Depois do impacto causado por "Face The End" em 2025, os italianos do Game Over não deram trégua e já retornam com "When Darkness Falls", tendo lançamento previsto para 18 de setembro de 2026, pela gravadora Scarlet Records. A banda de Ferrara segue fiel à sua identidade: thrash metal cru, veloz e sem meio-termo, mas parece disposta a intensificar ainda mais a pegada nesse novo trabalho. Com a formação atual, sendo Danny Schiavina nos vocais, Luca Zironi na guitarra, Leonardo Molinari no baixo e Anthony Dantone na bateria, o grupo chega a este décimo trabalho em plena forma, prestes a encarar uma turnê europeia ao lado de Defiance e Bonded.
Logo no início da audição, a intro costumeira, mas que já dá o tom para "Two Souls One Flesh", com som bem característico da banda, refrão forte, riffs marcantes e bateria a todo vapor. Na sequência, "Break Away", que na minha opinião é a melhor do álbum, inclusive já com vídeo disponível no YouTube. A música tem uma letra forte e politizada, juntamente com "Fight For Your Mind", ambas empolgam bastante.
À medida que a faixa "Scream It Out" finaliza, a sensação é de uma transição, disfarçada de pausa, para o lado mais sombrio característico da banda, que inclusive homenageia alguns clássicos do cinema de horror. Não que seja uma transição ruim, pois a faixa "Curse Of Strahd" é ótima e agrada em cheio aos fãs dos italianos do thrash metal. Entretanto, a sensação que fica é um pouco confusa, mas nem toda obra precisa necessariamente de um contexto ligando todas as canções. Acredito que, atualmente, como a maioria dos álbuns está sendo lançada com algum conceito costurando as canções, acabamos por estranhar quem faz diferente. E por que não dizer, o faz do jeito mais tradicional e comum em décadas passadas.
Para tecer as opiniões desta resenha, ouvi o álbum algumas vezes e, o mais importante, em momentos diferentes, para conseguir identificar se as minhas percepções não estavam equivocadas, mas realmente não foi o caso. A sensação em todas as vezes foi a mesma: um bom e competente álbum, porém sem aquele "mojo" que te faz parar e dizer "Nossa! Deixa eu voltar esta faixa". Destaque para a arte do álbum, do artista Mario López, que é parte importantíssima para captar a essência da obra.
Por fim, a última música, "Command To Die", não decepciona, porém não surpreende. Todas as 10 faixas da obra são bem produzidas e executadas, ótimas para uma playlist descompromissada e confortável.
Odin’s Krieger Festival mistura humor com medieval em shows de Nanowar of Steel e Heidevolk
O humor italiano e o folk metal viking holandês combinam muito bem, e festival, que também contou com outras apresentações diversas nacionais, valeu a pena presenciar
O Odin’s Krieger Festival já é tradicional! Ano após ano, a festa atrai apreciadores de costumes e da cultura medieval fantástica, além de adeptos da história e mitologia nórdica, celta, e todo tipo de história e fé pagãs. Mesmo sem shows, só o encontro temático dessa ou dessas tribos já seria sensacional, mas com grandes apresentações, tudo fica melhor. Tivemos!
Embora, devo dizer, o público parecesse abaixo do que tivemos em 2024, ainda era respeitável, com mais da metade do Carioca Clube cheio. Bem, era de se esperar, já que as atrações do ano anterior eram mais populares, com Dogma e Wind Rose. Neste ano corrente, tivemos ainda um repeteco: O Heidevolk já havia estado no mesmo festival alguns anos antes.
OAKLORE FAZ TRIBUTO AO FOLK “GEEK”:
Uma aguardada atração nacional era o Oaklore, um grupo de música folclórica que já se tornou conhecido no circuito de eventos “folk”. Talvez uma das coisas mais legais deles, é que você vai se sentir “em casa” quando estiver em seus shows: grande parte de seu repertório é de temas musicais que somos acostumados a ouvir no nosso dia-a-dia (bem, ao menos quem é ligado em videogames, filmes e séries), com canções que vão de Senhor dos Anéis, uma das grandes inspirações da existência do grupo, segundo o que disseram no palco - bem, podemos compreender isso, já que o filme, do qual tocaram temas no show, é uma das maiores obras audiovisuais do gênero. Pessoalmente, fiquei extremamente emocionado ao tocarem um mix de temas de The Witcher 3, que é meu jogo preferido. Tão bem executado foi, que chegou a ser emocionante para fãs da franquia, do personagem Geralt of Rivia, e desse universo fantástico. Excelente apresentação, que serviu perfeitamente como “esquenta” para o que viria.
Vale frisar que, no meio tempo entre os shows, não há nenhum tipo de tédio! vários stands de lojas dos mais variados produtos, comuns, exóticos, artesanais, que iam de hidromel a velas aromáticas. Tem para todo tipo de público, e isso já vem de ano após ano - sempre ótimas opções, embora muitas vezes pagando um preço bem salgado.
