chat w/ Francesco Paoli of Fleshgod Apocalypse S7 E3

#interview #FRANCESCOPAOLI #symphonicdeathmetal 

THAT METAL INTERVIEW presents Francesco Paoli of Fleshgod Apocalypse (recorded April 2026). The multi-talented musician stops by to chat about the band's 2026 North American tour and talks about the beginnings of his music career. Paoli also goes in depth with his life changing near death experience.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Hey everyone, this is Francesco from Flash Code Apocalypse, and you are watching that metal interview. Stay metal.

SPEAKER_00 0:25

That metal interview. Okay, so first question I ask everybody where are you? What part of the planet?

SPEAKER_01 0:36

I'm from uh I'm from the center of Italy. Uh actually I'm um I live in between uh Rome and Florence, let's say, something like that in the countryside. So pretty cool place to to be now. So yeah. Now spring is coming, almost here. So where are you from? I'm from Texas, uh the US.

SPEAKER_00 0:58

Oh, super cool.

SPEAKER_01 0:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:00

I've always wanted to go to Italy, I've always wanted to go to Europe, but I've never been fortunate enough.

SPEAKER_01 1:06

But one day it's time. Right? It is, yeah, indeed. Yeah, it's like a it's been like a crazy long winter, uh, but now it looks like you know the weather is getting better and better, so also the mood in a way. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:26

Awesome. So, first question uh before we get into your band and and uh your career and the tours and this and that, what was the scene like in Italy? Uh Francesco, what was it like? Uh yeah, did you play clubs, bars, festivals? Yeah, did you go straight into getting away?

SPEAKER_01 1:47

I'd say that uh when I was young, I mean, like uh when we started with the bands uh 20 years ago, it was definitely much more there were more um like clubs and venues and spots uh where you could play, um, more underground festivals. Um so there was uh like a proper scene, probably it was the tale of a bigger scene uh that was um more rooted in the 80s and 90s, something like that. So we were like the last generation having the luck to uh share this uh these places, these venues, these stages, and then there was some kind of um like uh I don't know, like uh the old thing of felt asleep for 10-15 years, maybe like uh things were like less and less spots, uh less and less festivals, and less and less concerts in general. Really? Um and now everything is coming back super fast. Like um almost every weekend we have a big show. Almost every weekend we have um like more mostly in the north of Italy because geographically is the closest to the center of Europe, so it's uh mostly where all the tourists pass through because uh the south it's uh being a peninsula, it it is very far from the rest of Europe. So it is extremely expensive for for tourists that nowadays to come down to Rome, for example. But Milan, Turin, Bologna, Venice, these places, they have big uh big shows, big festivals, and now with that old thing, all market restarting, also here in the center and in the south, uh, things are getting um you know back on track, let's say. So we have some clubs, we have some small festivals, and things are you know better than before. So the scene is coming back, and in a way it's stronger and younger, which is a good thing in perspective.

SPEAKER_00 4:05

So when you started off playing uh live venues, Francesco, uh did you start off this heavy, or did you say it was more like an 80s kind of thing?

SPEAKER_01 4:18

No, no, no. I mean, like me personally, yes. I I always play death metal or thrash metal, so always been in the extreme. Uh no, what I'm saying, what I was saying is that the um the the these venues or these festivals, the old promoters, and um the whole scene was mostly populated by people that was uh that started to listen to metal in the 80s or the 90s. So we were a kind of like yeah, the last generation using these clubs that afterwards have been converted into discos or pubs or you know, places where you go to it or to hang out, but you actually don't play, you know. So you don't have the um the stage or you don't have like uh a room big enough to to have a concert there, you know, it's more like yeah, discos or stuff like that. With some rock and metal, yeah, those kind of things always uh they they they kept doing that, but uh proper concerts, uh there was uh like uh from like around 2010 up to 2020, it was worse and it was less and less and less and less. And now things are going back super fast.

SPEAKER_00 5:36

What was the first band that got you into metal or rock? Whether you're a kid or a teenager, and you're like, man, this is what I want to do.

