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THE ARCHIVES
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Morrigan's Pit has closed down as of November 2006. The site and its articles will stay online as an archive until September at least, but probably longer.
The Archives
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MESMERIZE
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Piero Paravidino
June 2005
http://www.mesmerize.it
The Italian band Mesmerize have been around since 1988 and just released their 3rd full length CD. Their traditional metal has been inspired most of all by Iron Maiden, but also bands like Helloween and traditional US metal What esp. sets them apart are, certainly on this album, the violin parts in several songs, that blend in very well (think Skyclad). In one song the violin even gets into a spectacular duel with the guitar! It got me curious enough to find out more about this band and guitarist Piero Paravidino was so kind to extensively answer my questions and even get singer Folco Orlandini to answer one that was specifically for him :)
Congratulations on "Stainless"! I don't know the other albums, but when I listen to the samples, the new album seems heavier and I believe it's the first time you're using violin parts? How does "Stainless" differ from your previous work in your eyes?
Thanks! I'm very happy you liked it!
The very first thing you notice when you compare "Stainless" to our previous works is a much better production. This time we had the chance to work in a dedicated studio, our drummer Andrea's Octopussy Studios, and with a very skilled sound engineer, Giovanni Spinotti, who also worked with Lab˙rinth and has a lot of experience: this gave us much more time and flexibility, so we could work a lot on the sound we wanted to get, experimenting until we were fully satisfied. We could attain a modern sound, very powerful, heavy and clear, which was a bit lacking in our previous albums. Working without a strict time schedule also allowed us to experiment with something we hadn't done before, like the violin parts, which add a new dimension to some tracks, and also to re-play or re-sing some parts which didn't convince us totally. There was a great work also before the recording sessions, focussing on the songs arrangements and vocal lines, to make sure every song had both the immediacy to strike you the first time and the richness to keep you interested with every listening. No wonder that at our ears "Stainless" is by far our best work!
You've had a line-up change between "Off The Beaten Path" and "Stainless". Did it change your way of songwriting and can you tell me how you guys usually write?
Usually songs are born from our bassist Tito's or my own ideas, which we bring to the rehearsal room, but as soon as possible we begin working on them in the team: everyone is absolutely encouraged to put his own ideas into them, and this makes the songs a result of five minds, which both enriches them and ensures us we all are happy with the final outcome… this sometimes turns in a quite long process made of discussions and trial-and-error, but it's absolutely worthwhile!
Luca Belbruno joined us when the work on the new songs was about halfway; the basics were already laid down, but there was still place for work on arrangements and we involved him in the process, because we wanted to get that "one band" feeling as soon as possible and also because he would bring a slightly different approach to the songs, as his musical background is a bit different from ours, as he's more into the US power-thrash sound.
What did your latest addition, guitarist Luca Belbruno do musically, before Mesmerize?
He used to play in a band called Revolver some years ago, metal with some dark and thrash influences; we know him because he was at the same university as our singer Folco and drummer Andrea; we had played together with his band a few times, and he also helped us as sound technician in some gigs and in studio from time to time. When it came to finding a new guitarist, we asked Luca first, because we wanted a friend as much as a skilled musician, as friendship is one of the strong points in our band, it helped us to carry on through all these years. He hadn't been playing guitar for a while, so he needed just a bit of time for training, but it was soon clear he was the right choice and we found the right feeling in a very short while.
You have some guest contributors on the new album, like Vanni Ceni (Wotan), Paola Bianchi (Ludmila) and Vito Gatto with his wonderful violin contributions. How did all that come about?
Again, it was thanks to that extra time we had for the recording that this all could take shape; we would have liked to have this kind of collaborations also in the past, but for one reason or the other we couldn't arrange things. In particular, being a long-time Skyclad fan, I've always loved violin intertwining with guitars: we were looking for a violinist and a friend introduced us to Vito, a young and very 
skilled musician, who, besides playing the parts that were already written, added some solos of his own here and there, adding a great value to the songs involved. Our friend Vanni is a sort of an icon for us, as I remember going to Wotan gigs when we were just moving our very first step as a band! We've always been their fans, besides and so we thought of asking him a contribution to our album, which he was glad to do. Paola sings in a dark band with her boyfriend Luca Valisi, who was an highschool-mate of ours and our very first bass player: she has a beautiful and very peculiar voice and we thought it would be perfect for a song like "Impossible Infinity": we gave her freedom to express her own style, which she did in an extraordinary way!
