The Passion of Fleshgod Apocalypse : A Conversation With Francesco Paoli

Fleshgod Apocalypse was not the first symphonic death metal band, but they’ve always been the most committed. They have a visual aesthetic, indulge in a certain type of storytelling and carry the historical and creative burden of the meaning of the word "symphonic". It's a band with total commitment to the integrity of the listening experience they want to convey.

What they do it quite different from conventional death metal, but they do it with clarity of purpose and infectious abandon.

"From the start, the idea was to do something that revolved around classical music, but it was a work in progress", admitted vocalist Francesco Paoli, joined via Google Meet. "It took a long time to find the right people to make that vision happen. It’s been a slow process. For example, Francesco Ferrini wasn’t part of the band at first because he had a different job. But it helped that we are all friends. Changes have always been smooth and drama free over the years."

The addition of symphonic elements to extreme metal has been democratized over the years. Bands like Shadow of Intent and Lorna Shore have been unabashedly incorporating them into their sound without incorporating any of the anachronic theatricality inherent to the concept. It’s a laptop kind of deal. But these bands can run because Fleshgod Apocalypse walked first.

There were bands like SepticFlesh and Dimmu Borgir already who carried the sound and the image, but Fleshgod Apocalypse put it together to create a total spectacle where the music, the storytelling, the visual presentation and the live performance add up to more than the sum of its parts.

"The live experience was always very important to us. It always had to be more than a concert. Some people thought it was a little too much at the beginning. Death metal is a conservative scene. Fans are defenders of the genre. When you come with clean vocals, melodic stuff, orchestrations, or a piano song on an album, you feel like you have to justify these things. But we wanted to change it up and we were super honest about that. We built an audience from the ground up", explained Francesco.

Finding Something That Represents Who You Are

Now the only founding member of the band remaining, Francesco Paoli has been the engine propelling Fleshgod Apocalypse through its many iterations. Whenever a member left the band he'd fill out the void. When Francesco Struglia left in 2009, he became the drummer of Fleshgod Apocalypse. When it was turn for Cristiano Trionfera to leave in 2017, Francesco found a live drummer and became a vocalist and a guitarist again. Lately, he's been playing bass since the departure of Paolo Rossi. His dedication to his band is only equaled by his own musicianship.

If he rose to the occasion over and over again, it’s because he believed in it. He found in Fleshgod, a freedom that was unavailable to him in more conventional death meath. "Our fan base has learned not to have any expectations over the years. We can come up with something very extreme or something very melodic or gothic. Our approach to creation is flexible. We're never just one thing."

This kind of boundless creativity works because it is anchored in an otherwise consistent visual and lyrical storytelling. "Whatever elements of our band that can be considered formulaic aren't related to the music. They're related to the concept of the band. The costumes, the album covers, it's the fact that we're telling a recognizable story from one album to the next that makes us unique", pursues Francesco.

He proceeds to explain how central the story being told is to Fleshgod Apocalypse's writing process. If the vision is so clear, it's because it's at the heart of everything. The topic of the album comes first, then it can express itself as an image first, then described and elaborated on with notes.

"All the albums work as metaphors. King is written like a book featuring many characters. Opera is about the rock climbing accident I suffered in 2021. It’s something I wanted to talk about in Fleshgod's music because I had a very lucky story of recovery and I thought it could serve as inspiration for those who need it. But I wanted to do it Fleshgod style", said Francesco.

That belief Francesco has in his artistic vision is what elicits total commitment for him. He claims that he even changes personality when he's on stage: "I’m an anxious person. I have this hyper-rational approach to the show where everything needs to work. This happens up to the last step before the stage. Then you step on the stage, and whatever you thought was important up to that moment just disappears. Then you are completely absorbed by the energy of the show. You're not that self-conscious about what's going on anymore. When you find something that represents you 100%, it just happens. It's like magic."

Challenging conservatism in metal

The music of Fleshgod Apocalypse is not what I would call a primary proposition. It's very much a hybrid anchored in many styles ranging from death metal to doom and gothic metal, by the way of their own symphonic arrangements. If what they do doesn't sit right with purists of the genre, Francesco doesn't care. He's looking to challenge this kind of monolithic worship. That's one of the reason why Fleshgod Apocalypse released a cover of Eiffel 65's insufferable song Blue in 2021, turning it into an oddly listenable death metal jam.

"Making a cover of Blue was a prank, but it was also a tribute to an important Italian song. It did piss off a lot of people, but these people take themselves too seriously, you know? Everything has to be a certain way all the time. This kind of conservative behaviour is a tumor that's been eating away at metal for a long time now. If things never change or evolve, the audience will grow old and the music will eventually die off. I wanted to prove that you can do things like this and still be a serious band", explained Francesco.

Fleshgod Apocalypse is touring North America this spring. They are finishing the touring cycle for Opera in 2026 before most likely going back into creative hibernation and write a new album in 2027, so if you want to live the unfiltered experienced of Francesco's miraculous recovery live, it’s now or never.

The end of something is always the beginning of something else, though. One story will leave place for the other. "You have to keep going and make it happen. It's important for people", concludes Francesco.

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