Marco Sandron - Vocals
Alessio Velliscig - Guitars
Fabio D'Amore - Bass/Backing Vocals
Ivan Moni Bidin - Drums
Gianpaolo Rinaldi - Keyboards

PM: Congratulations on the release of your album, it is quite something and one of the best albums I have heard in a while. What has the press and the fans response been like for you so far?

AV: Thank you guys, well the response has been amazing from both since we're having tons of comments on our mail and on our sites from people all over the world and the press has really appreciated the CD from both the artistic and the production aspects.

PM: You were formally known as N.D.E. What did this stand for? And why the name change?

AV: Oh this is history... well N.D.E. means Near Death Experience and was the first name of the band but at that time the line-up was so different and anyway it soon changed in Pathosray because this new name had a closer meaning to the mood and to the message of the lyrics, and maybe it also sounds better! :)

PM: Have you worked with Tommy Hansen before? How did this come about, did you ask for him to produce what was he like to work with?

AV: No this was the very first time we worked with him and we had this great opportunity with the help of our management (Intromental – www.intromental.com) who suggested to us to let Tommy mix and master the album. We think he has made a great work and hope to go on in the future with this cooperation because, as you can hear, he's really great!

PM: Was the album recorded on digital equipment?

AV: It was recorded with Pro-Tools at Angel's wings studios here in Italy not so far from where we live by Nico Odorico and Mattia Sartori. These guys use both digital and analogue equipment.

PM: Do you record separately or as a group (live)?

AV: The album has been recorded separately starting from drums and bass, then guitars, keys and vocal parts. It took a lot of time but we really love the final work.

PM: On some progressive metal records, the guitar sound in particular is usually very chaotic and “busy”. This album is not so, it is very well produced with a clean, precise mix. Was this something that was worked on particularly in the mix/mastering of the album?

AV: You know... as a starting point we wanted the album to sound clean and defined so when Intromental sent the work to Tommy we understood there were no doubts about that and now we have a work that is groovy and clean at the same time... isn't it?

PM: Where does your inspiration come from in the lyrics and musically it strikes that influences are plentiful; do you have any specifically there?

AV: Well Ivan is a very sensitive person and the lyrics he writes has a common mood, even if this is not a concept album, the main message is about the greatness of nature in comparison to humanity and his weaknesses. Musically we all have our personal influences but since Ivan is the main composer our sound starts from his great love for Progressive rock icons like Mike Oldfield, Area, PFM, Banco, Garden wall and the modern metal sounds.

PM: Do you listen to classical pieces of music? If so, what are your favourite pieces?

AV: Well, personally I love and study classical and contemporary music and inside the band we all appreciate it. If you want some names I can say Bach (expecially for Gianpaolo and me), Wolfgang..., Beethoven (of course), Debussy, Mahler, Stravinsky Stockhausen etc

PM: The vocal arrangements, particularly on ‘Faded Crystals’ (my favourite track!) are full of emotion and it is just a beautiful piece of music, do you tend to write the lyrical arrangements first, or the music, or a combination of both?

AV: Ivan uses to arrange the music first and then he writes the lyrics and works on vocal lines together with Marco.

PM: I have personally not heard your two previous demos; did you re-arrange the tracks that appear on these demos for the album release?

AV: Yes we did but not so much... most of the rearrangements are on the vocal lines and harmonisations and on some keyboards. Anyway I suggest you to listen to them!

PM: What is the music scene like in Italy for your style of music? Is there a particular region where it is popular? Or a general trend throughout the whole country?

AV: Ah! this is a very difficult question... well in our regions (Friuli and Veneto) we have lots of great bands (Elvenking, Raintime, Slowmotion Apocalypse, ROG, Tystnaden, Akhtamar...) but there aren't lots of locations and venues so it looks like we have more opportunities in foreign countries than in Italy. We hope to have better luck in the future here in Italy!

PM: You are listed as playing “Prog Power USA” festival in September, were you approached by the festival organisers or were your record label influential in this?

AV: Of course being part of an important American label helped us to be considered by the organisers and both (Intromental Management and Sensory Records) made a great promotional work on that. This will be an amazing event for us and surely will change our approach to live performances! I mean... it will teach us a lot!

PM: Are any of your musical influences/friends playing with you for this (‘Jon Oliva’s Pain’, ‘Iced Earth’, ‘Elvenking’ perhaps?) Or who are you looking forward to seeing play most at the Prog Power USA Festival?

AV: Well as you may know we are good friends with Elvenking so we are so excited to live this experience together. Personally I love Andromeda and Riverside but also Spheric Universe Experience (with whom we share management) will be great!

PM: Same questions for “Prog Power Holland” in May, who are you most looking forward to seeing and performing with?

AV: Pagan's mind and Threshold will rule! But there are so many great bands... we're just excited to play with them!

PM: Do you have any plans to tour the UK at all in the future? Prog Power UK was recently put on hold, however, are there promoters who you know that would maybe be interested on putting on a show for you?

AV: We are seriously working with our management on planning some European tours and of course UK would be an important target!

PM: Bloodstock Open Air in the UK is a metal festival that has been going for a few years now, have you ever thought of submitting material to the organisers for a slot on the bill?

AV: We will of course... it would be great to play there!

PM: Is ‘Pathosray’ a full time occupation, or do you all have day-jobs? If so, what jobs do you do apart from ‘Pathosray’?

AV: We hope it will be one day... but now we all need a day-job and some of us are still students too!

PM: Thank you very much for your time.

AV: We would like to thank you Paul for this nice interview and everyone who supports us and this beautiful site, we hope to play soon in the UK!

http://www.pathosray.com
http://www.intromental.com/pathosray

Interviewed by Paul Maddison

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