Interview by Erwin Van Dijk

An interview with Chiara from Crysalys. Italian metal band Crysalys was founded in 2005 by singer Chiara “Dusk” and drummer Alessandro “Doomtrain” . Their aim was to combine Swedish melodic death metal and the modern American metalcore sound with soprano vocals. Image Simone Simons singing in an Carcass cover band with members from Walls of Jericho and you might come close to it. They released one demo “Season of Suffering” (2005), one EP “White Lotus on Acheron Shores” (2007) and a mini CD “…And Let the Innocence Dream” (2009). However, a tour in Holland and France was cancelled this year.

The first question is a logical one: what happened to the band that caused the split?

This is an “intimate” question, but we can merely say that we’ve grown in different ways. So, after some personal and musical divergences, Mario, Giampaolo and Matteo decided to leave the band.The first thought was to put an end to this dream…but we quickly realized that we can’t live without Crysalys.

More important, was this split on friendly terms or more in the style of the Gorgoroth split?

Ahah we’re less unkind than Gorgoroth! The split was friendly enough… We’re worried and a bit disappointed about the decision of the other guys, they were great friends for me and Ale, but life can change and people as well… We can only wish them to find their way… We’ll never forget them… We shared a lot of emotions together during these years…

Have you and Alessandro ever considered of quitting with Crysalys after the split and start again with a new band and clean history?

Absolutely not. Crysalys is like a son for us, it’s our big little dream, our life. The story of this band is written by our emotions, disappointments, unforgettable moments and sacrifices. As long as we are alive, our souls will continue to believe in music and create emotions… All of this is called Crysalys for us. Historia magistra vitae est.

I guess that you are looking for new musicians. To what kind of musicians are you looking for?

We want to give a new direction to our sound, I mean, we want to keep focusing on our style, but, this time, we also want to make it more experimental. Heavy guitars with modern synths and an alternative, powerful bass.

And will this split change the sound of Crysalys?

Of course it will. New members mean new styles and we do not exclude anything. Our sound will remain heavy and modern as always, but they will add more influences.

Why did you and Alessandro choose the name Crysalys for the band?

Alessandro was playing an old videogame in which he found a creature called “Chrysalis” and in that same moment we looked at each other and said “Crysalys!”. At once we liked the sound of those letters together and the meaning of the word. Music for me is like a beautiful butterfly flying free in the sky of life. I just want to release this beautiful creature from its chrysalis to make our music fly with the wind of emotions… (A chrysalis or nympha is the pupal stage of butterflies. The name is of Greek origin. In Greek chrysós or χρυσός means gold.)

You have released three CD’s. Will you continue to play those songs or (as happens often with splits) concentrate on new work?

Well, I think that we will keep on playing old stuff, especially during our the gigs, but I can’t assure you that they will sound the same as on our CDs. We will work on our old stuff just to break the ice with the new members and, after this, we’ll focus on new songs! We wish to record a full length by winter 2010!

But there is also some good news. Chiara will participate with the upcoming Beto Vazquez album. “The Argentinean bass player and songwriter Beto Vazquez in his career has worked with a lot of great artists around the world like: Tarja Turunen (ex Nightwish), Candice Night (Blackmore’s Night), Sabine Edelsbacher (Edenbridge), Fabio Lione (Rhapsody), Liv Kristine (Leaves’ Eyes), Floor Jansen (After Forever) and many others..” Can you already reveal some details about this project?

No I can’t ahah! I can only say that I’m working on the song on which I have to sing. I think that I’ll record it after the second week of September. Beto sent me the lyrics and the instrumental part of my song… This new experience is a challenge and, of course, a honour for me!

And how did you got in touch with Beto Vazquez?

I already knew Beto’s music, since I’m a big fan of Tarja Turunen and Nightwish . One day I found a message from him in the mailbox of Crysalys’ Myspace, in which he asked me to sing on the new Beto Vazquez “Infinity” album. I was so excited… Actually, I don’t even know how he found me, but I really respect him and his carrer and I can’t wait to complete that song and record it!

The last question: is there anything the reader should know that I have not asked?

Uhm, I think you’ve asked me a lot of important things! I just want to say a big THANK YOU to all our devoted fans that supported us so warmly in these days… I’m really touched and thankful. I usually call this kind of magic MUSIC. This is a hard moment of my life… but I’ll definitely keep fighting and singing for all the people that believe in me and in Crysalys. They call me Phoenix and there’s a reason why..

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 Interview by Lindz Riot

And finally after some trouble, including a split and a brand new line up, Crysalys are ready to present their first opera “The Awakening of Gaia” and we can truly conferm that the pheonix is rising again.

