Rocking The Riffs With LEON MONACO From ORPHEUS OMEGA

Interview by Kris Peters
Melbourne melodic death metal outfit Orpheus Omega have built a
solid name based on their energetic and frenetic live
performances.
Which is why not playing for long periods of time due to recent
world events put a massive strain on the band. So much so that
Orpheus Omega spent their time looking inwards and re-evaluating
their growing footprint on the musical landscape.
The band also used their downtime to good creative effect, laying
the platform for what would become their latest EP Portraits.
A freshly unique take on things whereby each of the five band
members contributed one song each to the EP, Portraits is a deeply
personal and liberating album for Orpheus Omega that has resonated
with music lovers everywhere.
After having played only one show earlier this year to celebrate
the EP's release, Orpheus Omega are about to set off on the Riff N
Tour with rockers Triple Kill, starting on August 25 and winding
its way around the length and breadth of this country before
finishing up in late September.
Bass player Leon Monaco joined HEAVY to talk more about music and
touring.
"Oh man, I am so excited," he gushed. "We have only played one show
all year for 2023, but that's because we have been putting all of
our eggs into this tour basket. We cannot wait to get out there and
have this awesome month long adventure."
We ask Monaco how he prepares himself mentally and physically for a
tour of this magnitude.
"I guess step one is make sure you have enough work leave," he
laughed. "Musically, I just did Dry July, so I have worked on
myself and a couple of the other band members have been hitting up
the gym and bulking up a little, just to try and get healthier and
fitter so we can move around and jump around on stage without our
old man backs complaining. As soon as the tour begins we always do
our best to eat well during the days, even if we're having a couple
of beers or whatever happens at night, during the day we realise we
still need to be adults. We're not 12 any more (laughs), we're not
21 any more, we can't do this to ourselves so we look after each
other and look after ourselves."
The tour is spread out over more than a month, with Monaco having
good justification for playing mainly on weekends.
"I find if we have an international band come in anyone will come
out on a weeknight to see the international band," he mused,
"because they're here, you have to see them. Whereas capitalising
on those weekends is definitely an easier way to do it when you're
an Australian band and you're up against all the other Australian
bands. Weekends are definitely where it's at. We don't mind
travelling mid week, we kinda like it. I think one of our shows in
Gold Coast is on a Thursday and then there's a Sydney one on a
Sunday. We're always happy to play the off Friday and Saturday
night shows, we just need the punters to come out and meet us half
way too."
In the full interview, Leon talks more about the tour and what to
expect, touring with Triple Kill and why they are the perfect
touring partners, their latest EP Portraits and each member writing
a song each, each of those songs analysed individually, what's next
for Orpheus Omega and more.