NANOWAR OF STEEL TRAZ BOM HUMOR, HITS HILÁRIOS, E… VAMPETAÇO!:
Sejamos diretos: você nunca vai rir tanto em um show de rock quanto no do Nanowar of Steel! Conhecido recentemente pelo engraçadíssimo hit Norwegian Reggaeton, que parodia tanto o reggaeton latino, quanto o black metal norueguês, foi a primeira vez que a banda italiana esteve no Brasil, depois de muitos pedidos. Valeu a espera!
Sandra Rosato
A banda entrou com o visual mais bizarramente divertido possível: cada um dos integrantes com uma fantasia mais “zoeira” que a outra, sendo o vocalista Mr. Baffo o ápice, vestido com quase um cosplay de “loli” de animes - só imagine um sujeito barbado fazendo isso, é sensacional! Apesar da zoeira, todos tocam absurdamente bem, e as músicas são executadas exatamente como deveriam.
Sandra Rosato
Alguns momentos completamente absurdos fazem parte da festa. O outro vocalista, Potowotominimak colocou uma máscara do monstro Cthulhu, da obra de HP Lovecraft, durante a canção The Call of Cthulhu, com um telefone em mãos. Entenderam o trocadilho?! Ou o momento incrível quando um sujeito vestido do pássaro “malvado” Cacciatore entrou no palco, na canção Il Cacciatore della Notte. Também tivemos um “wall of love”, uma espécie de wall of death, mas onde todos se abraçam - ainda com Careless Whisper, de George Michael, de fundo, seguido pelo cover do cantor inglês da música de mesmo nome.
Sandra Rosato
Mas provavelmente o momento mais sensacional do magnífico show foi quando alguém atirou uma bandeira com a foto do ex-jogador Vampeta nu, apenas com a foto de Varg Vikernes, do Burzum, tampando suas genitais, em referência ao episódio quando o dito vocalista de black metal falou mal de brasileiros no twitter, e os usuários brasileiros começaram a lhe mandar fotos do ensaio do ex-atleta para a extinta revista G Magazine - ficou conhecido como “Vampetaço”. Eles realmente exibiram aquilo no palco!
Sandra Rosato
Seu grande hit, Norwegian Reggaeton, claro, foi um dos pontos mais altos. Todos sabiam cantar a música! Os sorrisos e risos eram nítidos por todos os cantos. Realmente, eles roubaram a cena, mesmo não sendo a atração principal da noite.
Sandra Rosato
Entre as apresentações, tivemos uma bela apresentação de dança, que serviu muito bem de aquecimento, além de uma batalha esportiva de espadas, o que fez com que não ficasse nada cansativa a espera para o próximo show.
Sandra Rosato
HEIDEVOLK FECHA A NOITE COM BOA APRESENTAÇÃO DE FOLK METAL, MAS OFUSCADA PELA ANTERIOR:
Trocamos o humor pelo verdadeiro folk metal. Diretamente da Holanda, um dos maiores celeiros de bandas bem sucedidas do mundo, o Heidevolk fazia sua segunda participação no Odin’s Krieger Festival. Claro que, pela proposta do evento, de celebrar a cultura medieval e nórdica, seriam a atração principal.
Sandra Rosato
Afiada, a banda veio ao país agora divulgando seu álbum Werderkeer, e não decepcionou. O som que apresentam faz todo o sentido para o evento, e logo de começo já era ovacionada pelo público. Uma coisa bem curiosa é que apesar de fazerem um som mais rápido, onde seria comum o uso de vocais agudos, os holandeses usam dois vocalistas com vozes extremamente parecidas e graves. Por um lado, isso dá um contraste, e deixa com uma certa cara “ritualística”, mas por outro, uma das vozes acaba ficando redundante, já que não há contraste entre ambas. No fim das contas, funciona. Outro ponto interessante é o idioma; não é comum ouvirmos músicas no idioma neerlandês, mas a banda prova que pode, sim, funcionar bem, a depender do estilo.
Sandra Rosato
O setlist foi conservador, mesmo longo. Tivemos, de começo, duas do último disco, como era de se esperar: Hagalaz e Klauwen Voorut. Não demorou para virem clássicos, com Winter Woede, Urth e A Wolf in my Heart. No geral, tudo muito completo, contemplando vários períodos de sua carreira.
Sandra Rosato
Terminamos o show com Vulgaris Magistralis, versão para a banda de rock holandesa Normaal, e a saideira com um grande clássico, Nehalennia, do já distante ano de 2010.
Sandra Rosato
Ótimo show, com belo som, e um público muito animado, e diversos mosh pits ao longo do show. Apesar do brilho, o fato do Nanowar of Steel ter feito uma apresentação inédita e extremamente divertida, que roubou a cena, ficou parecendo que quem deveria ter sido a atração final eram eles. De toda forma, o conjunto de ambas foi muito bom, e tudo foi muito bem aproveitado. Ambas bandas já têm um lugar no coração dos brasileiros, e podem voltar a qualquer momento, que será uma boa pedida de show!
Uma das bandas que mais cresceram no metal europeu nos últimos anos vem pela terceira vez ao Brasil em setembro.