Hello Chiara of Crysalys! Thank you so much for doing this Interview with us here at Femme Metal, How are you today?

Hello sweet Lindz ! Thank you for this interview, I’ve been following this webzine for years and I love it! It’s always a pleasure to talk with you. Today I feel fine, despite the fact that I’ve been literally roasted by the Italian sun! I’m not that much into summer, I have to say… and I have to confess you that I’m anxiously waiting for autumn, when my psyco-physic strengths will come back to life…Hey I hear that too! So how excited are you for the release of your first album “The Awakening of Gaia” this September?

Definitely! Being this our debut album I’m even more excited! I truly hope that Crysalys will be appreciated by all the female fronted metal fans out there. I can’t wait for the release day, the recording sessions ended in September 2010, we really can’t wait anymore!

Please tell how this album came to be, who recorded it and anything else that is special about its production.

The recording sessions of “The Awakening of Gaia” ended on September 13th, 2010. It happened almost one year ago, but the production involved big names and took a little longer. The album was recorded in Langhirano (here in Italy), at Real Sound Studios. The mixing, instead, was done by Chris Donaldson (The Agonist, Cryptopsy, Beneath the Massacre) in Canada, then the CD moved to Finland and was mastered at Finnvox Studios by Mika Jussila. Travis Smith (Opeth, Katatonia, Anathema and many more..) is the author of the artwork and you’ll agree with us when we say that he has done a wonderful work! Composition-wise, the most interesting thing about this album is probably the fact that we wrote it almost without the support of any guitarist. Most of the harmonies were written by Fabio, then Alessandro wrote the guitars and the drums. Less frequently we procedeed vice versa. Fabio and I are definitely the dreamers of the group and it was up to us to think about the concept and write the lyrics. There are some recurrent themes in our lyrics, those we are fond of and those that left their own mark on our life: opera, nature, magic…So the theme of the album is very nature based, why did you choose this theme?

Since I was a child, I’ve always felt a strong connection with Mother Earth. Nature is the biggest magic on this planet. The name Crysalys itself is obviously inspired by the chrysalis, a symbol of evolution, birth and freedom. Themes related to Earth and magic will always be part of our concepts. Now just let me read you the plot of the apocalyptic fairy tale which our concept album is based on: “The end or the beginning, according to your own point of view, will come under the hits of the loyal first-borns, the Elements. Mankind, deceiving itself to pave the way for its own future and choosing for Mother Earth’s destiny, will turn back to dust to become food for a new flourishing nature. The innocence of a little child, Angelica, will quench the Mother’s thirst for revenge and purification, and show her that a sparkle of hope and uniqueness is still left in mankind. Eventually men, following their own nature, will certainly miss this new opportunity, and will perpetrate injustice and destruction caused by their greed and their intrinsic need for power and control. However, all these events will make sense if, as a sprouting seed, man will grow the awareness of the beauty of this world, of all the creatures and entities living on the surface and in the depths of the planet. Sometimes we feel attracted by these entities and we even get in touch with them. The Earth itself is a living being and it is even more alive than we all are.”

This is a very powerful theme indeed! Now I know this is a very generic question, but how do you describe your band’s sound since it is two completely extreme genres?

If the listeners are not really eager to go into it, they could normally define our sound as “symphonic metal”, nevertheless we decided to give it a new name: “Post Opera”. Opera is a glorious cultural heritage in Italy, it has been part of our cultural and our artistic development since its very beginning. This is one of the greatest influences on this album, especially because of my voice, characterized by the same dramatic nature of the Old Italian operatic school, the verist repertoire in particular. Our sound is actually changing, as we’re including characteristic peculiar operatic elements in our musical structures. Therefore the label we chose to describe our genre will be better explained by the next Crysalys full length that we started writing in the last days.Wow you guys are machines! Congrats on already starting your second album! What is the history of Crysalys anyways? How did you all come to meet and decide on your band’s sound?

The band was already known for two self-produced EPs, “White Lotus On Acheron’ Shores” and “…And Let the Innocence Dream”. In 2009 we went through a big line-up change that allowed us to shuffle the cards, understand our strong points and our peculiarities, in order to create something that we could really define “ours” and that could reach a certain kind of audience. A few days later we signed a deal with WormHoleDeath-Dreamcell11/Aural Music to release our debut album.

Since the release of your video“The Awakening of Gaia” you have had quite the response, how do you feel about it?

