On our Zoom call, Fili Bibiano is relaxed, reserved, and soft-spoken. I’d never in a million years believe he’s the same guy who laid down those ripping, neoclassical, Yngwie-inspired leads that make up the latest Fortress album, Death Is Your Master, but he is. Perhaps Bibiano saves the fury exclusively for the studio? Either way, we’re thrilled to sit down with this maestro and pick his brain on everything from balancing two beloved traditional metal acts and finding the right cohorts, to lyrical origins and future touring plans. Make no mistake: Fili Bibiano’s Fortress will only grow larger with time.
Greetings Fili and welcome to Defenders of the Faith. How are you doing today?
Fili Bibiano: I’m doing great! It’s awesome to be here.
Thank you for taking the time to be here. It’s been 5 long years since we last heard from you and your outfit, Fortress. What have you been up to in that time?
FB: Honestly, I’ve just been working *laughs*. Working on guitars, which is cool. I was working at Fender, ESP, a couple other guitar companies. I was still doing something related to music, but a lot of writing during that time. We played a couple shows. Unfortunately, we weren’t quite ready to be touring at that time. I ended up starting a new band called Intranced in between that time because I wanted to go out and tour the world. We’ve been to Europe. We’ve been all across the US and Canada. It’s been great.
I wanted to get back to this band. It’s been a while. There was a demand for a new album. The world got crazy. The economy over here in California, LA, it really sucks *laughs*. I had to take some time to stabilize everything so I could keep doing this for a long time. I was able to get a cool new lineup for this one. Some guys that are available to do some minor touring here and there. It depends on how far it gets, but it’s just been a lot of hard work in between these years, and just finding people that can play, extraordinary musicians that I can add to this band to make it a showcase for people that think there’s no more virtuosos or very talented musicians out there. I just want to bring the best into this band. That’s what I’ve been doing: Finding the best players and getting everything solid so we could keep going.
From there, when did ideas start coming together for this latest album, Death Is Your Master?
FB: The idea came about maybe 2 years ago. That’s when the initial deal was made, maybe 2 and a half years ago. Around that time, there was a little bit of COVID stuff still floating around over here. It was difficult. We were in a difficult situation. It just kept getting worse and worse with the fires. The economy was just horrible. It still is. It was very hard for us to take the time off. We only had one day out of the week to work on this album together, so it was very hard to work in that way. We didn’t really have the privilege to take a whole 2 weeks to a month off to rewrite and record it, which I’d like to do, but we just can’t at the moment.
The initial deal was 2 and a half years ago. There were a lot of hurdles and obstacles, people dropping out of the band. It was just a lot of things like that, but the writing never stopped. It just got better and better. Maybe letting it stew for a bit helped the album in a way. It was a long time coming. There was always that pressure for me during that time to get this thing done. It was a lot of stress, so I’m glad it’s finally out!
So are we! Was there anything in particular you set out to achieve to differentiate this album from its predecessor, Don’t Spare the Wicked?
FB: First of all, I try to step up the production of the whole album, with all the instruments. This time around, I went to a better studio, a local studio here, to get a great sound from the start. We don’t have the biggest budget in the world, so it’s very hard for us to make it worth it to go to a nice studio and get everything sounding quality for everybody. Over the years, looking back at the previous records, I wasn’t satisfied with the quality of the music. The writing was cool, but we don’t have that privilege to be in the studio for as long as we want, so some of the performances back then weren’t as up to par as I would’ve liked them.
Like every artist, I’m constantly evolving and striving to be better, to push the boundaries of each of my musicians to be the absolute best they can. With the budget we had, we were able to pull some strings and get a good drum sound in a live room, record on a nice vintage analog console with Rob Black at Light Black Studios in Gardena. We were also able to work with Mike McMullen, our mixing engineer, who did some additional tracking as well. He worked as a tracking engineer on various projects. He worked on Killing the Dragon by Dio. He worked on some Dokken records. He worked with some of my favorite guitarists like John Norum and Marty Friedman, so for me, that was a clue to getting that sound I always liked. That was really cool.
He has a home studio and he has a bunch of analog gear: Neve mixers, analog compressors, pre-amps. Everything’s going to the right stuff. We were able to record through that. He helped us out with the record a little bit, charging us a little bit less, just because it’s super expensive to use that equipment and find somebody who has that stuff. I’m really grateful to him. For me, now I’m starting to have a growing passion for the production side of things and learning. I never went to school, so I’m still figuring it out. I think I made the right choice in making this album sound the best that I’ve done so far. I think we reached a good level of quality, and it’s only gonna get better from here.
When it comes to songwriting, do you handle all aspects? If so, what do you usually start with: A riff, melody, lyric, or perhaps a combination of the above?
FB: With the songwriting, I write the majority of everything. Pretty much, I’ll have the general idea: The vision, the beginning to end, in my head, of what I want. I’ll consistently be doing quality control throughout the whole record, so I’ll be involved with every single aspect of the record. Nothing gets past me without my approval. In that way, I guess I’d call myself the composer and the musical director of the project, but my feeling with singers, it’s very hard to get them. At least the people who I have who are not professionals who are singing all the time or doing studio sessions. These are heavy metal singers right off the street, drinking and having a good time *laughs*.
