Interview: Wine and Fog Distro

Interview by SadoMaster Rattenkönig

Wine and Fog by Ezio Carello is a distro specializing in the sale of cd, lp, tapes, shirts and other merchandise mainly concerning Black Metal, Death Metal and Epic / Funeral Doom.

This is Black Metal Webzine had an interesting talk with the founders of this distro!

This Is Black Metal:  Hi guys and welcome to This Is Black Metal! Can you reveal the reasons that led you to create the Wine And Fog distro/label?

Ezio: Hi and thanks to This is Black Metal! For my part, Wine and Fog Distro was born from my unbridled passion for Black, Death and Doom Metal and to support and spread the music of underground bands. Both the name and the logo want to resume the woods of my beloved hills in the Turin province where for years I have immersed myself in listening to Black Metal in the company of the nectar of the gods of these lands: Wine.

Kurt: At the beginning of October 2020 Ezio spoke to me about his idea of ​​creating a Distro together with myself. At the time with my other job I was at a standstill and enthusiastically accepted his proposal. Shortly thereafter, the idea was born of creating the Productions part that I take care of almost exclusively but we always talk to each other about each band we have to produce because it has to convince us both.

TIBM: How have your goals expanded over time, from Wine And Fog to today?

Ezio: From the birth of the distro to today, we have come from destruction to production, all this in six months from its birth.

Kurt: We always want to grow, whoever stops is lost and our desire is fueled by a strong passion for the extreme musical genre, a passion that in some has perhaps fallen asleep but not within us.

XXII ARCANA – “Il Matto”

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TIBM: Has the coronavirus plague somehow influenced the working method of your distribution/label? It is undeniable that these have been hard times for everyone…

Ezio: No, on the contrary, with the fact of blocking the concerts and having more time for listening we have had many buyers and many contacts from the bands themselves to make themselves known.

Kurt: Also for what concerns the Productions part we cannot complain as this was born at the end of March 2021 and we already have the whole program of record releases up to December 2021 included.

TIBM:  The amount of bands you are now distributing is remarkable. Would you like to show us how Wine And Fog’s distribution work takes place and if you give the bands the possibility to request the distribution of their material from you?

Ezio: Yes, I must say that we have many requests for the distribution of small quantities of merch from Italian bands. To help them make themselves known, we have created the distro youtube channel managed by our faithful collaborator Matteo Marinelli, who together with the bands chooses the songs to edit excellent videos.

LUM – Roca d’le Faie (Lyrics video)

TIBM: Have you currently had a lot of production requests from various bands? Do you have any preferences regarding release on CD, tape, etc.?

Ezio: We have a lot of production requests and this makes us very happy. I usually recommend limited editions on tape, given the great comeback of this format. I leave the floor to my colleague for the production details.

Kurt: Honestly we have had a lot more requests than we could have imagined and it’s not easy to keep up with all the releases but until now we have always met all the deadlines and I think the bands can be satisfied, and so can we. I confirm that the tape is experiencing a second youth and many bands want this format again but obviously we do not disdain the CD and LP format and if the band deserves, we print and we will also print in these formats and for this I always invite you to follow our pages with the various updates.

TIBM: Did you manage to attend any concert with your distro? If not, will it ever be possible to see your stand at some festival someday?

Ezio: Due to covid-19 and blocking of shows for now no but finally on July 10 we will be present with our stand at the “Abracadabra Metal Fest” to be held in Villa Serra near Comago (GE) with the hope of being able to attend many other festivals.

AD OMEGA “The Fire of Gnosis” – Lyric video –

TIBM: What do you think of the various Black Metal scenes today? Do you prefer any in particular?

Ezio: I find there are interesting bands in the Polish, French and Australian scene.

Kurt: I think that this genre, unlike others, has always given birth to some pearls that may have remained hidden and/or have not reached the ears of a more mainstream audience but for my part the American, Australian and French is continuing to give us satisfaction but we absolutely must not forget the Italian scene. By now almost all the “sacred monsters” have nothing more to say, except some who continue to be in the breach still producing albums worthy of their name (but again, they are few), while in the last 5-10 years I have seen the birth of Italian realities which unfortunately are underestimated but have nothing to envy to the bands that came out between the 80s and 90s. Unfortunately it is the audience, the listener who is dull and always refers to the first period, maybe this thing will never change even if I hope so.

GHOSTLY AERIE COVEN “Rhyme Of The Crimson Monarch”

TIBM: There is no doubt that music is an active part of your daily life even outside the Wine And Fog activity. For the rest, how do you like to spend your free time?

Ezio: Between work and family and I remain faithful to Black Metal.

Kurt: I prefer to keep it private but I can say that I am a big fan of action and horror movies and every now and then I love to turn off my brain and relax for 2 hours with a good movie.

TIBM: We have come to the conclusion, thanks for your time! Conclude by illustrating the future plans you have regarding Wine And Fog.

Ezio: We hope to continue to distribute, produce and disseminate the word of the black flame.

Kurt: First of all, thanks again to This Is Black Metal for granting us the interview. Future plans? There are many that we will reveal to you step by step but I can tell you that we want to keep our foot on the accelerator but always with conscience and avoid mistakes and that Wine and Fog will have a long life, we are “Hard to Die”!

STORMCROW “Nanga Parbat” (Official Video 4k)