Interview With Fomento

Sporting the whole 'anti-fashioncore' and anti-emo movement Fomento comes out of Italy with a good dose of 'Slayer-Core' metal. We had time to catch up with their current frontman: Marco Krasinski.

Inferal Masquerade: Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions. So, let’s get started:

I.M: What elements (musically and ideologically) are incorporated into the bands music and overall concept?
M.K: A couple of years ago our friend Damiano of Payback (legendary old-school Roman hardcore band) defined our style as “Slayer-Core” AHAH I think it’s pretty cool but to be more precise as far as other famous bands are concerned, our biggest influences are: Lamb of God, Hatebreed, Walls of Jericho and Chimaira. The are no other Italian bands playing thrash-core as we do, so I hope at the end of the day our music sounds original and fresh. Ideologically our biggest inspiration is the city we live in, which is Rome. Most of our songs are about self-empowerment and social criticism but I like to get the inspiration for the lyrics from the ancient world. I mean, afterall, after thousands of years, mankind keeps making the same mistakes over and over. 

I.M: How do you think the band has evolved from your formation in 2006 to the current status of the band in 2009?
M.K: Oh well, many things have changed. We started as trio and our first live show was on 06/06/06, can you believe it? Great night. Anyways, last year Fabrizio Damiani (rhythm guitar) joined us and since then we’ve been evolving and shaping our sound to new extremes trying to find our true dimension as musicians and as a band. We’re a big family and we like to consider FOMENTO as a unstoppable metal brotherhood. Well, Matteo is actually my brother in real life too, so the connection is pretty strong eheh.

I.M: What is the reason behind your ‘hatred’ towards fashion-core / emo’s? Was there a bad experience behind this? Do all band members support this ideology?
M.K: When I started writing that song I remember bands like Fall Out Boy and Tokyo Hotel were getting more and more exposure in the media and I couldn’t help but notice that in a manner of few months everywhere I looked there were some sad emo wannabes,  stressed about their crazy hair and tight jeans, yet so empty and ridiculous. So that gave me the inspiration to write this song. It’s not only about “EMO”, it’s about all those that follow blindly a trend, selling their souls to mass marketing, be it fashion, be it music. Of course the whole band supports the cause! Don’t you?!

I.M: Fomento is currently un-signed, any offers for a record deal with a label?
M.K: Actually I’m glad to let you know that we just inked a deal with Coroner Records for a worldwide release of our latest record “Either Caesars or Nothing”. The album is coming out in Europe and the USA and then probably Japan, we’ll see. The label was founded by acclaimed producer Ettore Rigotti (Disarmonia Mundi, Stigma, Slowmotion Apocalypse) and as it is know we’re really happy about how things are developing.

I.M: Talking about your debut album “Either Caesars Or Nothing”, what is the main concept behind the album and behind the lyrics?
M.K: The title is inspired by a passage of a book called the “The Sickness Unot Death” by philosopher Soren Kierkegaard. It’s about desperation and how man coops with it. When you try to achieve your goals and you do not succeed, you become desperate. But the source of your pain is not your unsuccess but the fact that you’ll have to coop with yourself not being able to achieve your goals. “Either Caesars or Nothing” is a concept album where modern society is analyzed and criticized through the glasses of the ancient Roman world.

I.M: The album will be released in North America in October, who is releasing the album? And how this deal happened?
M.K: As I said, the records is coming out on Coroner Records and as far as I know it should be distributed in the US by Relapse Records, but I’m not sure 100% so I guess we’ll find out in a couple of months. Of course it will be also available on iTunes, Amazon and stuff like that.

I.M: Is there any touring in the US planned to support this release? Any confirmed dates so far?
M.K: Not yet, but we truly hope that with the record out we’ll find away to come Holy Land of METAL. It would be a dream come true for sure. Got any booking agency or friend who would be interested in helping us out? ;)

I.M: For a ‘small’ band you guys have plenty of sponsors and have reached a well known status in the Italian scene. Why did you guys think this happened? Is it something that you set up as a goal for the band since the beginning?
M.K: We’ve always worked our asses off, playing shows in front of only 5 people (bar tender included) just for the sake of letting them know who we are and what we stand for. We give everything we’ve got on stage and the people can feel that. There are really few bands around that have a strong set of beliefs as we have, most of the bands you hear and see are all basically the same. We’re trying to make the difference somehow and make sure everyone knows! It’s not only about being super technical or heavy as shit, it’s about sending out a message and being coherent to it. ROMAN METAL RULES!

I.M: “Either Caesars Or Nothing” has been out for a while (in Europe), are you guys writing any new material? How would you compare it to the old songs?
M.K: Yeah, in Europe there is still a premix version of the album around which is what we used to get signed. The new release is going to be completely remixed, remastered, with many parts re-recorded and it includes two new tracks, “Cotard’s Syndrome” and “Burial at Sea” with a new artwork by Nerve Design (Nile, Legions of the Damned).  You can call it a “either Caesars or Nothing 2.0” if you wish eheh. As far as new material, we have already penned a couple of new tunes. What can I say? They’re fucking destructive! One of them sounds like “Angel of Death” but played by Chimaira and the other one, mhmhm let me think, it sounds like Megadeth playing a Lamb of God song. OK, I lied, it sound like FOMENTO, I hope you like it anyways AHAH  We may actually play one of them at our next shows, who knows. 

I.M: Where do you see Fomento in 5 years? What is the main goal of the band?
M.K: I really think that in 5 years we may have already our third album out man! AHAH Anyways, I t would be great if we managed to go out on tour with some major act, that would be really great. FOMENTO: your favourite European major-band supporting act AHAH! Wait, I forgot “world domination”, but everybody seems to aim at that so I think we’re gonna pass for now.

I.M: How has the internet (myspace, etc) and technology (cheaper recording tools) impacted how you promote your band?  What have been the advantages and disadvantages of this?
M.K: Oh man, the internet is the only way we know to promote our efforts. It’s the air we breathe. I think we’ve organized like 90% of our shows using MySpace and it took like six months before we met the guys from the label, it was all AIM before that! AHAH I love it! Cheaper recording tools you say? Well, we do use that stuff to demo our new material, all of the pre-production is “Cubased” as soon as we have our ideas set and clear yet I believe you gotta spend some money if you want a great sounding record. ;(

I.M: Again, thanks for the interview, is there anything else you want to add for our readers?
M.K: Thanks a lot for your time and to all of those who are reading right now, go check out FOMENTO at www.myspace.com/fomento ! Hell Yeah! MK

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