Andrea Pro - Sudden Death / Martyrium Interview

Today we are sitting down with Italian drummer, Andrea Pro of Sudden Death and Martyrium, who has performed in many different genres of metal. Andrea, thank you for taking the time to tell us about yourself and your career.

Thank you, Jeanne! It is an honor to be interviewed by you. Thank you again.

SDM: Andrea when did you first become interested in playing drums and was drums your first instrument?

I started playing drums after I was 18. After breaking my knee on a basketball court (I was a semi-professional player), I decided I wanted to do something else. I have always loved music and I was undecided between guitar and drums, but it was love at first sight! The drums were the choice of my life.

SDM: When you first started playing what kind of music were you listening to and playing along with on drums?

Towards the end of the ’90s. I was a young metalhead. I was living in the full rise of Grunge, but I preferred to listen to bands like Iron Maiden and Metallica and even Guns and Roses. My first song was a bad performance of Metallica’s Enter Sandman. UNFORGETTABLE.

SDM: Have you ever had any formal training be it via private lessons or in school?

This was my big limitation. I had so much desire to play that I never wanted to go to take lessons and I regretted it bitterly. Now that I am more mature and even older, I am back in the game and I am going to classes at music schools to hone my technique and try to understand how immense the world of drums is.

SDM: What was the first band you were in?

My first band was, is, and will be Sudden Death. I formed them together with my friends back in 1997. I absolutely didn’t know how to play, but the desire to get involved and to make a lot of noise was great, and so we began, without knowing where we would arrive.

SDM: Tell us about the first time being on a major stage as a drummer.

In the early 2000s, we played in a stadium on a gigantic stage in the south of Italy with many Italian bands. I remember that I was pushed from zero into a super professional reality, I absolutely didn’t know what to do, very little time to set things up, very little time to get comfortable, very little time to play. I assembled everything quickly and badly. I can say that the drums were perfectly mounted, in the last second of the last song. It was an incredible experience. I can’t forget it!

SDM: Have you ever had anything go wrong in the middle of a live performance?

Everything has happened to me! The sticks in my hand broke (including the emergency ones), the mixer from which I managed audio and in-ears broke, broken pedals, destroyed skins, fallen cymbals… I could write a book; “the drummer’s bad luck, before, after, and during a live gig.”

SDM: Like I had mentioned going through your resume we see you have played in many different genres of metal music. Currently active in both an extreme metal band by way of Sudden Death as well as a Blackened Metal Band by way of Martyrium. Tell us a little about your style of drumming in both bands as well as some techniques you use and how they vary from band to band. People love to hear blast beat talk and single double stroke and all that.

Well, I don’t consider myself an extremely technical drummer. As already said I started to study and a more professional approach to the drums late. In Sudden Death, in the early years, I replaced the technique with the groove, slow and rhythmic parts interspersed with faster parts, using very often hammer blast. Over the years I have grown up and I increased my skills with an articulated construction of each song with a massive use and abuse of triplets, blasts beats, sixteenth notes, and odd tempos, but never forgetting the groove which is one of my best features. In Martyrium it is different. I approached a different genre from my style, it was a challenge for me and I must say that the result was great. Use of blast beats and a massive dose of kicks. Playing very fast tempos on extremely symphonic parts was a challenge, which I hope I have won. Blast beat, mid-tempos, and good use of my famous groove. My really best skill.

SDM: Have you toured with both bands? What have been some of the highlights of touring as well as challenges?

I have been on tour with both bands. With Sudden Death, we have done long tours where we often used our backline so we have always felt comfortable. The real problem was having stages big enough to hold all our stuff. With Martyrium, I usually play in festivals around Europe and I use other drumkits and setups. I learned how to play with what I found. Using different drums every night, with different settings and finding my comfort and the best way of playing in 10 minutes, was often a result achieved. Sometimes, however, a disaster.

SDM: With the pandemic upon us and touring being halted and slowly starting back up, what have you been doing in your downtime waiting for things to open back up?

In Italy, during the months of lockdown, we could never leave the house, it all stopped. We didn’t play, we did nothing but work on social media and on those aspects of the band that in a normal period we didn’t often follow. Sincerely we are tired of this condition, all of us hope to be able to play and tour everywhere, really, very soon.

