Interview With Fernando Ricciardulli Of Azeroth | “National Bands Are Always Under The Microscope”

Let’s start with the basics. Azeroth is a band that, as far as we’re concerned, we love; we’ve been following them for years and consider them one of the best things Argentine Heavy Metal has ever produced. We’ve wanted to interview the driving force behind Azeroth—Fernando Ricciardulli—for quite some time now, as he’s been at it for nearly 30 years.
The band has been releasing one great album after another. In particular, “Senderos Del Destino,” released in both Spanish and English, is an album to take very seriously; it’s even among the best the band has ever released in its entire history, but also, Azeroth has just re-released their debut album, “Azeroth”—a legendary record if ever there was one—with a new edition featuring a fresh booklet, updated design, and a bonus track: the band’s cover of Logos’ “No Te Rindas,” recorded alongside Alberto Zamarbide.
And that’s not all—Azeroth has a packed schedule this year, with many dates ahead, so it’s a great opportunity to see a band live that’s truly worth it, for their history, their music, and the guts they always bring to the table!!!!
We took the opportunity to ask him all sorts of questions, and Fernando proved, above all else, to be a genuine guy. He’s not your typical interviewee with a script. Quite the opposite. And that’s worth a lot. Fernando speaks his mind at all times, and that’s something we truly value. In the interview, he tells us about Azeroth’s first album, their latest record, his thoughts on the current state of the metal scene, and several other topics, so we invite you to read this interesting interview….

How do you feel about this reissue of Azeroth’s first album? And what place does it hold in the band’s history?

“My feelings about the reissue of the first album are the best because it’s great that material released 25 years ago is being valued—material that in a way marked the beginning, both for the general public and for the band—and it also gave us a lot of satisfaction because it allowed us to go on several tours at the time and was also released in Mexico, Chile, Japan, and Spain, receiving very positive feedback. It’s really nice to see the album back on the shelves again, especially as a deluxe reissue. As a graphic designer, I created artwork for each of the songs, and the album itself includes a bonus track: a cover of the Logos classic “No Te Rindas” that we recorded with Beto Zamarbide a couple of years ago—so it’s an edition you won’t want to miss!”

What was the production and recording process like? Because looking back, you can see the hard work that went into it, not to mention the songs it includes, which are true classics…

“There wasn’t that much production involved, actually, because it was our first serious recording, and it has its own unique story. We had a singer, and when it came time to record the vocals in the middle of the album session, we ran into a lot of technical difficulties with the vocalist we had at the time, and that’s when we decided to remove him from the project. And that led to one of life’s coincidences: the owner of the studio where we were recording was friends with Adrián Barilari (Rata Blanca), and he put us in touch with Adrián, and that’s how he ended up singing on “Historias De Hoy,” and from there the opportunity arose to invite him to sing on three more songs. We also invited Christian Bertoncelli, who was already familiar to us because we’d played with Imperio, and he knew the guitarist who was playing with us at the time, so we invited him to sing the other half of the songs on the album.”

It’s true that you had a hard time maintaining a stable lineup afterward, right? You’d be the only one who’s been with the Azeroth project from the beginning, if I’m not mistaken…

“Actually, it wasn’t that hard. Not at all. Because after we recorded the album, Oscar Castro joined the band, but due to a personal issue on his part—he was involved in something else that I didn’t agree with—it didn’t work out for him to stay. From there, we recorded the second album, and Pablo Gamarra joined—he’s our current guitarist—and we’ve been playing with that lineup ever since. After that, the band was on hiatus for 13 years, and naturally I came back with a new lineup. I’ve been playing with these guys since 2017. It’s not that we never had a stable lineup. At the time, yes, there were some changes, even with the singer, but the thing is, there are a lot of ups and downs in life, and sometimes people in general judge—especially national bands—for the fact that the lineup changes, when with foreign bands, they don’t do the same. Obviously, it’s not the same standard. But hey, those are the rules of the game and the things we have to deal with, but I don’t agree with what you’re saying.”

How would you define Azeroth’s style? Because while at first it seemed like you guys were into Classic Power Metal, you always had that unique personality that set you apart from being just another band in the crowd…

“The whole labeling thing is always because people need that. People need that to connect, instead of just listening. It happened back then; imagine now in these times we live in, where everything is so complicated. But it’s always been like people needed bands to have a label to decide whether to check them out or not, instead of just enjoying the music—unfortunately. That was partly what also ruined the whole scene, one of the causes, but well, that’s another topic. Clearly, our music has always been Heavy Metal—melodic, with clean vocals, lots of melodies in every aspect, both in the vocals and the instrumental arrangements, and music that’s pretty fast and aggressive. There’s a bit of everything, of course, because obviously over the years and with the albums you release, you want to explore different things but always try to write songs. For me, that’s the fundamental thing. If there’s one thing I personally don’t like, it’s instrumental acrobats. By “instrumental acrobats,” I mean those who play and move and move and move their fingers but don’t convey a single emotion—and there are plenty of those!!! But anyway, those are just my perceptions…”

Azeroth’s latest album is, so far, “Senderos Del Destino.” How would you describe it? What was the composition and recording process like?

