Milan, Italy based band Begin to Breathe is a melodic metalcore project founded in 2015.

Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.

Alessandro Gentile - Vocals

Cristian Concio - Guitar

Nicolò Rossini - Guitar

Vlad Alecsandru - Bass (answering the questions)

Riccardo Belli - Drums

For starters, what bands were you guys a part of prior to Begin to Breathe? How long has the band been around?

This is actually our first serious project, no one in our band has ever been part of other bands before.

The band has been founded around 2015 but we spent the first 2 years writing our own material and also finding the right components. Before hitting the studio in 2017 to record our first EP "2018" we were desperately seeking a second guitarist, in fact, we auditioned about 5 guitarists before we all agreed that Cristian was the right guy for the job.

What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?

This has been the only name we've ever used. We all agreed to use it at first simply because it sounded good, but I think each of us gave this name its own sense as well as our own fans. Writing and playing live music allows us to express our emotions and sometimes even our frustrations in a positive way, it allows us to finally "breathe" out all the negativiy.

Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs and do you think these topics will change over time?

All of us. The main idea of our next song usually comes from a demo of either Nico, Riccardo or me (Vlad). Then, we all give our input and change certain parts of the song we don't like. After the instrumental part is done, our singer starts writing the lyrics. The main topic of our music is to expose all the internal battles one must face, there is no verse that doesn't in some way reflect something that has happened to one of us in the past. We're not sure if the topics will change over time, we don't take a rational decision of what the next song is going to be about, we let our hearts speak.

What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?

Instrumentally, we all agree bands like Invent Animate, Polaris, Architects or Northlane inspire us and will always do, but we also admire what bands like Bring Me The Horizon have done with their latest releases. We don't listen to metal only.

Lately some of us are really into more chill music like FKJ or rap like Nothing, Nowhere or Chase Atlantic while metal and metalcore are not the main genres we listen to anymore.

Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?

It's safe to say that if it wasn't for bands like Bring Me The Horizon, A Day To Remember or Parkway Drive this band would not exist. We still appreciate them today, Jeremy McKinnon is one of the most talented producers in the scene. Wage War and The Ghost Inside are a proof of that.

What do you do to prepare for a show? Any flexing, exercises, ect …

Before a show we usually chill in the backstage while our vocalist starts doing his vocal exercises. Sometimes I personally do some push ups before a show to warm up since we jump and move a lot on stage.

What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far?

We're a new band and we have only been active since November 2017. Since then we booked a lot of shows and some festivals relying only on our determination.We have also been main support for popular international bands like Courage My Love, from Canada and New Volume from South Africa.

If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?

Regarding past bands, I would say early Drowning Pool while they were in their prime or Linkin Park during their nu-metal era. I personally have my roots into hard rock and nu metal and those bands are still an inspiration today.

Speaking about the present, it has to be Bring Me The Horizon + Architects because we would get to play with them for a whole tour and also listen to their set afterwards.