We’re so happy that many people liked our work and already noticed that we can offer something that is really ours with “The Awakening of Gaia”. We perfectly understand that our music can be misinterpreted at first, since it sounds a bit excessive and nonstandard for the genre. However, I feel totally tranquil to say that whoever is going to listen to the album will experience something new, he’ll get in touch with an extremely varied music, perhaps even different from the atmospheres of the first single, but he’ll definitely never get bored!As a singer Chiara, obviously your voice didn’t happen overnight, what kind of vocal training have you had? How did your vocal journey start and when?

Since I was a child, I’ve always loved singing, but actually I only started studying modern singing at the age of 18, in a private school. A few years later, encouraged by my vocal coach and some experts who discovered a natural talent in me, I started studying opera. To be honest, I started taking it seriously in autumn 2008, when I met my current teacher in Florence, the capital of the Italian melodrama and the city that gave birth to the genre of opera. I made my debut on April 10th 2011 with Gluck’s “Orpheus and Eurydice”, playing the role of Eurydice. Last year I enrolled at the music academy. I would like to underline the fact that, only when I started singing and experimenting vocals with Crysalys I realized that my operatic voice was kind of natural. I followed the opposite path compared to common opera singers…I have to say you have such a strong and beautiful voice! I’m sure you make your teachers and your country’s heritage proud ;) So how have been some of your vocal influences from classical and main stream?

You’re always so nice with me Lindsay… you’re really making me blush! My teacher always pushes me to study, even for the sake of my band, she encourages me to have no limits, which is something rare among young students and opera singers. The female voices that influenced my life in a way or another were (in chronological order): Christina Aguilera (I’m not going to hide the fact that she was my very first inspiration, I was 16 and I couldn’t do anything but singing her songs along, I started studying modern singing afterwards), Tori Amos (who’s still my favourite artist and muse). Then came Tarja Turunen and it was thanks to her and Nightwish that I discovered my real voice. My favourite opera singers are the divine Maria Callas (my guardian angel and the one who always moves me to tears) and other talented sopranos that I take as models such as Ghena Dimotrova, Monsterrat Caballé and, among the younger ladies, Anna Netrebko and Diana Damrau.

Speaking of influences, are there any bands in particular that inspire Crysalys as a whole?

As you can imagine, each one of us has a different taste and we don’t have that much in common. Fabio could be Michael Jackson’s number one fan, Alessandro has always been a big fan of Nevermore and Dark Tranquillity, Giuseppe even loves 30 Seconds To Mars! I grew up with Tori Amos, Cradle of Filth and Nightwish… It might happen, while listening to our music that you don’t find anything of these bands, and this is the point: every influence or inspiration always gets filtered through our rules and must be coherent with the style and the message of our band

I love cinema and literature, I like fantasy, medieval-inspired and occult books. I like relaxing at night (when it is possible), while reading enchanted tales under the stars, smelling incense and having my boyfriend by my side. Even though it’s been a long time since my last trip, I like travelling, especially in Northern countries, among haunted castles, star-crossed lovers, secret forests and magical legends…

Photo Credit

Chiara’s photo by Daniele Tedeschi

Band Photo by Osea Costantini

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Latest Multimedia

Label : Wormhole Death/Aural Music

Review by Tony Cannella

Italy’s power, operatic metal band Crysalys released their debut EP “White Lotus on Acheron Shores” in 2007, it has been a long time in coming, but the band has finally released their debut full-length “The Awakening of Gaia”. The album opens on a definite high note with the excellent title track. “The Awakening of Gaia” is a great way to open the album and is hands down one of the strongest tracks that Crysalys has to offer. The band has also made a video for the song, which you can view at all of the usual outlets (YouTube, etc., etc.). The main focus of Crysalys is based around the ultra-operatic (and some would say over-the-top) vocals of Chiara Malvestiti. Sure, some may be turned off by her approach, but there is no denying the passion and energy she puts into the songs. In addition to Chiara, Crysalys is made up of a stellar group of musicians, who each adds their own personal touch to the proceedings. The next track “Butterfly Effect” starts off with a slow tempo before the band comes in and the song transforms into a beautiful melodic mid-tempo number and Chiara’s vocals are really fantastic on this one. This would make a great choice for a second video, in my opinion. “Angelica” starts off with a sweet intro before the heavy guitars comes crashing in, this song has a mournful melody and vibe and certainly is another worthy highlight. The tempo speeds up significantly for the next track “Scarlet Crusade”. Other highlights include: “By Stars Revealed”, “My Will Be Done”, “Lilium” and “…and Let the Innocent Dream”. The final tally is 10-songs and 45-minutes worth of energetic, impassioned music from Crysalys. “The Awakening of Gaia” is definitely an album that was worth the wait.

