EMQs With BUTT SPLITTERS

EMQs With BUTT SPLITTERS

Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with Italian Metal band, Butt Splitters. Huge thanks to them for taking part.

What is your name, what do you play and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band? 

Hello everybody, Butt Splitters are: Stefano Firmani  (lead singer), Marco Radicchi (guitar, backing vocals), Carlo Tabarrini (guitar), Francesco Martinelli (bass, backing vocals), Matteo Scorsolini (drums), many of us have been close friends since we were teenagers, and through the years we have played in different local bands in our hometown. 

In 2019 Stefano, Marco, Carlo and Matteo funded the band with the precise purpose to have fun and to enjoy the audiences. Francesco joined a couple of months later.

How did you come up with your band name? 

We were looking for a name easy to remember and at the same time reflective of the really light‐hearted and down to earth spirit of the band.

What Country/Region are you from and what is the Metal/Rock scene like there? 

All the five of us are from the same city, Terni in Umbria, Central Italy (100km from Rome). The Metal/Rock scene was quite interesting during the 80s and the 90s, there were lots of Rock bands (some of them had the honour of being quite famous in Italy), radio programs , a couple of recording studios and a couple of venues, and obviously lots of fans. Lately new generations of musicians are directed toward other genres of music like Pop, Trap or Classic music, so the scene is almost dead.

What is your latest release?

Our first and last release is “NIBELVIRCH”, a 12 track concept album based on Paul Amadeus Dienach’s diaries, it came out in June 2024. 

The diaries of Paul Amadeus Dienach are collected in the book: “Chronicles from the Future”, and it is very much easy to find lots of information by surfing the net. He suffered of a rare condition called Encephalitis Lethargica, so he fell asleep for long time, while sleeping his subconsciousness travelled along space and time and lived another life in a possible future world. When he woke up, after a couple of years, he wrote down all of his memories. Lots of the things he wrote have become true realities and others are becoming in the next future. We suggest everyone of us should give this book a deep reading.

Who have been your greatest influences? 

I can name many famous bands, but would say Alter Bridge, Dream Theater, Queensryche, Rush,   System of a Down,Rage Against the Machine,Tool, Jinjer, Architects, Periphery and……………… Toto.

What first got you into music? 

I would say, being young guy, the idea to imitatate the rock stars and be like them and live like them, after that the passion for my instrument kicked in. 

If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be? 

Geoff Tate would be the answer of many of us, others would say Tool, there would be so much to learn from both of them.

If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why? 

I believe the obvious anwser is Wacken Open Air, thousands of people in the audience will make your adrenaline levels rise up to the sky.  

What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan? 

I would say a big hug and hand shake after he said “I always listen to your album in my car when I go to work”.

If you had one message for your fans, what would it be? 

Stay tuned and follow our social media pages. New music is on the way. 

If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be? 

Many of them are in my mind, but as a bass player I would say Cliff Burton, certainly Metallica became great mainly thanks to him.

What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?

Stage experience always gives you great satisfaction and energy to keep going. I hate to pack up things after rehearsals or gigs, and driving home at night.

If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?

I would boost, and economically speaking, stimulate live music whenever possible.

Name one of your all‐time favourite albums? 

“Images and Words” from Dream Theater, I must add “Operation Mindcrime” and “Empire from Queensryche”.

What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads? 

Downloads are light and portable and good quality,too. You can have them always available with you wherever you are.
What’s the best gig that you have played to date? 

No doubt about it .WONDERGATE FESTIVAL in Marina di Altidona, in August 2025.

If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing? 

I don’t know but sculpting has always been interesting to me.

Which five people would you invite to a dinner party? 

This is simple. The other four of Butt Splitters and Jack Black, he’s really good at eating, drinking, playing and singing…

What’s next for the band? 

We started working on new songs, and we are planning to enter the studio to make some records also covers from famous bands

What Social Media/Website links do you use to get your music out to people?

Fans can meet us at our website or facebook, instagram and youtube channels www.buttsplittersband.com
Butt Splitters( Facebook profile) 

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063266888112&locale=it_IT)  

butt_splitters_band (Instagram profile) 

https://www.instagram.com/butt_splitters_band

Butt Splitters (Youtube channel) 

https://www.youtube.com/@buttsplitters6476  

Time for a very British question now. As an alternative to the humble sandwich, is the correct name for a round piece of bread common in the UK either a Bap, a Barm (or Barm Cake), a Batch, a Bun a Cob, a Muffin, a Roll or a Tea Cake? 

This is the hardest question I’ve ever been asked. I don’t know what the correct answer is, we are from Italy and we call it “rosetta”.

Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add? 

Thank you for inviting us, and to all the people who is following us, I will add nothing special, just an invitation to everybody to be safe and to always support local bands and listen our music.

Disclaimer: This interview is solely the property of Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this interview, unless you have the strict permission of said party. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.