SPEAKER_01 5:46

Uh honestly, it's like um uh I had a friend uh in um in the middle school that showed me like it came with a cassette and it was very random stuff. There was uh a website. Uh no, not a website, it was a proper magazine actually. And with this magazine, uh that they were they were including in the magazine a CD, and this CD was a compilation of all bands. Uh you could find anything from like uh ska to punk to like regular rock music, uh, up to I don't know, like uh extreme metal, you know. So it was it was mostly uh like um uh alternative and underground music. And uh we were converting those cities into cassettes, and it came to school and it had this cassette. It was like, oh hey, you have to listen to this, you know, and uh and there was uh replica from uh Fear Factory in that album. You know, small. And I was like, oh shit, you know, this is the most powerful thing I ever heard, you know, like insane. And starting from there, I started listening to heavier music and and more and more, and and and then I I found out death metal, uh European death metal with Entombed and Ned Gates, all this stuff, and and all the American death metal, like uh, you know, this side, cannibal, and morbid angel, and so mostly this this stuff was in my in my playlist for a long time, like uh still is. And um like the the the the but I also listened to a lot of uh rock and prog rock, and afterwards I started to appreciate also like uh lighter metal, like also early thrash metal. So I was one of those guys that started with uh heavier shit and then went back to oh, you know, maybe I should I should have listened to some Metallica songs to learn completely and understand completely what I'm listening to. And then I went back to Iron Man and went back to to my one of my favorites of from the old school uh wave, uh Judas Priest, for example. So like this stuff came afterwards. Uh I was kind of creating my you know, uh I was going to school in a way, you know. Yeah, like going back to these bands to to figure out better what I was listening, what I was uh you know, uh how this new bands that I was listening to, um like uh which influences they had, you know, stuff like that. I was listening to Liz to Sleep Not and uh, for example, and and I didn't know like uh older stuff like Slayer and stuff like that. And then I went back and it was like, oh, you know, this is the real shit, you know. So stuff like that. So it's more a backwards process, let's say.

SPEAKER_00 8:51

Yeah, same thing here. I mean, uh, I know the interviews about you, not me, but uh same thing. I discovered uh Master of Puppets, and then I went backwards, and I discovered Raining Blood, and then I went backwards, and same thing. But we're we're still metal heads anyway, so yeah. So so so we know for people that don't know, and some people do know, you play a bunch of different instruments. You you were the the lead singer for the band, and then you were the drummer for the band, yeah, and then you play bass, almost everything. You play everything. I mean, which is your first instrument that you picked up, and which is your favorite instrument?

SPEAKER_01 9:28

Uh the first instrument, uh like at the very beginning, I was playing guitar and um and I was singing. Uh, and uh, you know, in the songwriting process, like throughout the whole career of the band, you know, I kept playing guitar. I didn't play guitar live. Uh I played guitar the first three or four years, then I went back. Um like I started playing drums and played drums for eight years, eight, nine years, something like that. And then in 2017, I went back to guitar. Uh and I played guitar for a bunch of years, uh, until a couple of years ago, uh, maybe three years ago, I started playing um bass live. Because um uh yeah, we we had some lineup changes, but when whenever we had these lineup changes, I always kind of had to replace somebody else in a way. So I just adopted. But it's more mostly live. The thing I the thing I missed the most in throughout the career, the thing I enjoy the most is writing the music. So that thing stayed for you know, no matter what was the instrument it was playing live. So it doesn't that didn't, you know. Um I've always been uh very involved in that and it never changed for me. Live things changed, and probably the thing I missed the most when I I was playing drums was not being the frontman of the band. So because I started that uh as the frontman of the band. So when I went back to guitar and singing, I I felt like, oh, this is my spot, this is where I belong, and I don't want to go back to drums. Uh so sometimes yes, uh like they ask me, uh, you want to go back to drums, and it's not I I always um my answer is always no, but not because I don't like it, I it's mostly because uh I like it more now, you know. So you know, I have this uh I I use this uh this band as um a way of expressing myself artistically but also personally, and uh it it is much more it is way closer to what I want to do uh singing what uh like the lyrics and what I write compared to playing drums on this music, you know, like so it's more um yeah, it's more what I wanna do, so makes me happier anyway.

