, articles, independent screenplays, books and now, artist interviews. The Cosmick View is an opportunity to raise the bar and showcase artists in a positive and inspirational light. For me, it's another out-of-this-world adventure.
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