SDM: What is your typical at-home practice regimen? What do you do to both build endurance as a drummer as well as speed? Do you use a practice kit or your acoustic drums?

I use my drumkit. A gift from my father for the age of majority. A Premier Signia, emerald green with 2 20″ kicks, 10, 12, 13, 14″ toms, and 16, 18″ floor toms. A 26-year-old drumkit and it doesn’t show at all! I usually rehearse with my band (the Italian one) 2 times a week, but I add a couple of days more than the lessons I take. Usually, I warm up first by performing rudiments and what I learned in class. I focus on the exercise going from low bpm up to high speeds. Then I start a routine practice on the old setlist and do some arrangements on the new songs.

Sudden Death – Flood The Ground With Their Blood – Official Play-through.

SDM: Why are things like grip, posture, and foot technique important to a drummer? Also, do you use any gear like special gloves or shoes, and if so how does this help you in your performance?

I think the grip is important to feel through the sticks and hands what you are playing. The sticks are an extension of our arms and having a good grip is essential. The posture also to avoid back pain, tendinitis, and pain in the legs and arms. The foot technique should be practiced every day like we usually do with the hands, in my opinion. Having a good technique on the hands and not on the legs or the other way around, makes us drummers in half. I’ve gloves or any particular shoes. I need to feel the wood in my hand, playing with the fear and the mental focus to not throw away the sticks and be a killer at the same time on the drumkit. As for shoes, I usually play with a different pair of sneakers, exclusively and only for playing. The secret is in the sole. A used sole is smooth and this helps me with the swivel technique.

SDM: What do you think is important advice for musicians just learning to play drums?

What can I say… playing drums is a mission, we are the engine inside a band. We should practice and push every day and every time we are behind a drumkit. We should be patient, because some days will be worse than others, but the only thing to remember is to have fun and let the music run inside us.

SDM: What is your current setup – drums, cymbals, pedals, triggers, etc?

I started to play with the idea of Lars Ulrich’s 90’s white drumkit, so from the beginning, I started with a drumkit with 2 kick drums, 4 toms, and 2 floor toms. Over the years I added a rack system (gibraltar or pearl, depending on which drumkit I used.) I have a Premier Signia for the rehearsal and a Pearl for everything else, Axis pedals with e-kits, and an Alesis dm 5 module for my kicks only.

SDM: Do you use the same drums and set up in both bands?

Usually, during the tours or at regular gigs, I need to choose a different setup (for space and comfort) with 1 kick drum, 2 toms, and 1 floor tom, and the minimum rack system. I use the double pedal and I feel comfortable the same. It has happened, sometimes, to use my monster drumkit on a big stage, and definitely, this is my way to feel at home, and certainly not to be overshadowed by the singer!

SDM: Do you have any endorsements? and if so, please tell us why you like those particular pieces of equipment.

After many many years, someone noticed me as a musician. I started with a handmade snare drum from Markline Handmade Snares, and an in-ear monitor system from Livezoner 41, and sticks built on my specific request from Artbeat Drumsticks. My goal was to find an endorsement for cymbals and after many years I found a brand that believes in me and they are Centent Cymbals USA.

SDM: What is currently going on in your active bands and what’s on the horizon as far as playing out or new music or new releases?

Due to the pandemic, all the gigs are postponed, but we are working a lot on the new albums. With Martyrium, the recording sessions are finished and we are mixing the new album that should be out in March 2021. With Sudden Death, we are finishing up new songs and we start to record the new full-length in late May 2021.

SDM: Andrea thank you so much for talking with us today about your career and drum routines! We wish you all the best.

Thank you for this amazing interview! Let me thank my bandmates in Martyrium (Andrew, Oliver, Tyrone, Sandra, and Dave), and my bandmates in Sudden Death (Luis, Francesca, Silvia, and Federico), Marco from Markline Handmade Guitars and Snares, Luca from Livezoner41, Janos from ArtBeat Sticks, Arthur from Centent Cymbals, and Vadim from The Flaming Arts. Last but not least, you Jeanne, and everyone at Sick Drummer Magazine for this amazing interview. Thank you!