Por Fernando Queiroz
Os italianos do Fleshgod Apocalypse desembarcam junto ao Epica no próximo mês para uma série de apresentações no Brasil. É a terceira vez da banda no país – as outras foram em 2017 e em 2019 – e hoje, em seu auge de popularidade mundial, se encontram com formação renovada e com seu mais recente álbum sendo entre os mais elogiados para apresentar ao público brasileiro pela primeira vez. Confira aqui cinco razões para você não perder os shows do quinteto nessa turnê que conta com dois dos maiores nomes do metal sinfônico mundial da atualidade.
1) É a primeira vez que vêm ao Brasil com Veronica Bordachinni como vocalista principal! Embora a cantora já se apresentasse há anos com a banda como backing vocal e fizesse os vocais líricos, após a saída de Paolo Rossi da banda ela acabou por assumir as funções do ex-membro nos vocais limpos e rasgados, que complementam os guturais do líder Francesco Paoli. Vale a curiosidade: Veronica já cantou com o próprio Epica, no EP The Alchemy Project (2022), na faixa The Great Tribulation.
2) O álbum Opera é um de seus melhores discos, e merece ter suas músicas ouvidas em shows! Lançado em 2024, o disco é uma reflexão sobre os momentos que Francesco Paoli passou entre a vida e a morte, e o primeiro a contar apenas com Veronica nos vocais limpos. Foi extremamente elogiado pela crítica especializada, e já se enquadra entre os clássicos da banda.
3) Celebrar a vida e estar vivo! Como dito anteriormente, o frontman da banda passou por momentos difíceis nos últimos anos. Em 2021, ao escalar uma montanha, Francesco sofreu um acidente quase fatal, ficou pendurado durante horas pela corda, e quebrou mais de 25 ossos pelo corpo. Quase morreu, e as possibilidades de ficar paralisado para o resto da vida eram altas. Estar hoje tocando, cantando e fazendo turnês gerou uma mudança na percepção e abordagem que ele tem para com os shows que faz. Hoje, segundo ele, cada show é como se fosse o último, e cada noite é um momento para dar tudo de si. Podem esperar uma apresentação incrível!
4) Uma outra abordagem ao sinfônico! É verdade que, sim, o Epica é a atração principal da noite, mas para seu público, vale a pena conhecer uma abordagem diferente do metal sinfônico. Diferentemente dos holandeses, o Fleshgod Apocalypse é mais pesado, e aposta mais nos vocais guturais e em limpos ou rasgados, com as partes líricas em segundo plano – o oposto do praticado por seus companheiros de turnê. Como ambas as bandas abordam, de formas diferentes, o sinfônico, as orquestrações e os pianos, a possibilidade de você, fã de Simone Simons e seus companheiros, acabar por se tornar, no mínimo, um admirador dos italianos mais pesados no gênero.
5) Uma banda de músicos de primeiríssima linha! Não apenas Veronica, uma cantora de ópera e musicista formada, e Francesco, que já tocou literalmente todos os instrumentos na banda, seja em estúdio ou ao vivo, hoje a banda conta com outros instrumentistas gabaritados. Francesco Ferrarini, tecladista, já arranjou e compôs para bandas históricas, como Kreator, Amorphis, Angra, e Dimmu Borgir, só para citar algumas. O baterista ucraniano Eugene Ryabchenko já tocou com outros grupos importantes, como Belphegor e Vital Remains. Por último, mas não menos importante, Fabio Bartoletti gravou guitarras com o Epica, no mesmo EP e faixa que Veronica.
Por sua vez, os holandeses do Epica vêm ao Brasil pouco mais de um ano após sua última passagem pelo país, que foi em 2024 no Summer Breeze Brasil, para divulgar seu novo álbum Aspiral, lançado em abril desse ano.
As informações sobre o show que acontece em São Paulo você confere abaixo!
SERVIÇO
Data: 14 de setembro de 2025 – domingo
Local: Terra SP
Endereço: Av. Salim Antônio Curiati, 160 – Campo Grande, São Paulo – SP
Horário: 18h
Ingressos:
PISTA – 1o Lote
Meia Entrada / Solidária: R$ 250,00
Inteira: R$ 500,00
PISTA PREMIUM – 1o Lote (Livre acesso ao setor premium em frente ao palco e ao camarote / mezanino)
Meia Entrada / Solidária: R$ 350,00
Inteira: R$ 700,00
CAMAROTE – 1o Lote
Meia Entrada / Solidária: R$ 350,00
Inteira: R$ 700,00
PACOTE VIP / MEET & GREET
É necessário comprar um ingresso separadamente! O PACOTE VIP inclui: • Meet & Greet com o Epica / • Oportunidade de tirar uma foto com a banda / • 1 Camiseta exclusiva do Epica / • 1 Credencial oficial do Epica / • 1 Cordão oficial para a credencial / • Acesso à casa de shows antes do público em geral
Maestro Mistheria started early in music, being a pianist, keyboardist, keyboardist and organist, producer and composer, involved in both classical and rock/metal genres.