It’s very hard to persuade people to do exactly what I want because they want to express themselves too. They’re singers. They gotta feel the emotion. You don’t want somebody singing on your record that’s bummed and doesn’t like your lyrics. Usually, with the singer, I’ll work with them while we’re recording. They’ll express to me, “Hey, I don’t like this lyric. I think these lyrics are whack.” *laughs* “Let’s change this and do this.” I’ll approve things and we’ll work together and find ideas that work. If they have ideas for songs and they wanna bring it by me, I’m more than open to do that. It’s pretty collaborative while we’re recording, but the general idea and the vocal melodies, figuring out what works for what’s going on in the song during certain chords and the arrangement, I’ll handle most of those things.
When you’re writing guitar parts, is there ever a moment where you’ll come up with a riff and ask yourself, “Is this for Fortress or Intranced?”, or are you in two completely different mindsets when writing for those bands?
FB: Now, I do separate those things. Intranced is a more traditional rock, a little bit more poppy, a little bit more friendly for the general public to listen to, rather than a niche genre like heavy metal or power metal. I love both. I love Scorpions and everything. I will separate riffs. If I write a riff, I’m thinking, “This is a cool ’70s rock riff.” or “This is a cool pop riff we can make into a song that everybody can sing along.”, that’s more stuff for Intranced. When I write something that’s more intricate, a little more neoclassical that only musicians and people who love classical and Yngwie and that niche stuff, I’ll refer that too the Fortress stuff, just because I’m so passionate about it that I have to compose everything, whereas Intranced is more of a band. We all contribute. When I start a song in Intranced, it changes so much by the end. That’s the whole point of that band. It’s a collaborative thing, not really just me.
The title, Death Is Your Master, has a real dark and eerie feel to it. Where did that come from?
FB: The general vibe of this album…I’m getting older. I’m not super old, but I’m 29. This June, I’m gonna be 30. Usually, people are like, “By the time you’re 30, it’s over!” *laughs* I feel like I’ve lived a thousand lifetimes from my teenage years through now. I’m pretty content with my life, and it’s still going, but there’s always that feeling of death coming closer to you. There’s no way you can escape it. It’s almost like you’re a slave to it. Your whole life, you’re ignoring it, but it’s there, waiting. It is dark and eerie. I just think in that way, and I like that dark and eerie atmosphere. Horror movies, Dracula, and stuff like that.
I’m into that stuff, so for me, I thought it was cool. That’s the whole vibe of the album, based around death and you get what’s coming to you. In the end, we all have to face it. Whoever you think you are on this earth doesn’t matter. You’re always gonna die. You always have a master, no matter what. You’re so insignificant, these people that are doing horrible things. At the end of the day, they’re gonna face it. I don’t know what happens when we die, but I hope something horrible happens to them *laughs*.
This is the first Fortress album to feature Juan Aguila on vocals, who reminds me of a young Jeff Scott Soto. What events led to him joining the band and what traits does he bring to this album?
FB: He actually was in the band when he was 19 or 20 year old. He was in the band for a bit because (former singer) Chriss (Scott Nunez) had quit had at one point or something happened. I had gotten Juan for a bit. I have videos of us jamming and writing songs. At the time, we were young and kind of dumb, partying and living life, so he was like, “Alright, I’m out. I don’t want to do this anymore.” We weren’t playing the music he wanted to play. He’s more into AOR and glam metal, stuff like that, Journey and McAuley Schenker Group. He like stuff like that and I was like, “Wait a minute, we could play that if you want!”, but it was too late.
Then, Chris came back in and we did the album. He was a part of the band before, but this time around, he posted on Facebook, “Hey, I’m looking for a band to jam with. I miss jamming.” I always knew he was very talented. It’s a waste to not have him sing. I was like, “Hey, I have the perfect opportunity for you. I have this album that I’m already almost done with. We’re signed to a label. You don’t have to do anything. You don’t have to pay for anything.” He came in and it was his first time in a long time recording anything. He has a very clear voice. It doesn’t crack. It doesn’t really get tired. He has a really crazy range. It’s surprising. His voice doesn’t crack at all when he goes to those highs, so recording him was fairly easy. It was within the first three takes. He hasn’t even belted out stuff like that in a long time. It was really cool.
Some of those moments were magical moments where I told him to try something and he did this crazy take out of nowhere. Luckily, I was recording. Some of those highs you here, those are first try, messing around *laughs*. He’s naturally talented. That’s a great place to start with a musician, when you’re that good without even trying, but it only comes to a certain point. I always tell that to my band. We’re all naturally gifted, but it only gets you to a certain point. We need to go past that. That’s my whole philosophy with these guys, just pushing them to be better and better. Juan’s been great. I’m super happy with the response to the album. It really gives you an ego boost. When you see those comments, you feel good about yourself, so I’m sure he’s real happy about that. He’s a humble guy. It’s not like he’s over here like, “I’m the best singer in the world!” It’s quite the opposite.