“Yes, ‘Senderos Del Destino’ is our latest studio album. Right now we’ve already recorded several songs, which we’re going to release little by little because that’s what works—or rather, what’s done these days. In the sense that it’s used because, more than anything, I want all the songs to be heard, so it’s no use to me to do things the way they used to—releasing an album—when people don’t listen to albums anymore. People live for the immediate, the superficial, and the artificial. I never cared about any of that, and I always did whatever I felt like, and that’s how it’s going to be until the end of this whole story.
As for “Senderos Del Destino,” it began to take shape in 2020, before the pandemic, and the pandemic actually allowed me to work on it and do some pre-production. That’s pretty unusual, given what usually happens with national metal bands—at least those of our kind. Maybe Rata Blanca or bands like that do it, but for us, it’s harder to take the time to do pre-production and then production… Well, this album did have pre-production; it involved a lot of orchestral work on my part because, with the pandemic, I had a lot of time on my hands and couldn’t do anything, just like everyone else. That allowed me to really delve into the subject of orchestration and a whole lot of other things. That’s probably why this is the album with the most “little orchestra” arrangements. Keyboards have always been a clearly important part of the band, because of the color they add to the songs, the variety, and so on. On this album in particular, I approached them differently. The time I had during the pandemic made that possible. Unfortunately, since we don’t make a living from music, I don’t know if I could afford to do what I did on “Senderos Del Destino” again. We’ll keep going in a different direction, and everything’s fine anyway, but personally, it’s an album I absolutely love!”

It’s clear from Azeroth’s lyrics that each song tells a story—thoughts and situations that a person might experience deep within themselves. What inspires you when you’re writing, and what message are you trying to convey?

“I’ve always been the band’s main composer, songwriter, and lyricist. I’ve always been interested in sharing some ‘data,’ so to speak, or conveying feelings, or having the music serve as a source of support to help people move forward. The thing is, I always say this, and it’s the truth: when it comes to writing, my process is pretty self-centered. I have to like it myself because I don’t care what others might think. If others like it, great. Because I’d be a hypocrite if I said I do it thinking about whether people will like it or not. There are some songs that are stories, or narrate a particular event, but generally the lyrics are more about internal feelings or moments, or even just to channel emotions through the music.”

There’s a line of thinking that claims Argentine Metal is “behind the times” in terms of its discourse, as if there’s a cultural and lyrical stagnation, stuck in the ’80s and ’90s. What’s your opinion on this in general, and specifically regarding Azeroth?

“What I actually think is that, as I was saying before, national bands are always under the microscope. I mean, why don’t they listen to what the lyrics of Rhapsody or Deep Purple say? Or a bunch of bands that have nonsensical lyrics or ones written for 5-year-olds? ‘Highway Star’ or any of Rhapsody’s songs sound like children’s stories, but well, with the national scene, it’s always been much more demanding. There’s always a higher standard. Obviously, musically speaking, it’s subjective because everyone likes whatever genre they like, but I spent my teenage years particularly with Hermética—I’d go see them everywhere—and with them, obviously, the lyrics were very important. Ricardo (Iorio)’s lyrics were wonderful—they were true poems and true depictions of the Argentine reality of the time. That doesn’t mean you have to experience everything Ricardo described, far from it, but you felt a connection when someone said interesting and intelligent things—that’s always been what set domestic bands apart for me. Several of them, not all—that’s the difference.”

By the way, and as a follow-up to that, how do you view the Argentine Metal scene?

“I see the Argentine Metal scene as complicated, but not because of the bands themselves, because there’s something for everyone. I see it as complicated because of the general public. I’ve been in this scene for 30 years and have played in every venue you can imagine—nice and ugly, big and small—and I notice that people have a particular aversion to bands. Some of it is deserved, because there are some that are really bad, but that happens all over the world, not just in Argentina. We local bands only get one shot, as one of our songs says, and if you mess up, you mess up. Then Abbath can come along, make a mess of things, charge you 100,000 pesos, come back, charge you another 100,000 pesos, and fill the venue (editor’s note: Abbath, formerly of Immortal, drank too much before a concert in Buenos Aires, went on stage, and didn’t last even 15 minutes since he wasn’t in any condition to play, angering the audience), so that’s when we realize the standards aren’t the same, and it’s very unfair because honestly, I believe there are local bands that are still trying to do things right. There are newer bands—though they’re not really that new because there aren’t many new ones; there’s no turnover—that’s crystal clear. I’m not making this up or being negative, but it’s the reality. I keep making music because I love doing it, and I’ve never cared what anyone else thinks. I do what I do because I believe in what I do and I think it’s good—and that’s it. I think the overall level isn’t that high, unfortunately, and the issue of the lack of new talent is somewhat complex.”

Azeroth recorded two albums in English (“Beyond Chaos” and “Trails Of Destiny”). What impact did singing in that language have in other countries? Do you think that approach can help expand Azeroth’s reach in other places?

