Exposed Vocals just caught an exclusive interview with Lucas Di Mascio of Malacoda

Lucas Di Mascio originally founded MALACODA as a solo project while in a few other local bands in 2014. The recording project was produced by longtime mentor of Lucas’ Joel Kazmi. There was interest in the project by numerous parties all over the world by the time the record was finished being recorded. Lucas decided to find band members to make it a fully fledged band. Live musicians were brought in, but after a year of working with them it became clear that for the band to grow there needed to be more capable musicians for the more technical music that was being written as a follow up to the self-debut.

In 2016 new all-star line-up was formed for the Ritualis Aeterna EP, this time produced by Lucas himself at his own Old Haunt Recording Studio. The Malacoda branding grew larger from than point, making the band’s existence known outside of North America into the stalwart European metal scene. The Penny Dreadful music video set the bar for what the band hopes to achieve as far as quality of content and allowed listener’s to see the dark visions portrayed in the lyrics. As the year went on however, it became that most of the members chosen for the lineup would be incapable of giving 100 percent to Malacoda’s needs and not wanting to delegate these members as session musicians, Lucas decided that for the band to be able to work at full capacity every member needed to be all in. Cooper Seldon, the live bassist for this period became the guitar player and a hunt for full time members was underway.

The year 2017 was mostly a quiet year for the band, a new lineup has been summoned and these members are all contributors to Malacoda’s cause. Not straying far from the path of it’s hellish origins nor it’s majestic journey, yet with a fresh approach which blends the best qualities of both releases, the new music the band is working on is them at their most ambitious. The band announced their signing to Rockshots Records before the new year hit and re-released Ritualis Aeterna through the label in mid January. The band is hard at work on a new record which will hopefully be released in 2018.

You can hear more about us at www.rockshots.eu – the record label we are signed to.

Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?

Lucas: I grew up in a town called Oakville in Ontario, Canada. It’s a pretty quiet place, really laid back. I’m pretty sure I’m the loudest thing in this town. When I was a kid I was really into soundtracks and musical theatre, so I think that influenced my decision to give music a shot. When I was a teenager I heard this band called Iced Earth and their songwriting blew me away. I picked up a guitar and learned every song off their “Dark Saga” album front to back. It all stemmed from that moment I think.

Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?

Lucas: I think that what bands should keep in mind is to always be looking for an opportunity- no matter how big or small, to get out there. It’s a long shot to get noticed by the big leagues and even longer shot to have them do anything for you, so start small. Find one of the many online radio stations and submit your music, they’re often more than happy to work with you and even do an interview. Network with bloggers for reviews and don’t be afraid to talk to other musicians and see what their doing. Most importantly, don’t get discouraged. It’s not easy- doing anything in the arts is automatically destined to meet with difficulty by design and is a constant upward battle.

Exposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?

Lucas: All the friggin’ time! Just keep the show going. “The show must go on” is the most true statement I’ve ever heard. We utilize a bunch of backing tracks so once we start we have to keep going, no stopping and starting over. I think it’s more professional to take the mistakes in stride and to keep going than to stop the show anyways.

Exposed Vocals: Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?

Lucas: We’re hopefully touring this year, it’s a real pain in the ass setting it up. Canada isn’t the greatest for touring, simply because all the hotspots are few and far between. We’re trying to get stuff happening in the US, but it’s a slow process. We are playing a show on February 10th in Toronto with The White Swan (drummer of Kittie’s new band) which we’re pretty excited about.

Exposed Vocals: Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?

Lucas: Nothing planned right now at my recording studio as far as upgrades, maybe a few plug-ins. I’m really digging the stuff Joey Sturgis has come out with lately so I’ll definitely pick up a few more of those. Possibly some Aston microphones which a bunch of my friends have been geeking out about. Right now I’ve got so much gear to list… It’d be easier to shamelessly promote myself and say: “Check out my gear list at www.oldhauntrecords.com”.
I try to do a blend of analog gear and digital stuff, I prefer working with ProTools as my DAW and I’ve been using an RME 802 as my main interface because of all the ins and outs. I then use a juice rack to power a couple of 500 series preamps (API, Lindell, Black Lion, DBX specifically), and then link in an old Focusrite Liquid Saffire. 16 inputs is what I’ve got right now, but I’d like to get up to at least 24 for those really big drum sessions with the guys who wanna play like they are in Rush. I used to use a lot of analog outboard gear (synths, compressors, equalizers) but honestly the digital stuff is getting to the point where it’s indistinguishable from the real thing that it’s emulating. I find I’m using more and more plugins and selling the physical hardware.

Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?

Lucas: It’s actually very hard to promote music these days. Spotify doesn’t give you anything for your music, Youtube is changing the ways they monetize videos to the point that it’s pretty much pointless to put your stuff on there unless you are already massive. Facebook has always been weird, they keep changing how stuff works right when you are getting the hang of what they changed last time. I don’t get Twitter- I just don’t. Instagram is about the only thing that I see as an interesting, easy and mostly free means to promote yourself on a regular basis, but I’m sure that’ll eventually go the way of YouTube and Facebook. Honestly, I find when I hire a PR guy when we have something worth showing is when it’s worked out the best, or just playing shows. Tagging along with other bands to cross promote is great too.

Exposed Vocals: If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why?

Lucas: I would want to perform with Type O Negative, one of my favourite bands, just to be able to hang out with them. I don’t care where it is. They were such an interesting band full of characters, and Peter Steele was a really underrated musician. I’d want to do that so I could hang out with them after the show and try and become friends with Pete.

Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?

Lucas: Malacoda just re-released an EP, “Ritualis Aeterna” through Rockshots Records. We’re working on a full length record to follow it… it should be ready sometime this year. As a band, Malacoda is really just focusing on getting gig ready and promo to be honest. I think we’re starting to work on a music video for the new material soon too. I’m recording a few artists right now, studio time is filling up. I’ve been working on some sort of solo project, more as a means to practice some production techniques than to come out with something as serious as Malacoda is. I’m thinking of starting some sort of YouTube channel involving music production, but I have a hard time justifying it with so many other channels out there and with the way YouTube is going.

Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?

Lucas: Probably something very boring and tedious that made me tons of money but was ultimately soul crushing.

Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in the next year or so?

Lucas: Fans of Malacoda should look forward to us hitting the road, new merchandise designs, and eventually some new tunes.

Exposed Vocals: Any Shout-outs?

Lucas: Hi Mom!