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| Picture by FotoReporter X |
For nearly three decades, Handful of Hate has remained a relentless force in the underground black metal scene. With their latest album, Soulless Abominations, the Italian band continues to embrace an uncompromising and raw vision of the genre. In this interview, Nicola Bianchi shares his thoughts on the band’s origins, their songwriting approach, and their view of the modern black metal landscape.
Asmoth: Handful of Hate emerged in the mid-’90s, when Italian black metal was still deeply underground and hostile to any form of compromise. How do you reflect on those early years, and do you feel that the original spirit of black metal has been diluted today?
Nicola Bianchi: from our side I don’t think it’s diluted. We’re more experienced but with the same enthusiasm as the first days. Black Metal, in some cases, has taken on mainstream forms but we continue to look at the origins of this genre and maintain a very underground attitude.
Asmoth: Soulless Abominations sounds merciless and openly contemptuous of modern values. Was this album conceived as a reaction against something specific—within society, the metal scene, or even within yourselves?
Nicola Bianchi: Soulless Abominations sounds like a Black Metal album that comes after a long period of reflection and an intense and complex compositional phase. Rather than being contemptuous of modern values, we remain anchored to the concept we have of Black Metal, so even though it uses modern sounds it remains primordial and immediate. We've always been an uncompromising band, but here our music has become even more extreme, raw, and cutting. I'm not angry at anything specific; I portray my thoughts and reflections, which range from history to religious iconography to the vehemence of human emotions and carnal impulses.
Asmoth: The album feels stripped of any ornament, focused purely on violence, darkness, and intent. Did you consciously aim to remove anything unnecessary from your songwriting to reach this raw, almost ritualistic brutality?
Nicola Bianchi: Over the years I have developed a songwriting style essential and not too verbose. Handful Of Hate have always been a no compromising band, violent and very fast, free from too many “baroque ornaments”, few intense minutes to catch the groove and overwhelm the listener.
Asmoth: After nearly three decades of existence, many bands soften or drift away from extremity. What inner necessity still drives Handful of Hate to create such hostile and uncompromising black metal in the 2020s?
Nicola Bianchi: Coherence. I like to play this way, I love to improve along this path of playing Black Metal. If one day I’ll feel the urge, or need, to contaminate, crossover my music I’ll create a new band.
Asmoth: There is a strong sense of control and discipline behind the chaos on Soulless Abominations. How important is precision and rigor in expressing true darkness, rather than relying solely on rawness?
Nicola Bianchi: I think that in the songwriting phase the arrangement is very important. The prospect of the final solution is in your mind, and everything that happens until the complete song depends on it. You must be skillful and well trained to perform extreme solutions, I don't know if it can be defined as discipline or rigor, maybe both. If you want to put chaos into music, you have to be able to manage and guide it.
Asmoth: The underground today is saturated with releases and instant exposure. From your perspective as pioneers, does this overabundance weaken black metal’s impact, or does it simply reveal who truly belongs?
Nicola Bianchi: From my side I really don’t care about it too much. I keep listening to a few new bands strictly chosen between what I consider the” best new coming” albums. Perhaps the biggest problem is concerning the live side, where there are too many bands for the limited space available. At the same time, I think there are too many concerts for too many bands.
Asmoth: Soulless Abominations feels like a statement rather than just another album. What does this record represent for Handful of Hate in terms of legacy, conviction, and defiance?
Nicola Bianchi: It represents a new step. A new compositional experience that well represents our state of health and our consistency in carrying forward, according to our principles, a musical genre that we consider our lifestyle.
