When I received the Deathless Legacy album for review, I must say that I left it festering for a bit in a folder on my hard drive, (gone are the days of physical promos! boo-hoo) so much so that my hard drive actually crashed (but then again after seven years that was to be expected I suppose – how this thing wasn’t cursed)! As far as curses and the macabre goes, as soon as I actually did put the album on, I was greeted with a symphonic horror metal hybrid, fronted by a succubus by the name of Steeva... and I should have guessed that these guys+girl worship at the altar of classic horror/doom icons Death SS, so much as to be made in their image, only as a twisted “hermaphrodite” child... that had to change the spelling to avoid trouble. With Death SS festering in their coffins for the foreseeable future, I can’t really say that I didn’t find this offering quite fit to quench my thirst for blood... ehm pardon, my search for some fine heavy metal. Enjoy their frontwoman Steeva and what she had to say about their “coven”.
Hi Steva and welcome to Grande Rock. I really fancy your new album; I do think that it’s your best release to date. Kudos!
S: Hello there to you and to all the Grande Rock readers, it is a pleasure for me to be able to answer your amazing questions and thank you so much for your words!
The band is relatively “new” at least under the “DL” name as it used to perform as a Death SS tribute... do tell us a few things about the past and how the band came together etc.
S: Everything started from me and Frater Orion, we built this project in 2006 under the name of Deathless, The Cyborg joined us within a couple of months and we started to create everything concerning DL. We had this strong idea of playing wearing our fears’ dresses and to create a show where music and theater were mixed. Line-up change after line-up change we arranged to give birth to our first release, “Rise from the Grave” (2014). That was the year when we played with the great Rob Zombie and he was like a lucky charm for us since everything started to go in the right way after that unforgettable gig. At the end of 2014, Alex van Eden (Alessio Lucatti) joined our army of putrescence and in 2015 we won the Italian Wacken Metal Battle. That win brought us to Wacken Open Air and that was the most amazing thing we have ever experienced. After thousands of miles, we came back to Italy and we started to work on “The Gathering”, which was released in 2016. After an intense year of touring through Italy, we closed ourselves in our crypts, at the end of 2016, to start to work on “Dance With Devils”, which saw the light in January 2017.
Were you forced to change the name due to copyright issues?
S: Yes, Deathless was a Square Enix copyrighted product and we decided to launch a survey on our Facebook Page to let our undead-army decide how to baptize ourselves. And, luckily, they picked our favorite one.
Your style is quite reminiscent to obviously DSS, but there are influences of other great horror rock/metal bands... who are your heroes other than Steve Sylvester (hence Steva)?
S: Well, Till Lindemann. He’s a poet, he’s a mountain, he’s creative and he’s powerful. I wish I’ll be able to be the same as him when I’ll be his age. And King Diamond, of course; I feel like he’s a mentor for me: I’ve dreamed a lot reading his creepy stories, I love every of his album (and everything by Mercyful Fate as well). He’s my main inspiration (besides all the horror books I love) when it comes to write my lyrics.
How did a nice girl like you end up singing about devils and all that?! And how do you feel that being a woman in a band has changed since the 80s – then a rarity, now pretty common? – Do fans treat you differently or just like one of the guys?
S: I am a random girl during my everyday life: I have to deal with anger, I have to bite my tongue in so many occasions, and I have to cover my “Mr Hyde”. Deathless Legacy is where my demons are free, where they rule through myself. I have always been in love with horror, since childhood I have been loving horror movies and horror books: to give birth to a horror metal band has given substance to my natural inclination. I don’t like people treating female-fronted metal bands in a different way: we are like men, we can be sweet, we can be nice, but you never know if we are witches as well. And trust me: we are. Besides a couple of assholes yelling me stupid stuff like “Get Naked!” while I was singing, everyone treat me like one of the guys. I have the Devil by my side; I hope that scares the douchebags.
In your opinion what sets DL apart from other bands “dabbling” in occult/horror metal?
S: We truly worship the Devil, we are witches for real, it’s 50% acting and 50% reality!
What does the album title “Dance with Devils” declare?
S: It declares our inner devils’ will to feel the amazing sensation of being free, it declares our personality which is growing day by day, gig after gig.
Do tell us a few things about each track…
S: “Dance with Devils”: The curtains come up.
“Join the Sabbath”: Majesty.
