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Italian dark metal, or better said, horror metal veterans Cadaveria are back after eight long years with their sixth full-length Emptiness. Undoubtedly the best album Cadaveria ever did was released in May this year via Time To Kill Records, and it offers their most inspiring songwriting. A unique blend of atmospheric dark metal, black metal, goth and their trademark horror-esque vicious sound is a majestic work that seals the artistic and human path of the band. Whether you call it horror, gothic or dark metal, one is certain: in their 20+ years career, Cadaveria has become one of the most iconic bands on the Italian metal scene. Cadaveria is the creative alter-ego of Italian-based metal singer Raffaella Rivarolo, better known by her stage name Cadaveria. Those who follow the band know that she was diagnosed with cancer in October 2018. Cadaveria recovered in July 2021, although her experiences, contemplating, and feelings live in the music, which became deeper and more introspective. Cadaveria, formed in 2001, released its debut album, The Shadows' Madame, in 2002 and is now working as a trio consisting of vocalist Cadaveria, drummer Marçelo Santos and bassist Peter Dayton who joined the band in 2015. Cadaveria gave us an insight into the new album Emptiness and some other background things about the band. Keep reading.
Interview with:Cadaveria (Raffaella Rivarolo)
Conducted by: Tomaz
Edited by: Jerneja
Tomaz: Hello, Cadaveria. First of all, I congratulate you on the new album, Emptiness. In my opinion, it is the best one you ever did. How do you feel about it?
Cadaveria: It happens that every band, when releases its latest album, says it's the best ever. For us, this is truly the truth, for many reasons. First of all, eight years have passed since our previous album, Silence, so Emptiness is an album that has matured over a long time with great awareness. In addition, in this period, I went through a tough test of survival that changed me profoundly. This experience provided a lot of writing material, so Emptiness is an album full of great energy and wisdom. The audience understood; the reactions are excellent, and we are very proud of it.
Tomaz: This eight-year-long gap was a lot due to your severe illness, the battle with cancer. I hope everything is ok with your health today.
Cadaveria: Until 2017, we continued the promotion of Silence by making many concerts in Italy and abroad. In 2018 we wanted to take a year's break to get back to writing and come out in 2019 with something new. Destiny knocked on my door with the disease, and the pause was obviously much longer. When I felt better, I started composing again, but I didn't feel like approaching an entire album, so throughout 2021, we released singles. These then merged into the Emptiness album released in May 2022. Yes, I'm fine now, I'm still under close medical surveillance, but I'm cancer free.
Tomaz: The album sounds more melancholic, introspective and atmospheric than your previous works...
Cadaveria: Certainly, as I told you, my illness has given me great food for thoughts on death, life, the things that really matter, love for myself, fragility, and nature... These things have merged into Emptiness - together with my experiences of meditation and my approach to shamanism. All things - together with traditional medicine - have helped me to heal. All these things have been translated into lyrics and music, so it's only natural that this album is very atmospheric.
Tomaz: This is also your first album released by Time To Kill Records. How are you satisfied with this label, and what happened with the deal with Scarlet Records?
Cadaveria: We usually sign contracts that last a few years and cover only one album at a time. So the deal with Scarlet Records ended with the Silence album. Meanwhile, Time To Kill Records has stepped forward by offering us the reissue of The Shadows' Madame on vinyl and cassette to celebrate 20 years of our debut album in March 2022. We saw that they work well, so we signed up with them for the new album, as well. We are happy because they are very professional and reliable. They also leave us a lot of freedom, which is fundamental for us.
Tomaz: The album Emptiness has a somehow interesting cover artwork, a little bit strange at first sight, but there is a lot of symbolism. Yin yang, the snake with a human head...