After graduating - with full score - from the Conservatory of Music on the "Organ and Composition" course, Mistheria began his career as a solo artist, session musician and producer.
He has numerous and prestigious collaborations, both in the studio and live, with many international artists and groups, including sensations such as Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden), Roy Z (Rob Halford), Rob Rock (Chris Impellitteri), Mike Portnoy, Steve Di Giorgio (Testament), Jeff Scott Soto, Mike Terrana, Joel Hoekstra (Whitesnake), Mark Boals (Ring of Fire), Edu Falaschi (Angra, Almah).
Mistheria comes to Brazil on tour for Bruce Dickinson's new album, and we took the opportunity to talk about his work with the legendary Iron Maiden singer, and of course, a little about his solo career, the fantastic Vivaldi Metal Project and much more .
RtM: Hello Maestro, thank you for taking the time for this interview. And soon you will be here in Brazil together with Bruce Dickinson on the tour for the album "The Mandrake Project". I believe your expectations must be high with the tour and visiting South America.
Mistheria: Hello and thank you for inviting me to the interview. We will have 7 shows in Brazil. I know Bruce has a huge, very loyal and enthusiastic fan base there. I'm really looking forward to sharing some exciting moments with the Brazilian audience. Thrilled!
RtM: I believe it will also help more people get to know your work here. Will there be any space in the show for a keyboard solo perhaps? Do you plan something special for the presentations?
Mistheria: Yes, there are also some spots for my keyboard solos, the show is full of many interesting moments.
RtM: You played on two other works by Bruce, "Tyranny of Souls" and "Scream for me Sarajevo", tell us a little about how these opportunities came about, and how do you feel being part of Bruce's solo work again so many years later?
Mistheria: In 2003, I was contacted by Roy Z with whom I had already had the great pleasure of working on Rob Rock's album “Eyes of Eternity”. Roy was working on Bruce's “Tyranny of Souls” and asked me to record keyboards on that album. We continued to collaborate on Rob Rock's albums “Holy Hell” and “Garden of Chaos”.
We started working on Bruce's “The Mandrake Project” in 2012 and we finally have it in our hands now. The recording process was intense, creative, and exciting. I'm really happy that this new masterpiece is now available for anyone to listen to.
RtM: And what's it like working with a legend like Bruce? Did you have space to collaborate on the compositions? I see that on this new album the keyboard has much more participation.
Mistheria: On “The Mandrake Project” I had the opportunity to record a lot of keyboards and work on some orchestrations, and give vent to a lot of ideas. I was inspired by such beautiful songs, and when the demos included Bruce's vocals, I finalized all my parts.
Roy Z and Bruce asked me to record as much as possible, then they would work on it during the mixing process. I really enjoy this working process, it is deeply stimulating for me. They also gave me some tips and directions to follow. It was fabulous working with them on the album.
RtM: And about this album, which has a darker atmosphere, what could you say about it and which songs from it did you like the most and would like to play live?
Mistheria: Hard to answer :) I love all the tracks! I like adding some “color” to songs, dark atmospheres, spacey sounds, gothic organ and choirs, etc. I actually had the chance to record a lot of them on this album, so I'm really satisfied and happy with the result. . I would love to play one of my favorite songs live, “Afterglow of Ragnarok”, and in fact we will!
RtM: Now talking about your career in general. You started playing music at a very young age, according to your bio thanks to your father and a family friend. Tell us a little about the beginning and what your routine was like.
Mistheria: Correct. My parents love music and my father introduced me to the accordion which was my first instrument. I followed 7 years of private lessons before entering the Conservatory of Music, and ten years later I graduated in "Organ and Composition".
My routine was to practice every day, including holidays and holidays, it was worth it. When I decided to become a professional musician, I blessed all the thousands of hours spent on the instrument and books.
RtM: And which composers inspired you most in those early years?
Mistheria: Bach, Chopin, Vivaldi, Beethoven, Mozart, Liszt, to name a few.
RtM: And the interest in Heavy Metal? When did you start and what were the main influences that inspired you to delve deeper into the style?
Mistheria: During my academic studies I started listening to Jon Lord and Keith Emerson, and of course their bands. Subsequently Pink Floyd, Genesis, King Crimson, Yes and many other prog-rock bands of the 70s and 80s.
RtM: Tell us a little about your first experiences on stage and what your first adventures were with a band.
Mistheria: My first band was Mirage, following the influences of the time, we wrote prog-rock also following in the footsteps of groups from the Italian scene such as Il Banco and Le Orme.
With Mirage I had my first experiences on stage playing in summer concerts and competitions for emerging groups. A first touring experience, however, was with an entertainment orchestra with which we generally performed Italian and international Pop music. I was about 18 years old.
RtM: Some more purist people don't like the mix of classical music and Heavy Metal, I personally love it and I think the styles have a lot in common. What is your opinion about it? And which artists or bands, besides you - who are the mentor of the wonderful project "Vivaldi Metal Project" - best united these two worlds?
