Since the legendary Anathema show in December 1999 I used to frequent Anathema’s chat room quite often. There I met Gianluca, guitarist and creative mind behind the Italian band GREYSWAN and Fede (ex Greyswan). So I was kind of accompanying this band from this time on. We have reviewed both of their demo CD’s that are excellent. After two years of hard work they have now signed a deal with Cold Blood Industries‘ sublabel Ebony Tears and released their first ever full-length Thought-Tormented Minds. So, big things have happened, some things have changed – time to sort things out … with Marcello (bass) and Oscar (vox).

Dajana: You have made a big leap forward after two years of hard work and it seems things run well now, how does it feel? What’s the state of affair?
I think there has been an incredible and unsuspected growth, because in a few years we have created the basis for a very personal sound. At the moment it’s all going well, as we have always hoped to. The name GREYSWAN is beginning to be known all around and for now the opinions are incredibly positive.

Dajana: How were been the responses to your latest album Thought-Tormented Minds so far?
We care a lot about our debut ... we hope as many people as possible can get in touch with this work, so in these times, promotion and distribution are really useful. Reviews all over the world are great, so let’s wait the future !!

Dajana: 3 members got replaced end of 2001. How did that effect on songwriting process and both musical and creative orientation?
GREYSWAN ran the risk to split up when three members left the band. Since 2002 till now there have been no changes as far as the members are concerned, that’s why we managed to create a perfect alchemy within the group. The result of this harmony has been the production of our CD. As far as the songwriting is concerned, we think that nothing’s changed, GREYSWAN’s evolution is consequence of our personal growth.

Dajana: After I was listening to Thought-Tormented Minds first time, I thought, hey … nothing has changed that much. But after several spins I noticed many changes. But quite subtle though. You think people will notice that and thus comprehend the developments of the band? Or is it even an advantage if people don’t know the first two demos in this way?
We think that nothing has changed too much as far as the musical approach is concerned, too ... probably because we have always played music we love and we feel. Maybe people could notice a sort of evolution, for us it’s important, ‘cause we wish to add something “fresh” to our music in every moment.

Dajana: You have cut out all these symphonic elements and turned out into a more Trip Rock-like direction. Was that an intentional decision or natural developments during the songwriting process?
We decided that keyboards weren’t so basic during last composition sessions, so we didn’t looking for a substitute for Francesco, but we tried to experiment particular sounds with the other instruments. “Trip-Rock direction” is only another way to describe fragments of our music; someone talked about Radiohead, progressive rock, post-psychedelic ... We don’t know, everything has come really natural !!

Dajana: Your music is already quite complex. And in my opinion you are running the risk to get too tricky one day for people getting into it. Your opinion?
We think our songs aren’t so complex ... We had tried to compose into the most simple way; we don’t aim to play ultra-technical like Dream Theater or similar, but we know that songs over 7-minutes long could be boring ... however, you know we are My Dying Bride fanatics !!

Dajana: Especially at Sleepless I was thinking of how it would sound if the singing would be layered. Any idea? Is that a stylistic mean you would like to try out one day? Are there already plans or conceptions or even new tracks how to go on musically?
It’s difficult to talk about our future ... At the moment, every solution could be take into consideration. For example, during Thought-Tormented Minds recording sessions we have worked for the first time with electronics and techniques hardly used in metal albums.

Dajana: What to expect in the future from GREYSWAN? What about tour plans? Any chance to see you live on stage outside of Italy?
We mean to make our album Thought-Tormented Minds in live version be known by as many people as possible; moreover, we are composing new songs. The opportunity to be on tour is exhilarating for us and we’ll be proud to be guests of countries where music is really appreciated and it’s not only considered merely a machine to make money ... In Italy it’s very difficult to play live ... we hope that someone in Europe could notice GREYSWAN.

Dajana: Italian Metal/ Gothic scene is growing and getting known fast. Many bands surprised the European audience lately. Do you see yourself as a part of this scene, partaking of the growth and how could this fact support your future plans?
The situation in Italy is somewhat critical for every musical genre which is not in the foreground; also in the field of underground it’s difficult to speak of proper scenes. There are some good Gothic bands, several Goth-dark-wave situations, but it’s a little bit rash to speak of a real scene. As a matter of fact, only Lacuna Coil and in part Novembre have managed to become popular abroad. Anyway, I’d like to suggest some bands which could make such a qualitative leap: Room With A View, Klimt1918, Thunderstorm or more extreme Lifend.

Dajana: As usual last words are up to you : ) Let us know everything I forget to ask and our readers should know about the band?
You missed to put a question about our musical influences !! ... so, thank you very much, you are the only one in Europe !! ... About our debut album, we know we have in hand a good work and we confide in an excellent promotion. Thank you so much for this interview. We leave our contacts, in case someone wanna get in touch with us.

Cheers,
‘Cello & Oscar

2/2004 © Dajana Winkel • Greyswan •