Cadaveria: The tao symbol is the first impression you get when looking at the cover. We wanted to symbolize the continuous contrast between light and shadow that has always characterized our music since the days of The Shadows' Madame. The centrepiece of the concept is the female snake, which symbolizes kundalini energy. The snake sheds its skin as I changed it with the disease, and on her body are the symbols of the four elements of the universe, to which I am very attached and which have helped me so much in my path of rebirth. All the versions, CD, cassette and vinyl are very beautiful in this chiaroscuro concept. We still have some copies available directly on our site cadaveria.com, for the fans who want to support us by purchasing the physical product.
Tomaz: What exactly did you have in mind with the album title: Emptiness? And what about the lyrics? They deal less with horror and occultism but more with life and death, inner struggles and similar things...
Cadaveria: The various passages at the thematic level all revolve around the path I have taken in recent years, therefore, we talk about pain, care, resilience, rebirth, and shamanism. Nature, energies, the universe, light, and darkness are constant themes that cross the album transversally. The emptiness of the title doesn't mean "nothing" - that is, it is not to be understood with a negative meaning, but it is 99.9% of the universe that we do not know and which, therefore, science defines as emptiness. I believe it is not empty at all - it is full of energy. But above all, emptiness is that state of grace you can reach with meditation, the absence of thought, which sets you free. Sometimes we are afraid of this emptiness because we are used to doing something continuously, and we are not capable of simply being. I yearn for this.
Tomaz: And what about a European tour? Any plans for that? I hope to see you playing in Slovenia someday.
Cadaveria: Until 2017, I personally took care of the management of all live dates. It is a huge commitment. The web promotion of the new album, the making of the videos, the interviews, etc., require a lot of time, and I don't have enough hours a day to plan even a tour. This does not mean we give up the concerts; we are absolutely open to the proposals, but we are not the ones to knock on their doors. If you want to see us live in your country, ask your promoters to invite us.
Tomaz: The band's line-up has changed quite a lot through the years. Cadaveria is now a trio, with you and Marçelo as the only two original members. Can you reveal why some members left and how you intend to "save" live shows?
Cadaveria: The line-up remained the same from 2003 to 2015. Sometimes we have included a second guitarist to have a more powerful live impact. In 2015 the bassist left the band without giving reasons for his choice. Goodbye! From that moment, Peter Dayton joined the band, and with him, we went on without further changes until the last concerts, made in December 2017. My illness was a watershed and also a moment of reflection. When we reconstituted the band for Emptiness, Marcelo and I felt we could include in the line-up only those who had demonstrated reliability and continuity over the years. The guitarists took part in the album as outside members and collaborators and will also do so for the live dates. We have four guitarists who want to play live with us; we are spoiled for choice.
Tomaz: Two years ago, you released an interesting cover of Deine Lakaien's "Return". In 2004 you made a cover of Blondie's song "Call Me". Are you, in a way, inspired by these two bands?
Cadaveria: The choice of Blondie was linked to my youth lived in the 80s when Blondie was a true icon, and I liked her a lot. "Return", instead, was chosen because in 2015, we played at a dark metal festival in Germany where Deine Lakaien were the headliner, and there we listened to that song for the first time and fell in love with it.
Tomaz: Although it's only been half a year since the Emptiness release, I wonder whether you are already working on some new music?
Cadaveria: I live in the present. I have a long list of things to do; to accurately complete the promotion of Emptiness, which is still unknown to many. I want Emptiness to reach many people. It's early to talk about new music.
Tomaz: Thank you for your time and insightful answers. Is there anything you wish to say to our readers and Cadaveria fans to conclude this interview?
Cadaveria: I thank you for this interview, and I thank all the fans who follow us and those who browse our YouTube channel or stream Emptiness on Spotify. Thanks again! See you!
Cadaveria links: Official website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Spotify, Bandcamp, YouTube, Linktree
Cadaveria discography:
- The Shadows' Madame (2002)
- Far Away From Conformity (2004)
- In Your Blood (2007)
- Horror Metal (2012)
- Silence (2014)
- Mondoscuro [Split EP w/Necrodeath] (2016)
- Emptiness (2022)
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