Mistheria: I am a classical musician, but I have always seen music as a 360-degree expression of feelings and emotions. Music is not an end in itself, but it is the ultimate goal of our expression and our emotions. My musical philosophy and my creation, the Vivaldi Metal Project, are based on this.
There are great bands that greatly combine the two spheres of the same musical world, bands that I really like such as Epica, Rhapsody of Fire, Delain, Nightwish, Xandria, Yngwie Malmsteen, Beyond The Black, Adagio, and other groups from the symphonic-metal scene.
RtM: Taking advantage of the opportunity, tell us a little about how the idea for the "Vivaldi Metal Project" came about.
Mistheria: I listened to Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons" already when I attended compulsory school. I put this wonderful masterpiece on loop during my school homework.
During my studies at the Conservatory, in my moments of rest, I enjoyed making rock/metal arrangements of the pieces I studied and brought to class, such as Bach's Preludes, Liszt's Hungarian Dances, Chopin's Nocturnes, etc.
Then I started creating pieces of this type on request, until, one Winter night, while playing the piano in my room, I said to myself: why not arrange Vivaldi's entire opera “The Four Seasons”? No sooner said than done...
RtM: Still on the "Vivaldi Metal Project", “The Four Seasons” featured more than 130 Metal/Classical artists, orchestra, string quartet and choir. The project was acclaimed as the greatest Symphonic-Metal Opera ever created! Tell us a little about what it was like working with so many artists, and what the composition and recording process was like, which must have been a lot of work!! How long did it take to complete this project?
Mistheria: The first album “The Four Seasons” has around 130 artists, the second "EpiClassica" almost 200, plus orchestra and choir in both works. The process was certainly long and tiring, it required a lot of my time and energy but when you work with great musicians and rely on very good and talented collaborators, the work gives great satisfaction and you are happy to have undertaken such a path.
The ever-smooth recording process took place primarily online as the participating musicians are spread across the globe. Work on the first album lasted about two and a half years, on the second about three years. I consider the Vivaldi Metal Project a dream that I was able to realize and that will always remain glued to my career and my life.
RtM: And regarding the Vivaldi Metal Project's second album, "Epiclassica", in addition to compositions by other classical musicians and not just Vivaldi, as in "The Four Seasons", what are the other differences between the two works? Such as the lyrical concept and the greater number of artists involved in the latter.
Mistheria: The new Vivaldi Metal Project album “EpiClassica” does not only feature classical masterworks by Antonio Vivaldi, but the works of other great composers such as Tomaso Albinoni, Johann S. Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, Antonín Dvořák, Gabriel Fauré, Franz Liszt, Wolfgang A. Mozart, Camille Saint-Saëns, and Franz Schubert.
While based on classical themes, these songs are largely composed of original material, representative of Vivaldi Metal Project’s symphonic-metal style.
The Vivaldi Metal Project’s first record revolved around the concept of the various "seasons" of human life - from birth to death. As a continuation of the last, this new album explores the "seasons" of our emotional experience as human beings - from joys to sorrows and from frailty to deep strength. Each song creates a rich musical tapestry expressing the “colors” of raw human emotion, while weaving a common thread throughout the album.
RtM: And if you are planning a new album in the future? And in a New album, what artists do you like to have on It?
Mistheria: The third studio album is in the works, there are already concepts, ideas, and some demos ready. As for the line-up, for this new album I decided to change the direction a bit, in fact it will be recorded by the musicians who are part of the live band, and some (few) amazing special guests from the world Metal scene .
RtM: In 1998 you released your first Opera Rock, "Imperator", I would like you to tell us a little about it, concept and creative process. An album that is difficult to find to listen to, including songs from this album that you re-arranged and recorded on later albums. What were the main reasons that led you to re-record them?
Mistheria: "Imperator" was a collection of songs that I had written, conceived, and collected for a live show of mine called "Metamorphosis", in which I combined various artists and different art forms: music, dance, theater, graphics and video.
Most were songs that were therefore linked to visual parts, such as videos and dance, or which acted as soundtracks to narrative parts. For this reason, listening is a little "difficult", because a fundamental part is missing, which is the visual one. In any case, I wanted to collect these songs in an album to remember this work of mine, almost a precursor of what would be the Vivaldi Metal Project about 13-14 years later.
RtM: And about the album "Messenger of the Gods" (2004), which brought together a team of stars and was recorded in several different places. Tell us a little about what it was like to make this production and, of course, about its concept.
Mistheria: I could say that "Messenger of the Gods" was the natural sequel, after 3-4 years, to the show and album "Imperator". The difference was that I moved my musical path to harder roads, therefore Rock and Metal, and therefore officially began my career as a solo artist in the Neoclassical, Prog-Metal, and Symphonic-Metal genres.
For "Messenger of the Gods" I had about 30 great musicians (Rob Rock, Mark Boals, Anders Johansson, Barry Sparks, Jeff Kollman, Matt Bissonette,Tommy Denander, George Bellas, just to name a few). My idea of music is based on collaboration between musicians and the exchange of ideas to make the strings of emotion vibrate.
