Pigeon Opinion Featuring an Interview with Decadent Heroes

Luigi Chiappini’s Climax is a polished instrumental rock album that leans on melody, dynamics, and a clear sense of narrative. Released on 18 May 2026 under Decadent Heroes, the record moves from the muscular sweep of “The Dragon” to the more spacious, reflective pull of “Minutes Away,” balancing riff-driven force with atmosphere. Chiappini keeps the focus on tone and phrasing, and the guest spots from players like Dennis Holt, Pino Saracini, and Rich Gray help give the album real weight without crowding the guitar out of the frame.

Interview with Decadent Heroes

1. “Climax” is an instrumental album, what does it give you creatively that working with vocals doesn’t?

It’s not a battle against vocals, but rather a personal journey that led me to realize I can express my music much better through my guitar than through a singing voice.

For over 25 years I played in traditional rock bands with vocalists, and it was a great experience.

However, with 'Climax,' I discovered a different kind of creative freedom. When you don't have lyrics, the guitar doesn't just support a story told by someone else, it becomes the storyteller itself.

It allows me to convey complex emotions directly through tone and phrasing, making the PRS Custom 24 my truest and most natural voice.

2. You describe the guitar as a storytelling voice. What story were you trying to tell across this record?

It’s essentially a story of rebirth. After my last band split up, I went through a difficult and uninspired period, especially with the live scene shifting so heavily toward pre-recorded tracks.

'Climax' represents the moment I found my way back. Songs like 'Minutes Away' just flowed out naturally, all at once, during what became the most inspired period of my life. So, the story across the record is my personal journey of rediscovering my musical identity, letting the guitar do all the talking.

3. The album moves between very different energies, from heavy riffs like “The Dragon” to more spacious pieces like “Minutes Away.” How did you decide on that balance?

I didn’t really plan or calculate the balance beforehand; I just followed the natural personality of each song.

Some tracks wanted to be powerful and riff-driven, while others needed space and atmosphere. I don’t like one dimensional albums because real life has both high energy moments and quiet, contemplative ones.

The real challenge with instrumental rock is making sure that even the spacious, atmospheric tracks maintain a strong emotional weight and a real sense of dynamic movement.

4. Was there a central emotional or conceptual thread that ties the whole album together, or is it more about contrast and exploration?

The main thread that ties everything together is definitely authenticity. Even though there is a lot of contrast between heavy, riff driven tracks and cinematic atmospheres, every single note comes from a genuine place.

It’s an exploration of what happens when you stop worrying about modern marketing rules or chasing digital trends, and you just focus on real human performances, good tone, and pure inspiration.

5. Influences like Joe Satriani, Andy Timmons, and Jeff Beck are often associated with expressive instrumental playing. What aspects of their approach have most shaped your own style?

From Satriani I definitely learned the importance of a memorable melody, while Jeff Beck showed everyone how to make the guitar sound unpredictable and vocal.

But if I have to name the ultimate blueprint for this album, it is Andy Timmons and his record Resolution. That specific album represents the perfect balance between raw power, sonic clarity and extreme musicality.

Those artists shaped my style by teaching me that technical skills are absolutely useless if they do not serve a real emotion.

6. The album features musicians like Dennis Holt, Pino Saracini, and Rich Gray, how did those collaborations shape the final sound?

They were essential for the sonic identity of the record. On my previous single releases I played everything myself, but for Climax I wanted a living, breathing rhythm section with different styles.

Dennis Holt played drums on most of the main tracks, while Darrell Nutt and Francesco Coppola Bove completed the drum sections.

On bass, the songs feature Pino Saracini, Marcin Palider, Rich Gray, Brian Barton, and Fausto Berardo, who covered a massive part of the album. Artur Lenivenko also added keyboard parts.

Each musician brought a personal touch and a natural groove that perfectly supported and elevated my original vision.

7. You’re known for focusing on tone, phrasing, and dynamics. When do you know a guitar part is emotionally “finished”?

I know a guitar part is finished when the gear and the technical thoughts disappear, leaving only the music.

If I find myself overthinking the preset, the signal chain, or fixing minor imperfections, it means the emotion is not there yet. When the sound feels natural and inspiring, I stop tracking.

On this album I deliberately kept many first or second takes because that is where the real energy and spontaneity live. After too many attempts, a performance might get cleaner, but it usually loses its soul.

