METAL-ZEN

I love a great debut album.

Some of my fondest memories are of the first albums from Led Zeppelin, KISS, Angel, Bad Company, Aerosmith, Black Sabbath, Marillion, Kansas, Dream Theater, Heart, Montrose, and Van Halen. I must be masochistic because when a debut album kicks my ass hard, I like it.

I received plenty of butt kicking from the debut album from Italy’s Pathosray. From the plaintive, classical-tinged piano opening (reminiscent of Rick Wakeman on Yes’ Going For the One album) to the Bohemian Rhapsody-like gong that closes the disc, Pathosray’s entry into the power metal world is a riveting, first-class effort all the way. Even the cover art by the one-and-only Mattias Noren (layout and design by Claus Jensen) is gorgeous and easily represents the music within.

My interview with bassist Fabio D’Amore took place on March 23, 2008. The first time I called, I was an hour early. He had just sat down to eat dinner. (It’s tricky sometimes coordinating the various times!)

NOTE: Fabio sent me an e-mail this week and provided this update on the new Pathosray album:

“We’re recording in these days the vocals of the pre-production for the forthcoming album. We’re really, really satisfied and we never heard our songs carrying on better than this before, modern and fresh.”

Can’t wait!

Special thanks to Fabio for taking the time to round up a ton of great pictures and e-mailing them to me. All photos (except for album covers) courtesy of Fabio D’Amore.

And now on to our interview…

FD: Hello Bill?

BM: Hi Fabio, how are you?

FD: Hello, hello. It’s ok now.

BM: Oh good.

FD: I understood the misunderstanding, because you know in Denmark, there’s no legal time. Here in Italy, after the, before the winter coming, we change the time for six month.

BM: I see.

FD: Yes, and we have one hour to discard. And we recoup it on April, May. And we call them legal time and solar time.

BM: [laughs]

FD: [laughs] And so, for Claus [Jensen, who told me what time to call Fabio], it was ok. But for us, we are from October, we are one hour early. [laughs] So that’s the fact, I didn’t imagine. Sorry.

BM: No, it’s no problem. I’m glad it worked out alright, thank you.

FD: Ok, it’s ok now.

BM: How’s your sister doing? You said she was in an accident?

FD: Yes, my sister had an accident. We were [together for] Easter, at my grandfather’s place, and she was coming with her husband to say hello to us in the place. And while on the road, she had an accident, a bad accident with a car. They didn’t notice a car stop on the way, and they [hit] the car and they [ended up] at the hospital. My sister broke [her] nose.

BM: Oh no.

FD: And her husband broke [his] wrist, and some parts on the head. And you know, the hospital in Italy is worse than the USA I think. [laughs]

BM: Oh really?

FD: Yes, because it’s public health. So we had to, you know, to wait a lot of hours for the medication and so on.

BM: Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Wow. Sorry.

FD: Yes, me too. [laughs] I didn’t expect my sister like that.

BM: No, no. Wow. Well, I do appreciate your time this evening. Thank you for taking my call.

FD: Oh, don’t worry. It’s a pleasure for me to take this chance for discussing a bit about this festival. I’m a little excited because it’s one of the first interviews I’m doing by phone. Because you know, it’s usually on the email or chat, and for me it’s so boring, because there’s no feedback.

BM: Yeah, I know it. Yep. That’s why people like reading my interviews, because there’s a lot of back-and-forth comments and feedback.

FD: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I have to say that it’s not so easy for me to understand you because you are American. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

FD: And so, yeah. Yeah, here in Europe, we are used to learn English, traditional English, so the pronunciation, the slang is a little different. But I am—[laughs]

BM: Well, this will be a great education for you then. [laughs]

FD: Yeah. [laughs]

BM: You can learn while we talk. [laughs] That’s great.

FD: [laughs]

BM: Your English is very good, Fabio.

FD: Isn’t it? Yes?

BM: Yes, it’s very good.

FD: Oh, thank you. It’s my commerce education. I started for a translator in commerce, in trade, so I usually do a normal job as a broker of fresh fish. So I usually call people in Greece, in Denmark and Norway, you know, and so I’m forced to use the English. But anyway, I like talking in foreign languages. It’s nice to discover new cultures and have contacts all around the world.

BM: That’s one of the reasons why I like doing these interviews, because I get to speak with people in all countries. And it’s a lot of fun.

FD: Yes. Yes, it is nice.