RtM: In 2010 we have "Dragon Fire", which I personally really like, and I think it's a wonderful album for those who like this mix of Metal and classical music with lots of pomp and bombastic arrangements! Tell us a little about it and what the impact was like at the time.
Mistheria: "Dragon Fire" is an album that solidified my presence in the Metal world, it had a great impact when it was released and gave me the opportunity to be called to work with other artists and groups who wanted my type of sound and arrangement, especially on the keyboard and orchestral level.
A job with which I had the great pleasure and honor of expanding my collaborations and writing songs with fantastic singers such as John West, Rob Rock, Mark Boals, Lance King, and Titta Tani. The songs have that ideal combination and balance for me between Metal, Prog, and Symphonic. I am very satisfied with it. I'm glad to know that you like it too.
RtM: Regarding your instrumental projects, I highlight "Gemini" (2017), where you bring your own compositions and versions of works by Beethoven and Vivaldi, where again you bring this union of classical music and Metal; and the albums "Dreams" (2020) and "Solo Piano" (2021) are more classically focused. I would like you to make a brief comment on each of these works.
Mistheria: "Gemini" is an instrumental album, so I was able to give free rein to my intentions as a pianist, keyboardist, and instrumentalist. The forms of the songs remain, for me, almost the same as those of a sung song, I like clear and understandable structures even for instrumental works. This album also collects songs from different years, some recorded again (for example "My Dear Chopin") and others finalized after many years in which I only performed them live.
It collects my instrumental Metal repertoire from 1992 to 2017. "Solo Piano" and "Dreams" are part of my "Classical" sphere, in which I like to let myself be carried away by soft, intimate, new-age, ambient, classical atmospheres and sounds. There is also a third album in this category, "Keys of Eternity". I perform these three works very often live in my solo concerts.
RtM: And citing different experiences, as you are a musician who is always looking for challenges and creating new things, a very interesting work was the tribute to Whitney Houston. I would like you to talk a little about it and if you have thought about doing others in the same vein, perhaps approaching various Pop icons. Elton John, for example, I think that because he is a pianist too, it would be very interesting.
Mistheria: Many works that I have published are requests from some productions and record companies, this was also the case for the tribute to Whitney Houston (an artist I adore). I was specifically asked to arrange about ten songs and perform them mainly with the Keytar (an instrument that I adore equally:) I have also arranged and recorded other compilations of international Pop songs, mostly on the piano, so in part, I have already realized the idea you suggest.
RtM: There are dozens of works that you have already recorded, including solo works and participations, as we will not be able to cover them all here, I would like you to highlight the most recent ones, such as the albums with Chaos Magic, Kattah and Nova Luna, which ones did you most enjoy participating in and If there was one that was more challenging for you.
Mistheria: I like all the collaborations I do, otherwise I wouldn't do them. Of course, there are collaborations that succeed better than others, for various reasons, and I personally prefer some to others, again for various reasons.
In any case, also because you mentioned it, certainly the collaboration, both in the studio and live, with the Chilean singer and fantastic friend Caterina Nix and her project "Chaos Magic" is one of those dearest to me. I exclude from the list, because we are talking about a living legend, the collaboration with Bruce Dickinson and Roy Z who, both on an artistic and human level, is an integral and inseparable part of my career and life.
RtM: Sure! The Work with Bruce and Roy is hors concours. Well, finally, I would like you to define what music means to you and what you think is important for an artist so that you don't lose your passion for creating new things and become obsolete.
Mistheria: I believe that I have already largely answered this last question in the previous ones :)
In any case, and summarizing what was said before, for me Music is a finalization and ultimate form of the feelings and emotions of the human being, and only the interaction between different musicians (therefore different characters, personalities, and minds) can be expressed in the best possible form and completeness.
This approach makes musical creation always alive, exciting, new, exciting, projected into the future.
Secret Rule was founded in Italy, in 2013, and makes modern Metal, mixing heavy and melodic riffs, incursions of symphonic and electronic elements, combined with Angela Di Vicenzo's vocals, have built a strong musical identity. (Versão em português)
The band also has a well elaborated planning, which allows it to release practically one album per year, despite all the difficulties of the current market, and earlier this year released "Against", via Pride & Joy Music.
The world pandemic, in which the area of concerts and entertainment was greatly affected, changed a little and postponed some plans. But Secret Rule did not stop, and in this time of isolation and quarantine, they continued to plan and publicize their work, including even releasing another album! "Quarantine Sessions - The Other Side of Us", with versions of songs by artists that the members like.
We have talked with Angela Di Vicenzo, who told us a little more about the new albums, the way the band works, taking care of various details in addition to composition and production, such as, promotional photos, social media, booking and etc., also commented on the music market, and of course, how was this pandemic period in Italy, a country that was hit hard, and measures such as a Lock Down were necessary. Check it out below:
RtM: Talking about the most recent work,
"Against", with each album the band shows news, what are the main
changes in against for the others? I personally felt that more weight was put
into the songs, keyboards are also more present.
