Forged in Milan’s underground, Bid Zogo return with “Pazuzu,” a brutally ritualistic new chapter. In this interview, the band reflects on their evolution, lineup shifts, and the dark force driving their sound forward.
1. Bid
Zogo formed in Milan’s underground scene back in 2001. Looking back, what do
you feel most shaped your early identity as one of the first Italian bands
experimenting with “below-the-feet” tuning?
I’d say two
things really shaped our identity in the early days: the Milan underground
scene at the time, and our obsession with a sound that was heavier than
what was considered “acceptable” back then. In 2001 there was a fierce
urge to experiment, but there weren’t many Italian bands daring to tune that
low. That “under-your-feet tuning” was our way of breaking the rules and making
everything physically vibrate: amps, stages, and even the audience.
The lack of
an already-established scene for that kind of sound actually helped us. It
forced us to build our own language from scratch, blending extreme influences,
doom, noise—anything we found interesting—without worrying about where it would
take us. It was a period of total creative freedom, and I think that absence of
boundaries defines.
2. You
toured across the country and shared stages with Extrema. How did those early
live experiences influence the raw, aggressive energy that still defines your
shows today?
Playing
around the country and sharing the stage with Extrema was like being thrown
into a live survival crash course. Those first concerts immediately taught us
that energy is not something you "bring" to the stage: it is
something you create together with the audience, often in small, sweaty and
unpredictable environments. Every night was a different battle, and that
mentality sculpted us deeply.
Seeing the
professionalism and intensity of the Extrema up close has pushed us to never
spare ourselves: higher volume, fiercer presence, zero compromises. They showed
us that, if you want your music to really hit, you have to be willing to leave
everything on stage at every single date.
3. Over
the years the band went through several lineup changes, including
collaborations with Richard Meinz (Lacuna Coil) and Alice Lane Pandini
(Infected Rain). How did these collaborations impact your sound and
growth?
Every
change in formation was a creative shock, and I think that's what prevented the
band from crystallizing in one direction. The collaborations with Richard Meinz
and Alice Lane Pandini were two very different but equally decisive stages.
With
Richard we found a more surgical approach to the construction of the songs: an
attention to detail, to the weights and rhythmic counterweights, which pushed
us to rethink our groove. He had an almost "laboratory" mentality,
and this forced us to get out of the comfort zone, to refine parts and
structures without losing our brutality.
Alice
instead brought an opposite energy: pure instinctiveness, a visceral way of
dealing with vocal line and performance. With her we rediscovered the most
emotional and unpredictable side of our sound, opening ourselves to dynamics
that we did not consider before - from the most extreme contrasts to the most
disturbing nuances.
4. Your
current lineup is described as a “well-oiled war machine.” What strengths does
each member bring that solidifies this powerful chemistry?
Today the
band really works like a well-oiled war machine because everyone carries a
different type of strength, but perfectly complementary.
The bassist
is the dark glue of the group. It brings a dirty, visceral sense of groove,
capable of giving depth even to the most extreme moments. He's that kind of
musician you don't notice until you take it off — and suddenly you understand
how much it holds the whole structure. The drummer is the engine: brute power,
but controlled like a weapon. Its ability to move from pounding patterns to
more complex and atmospheric solutions allow us to move between genres and
intensities without losing identity.
And then
there's the voice, which acts as an emotional detonator. It brings that
combination of ferocity and vulnerability that transforms the pieces into
something more than an exercise in style: it gives a face, a story, a wound to
our sound.
Together,
these elements create a chemistry that doesn't need to be explained on stage:
you feel it, it goes through you, and that's what makes the current formation
the most solid and lethal we've ever had.
5. “Pazuzu”
is inspired by one of horror’s most iconic demonic figures. What drew you
specifically to this character, and how did you translate its mythology into
sound?
"Pazuzu"
attracted us because it is not only an icon of horror: it is an ancient,
ambiguous figure, much more complex than the classic "evil demon". In
Mesopotamian mythology Pazuzu is a destructive force, yes, but also an entity
that can protect against something even darker. This duality — the unstable
boundary between evil and protection, between chaos and control — perfectly
reflects the emotional terrain we explore as a band.
Translating
all this into sound meant working on two fronts: oppression and trance. We've
built riffs that seem to move like something creeping under the skin, with very
low tunings and continuous tensions, while the rhythm section follows almost
ritualistic patterns, which break just when you think you understand them. It's
like witnessing a ritual that slowly turns into something else.
On a vocal
level, the idea was not to tell Pazuzu, but to evoke him: to let the voice pass
from guttural invocations to more ferocious explosions, as if the line between
narrator and entity was getting thinking more and more.
The result
is a piece that doesn't want to describe a myth, but make you feel it —
ancient, threatening, and terribly alive.
6. The
track pushes your sound into even more brutal and evocative territory. What new
elements or approaches did you explore during the creation of “Pazuzu”?
With
"Pazuzu" we pushed our sound towards a more atmospheric brutality. We
have experimented with even lower tunings, more dissonant riffs and a rhythm
with a ritualistic character. We introduced disturbing textures — feedback,
noises, filtered voices — to give the piece a sense of evocation, not just of
impact. Even the voice has become more "invocative", less
traditionally shouted and more linked to the idea of a presence that takes
shape. In short: more dark, more visceral, more ritual.
7. You’ve
described the single as a “sonic ritual.” Can you walk us through the
atmosphere you wanted to conjure—from composition to production?
In
production we have pushed everything towards a sense of physical presence: deep
reverberations, noises that emerge as whispers, stratified voices that do not
seem to belong to a single person. The goal was to make the listener feel
inside a ritual, not in front of a song.
8. Releasing
the song on Halloween is a bold and symbolic choice. How important was that
timing for the message and impact you wanted “Pazuzu” to have?
Publishing
"Pazuzu" on Halloween was not accidental: we wanted the song to
arrive in a moment already steeped in darkness and rituality. The timing
naturally amplifies the emotional impact, putting the listener in the right
state of mind to feel the tension, fear and primordial energy of the piece. In
a way, Halloween becomes part of the performance itself, a symbolic extension
of its atmosphere.
9. Bid
Zogo are known for intense, gripping live shows. How do you plan to bring the
ritualistic and cinematic tension of “Pazuzu” to the stage?
On stage we
want to turn "Pazuzu" into a total experience, not just a song to
play. Ritualistic tension is created with lights, movements and strategic
pauses: slow riffs that grow, sudden silences, drums that guide the audience
like a hypnotic beat.
At the
vocal and sound level, we layer effects and layers to give an idea of an entity
that manifests itself in real time. The goal is that the watcher hears the song
physically, almost like a ritual that takes place before their eyes,
transforming the concert into a cinematic and visceral experience.
10. After
the release of “Pazuzu,” what direction do you see Bid Zogo moving toward next?
Can fans expect a continuation of this darker, more demonic sonic evolution?
With "Pazuzu" we have opened a door to more dark and ritualistic territories, but we do not intend to stop there. The future direction will continue to explore this heavier and more cinematic dimension, pushing on tension, dissonance and ritual atmospheres.
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