Italian masters of absurdity NANOWAR OF STEEL have spent years turning heavy metal clichés, pop culture, history, and pure nonsense into an art form of their own. What began as a parody project evolved into one of Europe’s most entertaining cult bands — equally capable of sharp satire, ridiculous concepts, and genuinely catchy songs. Whether mocking “true metal” seriousness or writing anthems about subjects nobody else would dare touch, the band have built a loyal following through humor and musicianship in equal measure.
Their latest release, The Genghis Khan EP to End All Genghis Khan EPs, arrived in January via Napalm Records, delivering four new tracks of trademark madness. To celebrate, we spoke with bassist/vocalist Gatto Panceri 666 about Mongol approval ratings, airport problems, AI, emotional songs, and the eternal seriousness of NANOWAR OF STEEL.
In January you released The Genghis Khan EP to End All Genghis Khan EPs. Have you already sent an official diplomatic copy to THE HU for historical validation? It feels mandatory, since they’re clearly the world’s leading experts on Genghis Khan. Also — what fascinates you most about him: the history, the mythology, or the merchandising potential?
Well, the leading experts on Genghis Khan are actually UUHAI and you can see here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBHlFBRF_cg they did approve of our Genghis Khan song to end all Genghis Khan songs.
We are big fans of Gengy’s art, he could have been a great painter, too bad he was rejected by the art academy of Ulanbataar.
You’ve built a career on parodying metal tropes and sometimes specific bands — do you ever get feedback from the “victims”? Any hurt feelings, or mostly laughter? And the big one: have you ever heard from MANOWAR? If not, what would your dream message from them look like—approval, a lawsuit, or an invitation to become “True Brothers of Leather Pants”?
We are actually very serious and I don’t see what you are referring to when talking about parody victims. MANOWAR, for example, were inspired by us and have always been very thankful for the great music we do that inspires them.
What’s actually the hardest part about doing parody right? Is it the writing, the balance between humor and quality, or resisting the urge to become a serious band by accident? And be honest — do you ever get writer’s block, or does nonsense flow infinitely?
We know nothing about parody, but I can tell you a lot of things about our real job – answering questions in interviews about subjects we don’t know. We do get writer’s block when asked to answer questions about subjects we don’t know because, in fact, we don’t know the subjects.
Imagine you’re playing a show in Thailand for a crowd that doesn’t understand English, Italian, German—or even Java. No context, no references. Do you think they’d still enjoy a NANOWAR OF STEEL show? And what would win them over first: the music, the costumes, or the complete lack of sanity?
If we played in Thailand we would absolutely never ever ever make reference to the child sex industry that someone says it’s a thing over there. We would never ever make references to Karl Logan and absolutely never ever make any kind of jokes about pedophilia. Never ever, that would never cross our minds.
If you somehow won a Grammy, would you dedicate it to world peace… or donate it to DONALD TRUMP for… strategic reasons?
We would donate it to Mario Draghi for being our guest in Tooth Fairy.
You travel with some truly “unique” outfits and props — have you ever had issues at airport security or customs? And how do you usually explain yourselves: musicians, or an extremely niche drag metal collective?
We have problems at airports all the time, but only because we try to jump on flights with fake tickets so we can save money.
Are there any songs — metal or not — that genuinely make you emotional? Or is your tear response reserved strictly for out-of-tune guitars and incorrect historical facts?
Yes, Sve Još Miriše Na Nju by PARNI VALJAK and Alles aus Liebe by DIE TOTEN HOSEN are two songs that make me really emotional.
Gatto, you’ve been working as a programmer and even in AI (which explains HelloWorld.java). How far are we from a future where humans are no longer needed — and more importantly, will AI ever be able to write a proper NANOWAR OF STEEL song? Do you already use AI in your creative process, or is human stupidity still irreplaceable?
I didn’t know how to answer so I asked ChatGPT to answer your question:
“I think we’re still pretty far from a future where humans are not needed — mostly because someone still has to tell the machines to do the wrong thing in the funniest possible way. AI is great at optimizing, predicting, and generating… but being gloriously unnecessary is still a very human skill.
As for whether AI will ever write a proper NANOWAR OF STEEL song: it can already imitate the form — power metal riffs, epic choirs, Latin titles, maybe even a dragon or two. What it can’t really do (yet) is understand why putting all that next to absolute nonsense is funny. NANOWAR OF STEEL songs don’t work because they’re clever — they work because they’re clever in a stupid way, and that’s a delicate, deeply human balance.
Do I use AI? Sure. For ideas, for drafts, for technical stuff, sometimes even to check if a joke is too dumb (it often says yes — and that’s how I know it’s good). But when it comes to deciding to write a song about something nobody asked for, in a genre that takes itself way too seriously… human stupidity remains 100% irreplaceable.
So don’t worry: the machines may take our jobs, but they’ll never take our bad ideas. 🤘”
Outside of metal, which bands or artists do you consider the funniest?
Outside of metal, definitely PRESIDENT and SLEEP TOKEN, because of their incredibly funny masks and music.
What are your plans for this year? And finally — any words for your loyal fans, future fans, and people who still aren’t sure whether you’re a joke or a very serious joke?
This year I plan to take a couple of weeks off in August for holiday, but I still didn’t make plans. I might attend some language course in Poland or China, mountain trekking for a couple of weeks, or maybe just spend a couple of weeks in Belgrade.
For our future fans, I’ll tell them in the future something I haven’t thought of yet.