“Heresy”: It’s deep, powerful, thrilling, I get goose bumps every time I sing the chorus.
“Witches’ Brew”: It’s a badass song, fast like a bullet, cursed like Hell. It’s funny yet macabre.
“Headless Horseman”: The “Headless Horseman” is one of my greatest fears ever. I don’t know why, but the idea of a creepy monster without the head stilling people’s one, creeps me out.
“The Black Oak”: I love the bridge of this song, I love the chorus of this song, and I love the performance of this song.
“Lucifer”: We had to tribute our master and we have chosen the sexy industrial way which turns into a 70s pandemonium in the special. Plus, it contains Dante’s hendecasyllabic metres from the “Inferno”.
“Voivode”: Eu Sunt Dracula!
“Curse of the Waltz”: If you love to dance, I suggest you to listen to this song. Because maybe, then, you will fear dancing.
“Devilborn”: Beast mode on.
“Creatures of the Night”: That should be the hymn of every dark, creepy and freaky person or thing.
How come you hooked up with Scarlet Records? How’s your cooperation with the label in general?
S: We love our label and we are truly proud of it. It was a lucky strike for us.
Your videos seem to be on the “funny/campy” side, while for some people dabbling in the occult metal, that whole ideology was “at least" superficially serious” and they don’t break character as much. Are any of you seriously involved in spiritualism and or the occult?
S: Yes, we are. That’s why we feel ourselves so comfortable to joke about it. Plus the Devil himself is a tricker, he’s funny!
What does the future hold for a band like you, and what are your expectations from “Dance with Devils”?
S: We hope to be productive like we have been in the last three years, to tour abroad and to curse the entire world with our shows.
In recent years it has become more and more challenging for small/newer bands to sell albums or even go on tour with the entire system being rigged and “pay to play” deals for even the smallest pro tours... how do you cope?
S: It is really hard; unfortunately unless you are a very rich lucky one it is pretty hard to do everything at the right time. But we do and we have done so many sacrifices to achieve our goals and we are really happy to see new faces in our audience, happy undead-customers sending us pictures with our album. It is always an amazing pleasure for me and for us all.
Are you going to tour in support of “Dance with Devils”? Any chance you might do a gig in Greece?
S: Yes, right now we are touring in Italy. We have plans to tour in Europe as well and it would be a huge pleasure for me to do some gigs in Greece, being a philosophy student and a philosophy lover!
Time for our “weird questions”: Choose the “Master of Horror” – Alice Cooper, Steve Sylvester, King Diamond, Rob Zombie, or someone completely different (ie Arthur Brown)?
S: Argh, that is mean! I have to say King Diamond, his stories creep me out.
Which one of the Goddesses from the ancient Pantheon would you like to be and why?
S: I’d said Hecate, for obvious reasons...
If you could “erase” one thing from today’s music industry, what would it be?
S: Maybe the will to make everything looks so perfect without being it.
Are “social media” a “compulsory part” of music biz these days or bands, artists & labels can do without them as well?
S: Nowadays it would be really difficult to find audience outside the borders of one’s Country without “social media”. But they don’t have to turn into madness nor a fucking disease.
Which is the record you wish you had written and why?
S: That’s hard as well. Maybe “The Puppet Master” by King Diamond. I love the story, I love the atmospheres, I love each songs.
Fill in the phrase… “Horror Metal wouldn’t have evolved the way it did, if it hadn’t been for…”
S: Edgar Allan Poe…
Which are the best 3 Horror Metal albums of all time according to you?
S: “Them”, “In Death of Steve Sylvester”, “Abigail”…
Top 3 horror movies of any era?
S: “Dawn of the Dead”, “Night of the Living Dead”, “The Exorcist”.
Which do you consider to be the best male & female vocalist in metal history?
S: I’ve tried to find an answer but it’s really hard!
Were you obliged to give just one album to extraterrestrials that would represent the whole human music, which album would it be and from which band/artist?
S: “Space Oddity” by David Bowie.
If you had the chance to travel in time… where would you choose to go? To the past or the future and why?
S: I’d like to see the world as it was when it was just a “baby” but I’d love to go in the future to see what the NASA would have discovered.
What’s the worst thing one can say right after sex?
S: “I thought you were taller”, I have some problems accepting the fact that I’m a damned Smurf!
Which of the Seven Deadly Sins do you reckon is the one, that’s more likely to send you straight to Hell, in the afterlife?
