1. My favorite kind of album is the concept album. The Wall is my absolute favorite. Beyond the amazing songs, it has spectacular nostalgia for me. What's your favorite one and why?
Matteo: I love concept albums too. I have always found very fascinating the idea of telling a story in an album the same way it’s usually done for a book or a movie.
There are many great ones: Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son by Maiden, Leviathan by Mastodon, Still Life by Opeth, Mariner by Cult of Luna & Julie Christmas... but if I had to choose the best one it would probably be Crimson by Edge Of Sanity.
Not only Swanö wrote a beautiful, original, epic tale, he also arranged all the instruments to create the perfect dark atmosphere to match the story, and in my opinion, this is the thing that brings a concept album to the next level.
2. My very first album was Live Evil by Black Sabbath. Since then I've had a strong affinity for the live record, even if they're a bit fake. KISS set the bar with Alive!. Surely, it was fake, but it's got the best concert feel of any one.
Tell me about your favorite live record?
M: Here I have to go with Iron Maiden’s Live After Death. It’s by far the live record I listened to the most, and it’s taken from one of the most incredible tours of metal history.
The quality of the performances is off the chart, despite Bruce supposedly having a cold during the recordings (but he was capable of doing whatever he wanted in those years vocally speaking).
I can’t think of many live songs able to outdo this record’s The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner.
3. There are a great number of records I've turned to for my moods. What do you listen to when you're angry? Sad?
M: Usually the music I listen to matches my mood. Death metal, classic or modern, is my way to go when I feel angry or frustrated: Death, Carcass, Bloodbath, to name a few.
For my sad or low energy moments, I usually look for something gloomier, like Katatonia (Viva Emptiness, Brave Murder Day…), Anathema (Alternative 4, Judgement, A Natural Disaster…).
I also listen to a lot of Opeth, since they lie somewhere in between these two emotional spheres.
4. One of my friends laughs at me, routinely, for loving the Misfit Toys of albums by major bands. Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed, Carnival of Souls by Kiss, Diabolous En Musica by Slayer, etc.
What's the strange one that you love?
M: Wow, I think you are the first person I heard liking Lulu, that requires balls of steel! I can name a couple of good ones for sure.
The weirdest of the two is probably “A Twist In The Myth” by Blind Guardian. First, I am not a power metal aficionado at all (despite loving the classic masterpieces of this band) and secondly, this is not a memorable record for sure.
I am not sure what in this album resonated with me at the time, but I always found it enjoyable listening.
The other one is Maiden’s No Prayer For The Dying (maybe at this point you figured out I am a huge Maiden fan!).
Despite not being at the same level as the first seven masterpieces, I have always thought that this record is not given the credit it deserves. The title track gives me goosebumps every time.
5. It's almost fashionable to release live versions of albums or re-record the old ones. King Diamond is releasing a concert with Abigail front to back. Roger Waters has done The Wall twice. Which ones do you have in your collection?
M: For sure “In Live Concert At The Royal Albert Hall” by Opeth, where they performed Blackwater Park in its entirety.
That album is one of my all-time favourites, the performance by the band is great, and I have beautiful memories of attending the Stockholm show of that tour.
The second one that comes to my mind, even if I don’t own it yet, is Green Carnation’s Last Day Of Darkness.
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