SKULL & BONES album & interview

February 1st of 2014 will be released "The Cursed Island", debut album from the Pirate metal band SKULL & BONES that I interviewed for the event. :) Everything's available below.

The album :

TRACKLIST:

01. Admiral Benbow Inn
02. The Chest of Billy Bones
03. The Hispaniola
04. Ready for Quest
05. Set Sail!
06. Rum for the Crew
07. Anthem for the Buccaneer
08. Long John Silver
09. Death & Treasure
10. Skeleton Island
11. Powder & Guns
12. Treachery March
13. Captain Flint´s Booty

The interview :

01. Hi SKULL & BONES! Does the band name refer to that Pirate flag ?

Franco Tempesta : Hi Krissy! Yes indeed! we thought that fits perfectly to the band, because that symbol always has defined the pirate genre. It was a challenge to choose this band name, because of the well known same titled secret society... but we said "screw that!" this is a name that plenty define us. :)

02. The band was born in 2011. Who’s the Captain of the SKULL & BONES then ?

Franco Tempesta : Haha well, I have started the band as a project and on that date I wrote the first demo tapes of "The Cursed Island".

Sometime later I met my first shipmates Tomas Vega (guitars) and Alan Puyol (Keyboards) and we founded SKULL & BONES together. The songs were re-arranged and then, we decided to enter studio to record them. So you can call me Captain for the start, but we all work as a crew together.

03. Fernando, you play also in TENGWAR and DOLMEN – Great bands :) – In 2011 were released TENGWAR and DOLMEN records. Didn’t that third and new band so called SKULL & BONES make some things a bit difficult for you such as studio recordings or gigs for all the bands ?

Fernando Bonino : I have no difficult to face many projects. I try to administrate the times and don't mix the works between the bands. I also have more jobs as sessionist musician on others musical styles... Ohhh and I also have two sons who require a lot of time!

In TENGWAR, we all have our side projects too. I am actually very excited with this SKULL & BONES album! I hope that we have a lot of work this year!

04. And Franco, wasn’t it a bit difficult to plan things as rehearsals ? 

Franco Tempesta : Fortunately, we don't need to rehearse excessively. When a gig is confirmed, we began to rehearse a couple months before and it always works fine for us. Each member has studied his part very well so that has never been a problem.

05. What are all the bands you play in ? 

Franco Tempesta : Tomás & I both started playing separated on a couple of heavy metal / hard rock bands. But nowadays we dedicate all our time to SKULL & BONES, since this is a growing band and everything managed by ourselves. At the moment, we have no time for another project, we are full time pirates hehe.

The rest of the guys have their side projects: Fernando just told you his side projects, Ariel have his side power metal band and Alan is currently working in classical music orchestras as pianist, musical director, arranger and musician companion.

06. February 1st of 2014 will be released your debut album entitled “The Cursed Island”, what do you expect ?

Franco Tempesta : It will be a year full of surprises for SKULL & BONES! We can't wait to finally launch this album that took a lot of work. And a couple weeks after that we are going to present our first videoclip for the song "The Chest of Billy Bones". which is going to be an amazing pirate metal adventure!

Can't wait to see the reaction of the fans!

07. Nothing special happened while the recordings for the album ?

Franco Tempesta : In fact A LOT of things happened while the recordings. We have two guest musicians for the drums(Sebastian Persini) and the bass (Nicolas Ciancio) on this album, and that's because Fernando & Ariel joined the band after we entered studio. So they can't wait to record the second SKULL & BONES album! haha. Also we have played our first gig supporting ALESTORM here in Buenos Aires last year. And this was awesome! We had a very cool feedback from the audience.

08. The album is inspired by the “Treasure island” novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. Can you tell shortly the story of the novel ? 

Franco Tempesta : Since this is an iconic pirate adventure novel, I think that I don't have to explain it so much. Because almost everybody knows what the story is about... But for those who don't I would summarize by saying that it is about the quest for the booty that the legendary captain Flint's buried on Treasure Island.

This is a tale full of remarkable characters, action, adventure, treachery and moral dilemmas... it has it all!

Not to mention the enormous influence that this book left marked forever on the perception that we have for pirates. It's a MUST read for every pirates lover.

09. What parts do you like the most in this novel ? 

Franco Tempesta : The opening with the misteryous character of Billy Bones and his chest always amazed me... In fact, that part was elected for our upcoming first videoclip!

Also the scene of the Silver's embassy on the stockade, which shows how fierce and reckless he can be.

Also the scene over the Spyglass Hill, where the pirates found the skeleton that Flint managed it to point where the treasure is buried (This scene was represented in the artwork of "The Cursed Island"). And finally the scene near the end, inside the treasure cave and counting all that mass of gold.

So yeah... I have many favorites from this movie. :P

10. Hehe... Can you describe us a bit, musically and lyrically, each track from the album ?

Franco Tempesta : Well, we should do another interview only with this question! hehe... So let me summarize each song a little bit:

1.ADMIRAL BENBOW INN:

The prelude to the adventure! This instrumental intro is inspired on the inn where this tale begins. Musically it has a lot of pad keys that remember a little bit to the classic Vangelis kind of sound. Combined with a galician bagpipe, guitars and all the orchestral arrangements the result is a very unique opening.

2.THE CHEST OF BILLY BONES:

The first singed song of the album. It's a very catchy and powerfull song, that's the reason why it was selected for our first video clip.