S: Argh. That’s reeeeally hard. I fear all of them; I already have my place booked in Hell.
Which character from the “Game of Thrones” would you have been – if you lived in the Seven Kingdoms?
S: Tyrion Lannister – mostly because I’m short.
Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview, Steva. Say anything you feel like saying before we close. Take care!
S: It was a pleasure for me to have this great chat with you, thank you so much Rockavlon and thank you so much to Grande Rock. Join our Sabbath!
S: Hello there to you and to all the Grande Rock readers, it is a pleasure for me to be able to answer your amazing questions and thank you so much for your words!
The band is relatively “new” at least under the “DL” name as it used to perform as a Death SS tribute... do tell us a few things about the past and how the band came together etc.
S: Everything started from me and Frater Orion, we built this project in 2006 under the name of Deathless, The Cyborg joined us within a couple of months and we started to create everything concerning DL. We had this strong idea of playing wearing our fears’ dresses and to create a show where music and theater were mixed. Line-up change after line-up change we arranged to give birth to our first release, “Rise from the Grave” (2014). That was the year when we played with the great Rob Zombie and he was like a lucky charm for us since everything started to go in the right way after that unforgettable gig. At the end of 2014, Alex van Eden (Alessio Lucatti) joined our army of putrescence and in 2015 we won the Italian Wacken Metal Battle. That win brought us to Wacken Open Air and that was the most amazing thing we have ever experienced. After thousands of miles, we came back to Italy and we started to work on “The Gathering”, which was released in 2016. After an intense year of touring through Italy, we closed ourselves in our crypts, at the end of 2016, to start to work on “Dance With Devils”, which saw the light in January 2017.
Were you forced to change the name due to copyright issues?
S: Yes, Deathless was a Square Enix copyrighted product and we decided to launch a survey on our Facebook Page to let our undead-army decide how to baptize ourselves. And, luckily, they picked our favorite one.
Your style is quite reminiscent to obviously DSS, but there are influences of other great horror rock/metal bands... who are your heroes other than Steve Sylvester (hence Steva)?
S: Well, Till Lindemann. He’s a poet, he’s a mountain, he’s creative and he’s powerful. I wish I’ll be able to be the same as him when I’ll be his age. And King Diamond, of course; I feel like he’s a mentor for me: I’ve dreamed a lot reading his creepy stories, I love every of his album (and everything by Mercyful Fate as well). He’s my main inspiration (besides all the horror books I love) when it comes to write my lyrics.
How did a nice girl like you end up singing about devils and all that?! And how do you feel that being a woman in a band has changed since the 80s – then a rarity, now pretty common? – Do fans treat you differently or just like one of the guys?
S: I am a random girl during my everyday life: I have to deal with anger, I have to bite my tongue in so many occasions, and I have to cover my “Mr Hyde”. Deathless Legacy is where my demons are free, where they rule through myself. I have always been in love with horror, since childhood I have been loving horror movies and horror books: to give birth to a horror metal band has given substance to my natural inclination. I don’t like people treating female-fronted metal bands in a different way: we are like men, we can be sweet, we can be nice, but you never know if we are witches as well. And trust me: we are. Besides a couple of assholes yelling me stupid stuff like “Get Naked!” while I was singing, everyone treat me like one of the guys. I have the Devil by my side; I hope that scares the douchebags.
In your opinion what sets DL apart from other bands “dabbling” in occult/horror metal?
S: We truly worship the Devil, we are witches for real, it’s 50% acting and 50% reality!
What does the album title “Dance with Devils” declare?
S: It declares our inner devils’ will to feel the amazing sensation of being free, it declares our personality which is growing day by day, gig after gig.
Do tell us a few things about each track…
S: “Dance with Devils”: The curtains come up.
“Join the Sabbath”: Majesty.
“Heresy”: It’s deep, powerful, thrilling, I get goose bumps every time I sing the chorus.
“Witches’ Brew”: It’s a badass song, fast like a bullet, cursed like Hell. It’s funny yet macabre.
“Headless Horseman”: The “Headless Horseman” is one of my greatest fears ever. I don’t know why, but the idea of a creepy monster without the head stilling people’s one, creeps me out.
“The Black Oak”: I love the bridge of this song, I love the chorus of this song, and I love the performance of this song.
