Pentesilea Road: “Musically, it pushes further into progressive territory – more dynamic contrasts, richer”

“My musical path has been a long, winding road – fitting for the band’s name”

Welcome to Polismagazino.gr. Introduce the band in a few words. Pentesilea Road is a progressive metal studio project. We like to think to the project as a place where melody and complexity coexist, every song is a journey through introspection, myth, and modern world’s anxieties.

When did you start as a band? The project began taking shape around 2019, initially as a personal studio venture. Over time it evolved into a collaborative effort involving musicians from different countries, each bringing their own background and personality into the music.

What is your first musical memory? Something relevant might be about one of the first albums that came into my house as a kid … definitely I remember the first Keeper from Helloween in 1987. That shaped my listening taste, very early.

Who are the members of the band? Pentesilea Road is a collaborative project led by me, Vito Mainolfi, with contributions from a rotating group of exceptional musicians. Over the years, artists such as Mark Zonder, Ray Alder, and Michele Guaitoli have joined the journey, enriching the sound with their unique voices and styles.

The lineup of the last album is the following:

Vito F. Mainolfi – Guitars
Giovanni Montesano – Bass
Michele Guaitoli – Vox
Ezio Di Ieso – Piano & Keys
Alfonso Mocerino – Drums

Describe to us your career in music to date. Were there any decisive positive or negative influences? My musical path has been a long, winding road—fitting for the band’s name. I’ve moved between countries, collaborated remotely with musicians across the world, and learned to balance artistic ambition with the realities of production and life.

Positive influences include the progressive giants—Fates Warning, Porcupine Tree, Pain of Salvation—as well as classical and cinematic composers. Negative influences? Probably the constant tension between creativity and perfectionism. But even that friction becomes part of the music.

Are you “scared” by success or failure? Neither. Success is a responsibility, and failure is a teacher. What matters is staying honest, evolving, and creating music that resonates with people on a deeper level. Everything else is noise.

Tell us a few words about your latest release.

The latest release is a darker, more introspective chapter for Pentesilea Road. It explores themes of identity, transformation, and the fragile balance between hope and disillusionment. Musically, it pushes further into progressive territory—more dynamic contrasts, richer.