BM: First of all, let’s talk about the history of Pathosray. One of the questions you seem to be asked a lot, and you never really have an answer to, is what happened to Luca [Luison, guitarist]?

FD: Oh. [laughs]

BM: You always tell people, “Well, we don’t know, he just walked out without explanation.” Have you talked to him since then? Have you guys ever found out what happened?

FD: Yeah. Really, I have to say that [laughs] for us it’s a little, kind of a mystery what happened. Because you know, maybe you know, we were recording the album in the studio. And one day, Luca told Ivan [Moni Bidin], our drummer, that willing to leave the band for any specific reason. And I was very surprised, because in the last few months, we took a great affinity each other. So there was a great happiness for the recordings, you know. Exciting for after the final product. And so, we were just recording the guitars, I remember, it was on September 6, and we were in the studio. And the one night, I heard Ivan on the phone, and he told me Luca has been willing to leave the band.

BM: [laughs]

FD: And yes, [laughs] you are laughing, but officially, I don’t know why he left the band. Around this period, he was also playing as a guitarist with Elvenking, just for that period. He had them on the live tours, they had some festivals all around Europe. But first of all, I thought “Oh, it was a business reason, because you know, Elvenking was much famous than us.” So I thought, “Oh, ok, I can understand, even if it’s not a good reason to leave the band, you are working from the beginning.” But well, after three or four days, I heard from Elvenking that he was leaving also them. So we didn’t expect, we didn’t know, and at the beginning, we felt a little angry.

BM: I can understand that.

FD: Well, I don’t know anything. After this fact, I met him two or three times around. Also for the official release party was there, with hair cutted. Short hair, and not long hair as at one time. And I was, hoo, it was weird to [see] him that night. And well, I’m sorry I cannot explain you. [laughs] You know, it’s hard also for me to remember that fact.

BM: Yeah.

FD: You can imagine after the recording of the guitars, we are excited for, you know, we had to record the keys. So it was very funny days for us.

BM: Were you guys panicked? Did you worry about it? Or how quickly did you find Alessio [Velliscig, guitarist]?

FD: Well, maybe, I don’t know how much, but we had some trials with other guys. But you know, there was also a bad period for us because it was a very bad hit for us. Because you are recording the album and then you are afraid and you are a little sad. So it was very hard for us to continue, to keep the happiness high. And well, it was around Christmas period, and we met, and we decided to look for another guitar player. So we have done some trials with two guitar players, but we knew Alessio from time to time. And we thought to try him, and it was the right choice.

BM: Oh good.

FD: Because you know, he’s also a good composer. He has another band called Akhtamar. And he’s very good playing guitars. Acoustic guitars, classical guitars, but also mandolin, stuff like that. He’s also very involved in the piano, and in composition at the musical academy. So it was a complete choice for us.

BM: Oh, that’s great.

FD: Not so easy, but complete. Yes, it’s great. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

FD: Finally, we escaped from a bad situation.

BM: Well, you know what’s interesting, I find that you guys had two demos before you released your full-length album.

FD: Of course, of course.

BM: And you started in the band around 2005, from what I understand.

FD: Yeah.

BM: And you played bass on the second demo, called Deathless Crescendo.

FD: Yes, yes. Mostly, out of production. It was the first release under our studio, our home studio. And after some good lives, we thought it was the right moment to record and have enough support and the support for new songs, because you know the old demo, Strange Kind of Energies, sounded a little old. And I don’t know if you heard it?

BM: Oh, I’ve heard Strange Kind of Energies, but I haven’t heard all of Deathless Crescendo yet. Just one or two tracks.

FD: Ok, I can say that Strange Kind of Energies, it was a hard, progressive metal demo, with a live recording, so not multiple tracking and harmonies and stuff like that. And so it was, it sounded a little rough, and it was for free. So I wasn’t in the band for that period, but Ivan told me that it was great for them at that period, but in 2005, we thought it was a little old. We needed something new, in order to play out, and to reach maybe new fan. Stuff like that. So we thought to record what we composed with the new lineup.

BM: Well, here’s my question to you. How did you go from not being in the band, to being in the band and being credited with recording, mixing, and mastering Deathless Crescendo? How did you know how to do all those things?