Angela Di Vicenzo: Hi Carlos, yes, "Against" is the
natural evolution of our sound. Surely, it's a bit more heavy and aggressive
and there are more industrial sounds on this one. The real news is that we took
care of the whole production of this CD by ourselves. We thought, wrote,
recorded, mixed, and mastered everything by ourselves. We created the graphics,
prepared the photos, every little detail was handled by us. It was a great
challenge, but now we are fully satisfied with it.
RtM: The first single was "Purgatory",
which also won a video. Comment more about this song and why you chose it for
the first single?
Angela: We wanted something different. Often
in recent years, people to describe our sound put us near symphonic metal. We
found it a bit limiting, surely there are a lot of symphonic atmospheres in our
music, but not only those. The riffing is more aggressive and totally different
from symphonic bands, we use a lot of electronic loops and industrial
sounds...these are not exactly what you find in symphonic music. So, Purgatory was the right song to mark that
something had changed. This message was mostly for other people, not for us...because
we just continue to make music as we have always done.
"Today, a band before being a band must be an expert social media manager, an expert music manager, an expert promoter, and a booker then you can be a musician."
RtM: Two of my favorites are "Against" and
"Deep Solitude", which has beautiful melodies and a catchy chorus. I
would like you to tell us a little more about them and the inspiration for the
lyrics.
Angela:Against is one of my favorite ones
too. The new album started from that song and concept, in fact, it's also the
album title. I suffer this world, this society. I can't understand how it’s
possible to see so much violence, racism and injustice, and how everything is
always guided by money and power. Getting back to the matter of the
manipulation of society, everything is filtered through all media forms and
worse still through the social networks. So this song is my scream inviting people
to be stronger so they can face this life every day and fight for freedom.
Deep Solitude is about the
difficulty we have in understanding our feelings. Because of this, we often end
up hurting the people we love most. We're complicated. So often we fall into
our solitude, misunderstood, unable to form and maintain relationships, but our
silence is the loudest scream we have to ask for attention.
RtM: The label Change seems to have opened new
doors, the band having a better treatment, several videos, releasing albums
regularly, we even had a special limited edition of "Against". I
would like you to comment on this and the viability of the bands to continue
launching new albums, because they do not always get a return when they
self-finance, or do not have adequate support from a label.
Angela:Today, if you wanna be a musician
you have to come from a rich family! (laughs)
This is the reality of things.
Everything we do, we do by ourselves. As I said to you, we take care of
everything and we pay for everything. Labels today, they offer very little help
for distribution, nothing else.
For example, promotion on the
webzines and magazines is not so important these days, because in most
situations, the writers are very young people who work for free or for little
money, without a musical background, without a musical culture, and your album
ends up being reviewed by guys who are eighteen and who in a good number of
cases listen to a different musical genre from what you play. Fortunately,
there are also professional writers but it has become hard for them too to
work.
Today, a band before being a band
must be an expert social media manager, an expert music manager, an expert
promoter, and a booker then you can be a musician. The World is going in this
direction and those who are not prepared for this, will have a hard life.
We make one album per year because
we want to do it. With or without a label. In the past few years we found a
good person in the owner of Pride & Joy Music, she's one of the few correct
people in this music market, surely it's very important...but with only this,
you can't survive in this World. It’s not enough.
So, we plan our activity year after
year...we know exactly what we'll do in the next 12 months. This is our secret.
Planning, scheduling, working hard every day, every hour.
" (The Song) 'Purgatory' marks that something had changed... This message was mostly for other people, not for us...because we just continue to make music as we have always done."
RtM: You have released recently the album "Quarantine Sessions – The Other Side of
Us", with versions of songs by artists that you like. Tell us a little
about how the idea came about and how the recording process went.
Angela:During the quarantine, we planned to
release a couple of videos of cover songs. When we released the Ozzy cover
("Gets me through") and Placebo's "The bitter end", we
received a lot of requests from our fans who asked us to release a whole album
of cover songs. So, we thought we would only if we were able to do it in two
weeks...before the Quarantine ended otherwise it wouldn't have made sense.
So, we chose the other songs and started
immediately working on production...and in two weeks we were ready to release
the album. It was self-produced and self-released. About the production, it was
easy enough for us, because every one of us has their own studio and at the end
of the sessions...Andy mixed and mastered it. So, everything was really fun.
RtM: And from
this album, which songs did you like to do the most and why?
Angela:It's difficult to choose because all
songs are so different. Surely I like "Not Afraid" because I like its
energy and it has been a challenge for me to sing it. I'm not a rapper! LOL I
love "Back to Black" because I love that song so much! "I think
I'm Paranoid" is so energic and rock, like "The Bitter End" too!
"The Swan Song" because I love Sharon's voice and I had fun in
singing that song with a different approach in respect to the original version.
But at the end, I like all the songs!
"When we released Ozzy and Placebo covers, we received a lot of requests from our fans who asked us to release a whole album of cover songs."
RtM: Well,
it's impossible not to ask how do you feel to have to go through this war
climate there in Italy. Tell us a little about how these days have been and the
routine there?
