The Italian blackened death metal group Patristic step into this week’s Meet The Band spotlight. Their debut full-length album is Catechesis. Guitarist Enrico Schettino (Hideous Divinity, ex-Hour Of Penance) introduces us to his band.
Chad Bowar: Give us a brief history of Patristic.
Enrico Schettino: Been writing music for something that would later become Patristic since late 2018. Wasn’t sure whether it would be a studio project or not, which musicians to get in touch with. It wasn’t easy to get our of my death metal comfort zone and start (again) from zero, that’s why everything went so slow. In 2022 finally we released our first EP Apologetica but only later in 2023 Patristic would become a real entity after meeting Sathrath and having him record the drum parts of Catechesis. L.S. from Frostmoon Eclipse eventually joined, we met at a festival where we both played with different bands, then T.V. completed the lineup as bass player. That was after the recording session of the album.
Describe the songwriting process for Catechesis.
An endless cycle of rewriting and re-listening, an obsessive research for cinematic death black metal flow. And when I have it, then vocals come along and mess the whole thing again. This until I feel I’m one step away from losing the original meaning of the whole thing. Always believed in rewriting and rearranging, but with Patristic I’m trying to be less neurotic about the whole process.
What will be your strongest memory of the recording of the album?
Me and Sathrath driving 6 hours in a snowstorm in January to meet Michael Zech at his studios in Munich while he was mixing the album. Totally worthy, Michael’s a cool guy, we became friends after that.
What was the biggest challenge in its creation?
It’s always when you say “the song is over” and you choose not to change anything anymore. It takes some guts to accept the fact that you just cannot write a perfect song. You can just work as hard as you can to write something that pushes as many buttons as possible.
How would you characterize its style/sound?
To me it’s black metal but very few agree. It looks like I’ve been contemplating this object for far too long and I’m starting to lose my grip on reality. Perhaps it’s easier if I mention some of the bands that are right now heavily influencing my writing. In no particular order: Akhlys, Barshasketh, DsO, Amalekim, Funeral Mist, Aosoth, Panzerfaust, Chaos Invocation, Abduction, Drastus, Sol An Varma.
What lyrical topics do you cover?
Lyrics are something between pagan resistance and Christian anathemas. You can read them as an invocation, as an historical or philosophical reflection of a moment lasting centuries of rarefaction. An epoch in Western civilization when space and time seemed to stretch at random.
How did you come to sign with Willowtip?
Amongst all important labels, Willowtip showed a genuine interest from the beginning. Knowing Mario from back in the day (besides working for Willowtip he plays in Devangelic and Vulvectomy, plus we both live in the same town) made things even easier.
What are your goals and expectations for the album?
To be properly introduced in a very crowded scene, full of respected and talented bands.
It’s also being released on vinyl. Are you a collector?
Can’t say I am, unfortunately. Honestly I don’t think all extreme metal genres make sense on vinyl, but if we stick to the aesthetics, some of them are undeniably beautiful. The few ones I have definitively mean a lot to me. Portal’s Eon and Vexovoid are sitting next to Mgla’s Mdolsc and Pink Floyd’s Atom Heart Mother. Somehow it all makes sense to me.
How was the video shoot for “Catechesis I”?
Not so cold as I expected, giving that it was a day in early February before dawn and we were on the mountains in Central Italy. We were extremely lucky not to freeze to death. The Eclypso team shooting the video did a great job, actors were amazing too. Young Federico playing the “son” was impressive.
Do you have any plans to play live?
Hopefully within the next year, if it’s worthy, when we will feel that we’re ready to properly bring our music to a live stage.
What are some of your non-musical interests and hobbies?
Cinema.
Anything else you’d like to mention or promote?
Thank you for taking the time for these questions.
(interview published June 21, 2025)
Watch Patristic – “Catechesis I” Video