FD: Oh, hey, you know, before the recordings of the Deathless Crescendo, and before joined the band, I was a fan, first of all. And you know, I’m younger than the other members. And when I was contacted for the first time by Ivan, he told me there was some new songs to record and to work with. So I was excited, because I was younger and you know, to work with older people who are much experienced people, it was very exciting for me. And before the recordings of Deathless Crescendo, we had already had the idea to record a full-length album. And we knew that those compositions would be finished on the album, because we thought in the compositions. And if you notice, four of the compositions on Deathless Crescendo are dated, from demo to the final recording. And so yes, it was a transition period before the recordings, but it was a final evolution for us. If you have the possibility to listen to it, you can notice not so much differences between the demo and, well, the recording and then the mastering, you know, Tommy Hansen has done great for us. But the sound is not so fat, and that is why we are very happy.

BM: But how did you know how to do that? You credited with, “Recorded, mixed, and mastered at Emerald Studio, by Fabio D’Amore.”

FD: Yes. Yes. And as I told you, it was our first release in the studio, in my own studio that I use my studio and Ivan’s studio. We own it.

BM: Oh, that’s great. So you guys are Emerald Studio?

FD: Of course.

BM: Oh, that’s great.

FD: Yes, it’s a known studio, not like a house studio. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

FD: You know, and we need money, first of all. But it was the first time we were recording an album.

BM: Oh, that’s great.

FD: Yes, and we didn’t learn how to do it, of course. But it was, I don’t know, automatic, isn’t it? Maybe something like that. It was, you know, “Let’s record the drums. And let’s try something. And oh, it sounds great. Ok, let’s continue. Let’s record the bass.” And during the recordings we were improving our knowledge on how to master, how to mix, how to edit and stuff like that. And we finished the demo in some months. It was no so hard for amateur people.

BM: Yeah, but it sounds really good. It sounds like you knew what you were doing. [laughs]

FD: Yeah, yeah. [laughs] It’s possible, yes. Thank you.

BM: [laughs]

FD: And at the time, maybe the best demo recording we have done at the Emerald Studio, even if it was the first. Maybe because we felt a personal product, because we are working with other bands, other bands that are willing to record with us in the studio, you know, maybe pre-production demo for the recordings or stuff like that. But this time I can say that the Deathless Crescendo, it’s already the best product in our studio. Yes, of course.

BM: Well, tell me about, since you are relatively young, you were born in 1986, you’ve only been playing bass, how long? How long have you been playing bass, and what attracted you to that instrument?

FD: [laughs] Oh, it’s not so unbelievable, but I played bass since 2000.

BM: Really?

FD: Yes, but I’m learning, I’m studying music since 1990. Since I am four.

BM: You were four years old studying music?

FD: Yes. I started with the piano for five years.

BM: Oh, that’s great.

FD: Yeah, being obliged by my mother, of course, because I was a child, I didn’t, I can’t thinking, you know. [laughs] I had the pleasure for the football, but not for the music. [laughs] But it was great to have the introduction of the music like that. And I left music just for one year, and then I came back and I was studying percussions with the town orchestra. And while I was studying percussion, I started playing bass, alone, stand alone, without taking lessons in 2000. Because you know, I don’t know the real reason. It attracted me. Yes, I was, that year I was watching at the TV and seeing concerts, and MTV and stuff like that. And first of all, the first inspiration were Red Hot Chili Peppers, you know, he is a great bass player.

BM: Oh yeah.

FD: So, “Oh, I can try to look for a bass, a used bass, a secondhand bass.” And I found a four-string. And I started like that in 2000. I think it was early 2000.

BM: Wow. Because your style is so good. I can hear John Myung [Dream Theater bassist – duh!] in your style.

FD: [laughs] Yeah. First of all, because it’s my hero, thank you. [laughs] It’s not so difficult to listen, to hear, well, I cannot hide. Because you know, it’s a normal process that your favorite band influences you in the composition style. [laughs] So yes, it’s true.

BM: [laughs] Well, tell me about it. That’s a very difficult style of bass playing. How did you get into not only playing bass, but going from that to playing progressive metal. I mean, it’s a really technical style of playing.

FD: [laughs] Easy, easy.

BM: Really?

FD: Because in the same year I started playing bass, I was attracted by a band called Dream Theater.

BM: Oh yeah. [laughs]

FD: And so, “Dream Theater, what is a Chinese/Korean guy doing?”

BM: [laughs]

FD: It was mystery for me. I was listening to Oasis, bands like that. And, “Oh, what is John Myung?” And I saw him also in a Yamaha catalog, I had the catalog around my house, you know, instruments, bass, guitars, and I saw this man holding a six-string bass. And I was impressed, you know, “Six strings, what the fuck?”