“That was the idea behind recording those two albums in English: to try to reach a wider audience or to reach places that are harder to reach in Spanish. It’s a complex time in general, in which, despite having thousands of tools to reach everyone, so to speak, there’s very little of an audience, in general, not just here but all over the world, because of this issue we were talking about—the turnover—because it’s not just in Argentina but worldwide. There’s also an overload of bands. There’s an immense number of bands, so that obviously makes it difficult at times to reach people through traditional media. Times have changed. It’s not the same as when I started 25 or 30 years ago. So you also have to adapt, to be able to get the word out, but well, it’s just another tool to keep all your paperwork in order, always looking for that opportunity to be heard, which is what we all want in the end, because I believe what we do is valid, and everyone in their band should think the same way.”

You recently released the cover of “No Te Rindas” with Beto Zamarbide. How did that opportunity come about, and what was it like working on that song with him? Are there any future plans with Beto?

“We already know who Beto is—there’s nothing to discover!!! He’s the first lead singer of a Spanish-language Heavy Metal band in our country, which was V8, with all that that represents. I’m lucky to be friends with Beto. I met him when I was living in Mexico. I lived there for several years; in fact, I lived seven years in Mexico and seven years in Italy. When I was living in Mexico, he had gone on tour there with Logos, and I had the chance to meet him. We’ve shared a lot of things; he’s come over to my place, and this is something I’ve always wanted to do—record this Logos song, which is one of my favorites from their first album, La Industria Del Poder, which is undoubtedly one of the three or four most important albums in Mexican metal. So he agreed, I showed him the version, which is obviously a bit faster and more powerful than the original, and he loved it, so we went ahead with it, and honestly, it turned out great. No plans as such—it was just that collaboration, for me personally to indulge my fan side and also to share the experience with my friend, and for him to get to record as a guest, so it was awesome!”

From what we’ve seen, you have a packed 2026 with several dates in various parts of the country and Chile—what are your expectations, and how are you preparing for this tour?

“Expectations—always the best—but it’s really tough to go out and play, as I already told you in 5 of the 10 questions!!! (hahaha), but yeah, it’s a really complicated situation, because of the audience out there—they’re not coming out, because they’re getting older too!!! I’m not saying I understand because I’m getting older too, but I’m still committed to this. These things happen. What we enjoy most is playing, clearly. This year we had the chance to organize a bunch of concerts in a bunch of places, so we could get out there and play outside the capital. Going to play in the neighborhoods too, and also the chance to go play in Chile for the first time, which is going to be awesome because there are a lot of people who maybe heard the first album and are excited to see us for the first time, and also to show ourselves to a new audience. It happened to us when we went to Brazil and played with Angra last year, on two occasions. Obviously, we’re really looking forward to it and have high hopes.”

It’s been four years since Azeroth’s last album—are you working on something new? What can you tell us about it, and when can we expect a new album from the band?

“As I mentioned earlier, we’ve already recorded a couple of songs. I imagine we’ll be releasing the first one by late July or early August, and the second one a month later. I suppose by the end of the year, we’ll release another couple of songs, and we plan to release the full album in April of next year. So we’re obviously very happy—the material sounds absolutely fantastic. They’re incredible songs. I’m also excited because, after six albums, being able to keep releasing material that lives up to expectations is quite a challenge. I think we’ve succeeded, and then some. We’re counting on spreading the songs as widely as possible and taking advantage of the show we’ll be playing on September 13th, where we’ll be opening for Helloween at the Movistar Arena, and using that as a springboard to showcase these songs.”

Leaving the question of religion aside, what do you think about God, and what do you believe lies beyond death?

“What a question!!! I wasn’t expecting that!!! I don’t know, there definitely has to be something on another plane, right? The soul, in some way—as the energy that we are—has to transcend to other planes and so on. Obviously, it’s not something I’m entirely clear on. These are things I really don’t like to dwell on because, I think nobody wants to die! You try to keep yourself pretty busy, for starters, so you can clear your head, move forward, and enjoy all the moments each of us gets while we’re here on this earth, on this plane.”

We appreciate your time and are giving you the space to share your thoughts with our readers….

“Obviously, thank you for the opportunity. It’s always amazing for us to have anything that helps spread our message or what we think. If it’s also a way for people to get hooked on what we say, and that leads them to want to listen to us, then that’s welcome!!! And a big hello to all the readers!!!”

The thanks are all ours, Fernando!!!! It’s a real treat we’ve been wanting to give ourselves for a long time, and as always, we appreciate your time and willingness!!!
As we mentioned, Azeroth has a packed schedule this year, so there will be plenty of opportunities to enjoy the band live—so no excuses if you’re looking for heavy metal that’s both fierce and melodic!!!!
If you’ve never heard Azeroth before, we’ve included below not only the cover of “No Te Rindas” that the band recorded with Alberto Zamarbide but also the music video for “Senderos Del Destino” and its English-language counterpart, featuring Fabio Lione (ex-Rhapsody). We’d also like to share the band’s social media links so you can follow them and stay updated on their latest news…