Doomed Confessionary: Enrico Meloni (ExpiatoriA)
Photo by Stefano Caprilli
ExpiatoriA is a six-piece heavy metal metal band with doom and prog elements from Genoa, Italy, formed back in 1987.
The band’s first album »Shadows« (2022) is out via Black Widow Records and Diamonds Prod. It’s a treat for all fans of Mercyful Fate, Candlemass and old-school heavy metal with a hint of prog.
ExpiatoriA consists of AngeleX (vocals), Massimo Malachina (guitar, backing vocals), Roberto Lucanato (guitar), GB Malachina (bass), Flux Mörtis (keyboards) and Enrico Meloni (drums).
Can you say a few words about your band?
ExpiatoriA is a heavy doom band from Genoa, Italy. Born in 1987, with a few ups and downs along the way, and the release of demos and eps in its early years, the band found new life in 2022, when the critically-acclaimed debut album »Shadows« was published (via Black Widow Records and Diamonds Prod.).
With a renewed line-up, the band is as tight as ever and we’ve been busy playing gigs all over Northern Italy in the past two years. Having played as support band for acts like Goblin, Voivod, L’Impero Delle Ombre, Hell Theater to name but few, we just released a limited-edition tape called »Shadows – Live« (Diamonds Prod.) which contains our debut album in full plus a new song and a juicy bonus track for all fans of classic doom.
Our concerts are not just concerts – we love to take the audience on a journey with us, with a DIY yet professional stage presence and scenography, making it all very much like a theatrical piece, so if you come and see us live, we will never be just another band on the bill. Check out our videos and do come and see us live – you won’t regret it!
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
In the past, the band has had a few stop and go moments where it was disbanded, so I guess a challenge must have been finding the motivation, strength and people to start basically from scratch every time. Kudos to the Malachina brothers (Massimo, guitar, and GB, bass) for never giving up on their childhood dreams.
Since I joined the band, we had a tough moment when we changed the vocalist, which serves as an excuse to pay tribute to our former frontman, Krieg, who was very important in the evolution of the band and whose outstanding performance can be heard on »Shadows«. Luckily we found Angelex who kills it every time we play a gig and was able to find his role and space within the band with his awesome voice. We’re very happy about our line-up as of now.
What can you be most proud of so far?
We’re keeping momentum, something which is not easy when you have 6 different humans with families, jobs and other commitments going on. We’re able to meet and rehearse once a week and do gigs on a regular basis whilst having a great time together (they once asked us “are you sure you play doom metal?”) – what else?
What was your biggest regret?
Personally, I could have been in the band when they played with Voivod in Genoa, our city, in Summer 2022, but I was on my honeymoon and still not officially in the band, even though we had already met once and decided I would have joined ExpiatoriA… it’s just life, isn’t it?! 🙂
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
I guess the one we played last May in a desecrated church close to Turin, called Church of Crow Doom… the atmosphere was just insane. It was a doom festival and we played with legends such as Shape Of Despair, Skepticism, Dawn Of Winter and other local heroes like Ponte del Diavolo, Crimson Dawn, Cultus Sanguine, Black Oath and Shores Of Null, to name but few.
This festival will be at its 3rd edition in 2025 and I recommend you check it out because it’s not something you can witness very often!
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
To find that there is so much to discover, that people put their heart and soul in what they do, that egos and crazy people do exist but you can also find nice, easy-to-work-with individuals with whom you can build fruitful relationships. It’s all about humans and human emotions after all, so you have days where you want to kill everybody, and days where you feel you’re truly living the dream.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
A lot of stuff – since we started getting more and more involved in the concert scene both locally (in the area of Genoa, north-west of Italy) and nationally, we’ve been digging a lot of kick-ass underground bands. Di’Aul, Hell Theater, Heavenfall, Sator, Il Segno Del Comando, Gotho, Crimson Dawn, Ponte del Diavolo, and Abysmal Grief, to name but a few, are constantly on heavy rotation.
When it comes to international stars, Attic, Crypt Sermon and the good ol’ King Diamond and Mercyful Fate will always find a space on our playlists. As well as some prog rock and metal.
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
To always – and I say always – play what your heart says, never follow any stupid fashion or feel comfortable with something you don’t really like. We have one chance in this planet and time is limited, therefore we cannot waste our energies with bullshit or something that does not fulfill us.
What are your guilty pleasures?
I love getting drunk on stage. Not so much before, as that would f*ck me up for the whole night and performance (I’m the drummer), but to get drunk on stage, make faces at the audience and live those 30-40 minutes of our concerts as if it’s the last thing I’ll ever do – this is truly the reason why I do this after all.
Can you say something more about current music scene in Genoa?
I love that there is a small niche for ALL genres in Genoa (the 6th largest city in Italy, with a population of about half million people, the majority of which are over 70!). You like prog? It was one of the hottest cities in the 70s, and still to this day. Fancy some metal? Necrodeath and Sadist started right here. Folk music? Jazz? Pop? Stoner, punk, alternative, noise… You name it – there is someone playing these genres at world-class level in Genoa.
Sure, there’s a shortage of live venues, but the scene is alive and kicking nevertheless. Almost all of us have at least another band and we like to keep our minds open when it comes to listening and enjoying other types of music.
A joke has also been “do you know this person? He has a label!” meaning that there is a great amount of underground music being released and each music fan is giving his/her contribution in the way that is feasible, sometimes even opening a music label.
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
We just played a gig with prog/horror legends Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin, and the next gigs will also be in the North of Italy, with bands like IV Sigillo and Crimson Dawn (19 October), Ponte del Diavolo (11 January) and a few more surprises we have under the belt but still unannounced. Check out our next dates on Facebook.
What are your plans for the future as a band?
We’ll release a split album with our mates dark proggers Il Segno del Comando, with whom we share the extremely talented Roberto Lucanato on guitar, next year. Three songs each, this album is centered on a very unknown Italian TV series that was aired in the 90s and called »Voci Notturne« (Nocturnal Voices). Murder, mystery, death and occult in modern day Rome plus some mandatory links to a not-so-ancient past, and you get the idea!
These 3 songs will be a bit longer than usual (as if our songs were short!) and tend a bit more on the prog side of things. The album will be released by the legendary Black Widow Records label in Genoa, our city, and we can’t wait to show what the current sound of ExpiatoriA is like.
Actually… you can already listen to one of these songs on »Shadows – Live« – it’s called »Sublicius«.
How can people best support your band?
Come to see us live, buy a t-shirt, share a picture or opinion on our music – the usual! We love to play live, we really put a lot of effort into crafting a theatrical experience and those who’ve been to see us… won’t forget it! Put a bit of Alice Cooper + King Diamond and you have our show.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
We don’t live once, we live every day! Do what you like, never follow any fashion, be yourself and the rest will follow.
Check out ExpiatoriA: linktr.ee/expiatoria
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well