“Lucifer”: We had to tribute our master and we have chosen the sexy industrial way which turns into a 70s pandemonium in the special. Plus, it contains Dante’s hendecasyllabic metres from the “Inferno”.
“Voivode”: Eu Sunt Dracula!
“Curse of the Waltz”: If you love to dance, I suggest you to listen to this song. Because maybe, then, you will fear dancing.
“Devilborn”: Beast mode on.
“Creatures of the Night”: That should be the hymn of every dark, creepy and freaky person or thing.
How come you hooked up with Scarlet Records? How’s your cooperation with the label in general?
S: We love our label and we are truly proud of it. It was a lucky strike for us.
Your videos seem to be on the “funny/campy” side, while for some people dabbling in the occult metal, that whole ideology was “at least" superficially serious” and they don’t break character as much. Are any of you seriously involved in spiritualism and or the occult?
S: Yes, we are. That’s why we feel ourselves so comfortable to joke about it. Plus the Devil himself is a tricker, he’s funny!
What does the future hold for a band like you, and what are your expectations from “Dance with Devils”?
S: We hope to be productive like we have been in the last three years, to tour abroad and to curse the entire world with our shows.
In recent years it has become more and more challenging for small/newer bands to sell albums or even go on tour with the entire system being rigged and “pay to play” deals for even the smallest pro tours... how do you cope?
S: It is really hard; unfortunately unless you are a very rich lucky one it is pretty hard to do everything at the right time. But we do and we have done so many sacrifices to achieve our goals and we are really happy to see new faces in our audience, happy undead-customers sending us pictures with our album. It is always an amazing pleasure for me and for us all.
Are you going to tour in support of “Dance with Devils”? Any chance you might do a gig in Greece?
S: Yes, right now we are touring in Italy. We have plans to tour in Europe as well and it would be a huge pleasure for me to do some gigs in Greece, being a philosophy student and a philosophy lover!
Time for our “weird questions”: Choose the “Master of Horror” – Alice Cooper, Steve Sylvester, King Diamond, Rob Zombie, or someone completely different (ie Arthur Brown)?
S: Argh, that is mean! I have to say King Diamond, his stories creep me out.
Which one of the Goddesses from the ancient Pantheon would you like to be and why?
S: I’d said Hecate, for obvious reasons...
If you could “erase” one thing from today’s music industry, what would it be?
S: Maybe the will to make everything looks so perfect without being it.
Are “social media” a “compulsory part” of music biz these days or bands, artists & labels can do without them as well?
S: Nowadays it would be really difficult to find audience outside the borders of one’s Country without “social media”. But they don’t have to turn into madness nor a fucking disease.
Which is the record you wish you had written and why?
S: That’s hard as well. Maybe “The Puppet Master” by King Diamond. I love the story, I love the atmospheres, I love each songs.
Fill in the phrase… “Horror Metal wouldn’t have evolved the way it did, if it hadn’t been for…”
S: Edgar Allan Poe…
Which are the best 3 Horror Metal albums of all time according to you?
S: “Them”, “In Death of Steve Sylvester”, “Abigail”…
Top 3 horror movies of any era?
S: “Dawn of the Dead”, “Night of the Living Dead”, “The Exorcist”.
Which do you consider to be the best male & female vocalist in metal history?
S: I’ve tried to find an answer but it’s really hard!
Were you obliged to give just one album to extraterrestrials that would represent the whole human music, which album would it be and from which band/artist?
S: “Space Oddity” by David Bowie.
If you had the chance to travel in time… where would you choose to go? To the past or the future and why?
S: I’d like to see the world as it was when it was just a “baby” but I’d love to go in the future to see what the NASA would have discovered.
What’s the worst thing one can say right after sex?
S: “I thought you were taller”, I have some problems accepting the fact that I’m a damned Smurf!
Which of the Seven Deadly Sins do you reckon is the one, that’s more likely to send you straight to Hell, in the afterlife?
S: Argh. That’s reeeeally hard. I fear all of them; I already have my place booked in Hell.
Which character from the “Game of Thrones” would you have been – if you lived in the Seven Kingdoms?
S: Tyrion Lannister – mostly because I’m short.
Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview, Steva. Say anything you feel like saying before we close. Take care!
S: It was a pleasure for me to have this great chat with you, thank you so much Rockavlon and thank you so much to Grande Rock. Join our Sabbath!