This interview is to be considered as part of our recent Epic Metal Blog Birthday Special, honouring our co-editor-in-chief Aidan on the occasion of his 19th birthday. Unfortunately, however, we had to postpone our talk with Angel Martyr because one of the band members was confronted with private matters that are much more important. We appreciate that singer and guitarist Tiziano alias Hammerhead took the time for us despite all hardships. We sincerely hope that the private situation will ease soon!

But let’s get to the music: It is obvious that Angel Martyr appear in our Aidan 19 Special, as their last studio album Nothing Louder Than Silence in 2021 was one of my colleague’s favourite records, which he also reviewed himself. We hope you enjoy reading – and if you don’t know this band from Italy yet, definitely give them a listen, it’s worth it!

André: On March 30, 2022, my Epic Metal Blog colleague Aidan celebrated his 19th birthday. What bands were you listening to at that age? And what books, movies or series were you most excited about back then?

Tiziano: Hello there, guys! Happy belated birthday to Aidan and thank you for your interest and passion for music! Well, when I was younger I listened mainly to Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Blind Guardian, Gamma Ray, Motörhead, Black Sabbath and Grave Digger. I remember perfectly that since I didn’t have internet at home, I usually ordered CDs by magazines and sometimes travelled to bigger cities to buy records in big music shops. I really loved watching horror movies on DVD back then (like It or The Exorcist), which I rented from some video stores, and I was a fan of the TV series The X-Files. I also read some historical books, mainly about the First and Second World Wars.

As most readers of our blog know, Aidan is my colleague, but first and foremost a great friend. It is indeed music that brought us together. Have you also had many good friendships develop over the years thanks to your shared passion for music?

I think I wouldn’t have so many friends if I hadn’t had metal music as a passion! Dario and Niccolò (bass player and drummer in Angel Martyr, AK) are great examples!

Aidan has chosen Nothing Louder than Silence as one of his favorite albums of 2021. How were the reactions in general that you caused with the record?

I really appreciate that! I’m always happy when young guys show interest in our music, it sounds like they are the “soldiers“ who will keep our faith alive, eheheh! Honestly, we had a good reaction wherever, it was unexpected, and it gave me so much happiness during the last hard pandemic period (that depressed me so much).

Can you estimate in which countries Nothing Louder than Silence was particularly well received?

I’m not sure about it… but we had some good reactions from Germany and Spain, mainly! Anyway, many people from all over Europe sent us messages, I really hope to meet them all at a concert one day!

We hope so too! Was there also a review that you were a bit annoyed about? Or was there a text that made you laugh?

No one annoyed us, maybe it was just a bit difficult to reply to everyone as we received a lot of interviews. As you can see (and as you knew, since we talked privately), I’m terribly late in responding to your questions, and I’m really sorry about that! It’s always a great pleasure for me to talk about us…. but sometimes life is hard to manage, especially when the band isn’t your job, eheheheh.

I would like to note here that Tiziano, of course, has nothing to apologise for. The communication about the missing interview was always open and honest – it could not have been better in this difficult private situation. (André)

Anyway, 2 or 3 times, since we are Italian, people have asked us in some interviews in the last years what kind of pasta and pizza we prefer! In case you’re curious, pasta carbonara and 4 formaggi pizza are my favourite ones ahahah.

Now I’m hungry, thank you… How do you yourself look at the record at this point? Many months have passed since the release – are you still completely satisfied with the final result? Or are there aspects where you say: “I definitely want to do that differently on our next album“?

The record definitely increased our social media followers and gave us enough money to cover all the production/promotion costs, but we should grow on Spotify to be completely satisfied, so I will work on that. That’s a point I’ll work on more for the next album, in addition our sound and songwriting will be more “mature“, but still in the full Angel Martyr style!

Sounds promising! How often have you actually had the opportunity to play your new songs live?

With the end of the pandemic restrictions, we played some gigs in 2021 and 2022, not so many and only in Italy, but it’s ok! For May we have some gigs planned in South Italy and we are making arrangements to play somewhere in Europe (hoping for a positive result).

Any chance that we’ll see you in Germany in the near future?

I definitely hope so! Some German people have been asking for it over the last few months! We would really love it!

I am sure that the German fans will enjoy you very much. With which bands would you like to go on tour together one day? Dreaming is allowed!

Eheheh, Iron Maiden of course…. but I’ll be rational, so I’d like to take part in some festivals (like KIT, UTH etc.) to share the stage with Visigoth (one of the best bands of the last years in my opinion) and again with our brothers Ironsword!

Visigoth, Ironsword and Angel Martyr – we should suggest to our colleague Ansgar from From Beyond Events to book this package. Aidan and I would definitely be up for it! A different topic: Are you already working on new Angel Martyr songs?

I’m always working on new stuff, but as a composer I’m very fussy, so I don’t bring new songs into the studio until they don’t sound prefect to my ears.

There are many exciting metal bands coming from Italy. Which band do you personally like the most? And do you have an insider tip for us? A band that we should definitely check out?

Italy has many good bands, I agree! Unfortunately, if you are comparing 2022 with some years ago, they are a bit scattered all over the country! We definitely miss a passionate audience supporting the concerts… we can say we’ve seen better times. Of course you know the old ones, like Skanners, Crying Steel and Strana Officina, excellent musicians in my opinion! I also love Stonewall, Alltheniko and Vultures Vengeance, and if you want to look beyond classic metal, I recommend Sinister Ghost, an extreme metal band!

The year 2022 is still quite young. But were there already releases from this year that could really excite you? And which record are you particularly looking forward to?

Well, I don’t know exactly…. there’s no particular release I’m waiting for at the moment…. but I love surprises! I think that the rage that the musicians kept inside during the whole pandemic period will be turned into good music! I will let you know which albums will make my head roll as hell in 2022!

Okay, we will check it later then… Last question: Aidan is a person who is very interested in history. Which city in Italy, which Germans might not have on their radar, should he definitely visit in the future?

I can tell you that Italy is full of history, especially if you visit small villages, you will discover something unexpected! It would be futile to remind you of the big names like Rome or Florence, everyone knows them…., so I suggest you to visit some historical cities like Verona, Lucca (and small towns in Tuscany), and why not, the Etruscan necropolis/acropolis near my village Populonia! Just text me if you decide to go there, I would cook a very special pasta alla carbonara for you ahahahah.

That sounds excellent. But I must warn you in advance: Aidan always has a blessed appetite. So plan an XXL portion of pasta for my friend… Tiziano, thank you so much for finding the time for Aidan and our blog despite the difficult circumstances. We hope to see you live in Germany soon! All the best for the future.

Thanks, guys, for your interest!