Simone “Hellvis” Salvatori, guitarist, singer and frontman/founder of the neofolk act Spiritual Front, but also a solo artist, was kind enough to answer our questions, here at the ElectoWelt OnLine Music Magazine, just before the band takes the stage at the mighty Death Disco Open Air Festival 2025 in Athens Technopolis!
∴ Interview by: Malice F ∴
1. EW: Hello Simone! Thank you so much for finding the time to do our interview, just before Spiritual Front’s live performance at Death Disco open air festival at Technopolis Athens! Apart from the upcoming SF gigs scheduled, how do we find you these days?
Simone Salvatori: Ciao, thank you so much! Well, busy time doing new stuff, working as daily jobs, waiting for Morgue Ensemble and The Lust Syndicate to be released. Life is basicallyba long tragic wait.
2. EW: George P. and me have been following your music with love and admiration many years now, since SPIRITUAL FRONT’s beginnings in 1999 when your first album “Songs for the Will” was released. I wouldn’t categorize SF in the neofolk genre, I never thought of you like this, but SF’s dark lyrical landscapes and romantic tango ballads staying at the same time true to your Italian heritage are very defining qualities for SF music legacy. So, what about Suicidal nihilistic pop, a term under which you have described your music in the past, does it still express Spiritual Front’s music and art? I could probably understand nihilistic, but I am not sure about the suicidal part.
Simone Salvatori: You got the point, I never considered SF as a ‘neofolk’ bands, I mean if you intend that boring bands exposing runes,singing about frozen forests and all these things, not my cup of tea. If you intend a different form of folk, maybe yes, but it’ s a question of terms. About sounds, in the very beginning I was influenced by some of those bands, I mean the early scene, but not now, it’ s so boring to listen to them now. But, as said, it was long time ago, thank god. When I use the worde suicide pop, it s because I like the contrast between these two, suicide is the total, definitive refusal, the last act of denial, pop is something easy, something to share , something that belong to everyone. I lile to idea of keeping them both in my music.
3. EW: Pier Paolo Pasolini, Fassbender influences in your lyrics, and generally you have a cinematic approach regarding your artistic expression, you are telling stories when you sing, in your wonderful videos for SF tracks and when you perform. We can see a lot of talent here, did you ever consider an actor’s or director’s career and turned it down for some reason? Please share!
Simone Salvatori: That would be amazing ahahahh, well, I attended theater schools when I was younger. I always consider these form of arts a whole thing,or a sort of that. It’ s hard to consider cinema without a good soundtrack, ot’ s hard to look at something without imaging a sound, listen to some good record without imaging something happen, things appearing. Yes, those directors influenced me a lot, on a personal and artistic level. Life couldnt be the same without them, those were people who showed us how to see and feel life, those were born to teach us how to make it.
4. EW: We have seen religious themes too, some have even called them provocative or misunderstood your work in this matter. What is your stand regarding religion and inner and is your intention to provoke in an effort to maybe bring the attention of audiences in specific matters that are important to you?
Simone Salvatori: Religion played an important role in my life, I grew in a nuns school when I was kid, some images, some sounds, some odors, some punishments are still so deeply rooted in me. Religion is basically more than a belief, especially if you live in a place like Rome, it s a matter that requests more than a phrase, religion is part of our culture, even if you are not religious, it’ s a thing that have modified and created your own culture and way of living, your philosophy. I don’ t consider myself catholic at all, but I would lie if I would tell you ‘it’ s not my culture’, we are drowned in jesus.
5. EW: What kind of music do you prefer listening to nowadays? is there any kind of guilty pleasures that you might have in music and would like to share with us?
Simone Salvatori: Except hip hop, I basically listen to a lot of things, from new wave to thrash metal, from americana to industrial, from krautrock to ebm, from powernoise to indie pop.
Guilty pleasure? Mmmm , these days Im listening a lot of Chappell Roan.
