Selva Rossa interview!

Today we have an interview with a pretty unique and good Italian Black metal band that has a deep focus on their homes history and related topics and sentiments and more. As for me that dont know soo much about the country and its true culture/history and similar stuff i felt i got enriched by this talk.

1. Hailz and welcome to Swedens RAW WAR-zine the online side!

How is your day over in Italy?

- Hi Jan! Here in scorching Bologna it's almost 40 degrees, hot as hell ha ha.

2. I got intrigued when i found the band and after listening to the album i felt a need to

contact you to ask for this interview, before we dig deeper tell something about how you two met

up and how this specific direction was birthed, i understand you where/are also in the band Dim Arcana can you tell something about that as well please. What related musical influenses did you bond over?

- Diasper and I have been collaborating since 2008, we are friends and

we share the same musical interests. Selva Rossa and Dim Arcana's Black Metal

twin, in all respects, indeed I confirm that in principle Ire ad Patres should

have come out under the monicker Dim Arcana, we then created Selva Rossa so

as not to confuse the direction of the project too much.

In fact, the concept of the two bands revolves around themes set in the

Middle Ages, specifically SR speaks exclusively of the history of our city,

Bologna and its territory. Musically as you well know DA is Dark Ambient,

while SR, Black metal. Speaking of SR and my influences, I come from the

second wave of BM, I started listening to the genre in '94, the names are

the usual, Immortal, Marduk, Satyricon, Darkthrone, Abigor, Opera IX, ...

I played even in some bands in my area.

However, my main influence can be attributed to the Inchiuvatu, who showed

me the way forward.

3. Ok so for all of us that have no knowlage of the rich and obscured history of Bologna in Italy please point out some main points of importance here. From what i understand it was a place of power and conspiracies, was its actions something that reached places outside the country or was it more potent inside its borders?

What does Bologna means to you and how is it viewed in general from people these days?

-I love my city and its history and of course I love studying its roots and legends in depth. Bologna, like many Italian cities, has a troubled past of internal struggles and wars against near and distant enemies. You can still walk in the city center today and admire the old walls, towers and access gates, we also have the largest and best preserved historic center in Europe, the oldest university in Europe, precisely being a place of culture and a crossroads between northern and southern

Italy, the Bolognese citizen is not only someone born there, but someone who loves and respects Bologna.

4. So regarding this is the basis for this bands themes/lyrics can you go into some of the songs more direct lyrics? I cant read/speak more then some easy phrases of your great language so 98% of the content goes over my head.

Have you also some dramatical structure of the album regarding the song order etc? For me it feels well thought out at least in the musical department.

-There is no timeline based on a story or a real concept.

They are single and little-known stories that struck me, they speak of heroes who have no statues dedicated to them, of bizarre legends and of struggles against the eternal and hated master/enemy, the church of Rome, Bologna has always been rebellious and independent mind. The track "Fero e Aposa" deals with the legend of the genesis of the city at the time of the Etruscans, "The forgotten hero" instead of the defeat of Pope Julius.

The songs speak of a sense of belonging, of pride and sacrifice for one's own

city, understood at the time by Italian municipalities as a homeland.

Naturally we thought of a track list that opened and closed a circle, the intro that I played and composed was processed on a real tape to evoke the old demos of the 90s. The sound is deliberately retro, not to pose, but simply because we come from there.

5.Regarding the meaning of the album title "Ire Ad Patres" i only got this as an answer from the net:

-(gathered) to his fathers : deceased. I guess its not the full correct meaning?

-IRE AD PATRES, means to pass.

Specifically: fight and die for your cause and honor your family.

The use of Latin in the album titles of SR and Dim Arcana is a trademark to underline the wisdom that linguistic/historical roots bring to our European history. A sort of monastic code, I would like to point out that it is also the main reason why I sing in Italian, English is used in rock/pop culture

to reach the masses, being phonetically melodic.

In SR and DA I don't sing, I prefer to be genuine.

A curiosity: the Bolognese dialect does not derive from Latin, but from Celtic

and Etruscan.

6. Is this project something that is a one done deal or are you planning for further creations under this banner? If you ask me i think Selva Rossa has much to give and i feel it also salutes your countries Black metal past and enriches its future. Also how was it to work with the label Metal Hell Records?

-We have been working on two albums by Dim Arcana for a while, Selva rossa

is a spin off that will hardly see the light of day a second time, also because

my commitments don't allow me to constantly follow many bands

(I'm currently working on an industrial project metal). Furthermore Diasper has left the Band, follows other matters, we are still in contact and remains a mentor and soul of both projects.

Metal Hell has helped and supported the band with professionalism and dedication, in Italy it is rare to find someone who invests without having certainty of a match or moved by simple passion, a very rare commodity.

7. We have reached the end by now, thanks for your time and last word is yours!

-Many thanks to you Jan and RAW WAR 'zine for the interest in SR and

also Dim Arcana, greetings to all, see you "under the arcades".

Einzl

Anno 2023

Take a listen here:

https://metalhellrecords.bandcamp.com/album/ire-ad-patres