What's your inspiration for the lyrics and is there any special topic on Stainless you want to tell us about?
They don't follow an unique concept; often they tell a story, inspired by a movie, or a book, or an original one, which has anyway some sort of a message about our way of living life; sometimes they are instead more personal. I can give you some examples: "Princess Of The Wolves" is inspired by the wonderful Japanese anime "Princess Mononoke" which through an epic story of warriors, forest gods and monsters transmits a deep ecologic message; "Hot Lead Cold Steel" tells about a man who realizes he's fought on the wrong side when he meets an enemy with higher and nobler morals and has the strength to change his own principles, like in the movie "The Last Samurai"; in "Windchaser" the wind is a metaphor for our dreams, which we must chase for all our life and still escape from us; "Bitter Crop" is an extension of the proverb "you reap what you sow", and in this case it's a blood harvest!
Did you plan beforehand to get a very different cover than on your previous albums?
Yes, it was a predetermined choice since the beginning; we wanted to use a more modern visual concept, with an immediate and very strong impact. We still like the wonderful fantasy pictures we used in the past, but they have now become sort of a cliché in heavy metal. We also wanted to mark the evolution in our sound which is also more powerful and modern.
Your name was originally The Mesmerizers, can you tell me a bit about the theory you mention in your bio that inspired it?
The mesmerism theory didn't have that great influence on us in effect! We were fascinated by this strange term that appeared in some Iron Maiden lyrics and in a Poe's horror tale, so we picked that name… later I've read something more detailed about Dr. Franz Mesmer who in the 17th century introduced his theory about "animal magnetism" which he claimed he could influence with magnets, and later with his own "power", to heal people; he got very famous in Europe and patients included Chopin and Marie Antoinette… but his treatment was in effect, consciously or not, the first form of hypnotism, into which mesmerism evolved.
Does any of you listen to music that the listener wouldn't expect when hearing Mesmerize's music?
Oh, yes, pretty much all of us! For instance I love 60s and 70s hippy and flower-power music, I have a long compilation which I listen to from time to time… or some 80s pop, mainly because it reminds me of my teenage years! Folco listens to very different stuff, from movie soundtracks to Mexican mariachi music… Tito is a big fan of Sting and The Police, Andrea loves dark bands like Bauhaus and Luca listens to some more modern things like System of a Down. But in the end, anyway, heavy metal is our common and bigger passion!
Folco has been singing on several albums outside of Mesmerize, which did he like to do the most?
Let's hear it from Folco himself:
Folco: "I think "Act II: Galileo" has been the best. It has been my first studio experience and so I was super-excited; I spent days and nights singing many times the same tracks until they were ok: I was used just to sing live and I realized how different this was from the studio approach... it has been a very good training!! Before that, I had recorded just 2 demotapes with Mesmerize and soon afterwards I made "Tales Of Wonder" where I applied what I had learnt. With Time machine I played a different kind of metal and maybe this accustomed me to be more open-minded. Besides I've been on tour supporting Angra in Greece... it was great!!"
Mesmerize has also contributed to several tribute CD's, and the one of Metal Church and Warlord are not released yet. Will they still be released and which songs did you cover for those?
Well, I don't think they will be released, as too much time has passed; anyway, Warlord's "Winter Tears" was featured in our double EP "Vultures Paradise"; as for Metal Church's "The Powers That Be", well, I think it will stay in the limbo where it is now!
That's a pity... I hope you can still do something with those songs some day!
What are your live plans? Any chance of seeing you on a tour?
We are doing our best to plan as many live dates as possible, as this is the best way to gain new fans; in Italy the situation is quite bad, as not much place is given to heavy metal so most of the time the conditions are very bad, both for the band and the audience. We will be playing this summer in a couple of good festivals, anyway, Venice Rock with Lab˙rinth and Agglutination festival, in South Italy, with Freedom Call and Mayhem. We will play a couple of dates in Germany, too, in October, but at the moment I don't see much chances to be on an European tour, because the costs are very high… but, should the album do particularly well, it may be not ruled out! We keep our fingers crossed!
Me too! Anything left you'd like to say to our readers?
Thanks to everybody for reading this and… why not giving us a chance? You can find some samples on our website at www.mesmerize.it, we'll be glad to hear your opinions! Forever stay metal and… RUST WHEN YOU'RE DEAD!
submitted by Marlies 22.06.2005
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