ERASER – Sheer Old-School Grindcore Fury

eraser grindcore italy

When you think of the Italian grindcore scene, one of the first names that must come to mind lately is ERASER.

With ten years of experience on the underground scene, ERASER continues to nurture the raw old-school grindcore spirit that laid the foundation of the genre. In this interview, the band members share stories about their beginnings, influences, studio challenges, their view on the current Italian extreme scene, and their new album “Harmony Dies,” which has received widespread acclaim.

Through intriguing anecdotes and candid answers, ERASER reveals what keeps them a vital force in the grindcore world. If you’re a fan of raw and unrelenting grind, keep reading.

Hey dudes! Can you tell us how ERASER was formed and how you would describe its evolution from the beginning until today?
Anselmo: Hi Nenad, first of all thnx a lot for the space you are giving to us on Necrozine, an occasion to spread more disease… Well, ERASER turns 10 years old just in these days, because it was born in the winter 2014/15 so exactly in this period… at the very beginning the band was formed by Dario, still guitarist of the band, Walter (first drummer), Tom G. Prophet (first singer) and me… I don’t think we had a proper evolution, we just went through 4 or 5 different line up changes but the intent was always to play real old school grindcore, and still it is today! Let’s say maybe we got just more experienced and tight in the act of rocking eheh.

eraser2

What were the early rehearsals and recordings of ERASER like? Is there anything you would change about that period now?
Anselmo: Uh, yes totally, I’m not in love with our first demo, we were unexperienced and didn’t know shit about recording so we didn’t have any proper guidelines for the engineer. I think that stuff could sound filthier and less generic, probably even spending less money and releasing it on tape instead of CDr… by the way, there’s still some affection for it, some songs from FOAG demo have survived until further releases and live sets.

Which artists or albums have had the greatest impact on you as band members, and would surprise fans if they knew?
Anselmo: Well I guess no one would be much surprised knowing our main influences are NAPALM DEATH, REPULSION, early CARCASS or TERRORIZER…

Vinz: I actually grew up on bread and DEATH, so my first live experience was with a DEATH cover band. For this reason I think Gene Hoglan’s drumming had a huge impact on my playing, as did Sean Reinert’s.

Later on, I started listening to old school stuff more and more often, and so I started approaching new techniques and new ways of conceiving them. Among all of them, I was most impressed by Dave Lombardo’s fills and Pete Sandoval’s blastbeat.

eraser grindcore

What inspires you the most when writing songs for ERASER? Are they everyday events, certain artists, or maybe something completely unexpected?
Anselmo: Too many things to count, just to name a few: other bands’music, history, society, fiction, movies, life, death, disease, every day discomfort, abuse, religion, blasphemy, etc etc…

Dario: About composing music, personally I do nothing but listen and listen on loop to the usual records that I’ve been carrying around with me for years (World Downfall, F.E.T.O., Harsh Realities and Horrified). Unfortunately or fortunately I can never get away from these classics.

The Italian grindcore and extreme music scene is known for its quality and energy. What do you think is the key to its success, and where do you see ERASER within it? Is there something you consciously do differently from other bands?
Anselmo: Mh I think we have some (not many) cool grindcore bands and many old school metal and hardcore punk bands. In my opinion, sticking to the grindcore/powerviolence/HC/crust etc etc scene, there are many bands who actually play more some kind of strange variant of these genres, with a modern approach, influences from math rock, alternative or noise rock (not noisecore, unfortuately hihi). We see more ourselves in continuity with straight forward old school bands.

eraser grindcore

Which Italian bands would you recommend to our readers that they may not have heard of?
Anselmo: It’s that time of the interview in which I make lists of bands, sorry ahah… By the way, considering we were discussing about, more or less recent, bands from Italy, here we go with some names: APOPTOSI, NARKAN, FAILURE, SKULLD, RESTOS HUMANOS, TERROR FIRMER, DRAGNET, YAKISOBA, PLAGUE BOMB, there could be others to name, I focused on the first more recentely active bands I could think of…

Vinz: I am a collector of Italian but especially Sicilian underground records, so I will make a short list: HAEMOPHAGUS, BUNKER 66, BALATONIZER, CADAVER MUTILATOR, CONSUMER, DAEMONOKRAT, NECRASS, KRIGERE WOLF, THE KRUSHERS, NECROSI etc… I may have missed some of course, but I think it’s a very interesting world to explore, from which I got a lot of inspiration.