SPEAKER_00 12:00

Well, I'm a musician here in Texas, uh local musician, you know, nothing like tours like you guys, nothing like that. It's just a local thing, you know. And uh I have to, you know, hats off to you. I mean, you you you can't just say I play bass, I'm gonna change the guitar now. Oh, wait a minute, I wanna change the drums and do all this double bass stuff, flesh god stuff, and then okay, wait a minute, I'm gonna do leave you know leave vocals and yeah, that's that's super talented. I mean, something that's super talented in my in my eyes, so congratulations, you know.

SPEAKER_01 12:33

Thank you. But I I feel like uh I feel like um probably the goal, the drive that I have is basically doing flashback, you know. So it's like I understand that it it it is complicated. I mean like I'm not like um I'm not saying that it was easy at all. It wasn't, but at the same time, uh you are if you have the right motivation, you have the right drive, even the hard stuff becomes doable. Okay, so never becomes easy, but and but becomes doable. You start thinking, okay, um, I made some progress from start from this, probably in a six months I'm gonna be better, maybe better enough to play live, for example. And then you get there and you see that you actually progressed and actually figure out a way to to to go live, and then you go and you start and you suck, and you're super sloppy, but at least you are you're going you you're going around, you're playing your music, and uh and at the very beginning of a band no nobody really cares if you're sloppy or whatever, you know, they just they just wanna come and go out and have fun. So you take that as an opportunity and say, Okay, now I'll play live, play drums, I play guitar, whatever. I sing, but I suck. I still suck for you know a good standard, and then from there you start making your own experience, and uh, and also that is progress. And um, and then after a year, after a year and a half, you reach a point where everything is uh your average performance is good enough to maybe try to go on a tour, and then you jump on a tour and you realize you stuck again, and you look around, and everybody is much more uh tighter or more talented or more you know experienced than you, and you just have to be humble and try to learn from everybody, and after a couple of years you start seeing this, um you start getting results and seeing more progress, and then you are you know probably ready to play shows like headline shows, and then it's like that. It's probably the hard hardest thing, the hardest thing uh is learn it's being passionate, how it's waiting like it is really frustrating. So probably the the biggest talent I have is that I survived the frustration. That's the biggest. Uh and uh and yeah, and then uh and then probably the other thing is I always had I always had this dream and I never left uh the path. You know, I I I knew that I would kind of I was doing something right, and I always stick to the plan. Like, okay, I'm with up and downs, with you know, many misadventures, whatever, but still, you know, trying to to stay on track all the time and and never get really you know never never stop believing in what I was doing, you know. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:04

Well it takes a lot of uh uh like you said patience and a lot of passion from your heart to to succeed and and uh get signed and and uh at what point did you guys get signed?

SPEAKER_01 16:17

It was it right away or did you guys well we it was pretty much uh like uh yeah, ow to that, you know, it's when I when I say up and downs and being uh very you know uh and and trust the process, uh that's what I mean. Like we got we got signed straight away with a single or two songs, but uh the the company that signed us went bankrupt. So you see, you know, everything was uh amazing from the like the first minute, and then it was a nightmare for two years because this this company uh we had the comp we had the contract with this company and this company was going down and down, but uh the the bankrupt and the the the closure of the company uh it wasn't official yet, so we had to wait. So, like for example, the first album, we had the first album at the end of 2007 or uh early 2008, for example, but we weren't able to release it uh uh until like 2009, or like I don't remember when was it, but it was almost two two two years later. So we got signed to another label, which is an American label, uh Willowtip, amazing label. Uh they have a lot of like it's a very cool catalog with a lot of underground uh music that I love. And uh from Willowtip, we started with that contract. We we got some kind of you know hype that uh allowed us to go on tour with other bands, and uh we did a tour with Suffocation and uh in Europe and then they took us in America, and on that uh on that uh tour, we met Nuclear Blast for the first time, Nuclear Blast Guys. There you go. And we got signed to Nuclear Blast for a bunch of albums, and now we're still with Nuclear Blast after I don't know, like it's uh 15 years probably. Shout out to everybody. I I think we signed with them in 2010. Uh so at the moment it we are 2000 it's uh 16 years and five albums with them.

SPEAKER_00 18:46

Um speaking of uh uh music and have you guys ever been too heavy for for a tour? You know what? Uh this band offered us a tour, but uh they're too soft. Uh we're too heavy for that tour. Let's not do that.

