Who on Earth (USA)

Interview with Pete Rizzi (bass/co-founder)

https://www.facebook.com/WhoOnEarth

Who On Earth cut its teeth through relentless gigging across the New York tri-state area, with founding members Coosh and Pete previously tearing up stages as MadHaus. During 2020, the longtime collaborators shifted focus from covers to original material. Joined by drummer Joe D’Aqui, the group crafted a heavy, story-driven sound rooted. Despite pandemic delays, the sessions yielded their debut full-length album Blame, released in October 2022. The band is now ready to unleash yet another full-length, It Takes The Village – scheduled for release on May 8, 2026. With a help from Austin from Secret Service Publicity we arranged, what proved to be, an interesting and emotional lengthy interview with band’s bassis & co-founder, Pete Rizzi. Please enjoy reading this interview and let it inspire you!

Metal Revolution: Can you introduce your band to our readers? Can you tell us about the very beginning of your career?
Who on Earth: Hey Metal-revolution! Who on Earth is a five-piece metal band from New Jersey in the U.S. We started about 6 years ago right before Covid. Coosh (our frontman) and I were playing in a cover band in bars around New York City and decided that we wanted to create our own music. We felt that much of the new metal that was being released at that time was overproduced; it had lost the groove and power of the rock and metal of the 80s/90s and early 2000s. The stuff we grew up with and still love. Where did the hooks go? I mean, people were talking about not doing guitar solos anymore. Ludicrous. Ha. So, we set out and wrote 10 songs that really let our influences shine through. Sing along choruses, tight instrumentation, no overdubs, autotunes, and whatever other studio sorcery gets done these days. Just pure, honest metal from lifelong metalheads.

MR: During the years you’ve had few line-up changes. What’s your current line-up now?
WOE: Coosh (vox) and I (bass) are the only original members left. Johnny James Barone (lead guitar) has been with us from the early days. Jimmy Kocha (lead guitar) has been with us for a year and Howie Falon (Drums) for two years.

MR: …and then a passing of the guitarist Bruce Gatewood in 2024. How did it affected the band? I know you released the Smoke & Mirrors EP in March 2025, honoring his legacy, right?!
WOE: The loss of Bruce was devastating. We had just finished mixing and mastering the songs for Smoke & Mirrors and many of the songs on It Takes the Village. We were so excited about them and were literally talking about how proud we were two days before he passed. He had a widow-maker heart attack, and that was it…gone. We were shocked to say the least. I wasn’t sure what we were going to do, but after a few months of mourning, we decided that Bruce would want us to get out there and give it our all. To do our best to get these songs out as far and wide as we could. That’s what we’ve been doing since he passed. In July, it will be two years. That said, it’s comforting to know he’s up there hanging out with Eddie Van Halen, Jimi, Randy, and Ace!

MR: You’re about to release your new album, It Takes The Village, on May 8th. What can you tell us about this album?
WOE: The album is a true representation of the diversity of our songs. No two sound anything like any others on the album. Of the 15 tracks, we’ve got some great brand-new songs along with a few that have been restructured and re-recorded from the Blame album (‘Monster,’ ‘Oh, Set Me Free,’ and ‘We Don’t Belong Here’). We’ve also included our remake of ‘Jane’ by Jefferson Starship, an electronic remix of ‘Down & Out’, and an extended version of Vigilance with some amazing guitar work from Mike Orlando (Category 7, Adrenaline Mob) and drums by Jason Bittner (Category 7, Shadows Fall). All in there is quite a bit to dig into!

We are big on titles and concepts that have dual meanings, and It Takes the Village is a prime example. The idea is that the forces that are impacting the everyday person, the combination of inflation, fake news, corporate greed, political BS, and more, is a powerful machine that is literally destroying us… it’s taking the village, weakening it to the ground. A different interpretation and a favourite of ours is one of unification. By that I mean, it takes all of us, regardless of political affiliation, race, gender, creed, whatever, to band together, to unite, so that together we can resist these forces and stand our ground. It will take the entire village, i.e., all of us together, to turn the tide. The cover art was done by Ken Adams, Lamb of God’s exclusive artist and someone we have worked with many times in the past. He did the Blame cover and many of our single art. It shows a massive bulldozer-like machine facing an angry mob wielding primitive tools and torches. The hidden words, ‘comply,’ ‘consume,’ and ‘conform,’ appear in the background.

MR: What can we expect from your new effort? Utilizing any new recording techniques to this one, compared to the songs you created before?
WOE: The new album will be signature Who on Earth with more guitar harmonies (think Maiden, Priest, Queensryche twin guitar attack), and an elevated, bolder Coosh. We used the same producer, Mike Orlando and recorded at his studio just as we did with Blame and Smoke & Mirrors. Mike is always improving his engineering and mixing skills, all of which are evident on ITTV.

MR: How does your creative process work? I mean, what’s the creative process like when you make a new song?
WOE: I pretty much write the music, and while doing so, get a feel for a good working title. Most of the time, they become the actual titles. Coosh and I will work out melodies, and then the two of us will sit down and write out, in bullet-point form, what we want to say in the song. Then we craft the lyrics. We can spend hours on one line or write an entire verse in minutes. It’s part of the process.

MR: What is your favorite track from It Takes The Village? Which song from the album resonates with you personally the most and why?
WOE: My favorite song on the album is ‘Vigilance.’ It’s got power, groove, a great chorus, an amazing guitar solo and the lyrical concept is typical Who on Earth. This song is the epitome of what we are about and where we are right now as a band!