Lyrically it's based on the character Billy Bones and his chest, his arriving to the inn and his mysterious behavior as if he were escaping from something.

As an extra note: the chorus came to my mind while I was reading the part when Billy Bones sings "Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum" ;)

3.THE HISPANIOLA:

Another instrumental one. This intro is inspired in the moment when the young protagonist Jim Hawkings went to the port of Bristol and  was amazed watching the boat in which they will sail to Treasure Island. They named it "The Hispaniola".

Musically it's a pretty ethnic march, with a classical acoustic guitar lead throughout the piece.

4.READY FOR QUEST:

A classic power/speed track. This is maybe the most direct song of the album and we used to it as a single on the past previews. The main riff is very influenced by the Running Wild's legacy.

On the Stevenson's world, it's like an invitation to all the brave sailors willing to pay the price for glory and fortune. Then the loyals can smell the first signs of mutiny aboard the ship.

5. SET SAIL!:

Time for another intro ;)

The Hispaniola finally set sail to the island!

This is a very adventurous march, which aims to convey the excitement of a busy sailing ship in quest for treasure. Simple and vigorous...

6. RUM FOR THE CREW:

Another classic power/speed track and the longest of the album. This one has a lot of piratical melodies and tempo changes all along it.

The chorus is the most epic of all! As if it was the whole pirate crew singing along together and giving themselves courage to undertake its evil plan. Is thematically based from the viewpoint of Long John Silver and his pirates. There are several phrases said by him on this lyrics.

7.ANTHEM FOR THE BUCCANEER:

A really short instrumental intro. This track recalls the time when Silver was the Flint's quartermaster aboard The Walrus.

The bagpipes and the orchestra create an atmosphere of pre-war on this one.

8. LONG JOHN SILVER:

A mid tempo heavy/rocker fully based on who is perhaps the most recognized fictional pirate of all time! 

Stevenson left his legacy forever marked in Long John Silver.

Years pass and this character is still a source of influence for countless new proposals: TV series, cartoons, video games... He is truly a legend that never dies. That's the reason why we gave him a very special place in this album.

9. SKELETON ISLAND:

The Hispaniola finally arrived to the island and drops anchor on the anchorage known as Skeleton Island. 

In this passage we can appreciate all the nature that surround us. We put foot on land again.

10. POWDER & GUNS:

The battle song of the album! One fast track with a lot of speedy guitar riffs and melodies.

We get into the battle between pirates and loyals inside the fort on the island. The battle for treasure begins... Choose a side quickly!

11. DEATH & TREASURE:

Time to slow down a little bit with a semi ballad.

I think this is the most cinematic and emotional one. We take the side of the pirates and go over everything that happened so far and the chorus evokes their pride and the bitter end that awaits them at the same time: 

"Oh we are the wandering souls, the dogs of piracy. From stormy seas to savage lands, death and treasure awaits us all"

12. TREACHERY MARCH:

A very classic heavy mid tempo track, with a catchy chorus. Reminds me a bit to Iron Maiden sometimes.

On this one we are marching next to Silver, following the instructions of the treasure map to dig it up. At this point we do not know for sure which side is Silver. Hence the title.

As an extra note: This is the first song ever written for SKULL & BONES!

13. CAPTAIN FLINT'S BOOTY:

The final track of the album! It was a real challenge to close this story, because it has a fortunate and glorious ending for the loyals who have got the treasure,despite the fallen shipmates, and a bitter end for the pirates. Except Silver, who escaped with a small part of the treasure.

So after all, it's a glorious ending. And I think that this song smells of treasure and fortune from the beginning to the end. It's the most folkish song of the album, heavily influenced by the irish traditional jigs.

With this piece we said goodbye to the island. Perhaps forever? we'll see ;)

11. Do you plan to release it under one label? Who will distribute “The Cursed Island” in the world ?

Franco Tempesta : This will be an independent release and we are selling it worldwide through our official sites.

We recently had a contact of a japanese label interested to sell the album on their online store. So japanese fans, hopefully will have it closer very soon!

12. Could the listeners order the release via Bandcamp or something ?

Franco Tempesta: They could order it via PAYPAL on our website: www.skullandbonespirates.com

or just by sending an e-mail to: shop@skullandbonespirates.com

13. Do you plan some gigs or tours promoting the album ?

Franco Tempesta : We are actually about to confirm a gig here in Buenos Aires to officially present this album.

And then we want to plan a little tour across some Argentinian cities. This is a really big country and the cities far away the capitol are full of enthusiastic metalheads thirsty for seeing metal bands live. So we want to go there and give them a bombastic and piratical show they will never forget!

14. Can you tell us your next plans for the band now ?

Franco Tempesta : This year, we'll focus oto play live and to promote "The Cursed Island" as much as we can. We are also rehearsing a couple of new songs to add to our setlist as a surprise. So, that's gonna be fun!!

15. What are the bands whom inspired yours ?

Franco Tempesta : The classic heavy / power metal bands from the 80's and 90's like Running Wild, Iron Maiden, Helloween, Blind Guardian etc.

Also we have a cinematic and symphonic side beeing huge fans of the epic soundtracks, we really like the Hans Zimmer scores!. And finally a folkish side from the traditional celtic music and groups like The Chieftains.

Thanks for your time!

Franco Tempesta : It was a pleasure! Keep up the great work with Sword Chant ;)

Cheers matey!!