SPEAKER_01 19:01

Well, you know, we we are no. I mean, like we are, it happens, but we didn't say no. We were like, uh, you know what, you never you never know what happens because I really believe that I always believed that the energy and the way you uh uh you are on stage, the way you are, you know, kind of I don't know, you are living that moment is much more important than uh what you play. I mean, in the long run, of course it is. You come to a show and you listen to I don't know, rock, like light, heavy metal, whatever, and you see flashcraft, and it's probably too much, okay. But um in the long run it is because you don't go there and listen to the music, probably on on like you're not gonna put any of our songs in the in the in the in the playlist, but probably you're gonna enjoy the moment and the the name and the band and the memory are gonna stick with you forever, and that's what counts in the end, you know. Because sometimes instead you go and uh and you discover the band, you discover the gender, and maybe we turn you into a heavy music listener, you know. You never know. So we always took all the the cool opportunities that we had to to play, and we tour with many uh bands that are on paper lighter than us, but we never cared. Uh, and always made new fans. So I believe that we have to be open-minded, we also have to have um uh a little bit more uh positive consideration of the fan base and not just like oh, these guys are they'll just listen to ballads or whatever. Even though we play ballads, we write also very, very light music. Sometimes it's not the average, the average is mostly heavy shit. So um for many of these fans that are not used to that kind of sounds, it might be too much, but uh maybe not, maybe especially nowadays. If you see like there are super extreme bands that are breaking through in the mainstream, you know, and uh the process is pretty similar, you know. They they didn't really uh they've never been concerned of uh not be liked to by the people. They've always you know uh tried, and uh in the end that pays off.

SPEAKER_00 21:41

Can you speak uh if it's okay, uh you had a near death experience, uh an accident and how that changed you as a person? Are you a different person now?

SPEAKER_01 21:51

Yeah. Absolutely. I mean that that is the uh the turning point of my life. Let's say so yeah, it is uh it is different and um but it in a many ways it is better. Uh so yeah, the when like I had an accident like now it's four years ago, I'm almost fully recovered from that. Still some small things to fix. And um and yes, and uh you you disappeared. Okay, my bad. Yeah. And um and yes, it it's been it's been a long process, uh especially mentally and um and psychologically still you know giving some uh some sometimes you know I have a bunch of reminders within my body that makes me uh that brings me back to that moment and um and all this mess definitely made me much more mature and probably more uh conscious guy. So I appreciate life much more. I definitely uh more uh um yeah, aware, like self-aware, however you call it self-conscious before everything was like oh you know living at the at max, like over the max, over the top all the time, you know. And uh which is great, no regrets at all. Uh but at a certain point I with this I figured out that probably happiness is not there, you know. Also serenity is uh a great form of uh of happiness, very underrated, and uh and nowadays I can see the difference and I can appreciate it much more. So I'm a different person in this in the in you know under this aspect completely like uh like uh really, really, really, really far from who I was you know before the action.

SPEAKER_00 24:15

Uh I'm glad you turned out okay.

SPEAKER_01 24:17

I mean uh yeah it's like uh you know it's like uh it's uh fifty-fifty uh let's say fifty-fifty um like uh fifty percent the doctors and fifty percent the the the willpower and the desire to go back to to my life, you know. So yeah, I I share this the credit with these people.

SPEAKER_00 24:49

Wow. Um you got a tour kicking off in April. You have a North American tour, right? Correct, with an avatar, and then there's some dates by yourselves. Will you guys headline?

SPEAKER_01 25:00

Yeah. We're playing Dallas in Texas, yeah. We play San Antonio, we play I don't remember exactly, but I think I have the list somewhere here. But uh let me check if I find it. Um I'll make it onto that one. San Antonio. You come to San Antonio. Uh I I think we also play more shows like um this is the routing. Let me check. Um we do Dallas headlining at Granada, so that is gonna be a longer set. Then we do San Antonio, and then for the people on in north, uh we play Oklahoma City, also which is Oklahoma, but it's not too too far from other places, and yeah, we then we yeah, mostly this two shows plus this Oklahoma City is not super far.

SPEAKER_00 25:54

Awesome, awesome.

