Today we have the honor of premiering the debut mini LP from Italian psychedelic doom metal act NEROMEGA, a dark and unapologetic anonymous collective aiming to channel their already potent and uniquely damning energy unto the wretched masses. ‘Nero Omega‘ is notably sung in Italian and spattered with the dried blood of a most classic era of horror rock and heavy metal yet they’re not in it to escape to ‘better days’, these four introductory pieces are as malevolent as they are memorable. Allow us to break the ice at this ninth level of Hell a bit with help from an interview with guitarist S.M. who has kindly answered a handful of questions for us. Scroll down at your own risk and check out the full stream for ‘Nero Omega‘, which will be available on several 12″ vinyl variants, digipak CD, cassette and digitally this coming April 11th through the folks at Helter Skelter Productions/Regain Records. Thanks goes to the band, their record label and their representatives for the opportunity to share this fantastic mLP a few days early!

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In the beginning… Well, where do we begin with Neromega? From what I gather the core friendships within the band had been forged a couple of decades ago and perhaps some members are aligned through Spiritual Front and/or extreme metal projects. What was the spark that set Neromega into motion?

(S.M.) Hey this is S.M. the guitarist answering. Basically the singer and I go way back and were involved already musically in some older projects. We discussed during the years to work on some music together… Then a friend of his suggested a loose idea for this specific project, and it went from there. If, and what the members are aligned to is not really relevant, as NEROMEGA stands alone from anything anyone of us has done previously or might be involved with simultaneously.

To me what matters is the idea and concept behind the project, and not at all who is in it. Members might come and go, and what bands each plays in won’t affect the outcome.

Was there a fully formed concept and vibe ready in hand, as in “psychedelic doom metal with a horror/Giallo atmosphere” when the group formed?

Not really. The project had another name originally and the only thing that was decided was the musical direction. I created the name, and the visual concept was a collaboration between me and the Painter who is behind our logos and artworks, who is also over two decades old associate of mine. He is like a band member and contributed to visualize the tone and mood of the music in an active way, and contributed in a major way to the final result which will be seen on the upcoming EP “Nero Omega”.

Our singer S.S. writes the lyrics so far, and that of course gives a specific colour to the final result, especially with Italian lyrics. That maybe will make some people less interested in the band , but it’s the only fixed idea we had to keep NEROMEGA a project with lyrics in our own tongue. Most bands singing in Italian fails and sounds embarrassing, so we wanted to do justice to this…in general, beside the old cults, the Italian scene is pathetic as the people who forms it. Rats and cheap hookers…

NEROMEGA stands against all scenes and will also partly serve as a tool to counteract and provoke the audience and the general PC /hipster turn that metal/hard rock has taken in the last years…there won’t be any YouTube live rehearsal or begging for support in these “hard times”. Personally I think hard times are good generally. Show No Mercy…

There is no restrictions on the themes we dealt or will deal with, as long as they fit the spectrum of the NEROMEGA idea.

Does Neromega have a maestro or main songwriter? Have you composed these pieces through rehearsals and jamming? It sounds like you’d finished up most of the work on this EP well before 2020’s pandemic slowed things down.

There’s no strict way to write, musically it’s us two guitarists who wrote the material, but it became what you hear on the EP, after rehearsing and [witnessing] the alchemy that was created during those. This isn’t automatic or plannable, it happens or not. I would not have gone through with it if the magic wasn’t there.

Paul Chain’s ‘Alkahest’ was my introduction to Italy’s exciting history of psychedelic and progressive rock inspired doom metal and I mention this because I’d thought I detected a hint of his non-improvised 80’s work as an influence within some of Neromega’s vocal patterns. Is classic Italian doom metal the main influence on ‘Nero Omega’? Or, is the spirit of dark 70’s heavy psych more important?

It would take pages to talk about musical or literary or visual inspirations…all is filtered through the lens which focuses and burn through the NEROMEGA portal…

“Alkahest” is a classic in that style, as the “Ash” ep and the “Life and Death” LP are, and most of Paul Chain earlier material as well. We aren’t trying to do a musical copy or have this or that influence. It’s all about creating a mood and keep it going in a flow that doesn’t sound like this or that. What was important to us was to have this ep recorded live in the studio and capture NEROMEGA as it is …

Choosing to cover Il Balletto di Bronzo’s “Un posto” takes us right to what many consider the impetus for Italian prog rock. ‘Sirio 2222′ is a bit of a lost classic, much like Flower Travellin’ Band’s ‘Satori’ where it hasn’t fully been passed on to the next generation with (enough) enthusiasm yet. Are there any particularly important ‘deep cut’ records you’d suggest for folks approaching Neromega’s sound today?

I believe people who would like NEROMEGA already know what cuts deep, hopefully not just in a musical sense… lately I mostly listen to the first four Danzig albums (Danzig 4 in particular), Slayer, Hawkwind, Museo Rosenbach, The Doors, Intolitarian, Klaus Schulze, King Crimson, Carnivore/ Type o Negative, Rammstein and Rose Tattoo…as you see not necessarily indicative of what NEROMEGA sounds like.

‘Nero Omega’ is intended as an introduction before your debut full-length is primed to arrive. First, you must be excited to put these songs to vinyl. Can we consider these four tracks on ‘Nero Omega’ a good barometer for the full-length’s sound and style?

Yeah, and the three original songs of the EP will also be included in the full length. The full album will expand NEROMEGA in all possible ways.

Is Neromega’s debut album still on track for 2021? I’d assumed it has already been written and recorded.

We are working on the album still, there’s no defined scheduled but the loose plan is to record it during 2021.

What is the best way for fans to support Neromega’s efforts?

Spread COVID-19 and fuck the world order…

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