What are the band members currently listening to in their headphones?
Anselmo: Beyond the usuals and the classics always getting back on the turntable (or on the computer speakers…), recentely I’ve been digging a lot a bunch of more or less new bands of unadulterated grindcore and death metal like DIPYGUS, PSYKOOSI, RETORSION, HORRIBLE (spanish ones), MORGUE BREATH, REPULSIVE FEAST, SONIC POISON, REPUKED etc – just to name a few… and also some hardcore punk acts like INVERTEBRATES, REEK MINDS and SPEED PLANS. On the more classic metal side of the thing I enjoyed a lot recent releases by BOTTOMLESS, HELVETETS PORT, THE WATCHER and, last but not least, JUDAS PRIEST’s Invincible Shield…

Vinz: honestly, even though I play grindcore, I started listening to it more often since Anselmo involved me in the project. My grindcore listening at the moment is mostly bands I play with at live events or that I got to know at the last Obscene Extreme, bands whose records I bought in physical copies such as EMBALMING THEATRE, INSOMNIA ISTERICA, HOSTIA, DISTASTE, KANDARIVAS and MORTIFY. I was certainly very impressed by ROTTEN SOUND’s latest album, “Apocalypse”. Currently, the non-grindcore releases that have impressed me the most in 2024 are: “Absolute Elsewhere” by BLOOD INCANTATION, “Muuntautuja” by ORANSSI PAZUZU and “The Bird Of A Thousand Voices”, the masterful latest album by Armenian pianist Tigran Hamasyan.

Dario: In addition to the grindcore records that I mentioned in a few questions above, I usually listen to the two albums by FAIR TO MIDLAND and I’ve recently become interested in shoegaze eheh. However, blastbeat will remain my one and only great love.

Are all the songs a collective effort, or is there someone who dominates the creative process? Was there any song created under completely unusual circumstances?Anselmo: Usually we write songs individually and then show the rest of the band the result, in order to approve or elaborate more all together, most of the songs are written by me and Dario, with rare exceptions, but of course everyone puts some effort on the way to the final result.

The new album “Harmony Dies” was recently released and has been received exceptionally well by both critics and the audience. 22 songs in 27 minutes, excellent production, and noticeable differences compared to the previous album “Mutual Overkill Deterrence”. How did you approach creating “Harmony Dies” compared to “Mutual Overkill Deterrence”?
Anselmo: It wasn’t made on purpose, and don’t get me wrong, I love both records, maybe the first one is more in the style of UNSEEN TERROR or CRYPTIC SLAUGHTER than in full speed death/grind like on “Harmony Dies“… I must admit, looking at these two records now, they look almost by two different bands, and in a way it is like this, the logo is a different one, artwork too, wealso  have, as you noticed, another singer, and also another (way faster) drummer, Vinz, who is a human ventilator of speed and tightness, … I think the transition from M.O.D. to this new LP can be heard on the tracks of the split with YOUR KID’S ON FIRE from 2021. Anyway the intentions are still the same eheh.

Eraser - Harmony Dies - Cover

What key elements do you think contributed to the positive reception of the new release? Did you have a clear vision of how you wanted “Harmony Dies” to sound beforehand, or was it a spontaneous development during the recording and production process?
Anselmo: We wanted to keep it “classic” and full of catchy riffs, alternated blast beats, dbeat, tupa tupa, mid tempos and mosh (proper one not stupid gorilla breakdowns or gravity blast for the brutalheadz), sheer old school, punk infused, thrashing grindcore… About the sound, I can talk more about bass and drums, but yes I think all of us had quite a clear idea of what we wanted to achieve.

Speaking of “Harmony Dies”, the cover art is more “grind” compared to the previous album, and you’ve also brought back the old logo. Additionally, there’s a new vocalist. It seems like this album has undergone a lot of changes. How important is the artistic aspect of the album and everything surrounding it to you?
Anselmo:
to be fair, on the previous LP, cover artwork was a collage, which, in my opinion, it is a lot more in a punk and grindcore style than an actual drawing or painting, but at the end of the day, who cares,..