SPEAKER_01 25:55

Can we see you guys there? I I love playing Texas.

SPEAKER_00 26:00

Yeah, yeah, it's a cool, uh, cool area. It's a big state. It's probably one of the biggest states in the US for sure. Yeah, both of you, San Antonio, for sure. Burf, before that you go, uh would you like to send a message to the fans? And is there any hopes for a full-length album, new one?

SPEAKER_01 26:16

For the new album, I don't know, because um uh we're working on some new stuff. Always working on some new stuff in the off days um when we are you know not touring. So we have some things aligning, but uh probably it's too early to talk about new album. It's uh we are very slow with these kind of things. It's like we are super super super um perfectionist in a way, so sometimes it takes months just to come up with a good idea, and so it's uh it's a slow process, and um but we are kinda you know feeling that uh we are getting somewhere. Uh in um yeah, no, for the fans, especially Texan fans or all American fans, uh you guys know what to do. You have to come to the shows, and you know, we want you to bring uh like uh the best experience ever every time we come on stage. So we just want you to to be with us. And uh especially in the uh like in the headline shows like Dallas, or we're gonna play uh a different satellite, like the longer satellite, and we're gonna play uh I think one or two songs we never played live. So it's uh it's a good opportunity to try these new songs live. So that's yeah. And um we love them. Okay, I mean like uh it's the it's probably the place in the world where we are more welcome. Uh so we are super super um super super happy to be back uh for the third time on uh on this new record over. So amazing.

SPEAKER_00 27:54

Awesome. I can't wait to see you guys live and uh keep it heavy. Francesco, keep doing what you're doing, and always uh keeping it.

SPEAKER_01 28:00

Thank you very much, man.

SPEAKER_00 28:01

Keep up the good music, and uh I will see you at the San Antonio or Dallas here sometime soon.

SPEAKER_01 28:06

Okay, thank you, man. See you in a month. Goodbye.

SPEAKER_00 28:11

And there he goes, ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Francesco Paoli, lead vocal and guitarist for the symphonic technical death metal band Flesh God Apocalypse, straight from the country of Italy, Rome, to be exact, I could be wrong, but we thank Mr. Paoli for accompanying us to promote the tour they are in right now in North America 2026, of course. They are supporting Avatar, they are right in the middle of the tour as we speak, but depending on when you're listening to this interview, you might be able to catch them, or the tour might be over, so it all depends when you are listening to this. The tour started April 16th and will end on May 20th in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire at the casino ballroom. Uh, all this in 2026, of course. And don't forget to support the guys and girl because they do have a girl in the band, Veronica on the vocals. She sings all the soprano clean parts. Uh, she's been a part of this band since 2020, give or take. The band is rounded up of Francesco Ferrini on the piano orchestrations, Eugene Yabchenko on the drums, Fabio Bartoletti on the guitars, DD guitars, uh, as I said right now, Veronica on the soprano clean vocals, and of course, the head of the snake, the headman, Mr. Francesco Paoli, the multi-talented. If you guys heard the conversation, this guy played drums for the band at one point, and he also played bass at one point, and then he played guitar at one point, and now he does lead vocals and guitar. So, Francesco is a gifted, a completely gifted musician. So, uh, via Nuclear Blast Record, shout out to those guys out there, guys and girls, working hard to promote those bands. Thank you guys for providing these artists to us, podcasters, and to us fanatics that want to hear from these people, right? We only see them on YouTube, and we finally get to ask them questions and speak to these guys. So, thank you, Nuclear Blast Records, and thank you to the PRs public relations. For those of you that don't know, these are the people that PRs are the people that connect us podcasters, interviewers, to the band members directly. So, anyways, flesh god apocalypse support the guys and girl, their last album dropped 2024 by the title Opera, and they have about six albums: Oracles, Agony, Labyrinth, King, Bellino, and the last one Opera. Of course, they have an EP in 2010 uh Mafia, so and the demo in 07. So, thank you, Francesco, one more time for being a part of the podcast That Metal Interview Podcast all the way from the state of Texas. And don't forget, guys and girls, to catch them on tour right now as we speak. This is your chance to catch Avatar and Flesh God Apocalypse on the North American 2026 run. You cannot miss this. So, anyways, don't forget to keep it metal.