Patrick Mameli (Pestilence): more brutal than ever

We’ve got the chance of talking to Patrick Mameli (courtesy of Mascot Records), weeks before releasing the new Pestilence album, Resurrection Macabre. We discussed the new album of course but we also tried to go back in time, at the begining of Patrick’s career, and Patrick proved himself a very cool and interesting speaker.

Metalfan: You formed Pestilence when you were 20 years old. But before that, what did you do? What was your musical background at that time?
Patrick Mameli: I think I was about 18 years old. Before that time I was listening to hard rock bands such as KISS, and then I went into much brutal stuff, into death metal. I’ve listened a lot of underground bands and also some hardcore-punk bands that were not that famous in Europe, such as Black Flag.

Metalfan: What were you expectations when you started Pestilence?
Patrick Mameli: There were a lot of things going on in Europe at that but we really did not know to expect. We started writing music and tried to improve our skills. We rehearsed and rehearsed, over and over againg, did some small shows, and eventually got picked up by Roadrunner.

Metalfan: You signed this deal with Roadrunned very fast. At that time, Roadrunner was already a big name in the international metal scene, not only in Holland. Was it hard to get such a deal?
Patrick Mameli: Yeah, Roadracer.... Well, of course you had to have talent but also luck to get such a deal, but the most important thing was that possibility of the record company to make money with you….At that time, we did not know what we signed. I don’t know what money they made with us, but we didn’t make money from that deal… It was so weird, because we wanted to concentrate on our songs, we had to live out of music and we couldn’t.…. And it may have been a difficult deal to get, this one, but definitely it was more difficult to get out of…

Metalfan: When Martin Van Drunen was a member of Pestilence, he was dealing with the vocals. Before that and after that, you were the one to do the vocals. Why did you hand over vocal responsibilities to Martin?
Patrick Mameli: I felt that is the time to become a better guitar player and I wanted to focus only on that. And also we were looking for a different voice, that could bring some extra to our music. And since we were looking for a new bass player, when we stumbeled on Martin, it seemed just like the perfect solution.

Metalfan: How did you meet with Tony Choy and how did he ended up playing with Pestilence? And also, why this collaboration stopped?
Patrick Mameli: : We were recording in Morrisound Studios, in Tampa, Florida, for Testimony Of The Ancients and we met the guys from Atheist whe were also recording there. We started talking, they were really very open and cool guys. We didn’t have a bass player at that time so Tony offered to help, and this was great, not only because he really did an amasing job but also because otherwise I should have done it myself. We became friends after this and kept in contact for all these years.

Metalfan: At some point, you started to incorporate more jazz into the music. Why was that and how did it happen?
Patrick Mameli: We wanted to progress, to become better, like every band does. Hanging out with the guys from Cynic or Atheist opened our minds to different kind of elements that may be incorporated in the music. When I started with Pestilence, I thought I was a bad guitar player and I always wanted to  become better. I worked a lot on my skills and, in time, I evolved. But after that, when I started to play the old stuff again, I just couldn’t. It wasn’t enough for me anymore. It was so weird, I felt handicaped….But now I got over this, now I’m going more brutal that ever before.

Metalfan: After releasing Testimony of The Ancients, Pestilence was a notorious metal act. Was Pestilence meeting the expectations you had when you started the band? What happened when you splitted up?
Patrick Mameli: I was excellent for a while. We had more and more shows, we played better, we had o lot of fun playing live. But at some point we lost our interest and live experience was not that funny anymore. Everything was evolving, was changing, and we did also. In the meantime, the record company dropped us and considering all that situation, we decided to put and end to it.

Metalfan: What really happened to you all these years? What did you do?
Patrick Mameli: I just left the scene, just like that, and pretty much gave up music. But I’m still alive, I have a regular job, I am married, I have 2 sons. Just living a good, easy life. Nothing crazy, not on the road, nothing special, just a regular life.

Metalfan: Before reforming Pestilence, you played with some great musicians, including again Tony Choy, in that band or project called C187. I’ve listened to the album Collision and thought it was amazing. How did it happen and why there was only one album?
Patrick Mameli: It started more like a project, just for one album with maybe a tour. It was very interesting to do it but we were not able to tour at that time, because Sean (n.r. Renert) was busy with Cynic. Some fans liked it, journalists liked it, but it did not sell at all. And since we couldn’t play it live and because the poor sales, there was no reason to record another album.

Metalfan: There were speculations about this name’s meaning, so what does C187 mean, actually?
Patrick Mameli: It’s the police code for murder. It is used in California basically. This album is somehow more American, maybe even sounds like American…

Metalfan: You stated that the fans were the reason for reforming Pestilence. But, fans aside, have you never thought by yourself about starting over with Pestilence?
Patrick Mameli: Not really, not for many years. I didn’t know if I would do it ever and didn’t ask myself this question too much. But never say never. The fans just pushed me to do it and since I got this chance to play with amazing players, I couldn’t say no. So it happened and now i’m happy that it did.