6. EW: George P. has another question for you! Could you please name your top 5 albums you can’t live without?
Simone Salvatori: Hard questions maybe, not in order:
- The Smiths: Hateful of Hollow”
- Swans: ”White Light from the Mouth of Infinity”
- Celtic Frost: ”Into the Pandemonium”
- Scott Walker: ..(Hard to choose among the first 4…) …let’s say the album: ”Scott 3”
- Death: ”Leprosy”
7. EW: SF’s homage to a legendary 80s band like the Smiths with Big mouth strikes again was incredible and we can see it was carried out with respect and love to the band and the legends they are. Did you have the chance during your artistic approach and creation road of this album to get in touch with Morrissey or Johnny Marr from the band for the project or have any kind of feedback about your work on this album?
Simone Salvatori: Oh no never, never try to get in touch with your fav artists. Morrissey lived in Rome for a long time, I had the chance to meet him, but I always refused, didn t have the courage to meet him, try to imagine this: for you, he’ s a something special, for him….u just another boring fan,).
Except some rare cases, I ve always been disappointed by the artists I liked, probably, as said before, is just a matter of expectations.
8. EW: It’s quite impressive that SF contributed to the soundtracks of the TV series “Las Vegas” and the motion picture “Saw 2” as well as further independent films, theatre, and even modern ballet productions, some trivia that some fans maybe are not aware about SF. Are there any additional artistic desires you would like to pursue and fulfil further? Personally, or with SF.
Simone Salvatori: I’d love to do a soundtrack for a western movie.
9. EW: It seems that in the last years minimal synth wave has become a huge music trend again, and creation of music mainly in a digital way though PCs or even smart phones nowadays. What is your opinion of the dark wave scene currently, do you find any of these new musical releases interesting?
Simone Salvatori: It sucks, everytime I hear bands like Lebanon hanover I wonder how music could be so shitty . This trend gave the chance to many incompetents with no talents to play music and records, I mean, it could be ok, I’ m not Malmsteen, but those, c’ mon, it’ s crap, few bands are ok, but 80% are total crap. They should thank god hype is on their side, but dunno how long it will lasts, people are not stupid, they will soon realize what kind of swindle these bands, tons of reverb and flanger and cheap drum machine won’ t save them from the final conflict
10. EW: A few words please for LUST SYNDICATE, your side project, expressing yourself in more old school industrial paths. Is it still active, would you consider presenting this work live to an audience? It would be a worthy addition to Wave Gotik Treffen’s (WGT) roster for instance.
Simone Salvatori: The new album is frozen since 3 years, I had some issues with a couple of label, at the moment is ready to be released by Time to kill records next year. We played at some festivals after the first album, Wgt included. Let’ s see what the 2026 will bring. The new albun ‘we are your enemy’ is very cool, good songs, very catchy but politically exposed. You will like it!
11. EW: Amphi 2025 recent live SF headliner gig was awesome! We kept discussing how much we missed you guys live! You were fantastic on stage, your communication with your fans was intense too. What should we expect seeing you live at Death Disco Open Air on Sunday? New tracks or more classic SF setlist?
Simone Salvatori: Thank you!! Amphi has never been easy for us, there’s always some problem, but we had fun, I love our loyal fanbase. No new tracks this time, we are still working on ’em. But if you invite us to play again on 2026 we ll give you some new killer tracks
12. EW: We know SF will continue touring, you have some scheduled live gigs. Your last album Amour Braque’, was released in 2018 and it was incredibly melodic, dramatic and stimulating, very much in the SPIRITUAL FRONT atmosphere we love. Will there be also new SF music or even a new collaboration coming soon?
Simone Salvatori: We are going to record the new album on late october, we have many new songs,Prophecy records is going to release also a special limited edition double album, let s see who will be the extra guests, at the moment we are just focused on how to make it good! There many intense, lovely songs, Im pretty sure you ll liked it, especially if you loved Amour braque.
EW: Coming to the end of our interview, feel free to share with us any message you would like to, with your fans attending the Death Disco Open Air Festival 2025!
Simone Salvatori: Thank you so much for supporting us, we love Greece, and we always had a special relations with our greek supporters. It’ s always a pleasure to come back in Athens, I ve many good records about it. The last confused memory ended with me totally drunk dancing in a italodisco club. Lovely night!
EW: Thank you again for your time and for the music we love! We can’t wait to see you live on stage today, as always!
♦ ♦ ♦ Don’t miss SPIRITUAL FRONT live at Death Disco open-air festival in Athens, on Sunday 21th September 2025 at Technopolis Athens!