EX DEO, the new band featuring KATAKLYSM frontman Maurizio Iacono, is currently hard at work on their debut album with producer/guitarist J-F Dagenais. Iacono recently started a weekly studio blog on the band's MySpace which will last until mid-March.

Part 2 of their studio blog reads as follows:

“I was actually able to get on a last minute flight (to Montreal, QC) last Friday and have been at JFD studios all weekend. So far this has to be some of the greatest times in the studio for me in a very long time. There are no limitations on what we can or can’t do on this effort with the use of melodies and barbaric anthems. On Saturday (February 21) I started at 10:00am with a famous cup of coffee from Tim Hortons (if you live in Canada, you’ll know what I’m talking about. They should open Tim Hortons all over the states, especially in Chicago - would be nice for me!).

Anyway, so we started with the track 'Storm The Gates of Alesia', one of my favorites on the album which is about the Gauls and Ceasar’s Conquest. What a powerful song, the arrangements are killer and the symphonic parts are on point, majestic and dark. I’ve utilized different vocal types for Ex Deo and have tested new waters; the results have been surprisingly amazing.

Once I completed 'Storm The Gates of Alesia', we jumped to a song titled 'Surrender The Sun', a story about a gladiator who knows that he’ll never be free, but continues to fight because its all he’s got left. After reading into this, I found out many people in Rome worshipped Gladiators and if one had to die, the honourable way to go was in an arena. For me personally, I would rather run the opposite way of a hungry lion or a seven foot giant, but who knows how we all would think if we lived in those times, as the life expectancy was between 20 and 30 years.

Back to Romulus: J-F Dagenais has significantly advanced at producing records and with finding the right guitar tones. We have a killer organic drum sound and he has been pushing me to the max. I’m glad he is since I have to live up to the masterpiece these guys have done and to the name of my Roman ancestors. So far I’m on it...more to come on Thursday!

…in the meantime, can you figure out what "Aut vincere Aut Mori" means?"

Ex Deo’s debut album, Romulus, is scheduled for release June 19th (Europe) and June 30th (North America) via Nuclear Blast Records.