8. Instrumental music relies heavily on listener interpretation. Do you leave space intentionally for people to project their own meaning onto the songs?

Yes, that is the most beautiful part of instrumental music.

When you do not have lyrics telling people exactly what to think or feel, the songs become a mirror for the listener.

The cinematic nature of the arrangements and the dynamic shifts naturally open up spaces where everyone can overlay their own visual scenes, memories, or feelings. My guitar sets the emotional direction, but the listener completes the story.

9. There’s a cinematic quality to the record. Do you think in terms of visuals or scenes when composing?

Yes, it happens very frequently. I do not sit down to write soundtracks for films, but my creative process is naturally visual.

When a riff or a melody comes to me, it almost always brings landscapes, specific energies, or distinct moods along with it.

A track like 'The Dragon' has an epic, visual momentum built directly into its main guitar parts.

For me, 'Cinematic Hard Rock' is a very accurate definition because images and sounds always move together in my mind when I am writing.

10. “The Dragon” has an accompanying video, how important is visual storytelling for instrumental music like this?

It is incredibly important. For 'The Dragon,' the video expands my original dream of a colossal dragon appearing during a rock concert, transforming it into a dark, oniric nightmare of a metropolis collapsing into an apocalypse.

It contains hidden visual and conceptual references to every single track on the album.

Depending on how you choose to listen to the record, either from track 1 to 9 or vice versa, those visual details can be interpreted as future omens or past memories.

It is a puzzle designed to enhance the entire listening experience.

11. You’ve built this under the name Decadent Heroes. What does that identity represent to you beyond just a solo project?

Luigi Chiappini is just a name, it doesn’t add any real value or philosophical character to a musical project.

Decadent Heroes, on the other hand, is a concept. It defines exactly who I am and what represents me the most. It connects deeply with my literary, aesthetic, and existential tastes.

When an identity tells a story about you that goes much further than your own birth name, that is the name worth using.

12. How does being based in Italy influence your sound, if at all?

It definitely represents the two distinct souls of my music.

On one hand, my teenage years were heavily shaped by the energy and grit of Italian rock bands from the 90s like Litfiba and Timoria, which planted my raw rock roots. On the other hand, there is a deep-rooted tradition of melody and elegance.

For me, that elegance goes back to watching the Sanremo Music Festival as a kid, just to catch those brief seconds when the camera cut to the orchestra's guitar player. Seeing the legendary Silvano Chimenti playing those clean, precise, and deeply emphatic bendings, often on his elegant Manne guitars, completely blew my mind. My sound lives right in the balance between that raw rock energy and Chimenti's sophisticated class.

13. With no lyrics to guide the listener, how do you maintain emotional direction across a full album?

I see an instrumental album as a story told through emotion rather than words.

Every track has a purpose: some create tension, others feel more intimate or cathartic. I’m interested in taking the listener through different emotional states without explaining everything directly.

Even without lyrics, music can still leave a very human feeling behind, and that’s what I try to achieve across a full record.

14. Do you approach live performance differently when the focus is entirely on instrumental expression? Are there any thoughts on bringing these compositions to a live stage?

To be completely honest, for 25 years I gigged constantly but always with bands that had a lead singer where the guitar plays a completely different role.

With Decadent Heroes, I haven't had the chance to perform live yet. There are two major hurdles: the severe lack of venues dedicated to instrumental rock here in Italy, and the massive financial cost of bringing a full project like this on stage.

I am seriously thinking about playing these songs live, but I need to find a smart, specific formula that can overcome both the lack of spaces and the budget issues while still doing justice to the music.

15. After “Climax,” do you see yourself continuing to evolve within instrumental rock, or exploring even more experimental territory?

You can never control inspiration and you never really know where it will take you, which is the most beautiful thing about music.

If you ask me right now how I see the immediate future of Decadent Heroes, I can tell you without a doubt that it is tied to the exact formula I used on Climax.

But if you ask me where I see myself in ten years, I honestly have no idea. Throughout my life, I have always chosen artistic inspiration over catalog consistency.

Ten years from now, I will probably be making exactly the kind of music that my sensibility dictates at that moment.

(•)> That's all, Folks! Check out Decadent Heroes on the Pigeon Opinion Playlist