Doomed Confessionary: Dan, Anth, Stephen & Alex (Aganoor)
Aganoor is a four-piece doom metal band from Rome, Italy. The band just released their highly anticipated debut album »Doomerism« on June 6th, 2025 via My Kingdom Music / BloodRock Records. The astonishing cover artwork was realized by Mirkow Gastow (Pentagram, Clouds Taste Satanic, Stöner).
With influences as diverse as Cathedral, Goatsnake, Type O Negative, Danzig and Tiamat, Aganoor moves from the Eternal City creating an oppressive doom metal wrapped in a gothic breeze, and blended with the retro tones of the rawest of stoner rock. Their music is claustrophobic, yet hypnotic, a Doom Metal characterized by massive, down-tuned riffs and psychedelic atmosphere.
Dan Ghostrider (vocals), Anth Maelstrom (guitar), Stephen Drive (bass) and Alex Leonov (drums) are the protagonists behind Aganoor, and they are about to present their music, which appears like a heavy ritual shrouded in mist on the shores of a lake.
Can you please say a few words about your band?
Anth: The band was born from my idea around March 2023, previously I had psych rock/shoegaze/post-punk groups and I wanted to play something heavier that I had been missing for a long time. During the first rehearsals the line-up was not yet defined, there were a few changes in the line-up, there was not even a name, nor a precise direction, there was a great desire to play and the first riffs were born that would later become the first songs. The following summer I met Stephen at The Obsessed concert, we already knew each other from previous experiences, with his entry the songs were more structured, the rehearsals intensified, and new ideas were born, at that moment the band was a trio, without a stable drummer yet.
Shortly thereafter Alex, also an old friend, joined the line-up. Alex is a solid drummer, a real sure thing behind the skins, he is a veteran of the Roman metal scene, his heavy touch has helped to better define the band’s sound. In autumn Dan joins the band on vocals, and completes the line-up, he is also an old acquaintance, his versatile voice adapts immediately, in a few months the songs were finished and we are ready to enter the studio, so we arrive at March 2024. Regarding the publication with BloodRock Records there were already relationships from previous productions, with My Kingdom we approached during a death metal festival, we did not know that the two labels collaborated in partnership for some releases and it was a pleasant surprise to see the interest of both. They are doing a great job of promotion both for the band and for the digipack/vinyl editions of our first album »Doomerism«.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
Stephen: For a recently formed band like ours the biggest challenge was to be able to blend at best all the different musical influences of each one of us to achieve something that sounded personal and not derivative. In other words: creating the distinctive sound of Aganoor, the one that can be heard in our debut album »Doomerism«.
What can you be most proud of so far?
Aganoor: We are extremely satisfied with how our first album came out. The final result is exactly what we wanted, both in terms of sound and graphics. Another thing that makes us satisfied is the good reception and all the positive feedbacks that it is receiving from everyone, insiders and listeners.
What was your biggest regret?
Aganoor: At moment we have no regrets as a band.
Stephen: In the music field my only regret is to have spent too much time in the past in projects that had no possibilities to evolve and reach some concrtets results.
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
Stephen: Although we are a new band, we have played a number of gigs so far, but if I had to choose one as the best I would undoubtedly say our very first gig, when we played in our hometown opening for one of the most important bands in the Italian doom scene. We didn’t really know what to expect but the response of the audience was simply fantastic and this gave us a lot of strength to tackle future engagements.
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
Stephen: See how quickly in recent years several bands have gone from the status of local underground bands to that of world-class artists. This gives some hope to all those who continue to make original music with passion and dedication.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Aganoor: 70s rock, psychedelic rock, acid rock, classic and modern doom metal, gothic rock, shoegaze, 90s rock, stoner, heavy are all genres that we have in common in our heavy musical rotation so they also find space as influences in our songs.
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
Stephen: I know it sounds strange, but I don’t think I ever received any advice as a musician (or maybe just useless advices that I quickly forgot)… anyway, I think I wouldn’t have followed them and would have continued to do things on my own way, experimenting to find what was right for me.
What are your guilty pleasures?
Aganoor: Tricky question, better not to answer this one and go straight to the next one!
Can you say something more about the current music scene in Rome?
Aganoor: In our city there are some world-class bands and literally tons of really interesting underground bands. Despite the many closures in recent years, many venues of various types and levels still survive.
All this is positive, and the underground scene is quite lively despite some obvious difficulties. In particular, the stoner/doom genre continues to be a hot one, with a good number of bands in our area.
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
Aganoor: We will play a couple of gigs in Italy this summer and we are planning a small European tour for next season.
What are your plans for the future as a band?
Aganoor: Organizing dates all over Italy and a tour in Europe, then writing our second album, these are all things we are already working on.
How can people best support your band?
Aganoor: Following our social pages, buying our merch on Bandcamp and spreading our music.
Also, we look forward to meeting you at our concerts.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Aganoor: Be positive and put passion into everything you do, take the right time to listen to music and doing anything makes you feel good and, of course, come and see us live if you get the chance!
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well