MR: The band just released their new single “Any Other Way.” Can you tell us a bit more on this particular song? What inspired you to choose this title? Is it a metaphor for something else?
WOE: This is our anthem! We basically took ‘Black Swan’ from the Blame album and rearranged, restructured, re-recorded, remixed, and mastered it. We wanted to give it a new look and go to the masses now that we’ve built a following over the past 4 years. The song is about looking back at our lives, and the events and paths chosen that brought us to where we are today. Perhaps it’s not where we thought we’d end up, perhaps we should have done things differently, made better choices. But at the end of the day, can we accept the fact that we are exactly where we are intended to be, and that what happened is what was supposed to happen? “I wouldn’t have it any other way!” is not only accepting it but actually embracing it.

We think it will be a big success on the radio here in the US and will truly draw people from all over the world to check out the rest of our library. The song has it all. A killer guitar solo done by Mike Orlando, a hypnotic, sing-along chorus, and crunchy rhythm guitars. It’s a powerful song that will bring people back to the 80s, a time period that had a big impact on us in our youth. You hear the Maiden, Priest, Def Leppard, Dio, and Ozzy in it. But it’s clearly a Who on Earth song. We think the timing is perfect as the older metal music has come back. The authenticity of it, the realness of that music, is back in vogue, although for a lot of us, it never left. I think it’s a song that all ages will get behind. Or at least I hope they will. Ha.

MR: Has the lyrical content changed over the years? Where do you get inspiration for writing lyrics and who’s the main songwriter? Or do you all participate equally?
WOE: Yes, our lyrical content has definitely changed. On both Smoke & Mirrors and ITTV, we wrote quite a bit about deception, corporate greed, government inadequacy and incompetency, and other similar topics. We typically include a call for people to unify regardless of race, religion, or political affiliation against the forces that work against us.
Coosh and I collaborate as the main songwriters. As I mentioned, I write the music, and we knock heads on lyrics and melodies together.

MR: How many copies of It Takes The Village will be released and which medium will be used for this new edition (CD, digital, vinyl, cassette)?
WOE: ITTV will be available on vinyl, CD and digital/streaming. No cassettes and definitely no 8 tracks! Ha. Remember those?

MR: Yes, long time ago! (Laughing) I know Secret Service Publicity is helping your band name be heard through his promotion activities. Do you know them personally, and why did you choose Secret Service Publicity to promote your latest work?
WOE: I never met them personally but they came highly recommended from a good friend of ours at FM Management. They really liked our music and we felt confident that they would really get behind the band and make a great effort to help spread the word about Who on Earth. We’re the little independent band from New Jersey and they are pushing us hard. We’re very happy with them so far.

MR: What obstacles or challenges, if any, do you encounter when it comes to getting your music out there and heard by potential new fans?
WOE: The biggest challenge for us is trying to compete with the thousands of songs that are uploaded every day in metal and hard rock. It’s great that home recording equipment is available and affordable. People can create and get their songs out there. It’s awesome. But there is an awful lot of it, and people can only listen to so much. We just keep creating quality songs and try to be thoughtful with our artwork so it looks enticing. I remember buying albums as a kid (I know I’m dating myself) based on how cool the artwork was. It still matters and can stop someone from scrolling and go, “Ooh, that looks cool,” and click.

MR: Now, would you tell us what the next step is for Who on Earth? Live performances in support of It Takes The Village? Any new projects in the pipeline that you can share with us?
WOE: On the day ITTV is released, which is May 8th, we play our first show with Fozzy in the Northeast US. We will do six dates with them and then a bunch of dates in June and September with Tantric in other parts of the US. We will likely release a few more videos for songs on the album and start gathering ideas for the next album. We want to keep the pipeline of new music fresh and release new material every year.

MR: What about your musical inspirations? Which are your main influences? Am I wrong if I say that your sound is reminiscent of the likes of Iron Maiden, Dio, Queensryche, Ozzy, Ghost, etc.?
WOE: You are not wrong at all. As a matter of fact, you are dead on accurate! For me personally, all of those bands, with the exception of Ghost were a HUGE part of my youth. Ghost is amazing and one of the few bands in the last few decades that embodies what we want to do and what we want to be. Without the costumes. Ha. As a bass player, I owe it all to Steve Harris. I picked up the bass because of what he was doing with it. I was 15, and the old Maiden albums grabbed me by the balls, and that was it. Foot on the monitor and away I go. Other big influences were Geddy Lee, Geezer Butler, Chris Squire and Gene Simmons.

MR: What other hobbies and passions do you guys have, regardless of music?
WOE: I love riding motorcycles. I own two Harleys and I have ridden all over the US. Nothing is as enjoyable as riding a scenic route, wind in your hair and sabbath blasting in the ol’ ear buds. I also enjoy reading, jigsaw puzzles, pilates and cooking. Coosh loves hiking in the great outdoors and he is a grill master! Johnny is big into physical fitness and spending time with his family. I don’t know what Howie does for fun. I think his hobby is texting me ideas for the band! Which I love!

MR: How can people reach your band & music?
WOE: We’re everywhere. We have a website: whoonearththeband.com, a very cool YouTube channel and we are on all social media. Our music is available on all of the streaming platforms.

MR: Thank you for taking the time to do this interview! Would you like to add anything to the readers of Metal Revolution and European fans in general?
WOE: Thank you very much for your interest in speaking about Who on Earth. And to the readers, we know that metal is alive and well in Europe and we are dying to get out there and play in as many locations as we can. Until then, thank you for reading and listening. We appreciate you!