Not many people get to “enjoy” this privilege; interviewing the founder of one of the bands that have and have characterized your musical preferences and tastes since your teenage years.
I have never stopped following Extrema, loving TOMMY‘s sound and “guitar” skills, and when we got in touch to plan the interview, his enthusiasm for the format and the initiative did me a lot of pleasure and honor.

VIDEO INTERVIEW HERE (Only Italian Language) : https://youtu.be/3DSXGVDAVe4

I know Tommy long time and his passion for music and his humility make him a “complete” artist, he has never shied away from the attentions and requests of anyone who has been a part of his musical life path, and this is not always taken for granted when he grooves stages with Metallica, Megadeth and other international metal holy monsters.
Thanks to him, I am now more “technical” about the guitar, I have learned names and aspects related to guitars that I did not know before, and I can now say that I have at least completed myself on some brands previously unknown to me.

Because Tommy presented us with Ibanez guitars, a custom Mayland, some Dean and BC Rich guitars, but most importantly his new ESP LTDs modified with his favorite Seymour Duncan and his Halfbeard to recreate that sound that has always characterized EXTREMA‘s “collective fucking slaughter”

TOMMY MASSARA AND THE EXTREMA

Formed from the initiative of guitarist Tommy Massara they debuted with the EP We Fuckin’ Care in 1987, with an aggressive style containing only four songs imbued with influences from more classic thrash bands. A week before the release they played as the opener to Slayer ‘s only Italian date of the Reign in Blood tour, that’s May 7, 1987.

THE FIRST ALBUM.

The first album, however, was released six years later: Tension at the Seams (Contempo Records). Regarded as one of the seminal albums of Italian metal,[1] the record is praised by the international press for the quality of the writing and production with a different vocal from that of later albums (GL prefers to use a clean, much clearer voice on this album) and a rhythm section that also picks up from funky. Among the most representative pieces are Join Hands, Child o’ Boogaow, Displaced, and Modern Times.

Thanks to this success they got to open many concerts for the likes of Metallica and Vasco Rossi, reaching within a week to play in front of more than 130,000 people, something no Italian metal band at the time had managed to do. From these events came a Live EP entitled. Proud Powerful and Alive released in September 1994, containing a cover of Too Drunk Too Fuck by the Dead Kennedys.

THE SECOND ALBUM

The second album, The Positive Pressure (of Injustice), saw the light of day in 1995; the band aimed more at simplifying the sound of their early work by opting for a more massive and compact sound that may at times recall that of Pantera, achieving good success but dividing fan opinion. A video will be shot for the song Money Talks.

The following years are characterized by ups and downs.

In 1996 they composed with Article 31 in the single Drop me, and there was controversy especially from the more conservative “metallers” (this is the nu-metal period). The experiment was repeated in 1999 with. Go Beautiful, a song that this time included the participation of the entire Spaghetti Funk crew. TheMilan Football Association, in honor of its centenary, asked the band to compose a metal anthem dedicated to the team the title of the song: Dai tempi del Paron.

THE 2000’S.

Rapcore influences were also reflected in the Milanese group’s third album Better Mad Than Dead, which did not see the light of day until 2001. As imaginable, the hardcore and crossover style very much in vogue in the US period is accentuated in this record.

Later, in 2003 the band will release a collection of Remixes, B-sides and the aforementioned songs under the title of And the Best Has Yet to Come released by About Rock Records/Sony Music. The band plays at major national metal events (Heineken Music Festival, Flippaut, Gods of Metal).

After their last contract experience with a major label, the band decided to open their own record label and produce all records themselves under the name Extremateam; the first release, Set the World on Fire, at the same time as the entry of new drummer Paolo Crimi, will be released in the 2005 With V2/Universal distribution. The critically acclaimed album rediscovers the sound of early releases.

LEMMY AND THE EXTREMA

On February 4, 2006, the group held a concert at the Rolling Stone in Milan, which was released in 2007 as Raisin’ Hell with Friends, also available on DVD (under the title Murder Tunes & Broken Bones). The band meanwhile signed a licensing and distribution deal with Scarlet Records.

In early 2007, the band and longtime singer Gianluca Perotti drifted apart and then reconnected.

May 22, 2009 saw the release of the fifth album entitled. Pound for Pound, which also featured Page Hamilton of Helmet and is also the last album with Mattia Bigi on bass.

On July 15-16-17, 2009, they were support band for Lemmy Kilmister ‘s Motörhead on the tour that touched Rome, Florence and Padua.

In 2013 saw the release of the sixth album entitled. The Seed of Foolishness.

In 2016 they released. The Old School EP, via Punishment 18 Records.

LINE-UP CHANGE

On May 6, 2017, the group, after a period of reflection and based on the events that had developed, decided to permanently exonerate Gianluca Perotti, with an official statement published on Facebook and on the website. For the summer dates he is replaced by Axel Capurro of Anewrage.

On July 6, 2017 with a post on the official Facebook page official Extrema announced the entry of singer Tiziano Spigno into the lineup.

CHRONOLOGY OF TOMMY MASSARA’S GUITARS
(Updated 2021)

1986 – We Fucking Care

  • Mayland Custom Shop

1993 – Tension at the Seams

  • Mayland Custom Shop
  • Ibanez Saber
  • Ibanez Paul Gilbert
  • Ibanez Custom Shop USA Digital Numbers

1995 – The Positive Pressure of Injustice.

  • Mayland Custom Shop
  • Ibanez IC 500 Iceman

2001 – Better Mad than Dead

  • Ibanez IC 500 Iceman
  • Gibson SG Standard
  • Lacework custom shop 7
  • Ibanez RG 7 Black
  • Ibanez RG 7 Pink

2003 – And the Best has Yet to Come

  • Ibanez IC 500 Iceman
  • Lacework Custom Shop 6
  • Lacework Custom shop 7

2005 – Set the World on Fire

  • BC Rich Beach Custom shop USA Red
  • BC Rich Beach Custom shop USA Black
  • BC Rich Mockingbird 7
  • Lacework Custom Shop 7

2007 – Raisin’ Hell with Friends – Live

  • BC Rich Beach Custom shop USA Red
  • BC Rich Beach Custom shop USA Black
  • BC Rich Mockingbird 7
  • Lacework Custom Shop 7

2009 – Pound for Pound

  • Dean Cadillac 1980 Black
  • Dean Cadillac 1980 White
  • Dean Razor V
  • Dean Michael Schenker Standard
  • Dean Razorback 7

2013 – The Seed of Foolishness

  • Dean Lost 100 USA
  • Dean Razor V
  • Dean Michael Schenker Custom Flames
  • Dean Rusty Cooley 7

2016 – The Old School EP

  • Dean Lost 100 USA
  • Dean Razor V
  • Dean Ms Custom Flames

2018 – Headbanging Forever

  • Dean Lost 100 USA
  • Dean Razor V

2021

  • LTD EC-1000
  • LTD MK-600 Thousand Petrozza
  • LTD Arrow 1000

THE TOOLS: Which Tommy introduced us to:

HALF-BEARD AMPLY
MESA BOOGIE AMPLY
SEYMOUR DUNCAN

MAYLAND
IBANEZ SABER
DEAN RAZOR V
BC RICH TOMMY MASSARA RED

IBANEZ IC500 ICEMAN

LTD EC-1000

LTD MK-600 Thousand Petrozza

LTD ARROW 1000