INTERVIEW: Konquest

Italy’s Heavy Metal traditionalists KONQUEST released an amazing debut album in 2021, below is a conversation with main-man Alex Rossi who handles everything on the record.

1. Greetings, let’s start with the basic introductions, I know KONQUEST as a classic-style Heavy Metal band who keep it old school! But how would you like to introduce your band to us?
   
   Hey there! Yes, basically it’s a classic Heavy Metal project from me (Alex), which I always wanted to start since I was a kid, but never had the time or the rights spirit to do it. Until the fall of 2019, the time when everything finally started.
   
   
2. You hail from Italy. Italy has a rich history of some of the most cult and quality Metal music. Do you find kinship to any Italian bands new or old that you’d like to mention? 
   
   There are so many metal bands from Italy since the fall of 70’s, many of them are really good and they did great things during their times, but actually the only two that I want to recomend are Strana Officina and Sabotage, both came from near my city. Classic stuff!
   
   
3. Getting to the important stuff (music), you released a single pre-album demo in 2020 followed by your LP debut the following year. Was this demo more geared to gaining fans or label attention and did you achieve your goals with it?
   
   Yeah it worked a lot I have to say! I recorded it both to hear an opinion from the public and to attract the attention of some labels, and right after I posted it on the Keep It True page, Bart Gabriel of Iron Oxide / Skol Records wrote me to tell me he was interested in releasing a full length.
   
   
4. The debut album “The Night Goes On” seems to be one of those modern cult gems that may not have been on magazine covers, but true old school metallers love it (myself included). Are your plans world domination or do you feel more at home in the underground?
   
   Well I’d be telling a lie if I said I don’t care to get any higher (I think that’s a bit the plan of most people who have a band anyway!). So yes, if there was a way to emerge a little from the underground I’d be happy. I hope what I do continues to please the public!
   
   
5. As a fellow solo musician, what are your reasons for preferring to record the music yourself and having hired guns live? Will this always be the way for KONQUEST?
   
   I do everything by myself because it is much easier to write the parts and to agree with a head and that’s it for the arrangements and everything. And I really think I will do so forever!
   
   
6. Going back to “The Night Goes On” what do you feel gives this album such a special feeling and also how does the wicked cover art tie into that? The production feels very natural (presumably analog) which gives it a certain warmth. But I am sure you can explain far better than me guessing, knowing what went into it. 
   
   I simply put all my influences accumulated up to now on the record and tried to give it a cover suitable for the sound it has. There is no precise idea behind the concept of the cover, I had this image in mind and I had the guy who takes care of the artwork do it, all very easy! And no, there is absolutely nothing analog in the recording of the record but all digital editing to make it as “ old school sounding ” as possible. The magic of technology heheheh.
   
   
7. KONQUEST is clearly a band influenced by the old school. Personally the biggest parallels I can draw your music to would be HEAVY LOAD, THIN LIZZY and then a bunch of NWOBHM bands like HOLOCAUST, DEMON etc. Could you tell us who your Heavy Metal heroes are?
   
   Exactly, Heavy Load and Thin Lizzy were the main influences for this album. But actually in general heavy metal is the genre I listen to the least (I have already reached saturation for some time heheheh), my musical heroes apart from the great metal classics we all know are Robert Fripp, Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush. And Phil Collins for sure.
   
   
8. Lastly, as I like to keep things straightforward, what are the plans? Is album 2 underway? What can we expect from it and for those of us lucky enough to see you live, what will a KONQUEST show involve?
   
   Sure! The second album is already recorded and in press (I think!). It will still be quite different from The Night Goes On, less epic and less raw, and the sounds are very different, but you will judge… Regarding the shows, there will be nothing sensational, just 4 or 5 guys trying to play the songs at their best … or at least we try!
   
   Thank a lot for the interview, I was delighted!