Rating - 85/100

Tracklist

1. The Awakening of Gaia
2. Butterfly Effect
3. Angelica
4. Scarlet Crusade
5. By Stars Revealed
6. My Will Be Done
7. When Sirens Sing
8. Time For Vultures
9. Lilium
10. …and Let the Innocent Dream

Line Up

• Chiara Malvestiti - Vocals
• Lorenzo Marcelloni - Guitars
• Fabio Amurri - Keyboards
• Giuseppe Cardinali - Bass
• Alessandro Camela - Drums

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Label : Repo Records/Metropolis

Review by Tony Cannella

The Lovecrave are a Gothic Rock band from Italy. Their debut, “The Angel and the Rain” was released in 2006, now the band are back with their second offering, “Soul Saliva”. The Lovecrave combine a metal style with Gothic Rock and pop to create a pretty potent combination, that mixes together quite well. Francesca Chiara is the lead singer and although she may not be technically the greatest singer you will ever hear, still her voice is loaded with attitude, sexiness and has a very like-able quality to it. “Soul Saliva” features 10-songs and a playing time of 45-minutes worth of highly melodic, Gothic music with both metal and pop elements present. “The Other You” begins with a spoken word intro by Francesca and then quickly develops into a frenetic opener. A great chorus and melody really help to make this one a strong opener - some cool orchestration is also present on the chorus. “And Scream” is next and continues in the vein of the previous track. The third track, “Warriors” quickly became a favorite- and the band earned high marks for their little tribute to the great movie of the same name at the end of the song (fans of the movie, “The Warriors” will know what I’m talking about). “Soul Saliva”, features one interesting cover, The Lovecrave have decided to cover the Michael Jackson track, “Thriller”. It is totally done in The Lovecrave’s own style, and although I approached this one with caution, the band quickly won me over with their take on the track, this is indeed another highlight, albeit a surprising one. “Your Fire”, the ballad “Leon’s Lullaby” and “TruBlood” are more songs that come highly recommended. “Soul Saliva” is a pretty good second outing from The Lovecrave. The songs and the musical direction help to make “Soul Saliva” a pretty intriguing and entertaining listen.

Rating - 83/100

Tracklist

1. The Other You
2. And Scream
3. Warriors
4. Fade
5. Get Outta Here
6. Thriller
7. Your Fire
8. Leon’s Lullaby
9. TruBlood
10. Outsider

Line Up

• Francesca Chiara - Vocals
• Tank Palamara - Guitars
• Simon Dredo - Bass
• Bob Machine - Drums

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Independent Release

Review By Tony Cannella

Lust for Oblivion is a female fronted band from Italy who specialize in Gothic, operatic and symphonic metal. Their first introduction to the metal world comes with their new demo, that goes by the title of “Black Moon”. The band is led by the immense operatic vocal talents of Chiara Tricarico and rounded out by a number of capable musicians. The EP contains 4-songs that were written by Chiara (lyrics) and keyboardist Alessandro Mantovani (music) and just 21-minutes worth of music.The EP kicks off with the sound of church-like organs as the opening number “Black Moon” kicks in. A pretty solid way to begin things with some steady musicianship, a cool guitar solo by Andrea Boglio and the dramatic, opera style vocals of Chiara. “Blank Darkness” is next and is probably my favorite of the four songs that are presented here. Musically, it is probably one of the more commercially accessible songs on the CD and just a very good number. “Lady of the Ocean” is next and and it continues on with the solid material, while bringing the tempo down a little bit. A beautiful ballad that showcases another dimension to the band. Chiara also delivers a superb vocal performance on this one - her vocals are pretty cool throughout this disc, but they really stand out on this one. The production is very good and professional, and that is another check in the positive column for this CD. “Freedom Call” is the final track and one of the heavier ones offered. It features a rock solid guitar riff and brings “Black Moon” to a completely satisfying bombastic conclusion. Each song on this debut showcase a different facet to the band and the diversity they’re capable off.“Black Moon” is a very good debut EP from this cool Italian band. Maybe a bit too short, but it definitely wets the appetite for some more music from Lust For Oblivion. Fans who miss the Tarja version of Nightwish would be well advised to check this band out, or if you just like female fronted, symphonic metal, check this band out. Just check this band out, “Black Moon” is 21-minutes well spent.

Rating - 85/100

Tracklist

1. Black Moon
2. Blank Darkness
3. Lady of the Ocean
4. Freedom Call

Line Up

• Chiara Tricarico - Vocals
• Andrea Boglio - Guitars
• Alessandro Mantovani - Keyboards
• Riccardo Garavaglia - Bass
• Paolo Parlamento - Drums

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