If you think AGATHOCLES used Raffaello’s The School Of Athens as cover artwork, everything can work out if you want it, the important s just to avoid to follows hollow trends and rigid schemes eheh!

How much has the internet helped you in your work? Do you rely on any music or social media platforms? 
Anselmo: Of course, internet can be an important tool in DIY networking, but I think, if we want to use social medias and music platforms, we have to use it as an instrument and not as the final goal, we don’t have to be fooled by numbers, trends, waves, we must avoid pointless competition in the DIY scene and do not copy what happens in the mainstream scene: let’s not get used by this “creative” fucked up system.

If you had to erase one thing from the world of extreme music, what would it be?
Anselmo: Brainless trends, but it’s impossible I guess…

How do you manage to work in all your side projects? Assuming they serve as an escape from everyday life, do you have other hobbies unrelated to music?
Anselmo: I play in some other bands and study history at University, I’ve been working for some times but for now I’m unemployed… I think it’s a matter of priorities, if I’ll ever get tired I will do something else but for now I always find some time for music.

Vinz: For me, music is a fundamental part of my weekly routine, a bit like if I went to the gym, it becomes my time of day in which I decompress stress and shape the most important social relationships I have, that is, with other musicians. At the moment, besides Eraser I have two other bands (fortunately less busy at the moment) with whom I’m doing other extreme stuff. For the rest, I work as a school teacher and I help in my family business in the afternoon, in addition to starting to study for a new degree. I am a very busy person but also very organized, in order to be sure that everything I have to do goes in the right way.

Do you have any specific rituals before a performance? Where can we see you in 2025?
Anselmo: I’m used to warm voice and hands up, even if I only do vocals in certain parts, but it still helps out a bit… We’ll play at Obscene Extreme 2025 which is already announced, but I don’t wanna spoiler the rest for now eheh, I will simply say that we’ll be on tour around Europe more than once during this year and that we have more noise ready to strike!

Vinz: Usually, before every concert I try to stay focused and above all sober eheh, in the sense that I don’t drink or smoke anything before any performance. Usually, just ten minutes before performing I focus on all the adrenaline I have in my body and make sure that it comes out during the performance, perhaps doing some exercises with the sticks before sitting on the drumset.

Top 3 Italian beers?
Anselmo: Not the fanziest for sure but the main I drink… Forst, Ichnusa, Birra dello Stretto

Vinz: Italy has many good beers, certainly in Palermo the best place to drink craft beer is the local “Ballarak”, where I always take the ones I think are the best, the “Bittersweet Symphony” is one of the best craft beers in the area. I also really love “Brassicula – Stranizza d’amuri”, another artisanal beer from the Madonie that has the scent of apricots and which is among the best beers around for me.

Among the mainstreams, it is impossible not to mention “Birra dello Stretto”, both for its taste but also for the history of the brewery.

The final lines are reserved for a message to your fans, friends, enemies, or family.
Anselmo: THNX again m8!!! Cheers everybody, stay chuffffffed!

Vinz: I greet all the people who support me and love me with a big hug, I love you! To all my enemies I leave a coded message: 800A, I’m sure they will understand what it means, bye!

Follow ERASER:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/intl-it/artist/3Tn8eKyY8KnLGrWpc8n2Ap

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eraser_grindcore/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EraserGrindcore

Bandcamp: https://erasergrind.bandcamp.com/

Share this:

Check out also:

ajal grindcore inteview

AJAL: Central Asia’s Most Essential Grindcore Act

When you think of grindcore meccas, Central Asia might not be the first region that comes to mind. But let me tell you - boy ...
corpsing

CORPSING Released New EP “Viewing The Invisible” With Special Guests

UK death metal act CORPSING has just self-released a brand-new four-song EP, “Viewing The Invisible”, available on CD and digital platforms.
lixiviat festival 2025

Lixiviat Festival 2025 Announces First Bands

Lixiviat Festival returns in 2025, set to take place on June 27-28 in Vaulx-en-Velin, France.
Scroll to Top