An NCS INTERVIEW: ADE

Diocletianus: Lock and load! We can’t wait to play around our new stuff!

The band was founded in 2008 and spread. Back then you were focused on the history and culture of Ancient Rome. How did you come up with the idea that death metal could improve this concept?

Fabius: It was simple! We’ve merged our two passions: death metal and the history of our city. In the early 2000s, extreme metal bands with lyrical themes related to historical civilizations, like the Norse or the Ancient Egyptians, became very popular and it was just natural for us to mess with our own history.

What kind of bands served you as guidelights in those first years? Did you search for a specific sound or some instrumental features?

Fabius: Like most bands, we took inspiration from the myths of our genre (Nile, Behemoth, Decapitated, Morbid Angel…) but, to be honest, we’ve built up and codified our own personal sound and style, never preventing evolutions or changes, though.

By the way, what does Ade mean? I found only Latin translations – like “indeed”, “exactly”.

Fabius: So, Ade is an Italian word, coming from “Hades” in Latin, which in turn comes from the ancient Greek. In the very beginning of the band, some classical mythology other-than-Roman was involved in the lyrical themes. We soon decided to focus on Rome exclusively, but the name stuck.

To have folk instruments in the mix could be a challenge for many extreme metal bands; just like keyboards – you have to use it wisely. How difficult was it to keep all the elements of the new album balanced?

Fabius: It’s not easy to “tame” the ancient instruments and the epic atmosphere they create, and to then blend it with the death metal fury, but it’s something we work on more and more with every record. Unlike our last two LP’s, we decided to use REAL ancient instruments (just like we did in our first albums Prooemium Sanguine and Spartacus), trying to balance out everything but prioritizing the “death metal” root and laying down a bit the “folk” one.

What kind of instruments did you use in this recording? How did you record these parts in the studio, and in mixing and mastering the songs?

Fabius: We used Oud, Saz, Darbouka, Ney, Kinnor, Doholla, Djembè, Frame Drums, Udu Drums, Cabalonga and Shaker. They are almost all instruments of oriental/mediterranean origin, perfect to evoke the atmospheres of Roman history.

We recorded these instruments even before entering the studio to record the band, and we’ve then mixed and mastered them together with the rest.

Will you use samples of folk instruments on your gigs? Did you ever play with live folk instruments?

Fabius: I really wanted to collaborate again on this album with Simone D’Andrea, a friend and partner of past musical adventures. For the first two albums he was a member of the band; he had recorded all the folk instruments and played live some of them too.

Then, for obvious logistical reasons, after the recordings of Spartacus we‘ve decided not to bring these instruments on stage anymore, but to only use the samples from the records. For the following albums we had opted for a more “cinematic” style sound-wise, and thus were working with virtual instruments and samples. For Rise of the Empire, I did try to include Simone in the studio sessions, but for various reasons the collaboration did not come to be. Now though, I am happy to have succeeded in giving birth to what I consider a powerful, modern album with a soul and a true atmosphere, like our first works did.

Today, bringing all these instruments up on the stage on a regular basis would be impossible, much like it is for a symphonic metal band to bring an entire orchestra live all the time.

The only core member of Ade is Fabius (guitars), while the band’s other current members Severus (guitars), Iulianus (bass), and Atticus (drums) didn’t take part in creating your previous album Rise of the Empire (2019), which Diocletianus (vocals) did. How did you share the duties in the band during the composing of Supplicium?

Diocletianus: I started to occasionally write the concept of Supplicium during the lockdown of 2020. After realizing its potential, I defined it and presented it to Fabius divided into chapters (the current songs of the album).

Fabius: I entered into the concept of each lyric and embroidered the music on top of it, always in continuous support with Diocletianus.

You have the album dedicated to the Punic Wars (Carthago Delenda Est from 2016), there’s the album Spartacus (2013) in your discography and it’s dedicated to the riot of Spartacus himself. The new album’s title Supplicium could be translated as “suffering”. What’s the main concept of these songs?

Diocletianus: Unlike our previous releases (set in a specific time or dedicated to a single person), I decided to look at all of Roman history, searching for the worst and meanest tortures and the most violent characters. All real. The best thing is that I was spoiled for choice; there’s material for two more LP’s.

