'Welcome to Hell' was a fanzine from Italy written in Italian, but here's an interview translated for you.
VANADIUM
Interview with Pino Scotto, June 23, 1984
How did you organize yourselves to promote «Game over»?
We started a sort of tour on the 7th in Milan, at the Rolling Stone. We've already done five dates, and we'll be doing many more... it's tough! Because there's no market for this type of music in Italy, really. And how's it going abroad?
So, Mausoleum took the master of «A race with the devil», and distributed it in countries like Switzerland, Germany, Holland, Belgium... What was the response?
Well, the records are out there, but as far as touring goes, things are going pretty slowly... anyway, since we had problems with Mausoleum, this year for Germany we sold the master to a label that distributes HM and these guys, to show you the difference with Mausoleum who never showed up for two albums, 15 days after buying the master of GO they sent two journalists from the German magazine «Metal Hammer» here to Milan. We did an interview and a photo shoot, and on top of that they wanted to attend our concert at the «Rolling Stone» and they were really shocked! And when they returned to Germany, in addition to the article and the review of the concert they made us a poster and then we received some telexes from the record company with some compliments; and they also told us that they're now trying to organize a tour for us... in short, things are moving pretty quickly, I even think it's about time!
Compared to the first two albums, I think you tried to do something different with GO...
Yes, let's say that we are continuously looking for a... I don't know, you can't even call it evolution... a way of being personal, of having sounds, a fairly personal way of composing, without relying on things that even famous groups, like Whitesnake, Iron Maiden, continue to repeat album after album, but I see that this effort is understood quite well by the public, because they appreciate this continuous research, this way of creating a sound.
Your latest LP has attracted a lot of interest in rock magazines like Rockerilla and Rockstar; however, fanzines, at least for the most part, aren't very appreciative of your music...
Honestly, I want to tell you this first: I see that all these so-called Italian groups are people who continue to copy. I think that there is only one Judas Priest and one Iron Maiden, and it's not worth it to stay there copying, and this is the problem with all Italian groups, I'm sorry to say it, because I want a market for HM to be created in Italy, but as long as there are groups that every time they make songs, they make them like this, like that, we will always be the country of spaghetti and mandolins!!! I believe that the positive reviews we have received in the various "Enfer", "Kerrang", "Metal Hammer" are quite important recognitions!..
But are there any good Italian bands?!??
I definitely think so! I don't know many, but the few I know, like Strana Officina... what pisses me off the most is that there are so many good bands, but they don't make the effort to create their own stuff!
You are very often accused of harking back to the first HM groups of the 70s, is this why with GO you perhaps wanted to demonstrate that you are not tied to certain models?
I'll tell you, we didn't make this IP with the intention of distancing ourselves from the other two; we continued to do our job... I think that Vanadium is a band very tied to R'n'R and Blues, and I care a lot about that!...
Listen, don't you think that the new LP is it a little too commercial? Look, I'm not forcing anyone to think differently. If you tell me that, that's fine, but I'll tell you honestly that when we make a song, we don't think about how much it should sell at all; I mean, if we had to sit there studying things to make them more commercial, we wouldn't make this kind of musical. This album, on the other hand, came out like the other two, really in one go, even though we had more time to compose the songs, to arrange them, for everything, basically, and so it was recorded better, in addition to the fact that we recorded it in a pretty good studio compared to the others...
Many accuse you of not giving much space to Tessarin, unanimously considered one of the best Italian guitarists...
But it seems right to me, in fact I think that we distinguish ourselves from other groups precisely for this reason, in the sense that each one has a space, so we might as well use session musicians! Tell me about your live shows if...
We perform the songs more or less in the same version as the album... but then, at least for me, I enjoy singing differently, because otherwise you'd get bored! Improvisation, however, depends a lot on how the audience responds. Anyway, we're not the type to rehearse various moves and solos in the back room before going on stage!
How did the audience respond to your recent tour?
The dates we've played so far are good, especially in Milan, where we were sold out; the one at the "Teatro Tenda" in Naples was also very good... I think, however, that these concerts should be better organized; they need serious, professional agencies behind them.
OK Pino, thank you very much and goodbye.
Alberto <<Thundergod>>>