Metalfan: You also stated that you will play together only with people that are at the same musical and technical level as yourself, and this was more or less a direct attack on Martin Van Drunen. Why did you feel like saying that?
Patrick Mameli: It may seem like it. But the main issue for all of us was to have our heads in the same direction. It’s about having and understanding a common goal, musically and personally. We have to have the same idea about music and life in order to go on together. It’s not only about Martin, the same goes for Marco (n.r. Foddis). But luckily Peter (n.r. Wildoer) is so extreme, so good as a drummer that he gives great life to the songs, and i am thrilled to have him with me on this.

Metalfan: You inked a deal with Mascot records for both c187 and Pestilence. How this relationship with Mascot begin?
Patrick Mameli: Ed, the boss of Mascot Records worked for Roadrunner at the time we were on a deal with them. We had a good relationship, we kept in contact, he listened to the new material, liked it, had a fair deal for us and this was it.

Metalfan: About the new album, now…. It’s appropriate to assume that it’s mainly composed by you. When did you start writing it? How did the songs came up?
Patrick Mameli: Yes, it is written by me. I started more than one year ago, after I’ve seen fans asking on the internet, on the forums, about Pestilence, about me coming back. So I started recording in my attic, at home, never knowing what’s going to happen. I had some good riffs but it took me one year to put everything together. When the songs were ready, I tried to see if the old lineup interested. Tony Choy was very interested and I was happy that he wanted to play with me again. Then I needed a drummer and  a friend of mine from the music conservatory, recommended Peter Wildoer, and he also agreed to play. Then the other Patrick  (nr. Uterwijk ) agreed to join, so the lineup was finished, and it was a drem lineup for me.

Metalfan: Since the last 2 Pestilence albums were more experimental, people would expect you to continue into this fusion area. But you stated that you want to go back to the core of Pestilence. Why is that?
Patrick Mamelil: Sphere was not a success at all, I feel it was our weakest album. Also it didn’t sell that much, too much experiments going on for one album. For me, Pestilence is brutal and it has to stay brutal from now on.

Metalfan: You have worked with Jacob Hansen as producer for this new album. How is it to work with producers now, compared with the studio work in the early 90s?
Patrick Mameli: Pretty much the same, the studio work hasn’t changed that much in the meantime. This time, this was sort of a co-production with me, because I know what I wanted to get out of this album. Jacob Hansen is a very intelligent producer, he is very relaxed and we were confortable working in the studio with him.

Metalfan: Who did the solos on the album, you or Patrick Uterwijk?
Patrick Mameli: I did a part of them and he got a chance do also a few. The problem was that the schedule was very tight, the studio was booked very fast and he didn’t had the time to work and learn all the songs.

Metalfan: The name of the album is Resurrection Macabre and this has something to with the band starting over, right? You also stated that the lyrics are more reality style, not that religious or philosophical. Is this a result of your own personality changing with the years?
Patrick Mameli: Yes, Resurrection is of course related to the resurrection of Pestilence, and Macabre is because we are more brutal than ever and more macabre than ever (nr. laughter). Regarding lyrics, I never wrote too much before, the other guys did it, so I had to deal with them now. This was not easy for me, and this is the reason they are so much into real life, this was pretty much my subject of choice.

Metalfan: How do you think fans will react to this album? And also, what are your own personal expectations from this album?
Patrick Mameli: I hope that this will picked up by a lot of people, I really think it deserves the success we expect. We put so much effort into it and it shows a lot of musicianship, so it really should make people curious. Of course, I thought also C187 will be big and it was not, so I don’t know what to expect, but it is definitely a good album.

Metalfan: How much of the old stuff will you play on the upcoming tour?
Patrick Mameli: We’ve rehearsed some old songs and I like them in the new way we play them. I think we will have a very good mixture of new songs and old songs played more brutal. We’ll play also even some songs from Spheres, but still into the brutal way.

Metalfan: How do you think it’s going to be on tour and on stage after all these years?
Patrick Mameli: Wow …  I don’t know… I really hope that we will perform well… I feel nervous only when i think about it. I haven’t played in 15 years so it’s going to be weird, difficult, but I hope I’ll do allright. And we haven’t played anywhere with this lineup, so there is a little bit of  a risk…. The first show is at the Inferno festival in Oslo, so I hope we will be able to do a good job, because the audience will be very demanding. But I see that we will play also in Transylvania, and that’s in your country, so maybe you could see us there….

Metalfan (thinking a little bit): Unfortunately, I think Transilvania is also the name of a club that you’re going to play in Switzerland. Of course, a lot of fans would have loved to see you play in the actual Transylvania, or in any other region of Romania. So who knows, maybe we’ll meet at some summer festivals this year.
Patrick Mameli: Oh, yes, you are right... I'm sorry....But still, we’re doing some summer festivals, so that’s the chance to see us, maybe in Hellfest or Grasspop or Brutal Assault. Brutal..... (laughs).

Metalfan: What changes have you noticed in the metal industry from the early Pestilence times?
Patrick Mameli: I think that bands have found ways to become more brutral, more  extreme, less melodic. I like several underground bands that have a very brutal music (n.r. Patrick says some names that I really couldn’t remember). Plus that the people are more open minded now, more receptive to any new thing. And, of course, you don’t have to have long hair anymore to play metal (laughs).

Metalfan: What do you think is the future for Pestilence now?
Patrick Mameli: I really have no idea. First I want to go on tour, see how we deal with this, see the people reaction. If it will go well, there is a future for Pestilence.