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Stealth is an Italian metal band founded in 1997, they have released several albums, EPs, and singles, and performed all over Italy and many European countries. The band recently performed at Renaissance Alternative Music Festival in London, and here is all you need to know about Stealth…
What are the origins of Stealth, how long have you been playing together?
STEALTH: The band was founded by Ivan (vocalist) and Daniele (bassist) during spring 1997. Lorenzo (guitars) and Roberto (drums) joined the band, at the time called Metal Militia, at the beginning of the following year. This has been the lineup until the summer of 2000. We changed our name to Stealth during spring 2000 while the original lineup was still in place. We commonly agreed to change our name because at that time we felt like we were too closely associated with Metallica and even though we were performing a few Metallica songs, we already released 2 EPs of our own music. So we changed into Stealth to avoid people thinking we were just a cover band.
What should people expect when they check the band out? How would you describe Stealth?
STEALTH: We are a mixture of genres from Heavy Metal to Industrial and Nu-Metal as we love experimenting with various metal styles but we also like maintaining a precise standard of sound. Our music has several influences and they come together in a unique and modern sound. We started playing thrash metal during the end of the nineties as a quartet with two guitars, bass, drum, and vocal. But we added more instruments during the following years. We started playing with a guitar synth from the second album ‘Check This Out!’ and started working on the background grooves too. Also, we started adding some folk instruments to our latest album and this made the sound really captivating and original. Finally, we added more effects and some scratches on our latest release ‘The Fake New(s) World’.
How did you feel performing your first gig as a band, and how was it?!
STEALTH: There was a lot of emotion that night 25 years ago. Even if we were playing some covers we were very young (Ivan was 17 years old at the time) and this made that gig very special. We love celebrating that show now and then with some special release.
The new music scene is bursting at the seams at the minute with fresh talent, in what ways do you feel that a band has to stand out to build a name for themselves?
STEALTH: Composing innovative and interesting music is a good starting point. Then you have to write interesting and captivating lyrics too. Choosing the right label, PR, and venues to play and a good dose of luck do the rest.
What are you working on at the minute that people can check out?
STEALTH: We just released a new single called ‘The Fake new(s) World but we are composing some new songs too. We are about to start recording them and they should be released by the end of this year. Probably it will be a single/EP with 3 new brand songs.
In terms of a similar audience, which band out there at the minute do you feel you would be best suited to open for?
STEALTH: There are a lot indeed, but if we had to mention one band we would definitely say Metallica.
Excluding yourself, which new band would you like to see break out and become a success?
STEALTH: There are a lot here too. Here in Italy, there are many bands that we would recommend. We tell you some names of groups in our area such as Crepuscolo, Duality, and Ibridoma which absolutely deserve the best in their music career. As our vocalist Ivan lived in London for many years we would also like to mention some bands like Die Kur, 8Snake, Maxdmyz and Machine Rox that are doing the music scene there. We’re pretty sure we will see them break out and become a success soon.
What are your own first musical memories? And what was the lightbulb moment that made you go “I want to do that”?
STEALTH: Our first musical memories as a band date back to the 3rd of August 25 years ago when we played our first gig ever. We were a Metallica cover band at the time and we played that gig during a local beer fest. Some year later, just after releasing our second EP in March 2000, we realized that our project had the potential to be much more than just a fun idea and we started thinking ‘to do that’ in a serious way. We decided to change our moniker to Stealth (our previous name was Metal Militia) and the following year we entered one of the best recording studios in our region to start the recording sessions of our debut album.
What was the last gig that you attended as a fan?
STEALTH: We remember some gig that we attended as fans of Metallica and Iron Maiden just before the pandemic started 2 years ago.
What current social issue are you particularly passionate about?
STEALTH: We just released a new single called ‘The Fake New(s) World’ which includes two new brand songs. Both songs were inspired by the world of fake news that today has the power to distort reality with often very serious consequences. The misleading information of unchecked social media is a current social issue that should not be underestimated.
The album that you have in your album collection/Spotify playlist that would surprise most people?
STEALTH: Our cover album ‘Cover This Out!’ released in 2008.
Although 2021 was another year to forget, there were some amazing new albums released, what would be your album of last year? And, what new music have you been enjoying so far this year?
STEALTH: Probably Iron Maiden ‘Senjutsu’ was one of the best releases of last year. We are constantly discovering and listening to new underground bands.
What does 2022 hold for you?
STEALTH: About new projects, we are thinking to release a compilation of our best audio recordings by the 3rd of August 2022, to celebrate the band’s 25th anniversary. Probably there will be 12 songs, each of them taken from the 12 audio releases of these 25 years.
How active are you on social media and where can people connect with you?
STEALTH: We try to update and be active on our social media as much as possible.
You can connect with us at the following links:
https://www.stealthattack.it (official website)
https://www.facebook.com/stealthattack.it
https://stealth1997.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/stealthband1997/
https://soundcloud.com/stealth-1-1 http://
www.youtube.com/user/stealthattack1997