Original singer, Chris Scott Nunez, does handle vocals on one song, “Blackest Night”. Did this song originate from the Don’t Spare the Wicked sessions, or was Chris called back to guest on this one?
FB: Initially, we were recording the album with Chris on vocals. When Chris and I started the album, the first riff I made was “Flesh and Dagger”. I made it on the spot. He asked me, “What songs do you have for the album?” I was like, “Give me one second.” And I just made a song right then and there. I’m like, “Some of this, some of that. There you go! There’s your first song! Let’s sing on it.” *laughs* It was a very basic structure of “Flesh and Dagger”. He started singing on it. He had a lot on his mind at the time, a lot of stress, so he wasn’t able to finish everything. He had done some vocals on “Night City”. We have some of his backing vocals in there, very, very low. He was originally working on that song with me, but the only one he was able to finish was “Blackest Night”. That’s the one he’s featured on. We’re still good friends. Life gets in the way sometimes.
It’s ironic, because on the last album, Chris’ vocals reminded me a lot of Graham Bonnet. Now, you’ve got Juan who reminds me of Jeff Scott Soto. It’s as if you have two classic Yngwie singers back to back!
FB: Yeah, Chris could actually be both, if you wanted to. Like I said, these guys have natural talent. If he had a vocal coach and actually sat down and practiced, he’d be unstoppable. He has a really great voice. There’s times where he just amazed me, like on the Don’t Spare the Wicked album. On “Lost Forever” and “Don’t Spare the Wicked”, he did some crazy vocals on there. I saw his potential, but like I said, life gets in the way. Not everybody has that privilege to practice and take time out of their day to really work on it. It sucks, but I think he’s still gonna be doing some new music. Don’t count on him giving up!
Speaking of Yngwie, myself and others are guilty of drawing comparisons between yourself and Yngwie Malmsteen, especially those classic ’80s albums. Do these comparisons bother you?
FB: *laughs* They don’t bother me. Nothing really bothers me. I’m not the person to get angry and fight with people. I think of it as a compliment. The reason I had to put my name on it is because there are so many Fortresses out. We have such a weird following. When we first came out in 2016 or ’18, we blew up. That’s how we got our deal with High Roller. We have a weird following where people get attached to the music. They get attached to the sound. They get comfortable with it. I didn’t want to change the name. When we release something that’s taken us a while, I don’t want people to forget. I want people to remember, “This is that band I loved all those years ago. They’re back!”
I didn’t want to change it. I could’ve, but I didn’t think it was worth it. It was actually Chris who suggested putting my name on it, just so we could keep our name and not be associated with the other bands. It worked out. I do work hard and I put a lot of hours into the music. It’s nice to be known by my name *laughs*. As far as the Yngwie stuff goes, he copied it from Ritchie Blackmore *laughs*. And Ritchie Blackmore copied it from Buddy Rich, Frank Sinatra, Jeff Beck. It’s just how it was back then and it was highlighted around a certain musician. It usually was because they were the ones who were the musical director, the composer, the driving force of the band. I feel like that’s my job. That’s what I do.
I don’t want it to be just about me. I want it to be about the whole band because everybody’s so talented. Even in the songwriting, I’m not doing ego solos and just showing off. It’s carefully written and I’m making sure that everybody shines, even the bass player…even though I played the bass on it *laughs*! Live, it will be a different story. I want everybody to shine. There’s a right place and time for certain things, like the solo, the vocals, the bass, the keyboards. It’s all carefully planned. It doesn’t really bother me that people are comparing it, just because I see it as a compliment.
I love those bands. Those are my influences. You have to pay respect to these bands. A lot of people try to avoid it. “We don’t sound like them! We’re ourselves!” Who are you kidding? They’re the metal gods. We have to show respect and keep doing it. In me naming it Fili Bibiano’s Fortress, there’s no disrespect for the old bands, trying to replace them. We’re never gonna replace anybody. We’re fans of the music. We just want to play heavy metal and that’s it.
In closing, what does the rest of 2026 have in store for you, Fili? I believe Intranced is going to be touring with Haunt.
FB: Yeah, we’re going on tour with Haunt for about a month across the US, mainly the east coast. We have a show coming up with Wings of Steel on the 20th here in L.A., which is gonna be fun. I’m excited for that. As far as Fortress, we have a local show with Omen, Parasite, Crossbreak, and Nightmare. It’s in L.A. It’s gonna be our album release show. We’re gonna have all our merch there, all our shirts, everything. Come by! We’re gonna play the album. I feel this is our first time going out and we’re taking it seriously. We’re gonna come out and when we come out, it’s gonna be powerful. People are gonna remember us, for sure.
The new Fili Bibiano’s Fortress album, Death Is Your Master, is our now on High Roller Records. For more information on Fili Bibiano’s Fortress, click here. For more information on Intranced, click here.
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