Came, Saw, Conquered: Ex Deo, 'Romulus'

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Ex Deo had to cancel its U.S. tour, which was to start this week at Jaxx; see explanation at the end of this story.

THE NUMBER OF metal songs about war and destruction are legion.

But an entire concept album about the mayhem, devastation and power Ancient Rome is rarefied territory.

Maurizio Iacono has chopped his way through extreme music for nearly two decades as the leader of the veteran Canadian death-metal band Kataklysm, but he adopted a new moniker for "Romulus" (Nuclear Blast), the debut album by his Ex Deo project.

"I needed to create something different," Iacono said on the new name, "that had its own life and that I could expand on."

This despite Kataklysm guitarist Jean-Francois Dagenais producing and playing on "Romulus," as do band mates Stephane Barbe (guitar) and Max Duhamel (drums). Ex Deo also features Martyr's Francois Mongrain (bass) and Blackguard's Jonathan Leduc (keyboards) as core members, and "Romulus" includes guest spots from Karl Sanders (Nile), Obsidian C. (Keep of Kalessin) and Nergal (Behemoth).

It's an all-star project, but it's all Iacono's vision, which he's been developing for several years now. In fact, he first gave a taste of "Romulus'" theme on the Kataklysm's 2001 album, "Epic: The Poetry of War."

"'Epic' was a test for me, and it was only two songs that I touched on the subject [of Rome] very vaguely," Iacono said. "As Kataklysm grew into this other monster — it took its own form and identity more into the modern world — and its concept was very different from that of ancient views."

It's not just the concept that separates Ex Deo from Iacono's other band. The music also differs quite a bit from Kataklysm's self-described "northern hyperblast" style: Iacono's Ex Deo's vocals are cleaner, the songs' build-ups are more symphonic, and its brutal death metal is balanced by more cinematic melodies.

"Romulus" isn't a chronological take on the rise and fall of Rome; it's a series of 11 well-researched tales about battles ("Storm the Gates of Alesia," "The Final War," "Cry Havor") and emperors (the title track and first single is about Romulus Augustus, the last Western emperor before the fall of Rome). The second single, "In Her Dark Embrace," is something of love song to the Roman Empire — which, despite all the blood and savagery, could also be said about the entire "Romulus" CD.

"Today's world and the ancient world of the Roman Empire are definitely similar," Iacono said. "We fight wars for the same reasons, we have the same political structures, we have recreations that are similar. It's undeniable to see the influence of ancient Rome to today's world, especially on America."

Below, Iacono further explained the literary and cinematic influences on "Romulus."

» EXPRESS: Why Rome and why now — is the album a statement on today's world?
» IACONO: That's a good question. Well, first I've been wanting to do this for along time, just always been too busy with Kataklysm between albums and touring. So, when the band decided to take a break, I thought it was the perfect time to release this album. Rome is something that has fascinated me my entire life. I grew up in it as it's part of my heritage, so going to Italy often and taking in all that history was very inspiring to me. Today's world and the ancient world of the Roman Empire are definitely similar: we fight wars for the same reasons, we have the same political structures, we have recreations that are similar. It's undeniable to see the influence of Ancient Rome to today's world, especially on America.

» EXPRESS: What sorts of research did you do for "Romulus"?
» IACONO: I visited many sites in Italy, from northern Italy in Trento to the ruins of Sicily, where monuments of ancient Greece are still present. I took in a lot when I was there. I also read books: [Adrian] Goldsworthy's "Caesar," [Jane Penrose's] "Rome and Her Enemies." ... I've seen many documentaries on the subject. Amazon.com rules! [laughs] Lets put it this way: If anyone deserved to do this project on this massive subject, it was me. I earned it.

» EXPRESS: Kataklysm was supposed to play Rome in July. Did you do anything Ex Deo-related while there?
» IACONO: The show actually got canceled due to the club closing down, so we never actually made it out. I was bummed about it. With Ex Deo I'm ready to play anywhere, but Rome is a big challenge. I feel like I'm not worthy to play the big city. Hard to explain; maybe I'll change my mind.

» EXPRESS: For Ex Deo, you involved musicians whose own bands deal with exploring the past. Why was this distinction as important as their musical skills?
» IACONO: Because they understand where I'm coming from; they dealt with subject matters close to mine, so it felt natural. I'm one who is determined and when I wanna do something I do it right the whole way — and having these good friends being part of it was important to me

» EXPRESS: What are your favorite movies about the Roman empire? I ask because the imagery in the "Necropolis" video reminds me of Ridley Scott's "Gladiator."
» IACONO: It's funny, I just saw that new "Star Trek" movie and I never realized how they used Roman influences in "Star Trek." The Romulans' planet is Romulus; James Kirk's middle name is Tiberius — cool stuff. My favorite films, in order, would have to be: "Rome" HBO series, "Spartacus," "Gladiator," "Julius Caesar" with Marlon Brando. And "300" is Greek but that's where the Romans took most of their influence from, so I consider it part of Roman culture. The wolf symbol you see in ["300"] was taken from the Romulus story.

» EXPRESS: Did you look to any other concept records for inspiration?
» IACONO: I will go with bands, not albums. Iron Maiden, Metallica, Nile, King Diamond are some of the bands that have great concepts. Life of Agony's first album ["River Runs Red," 1993] was a great concept on suicide. It's one of my favorite albums.

» Jaxx, 6355 Rolling Rd., Springfield, Va.; with Ensiferum, Blackguard, Swashbuckle, Apothys, Radamanthys, Fri., Nov..6, 6:30 p.m., $25; 703-569-5940.

FROM THE NUCLEAR BLAST PRESS RELEASE

EX DEO, the Roman-themed arsenal led by KATAKLYSM frontman Maurizio Iacono, has officially pulled out of the ENSIFERUM tour for visa matters beyond the band's control. Commented Maurizio:

"Well the Gods are definitely not smiling on us at the moment. Some confusion happened in the visa departement for a couple guys in our camp and by the time it will be solved, the tour will be too far in for us to join it and financially it would be a disaster. The good news is we will be doing the last week of shows from Chicago to New York. We're planning some EX DEO stuff next year in America at the moment. We've lots of supporters that will be dissapointed if it doesn't happen so we'll try our best to make it up next year."

» Sweden's Hypocrisy was also supposed to play this tour, but their status on it is in the same jeopardy due to visa problems; read more here.