Turin has a reputation for darkness that predates the music scene by several centuries. It is a city that takes its shadows seriously. It seems like a fitting home for gothic rock.
Morella Records is proud to announce the signing of QZ, a gothic rock duo from Turin, Italy. Davide Quinto and Alessandro Zelferino join the label alongside Vampire Valentine, Glass Coffin Club, and GIO, and they arrive with their debut Morella release already in hand. The Black Flowers EP is out now.
WHO IS QZ
Davide Quinto and Alessandro Zelferino did not arrive at QZ without scars. Both have spent years working in Turin’s underground music scene, building their craft in bands before finding each other and the sound they were actually after.
Davide has been fronting bands in Turin since 2009. His previous project Darkest Clouds spent a decade in the trenches of gothic metal, recording two early demos, playing the local circuit, and releasing their album Stronger Than the Distance in 2017. Vocals and bass have always been his instruments. The weight behind his voice comes from years of putting it into rooms and letting it do the work.
Alessandro joined Hounds in 2016, a Turin heavy metal outfit built on the tradition of Savatage, Judas Priest, and Rainbow. His entry into the band helped shift it from a covers project into a proper songwriting act.
Hounds went on to release their debut EP in 2017 and their full-length Warrior of Sun in 2020 on Punishment 18 Records. Alessandro is a guitarist with real recording history and an international label track record behind him.
QZ is what happens when two musicians with that kind of background stop playing inside someone else’s walls. The sound they have built together draws from the cold architecture of 80s gothic rock and the modern Nordic gothic tradition. Atmospheric, deliberate, and built around synth texture over driven guitars, with Davide’s voice at the center of it all.
THE ROAD TO BLACK FLOWERS
QZ did not wait for a label to start moving. They began releasing music in September 2024 and did not stop. Follow You came first. Waste followed in November. Signs arrived in January 2025. Turning Point, a collaboration with vocalist Olivia Zuberi, landed in April 2025. A Vexcore remix of Signs came in July. Before any of these were tracked in a proper studio setting, QZ were already performing the material in stripped-back dark acoustic sets, learning how the songs lived in a room with an audience.
Nothing Inside Me, the lead single from Black Flowers, was released April 24, 2026. The full EP followed May 1st. Four tracks: When I Walk Alone, Nothing Inside Me, Waste, and Black Flowers.
The week of the EP release, QZ launched their first electric tour. Their debut full-band performances outside Italy are happening in Poland in May 2026.
May 9: Oliwa Pub, Krakow (with Absentem and Vermilion Age) May 10: Korba/Faust, Katowice (with Absentem and Füzér Vér)
More dates to follow.
WELCOME TO THE FAMILY
Artists on Morella Records keep their masters. No AI was involved in the making of this music. These are the principles the label was built on, and they apply here as they do everywhere on the roster.
ABOUT MORELLA RECORDS
Morella Records is an independent record label founded in 2026 by Blake Carpenter originally to launch his new project GIO, an anthemic goth rock project releasing the first album early in 2026. Morella specializes in goth rock, deathrock, darkwave, and post-punk music. Founded on principles of artist empowerment and transparent business practices, Morella provides promotional support and distribution while allowing artists to retain full ownership of their master recordings. Based in Leesburg, Georgia, Morella Records seeks to build a roster of authentic voices within the gothic and alternative music communities.
Some Things Are Only for the List.
Sign up and get a free song from the band that brought you here. Subscribers hear about new releases first, get show news before anyone else, and see things we never post publicly.