Then I’d like you to comment on the lyrics in detail, as I doubt that we’ll be able to get into their meanings without your help. Can you?

Diocletianus: As I said, nothing came up from my imagination. Some songs speak about specific characters: i.e., “Oderint Dum Metuant” is a sum of how sick and twisted the emperor Caligula was; “Burnt Before Gods” tells of a moment during the christian persecution under Diocletianus (the real one!); and “Taedium Vivere” is about the suicide of the philosopher Seneca.

Other tracks go on more or less about common sentences: damnatio memoriae (cursed to be erased from history and forgotten) in “Let There Be Oblivion”, crucifixion in “Patibula”, being mangled by beasts in “Ad Bestias!”, or the military condemnation in “Quartered By Chariots”, where the charged were tied up to horses running in opposite directions. Then a couple of songs speak about peculiar tortures and displays of madness and sadism, like “Vinum” which is about the notorious Bacchanalia of 186 B.C. and “From Fault to Disfigurement” where a group of Roman aristocrats have fun tossing their slaves in a pool full of morays and watching them awfully die.

It’s all concentrated in the opening track, Ave Dis Pater, where all these poor dead souls wander under the aegis of the god of the underworld, Pluto, also known as Dis Pater (Dite in Italian). They originally were different entities, but during the centuries they kind of merged in the common perception.

Diocletianvs, how did you collect the material for lyrics like this? Did you read some special literature or did you have other sources for your texts?

Diocletianus: Both of them: In our culture it’s easy to find references and sources about these kinds of subjects, but in some cases I took info directly from ancient roman historiographers, like Ab Urbe Condita Libri of Titus Livius for “Vinum”.

How does this killer artwork fit the lyrics? This one suits the band perfectly; how did you work with the artist?

Fabius: We wanted our artwork to be both traditional, inspired by ancient designs, but also in an original style, and we fell in love with the art of David Glomba. We saw some of his previous works that recalled to us the ancient pottery with their two-dimensional drawings. We immediately contacted him asking him to give body to the concepts that are present in Supplicium.

In the artwork there are references to the songs around a representation of Pluto, god of the underworld.

Diocletianvs:  We’ve thought a lot about the new artwork, and I believe that this “ancient vase” style, other than well-drawn, is pretty unusual and very original.

Indeed, this choice is great! I don’t remember if anyone used something like this before. And it’s a great image to be represented in all types of merch. How many editions of Supplicium are already planned? By the way, do you wear t-shirts of other bands?

Fabius: You can already pre-order Supplicium in Digipack, Vinyl and Cassette for the nostalgics. Before being a musician, I was a metal boomer, a lover of everything metal related. I continue to show off band t-shirts at the concerts I attend and not only there.

Italy is known for its prog scene, with some bands relating to the Italian Dark Sound and things in-between. What can you tell us about death metal traditions in your region?

Fabius: Our country has been showing its class in extreme metal for a long time. The only thing I can say is that we are proud of all of our “colleagues” and to be part of the circle.

Any names?

Fabius: Considering only our region, we have: Hour of Penance, Hideous Divinity, Devangelic, Helslave. We’ve also shared the stage with them on multiple occasions.

What are your plans for 2025? Do you already have a touring schedule? How tense is it?

Fabius: We are working to bring the songs from Supplicium live and we are very torn about the setlist. We have reached the fifth album and choosing is becoming increasingly difficult… we can tell you that Supplicium will be the protagonist in the next shows. At the moment, we have two confirmed shows: 28/02/2025 at the Beyond the Grave Festival in London and 13/06/2025 at the Czech Death Fest in Czech Republic. We will definitely add more and confirm them asap!

Thanks to you and to all those who support us! Valete optime!

Thanks for the interview gents! I wish you all the best in the promotion of Supplicium! May the ancient gods help you in your endeavors!

https://adelegions.bandcamp.com/album/supplicium
https://adelegions.bandcamp.com/merch
https://timetokillrecords.com/en-us/collections/ade-supplicium

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