Angela:It's not a war climate, there is a
lot of silence instead. Everyone is living their life locked in at home, with
their family, spending their time with all those things they didn't have time
to do during their ordinary life. I did the same. I'm spending more time with
my cats Posi& Nega, I started to cook a lot of different cakes, and I worked
much more on Secret Rule.
I don't know if this virus was created or if it
really was an accident, neither explanation is difficult for me to believe. But
this has been another great challenge humanity has been called to face. There
have been stupid people (I have seen people spit on other people to terrify people
by threatening infection and those who didn't want to follow all rules) but
also a lot of solidarity and surely, I want to see the positive side of the
pandemic, the one which has moved people to take care of themselves. At this
moment we're getting back to normality and we hope to return completely to
normality for good.
RtM: And what have you been doing to pass the time,
to maintain physical and mental sanity?
Angela: I feel good at home. I watched
movies, I played with my cats and I worked with Secret Rule on new strategies.
We're always in a hurry so we took advantage of all this time to plan the next
steps to the best of our abilities. I started to exercise every day to keep in
shape and I feel much better!
RtM: And how
do you see the situation of bands and musicians in general now with this stop,
without doing shows. And I think there is still no prospect of a return in the
coming months.
Angela: Surely it's a difficult moment. For
us, it's difficult because we miss the stage and the contact with our fans. The
exchange of energy is the best side of being musicians. We had to postpone our
tours and we hope we'll be able to do them in September and December. At the
beginning of the pandemic, I saw a lot of bands expressing their money
difficulties but after a while, all bands started streaming concerts and found other
ways to connect with their fans. The chance to find another way to express oneself
has also proved an art form, be it streaming concerts, online activities,
inventing a new job, etc). As in any market and any company, a band has to
accept the business risk and find other ways to survive. I think it's normal.
"For us, it's difficult because we miss the stage and the contact with our fans."
RtM: Have you been watching many movies and series
during the quarantine? Which do you recommend?
Angela: I fell in love with "La casa de
Papel" of course and "Vis a Vis" that I've been watching all
during the pandemic. I liked a lot the actress "Najwa Nimri" present
in both the series. Then I watched "Glitch", but I think it's only for
certain people. Anyway, I liked it. So if you haven’t seen "Vis a
Vis", you should start with that :)
RtM: Ha ha ha!ok, i saw just some episodes, but i promise i will watch. Did you watch the movie "Rocket Man"?
A really cool moment is when Wilson
sayds to young Elton John that "
You gotta kill the person you were born to be in order to become the
person you want to be." what do you think about? What has the music
changed about you?
Angela: Wow! That’s so true! When I started
to sing, around age fifteen, I remember that I was soooo shy. Before going on
stage, I had to run to the toilet…sometimes I also vomited beforehand. On
stage, I was almost blocked. But I wanted to be different because I loved singing
so much. So, day after day, I had to kill my "limits" and force
myself to beat my shyness, my fears. When I looked at great singers like
Cristina Scabbia or Sharon Den Adel, I remained so enchanted by their
naturalness and spontaneity. It has been a long process and I always keep
working on myself.
RtM: Thanks for the interview, always a pleasure to
talk to you. Take care and hopefully soon we will overcome this pandemic and
good things will come after all this.
Angela: Thank you Carlos, it's the same for
me. Thank you for this space and to all the readers who support us.
Being active since 2015, the Italians from Padua have released their Debut in 2018, under the tutelage of “Cordis”, bringing a good Alternative Metal with great melodic doses and betting on a modern and more sophisticated approach. (versão em português)
The emotion in the compositions is something to stand out, either by the beautiful voice of vocalist Maria Grazia, who sounds sweet and soft, or also by the lyrical approach that goes more on the emotional side, bringing an introspective view of the feelings, what match perfectly with the beautiful keyboards and guitar very well imposed, with doses of melodies and intricate riffs.
The production is crystal clear and extremely polished, with a softer approach, but not losing the characteristic of Metal itself, but that if it had more weight the sound would certainly sound more imposing.
Even having a defined style, the compositions vary a lot, as in “Mark Any Youth” which sounds abusively (in a good sense, of course) technical and varied, making a great counterpoint to “Cannibal” and his latent emotion in each note. "The Land" also stands out for its more epic side and for the participation of vocalists Michele Guaitoli (Visions of Atlantis) and Marco Pastorino (Temperance), as well as the choruses that sticks in our minds at the first heard bringing a lot of energy and drama.
A beautiful debut where they show a lot of personality and not sounding like more of the same in a style already saturated.
Review: Renato Sanson
Line-Up:
Maria Grazia (vocals)
Gianluca (guitar)
Massimiliano (guitar)
Diego (bass)
Marco (drums)
Tracklist:
01 Rabbit Hole
02 Enslavement
03 Smothered
04 The Path (I See You)
05 Cannibal
06 Mark Any Youth
07 Rainfall
08 The Land (feat. Michele Guaitoli and Marco Pastorino)
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