PONTE DEL DIAVOLO – The Turin Venom

Mar 19, 2026   »   interview   »   U2603

text: Uzseka Norbert   
»   photo: Sergio Bertani

Ponte Del Diavolo from Turin, Italy has released its second record in February at Season Of Mist. The band mixes a lot of different genres into a special crossover that’s definitely dark and unique. Erba del Diavolo singer and Kratom bass player answered our questions. As this will be the first interview with you in our magazine, could you please tell us how the band formed and what are the most important milestones of your history so far? ERBA: “I wanted a doom band with two basses, and in 2019 I reached out to Abro, who suggested we dive into black metal as well. Why not? I was going to mix it all with my post-punk anyway—I love those kinds of crossovers. In no time, we found the other members. Some of the big milestones have been signing with SOM and playing the major European festivals. We’re all super grateful for what’s happening, and personally, I’m even learning not to be afraid of flying ahah… I’d say it was a truly essential step.” How would you introduce your music to someone who’s never heard it before? ERBA: “It’s a good question. Usually I just say, «It’s easier to understand if you listen to the album.» In a sense, we blend many shades of dark music, but if you turn on the speakers and really listen, it all becomes much clearer. I’ve noticed that trying to describe the sound rarely works, even when talking about the genres that inspire us, everyone translates them differently in their mind, and the experience of listening almost always defies expectations.” It’s quite rare that a band’s debut is released by Season Of Mist. How did you get there? KRATOM: “The first 3 EPs had a good reception and some copies were bought by one of the graphic designers of SoM. We started chatting and long story short, he sent them also to the SoM headquarters who found them interesting enough to call us. Erba took the phone call from the label while touring to a gig in Austria, inside the van in a total chaotic and surreal situation.” Your music feels to be quite free, sometimes as if you jammed different styles and put it all together, so I wonder what’s your method of writing (both music and lyrics)? ERBA: “For the lyrics I could compare the way I write to the way I paint. I paint like this: a black canvas in front of me, staring at the void without looking away until the first shape appears, almost like a hallucination, and then I follow it with my pencil. Music works the same way. I stay in silence until the first word echoes in my mind, and then I catch it, writing it down. That’s the hardest part; everything else comes almost automatically, immediately after.” There’s some trombone part in Spirit, Blood, Poison, Ferment! How did that come? KRATOM: “It’s the first song we completed for the album and has a really epic and decadent mood. We played it in the 'demo' version a lot and each time we were thinking about enhancing this aspect. So we asked Francesco Bucci from Ottone Pesante to add some parts just telling him that we wanted something that sounded like a “triumphal death march/announciation” and I must say he understood and delivered the task perfectly.” You have both Italian and English lyrics. Why? ERBA: “I don’t want to force myself; I want to write what comes to me instinctively. Every time I try to follow a rational path, the result disappoints me: it feels soulless, and I get terribly bored by myself. What emerges spontaneously, instead, unfiltered by the lust for a specific result, feels alive. I sense it as independent from me, something that can live its own life in the ears of those who listen, because in the end it was never truly mine: it just arrived.”

Bezár

Bezár

Bezár

Can you tell me a bit about the lyrics on De Venom Natura? KRATOM: “The name «De Venom Natura» is of course a reference to Lucrezio’s «De Rerum Natura» (trans. «On the nature of things») and it revolves around the idea that Nature, in the broadest sense of the term, is imbued with poison—an element that works like a double-edged weapon. It is enrapturing and seductive but also toxic and potentially lethal. It is the leavening agent that transforms and makes new life possible, yet also the inevitable bearer of death, in an eternal cycle of life, death, and rebirth. We liked the idea of using both latin and english in the album title and it also sounds better this way. You can translate it as «On the nature of venom».” The most psychedelic song on the record is Δ9 (161). I found that delta 9 is a part of cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol. But what does 161 refer to? KRATOM: I would rather not say that explicitly but I can tell you that the exact meaning of that number is in the lyrics of the song. For us THC still holds the test of time as being a powerful, fascinating and poisonous source of inspiration.” For the first record you covered The Weeping Song by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, now In the Flat Field by Bauhaus. Why these? ERBA: “Because, why not? Those are some fucking amazing tunes!” The band’s name and some of your lyrics have a massive esoteric, occult feel. Do you study this kind of lore, or is it simply a way of impressing your artistic visions? KRATOM: “Some of us are into that more than others in the band. If you read the lyrics there are almost no specific references to any current or tradition in particular. There are some concepts that are universal and don’t need to be veiled on purpose under some “pompous and mysterious words” just to sound cool.” Your first Hungarian gig will be on Fekete Zaj festival this Summer, which is just great. But I wonder if you’ve ever been to Hungary, and if so, what did you experience here? KRATOM: “I’ve been in Budapest a long time ago while playing with one of my old bands (I guess it was more than 15 years ago) and I remember having a blast that night at a place called Zappa Caffè, where the crowd went wild: some guy broke some teeths in his mouth while moshing, other fellows were having sex in front of the place when it was closing. You can say I got the whole package ahah. Then the day after I had the fortune to do some sightseeing of the city which was awesome.” You live in Torino. Can you tell me a bit about the city? About the music scene, but also the city itself. Do you like to live there? Do you have favorite places there? ERBA: “Turin is a very vibrant city with an underground scene that has had its ups and downs over the years but has never truly died. I personally love the Porta Palazzo area, a multicultural neighborhood where you can find absolutely anything you’re looking for. Once a week there’s a huge flea market that takes over the entire district (and it’s a big one); some say it’s one of the largest in Europe. On weekends, if I’m not playing a show, you’ll definitely find me there having an aperitivo, hunting for a gramophone, some 1910 teacups, or a dress worthy of Madame Bovary.”

views     »     ponte del diavolo, underworld international, underworld in english