BM: [laughs]

FD: [laughs] Six strings. I thought the bass had just four strings, maybe five in, I don’t know if you remember the video from Red Hot Chili Peppers, but it was a hard thing to me to understand. So I took the chance to go to my musical shop, my close musical shop, and asked them, “What about Dream Theater?” I thought I was the only one, young guy in the world knowing them, because I was, in 2000, I was, I don’t know how many years old.

BM: 14.

FD: Yeah.

BM: [laughs]

FD: Yes, 14, something like that. And oh yes, the guy at the shop suggested me to, “Oh, let’s hear this, oh, the album title was funny, listen to some words. Hmm, great.” The cover, the album cover was interesting, you know, the little child and the heart. [Images and Words, 1992]

BM: It’s a great album.

FD: It is my favorite album ever. [laughs] So that’s the album introduced me into progressive and metal and the other kinds of styles. It was a hard jump into the professional music. I was a teenager, so it was a hit for me to listen to “Metropolis,” “Pull Me Under,” stuff like that. Oh, and so I started playing on the CDs, I came back into this discography and bought Awake [1994], and you know the last album that period was [Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From a] Memory.

BM: Oh yeah.

FD: And I bought it, and I bought it also the DVD, maybe then VHS at that period, not the DVD. And I saw this man playing this green bass with six strings. Oh, impression. [laughs]

BM: [laughs]

FD: And so I was, yes, I stopped the voices on the screen and used the camera to zoom in on the bass. And I try to follow the positions.

BM: Wow.

FD: Yeah, that was the reason. And I passed the whole weekend playing “Metropolis” and stuff like that. And that’s it. In that period, I had some guys that was playing stuff, an original kind of music called progressive. And they found me for a rehearsal, and they were called Acid Rain, was my first official band of progressive metal. And we finally, I finally started playing progressive metal, just easily, without any kind of change in my life or, just easily. After listening to the Dream Theater, I heard from this guy, and I thought, “I’m the only one who is listening to Dream Theater in the world.” Because Internet and mobile phones weren’t so spread.

BM: Oh yeah.

FD: So there was no communication, no change of opinions at that time, as now. So it was a present for me to know that other people were listening, in my same town, my little town, were listening to Dream Theater and progressive metal. And so I started like that. And then, after the Dream Theater, I bought V from Symphony X. That came out the same year, and you know The Perfect Element from Pain of Salvation, and so on.

BM: Oh, that’s great music, yeah.

FD: Yeah, it’s my favorite bands.

BM: You’re really good. I would have thought you’d been playing for a lot longer. You are basically self-taught then, right?

FD: [laughs] Really.

BM: Wow, you taught yourself how to play this well, by watching John Myung Dream Theater videos and listening to the CDs?

FD: Yes, yes, yes. I bought the video, and you know, the lessons, I didn’t understand anything, [laughs] but it was great because it’s very hard, the lessons from Jon Myung.

BM: [laughs] Wow.

FD: Yes, but I was impression. I was a teenager. I think it’s normal.

BM: That’s great. Tell me about the traditional role of a bass player is to sort of play in synch with the drummer.

FD: Yes.

BM: Sort of make the bottom end. Except for guys like Paul McCartney, or John Myung, or Michael Lepond, or Steve Harris. How do you view your role as a bass player? Do you try to keep in synch with the drummer as the bottom end anchor, or do you like to go out and play a million notes at once and all that?

FD: Yes. [laughs] Well, I have a personal idea about the bass player role in a band. In a metal band and in other bands, well, I try to match the groove with the drums, with the bass drum, etc. And you know, the melody a rhythmic instrument can give, it’s not so easy to match this and the melody. And that’s the view I have on a bass player. It’s not so easy to match, you know, in progressive metal you can see some bass player going and fucking the drums and going 5,000 million notes in a second. But for me it’s not, ok, good technique, but it’s not in 2008, it’s so easy to see a lot of quick bass player, but not so melodic. I love singing the melody of the bass sometimes. And that’s why I don’t like virtuosos apart from John Myung, but I don’t call him virtuoso. I prefer bass player giving the two sides of music. So feeling and technique melded together, but not to emphasize any of these two sides. So yes, I prefer stay in the middle. And that’s what I’d like to listen from the other bass players. You know, the last night I was at the New Age Rock Club to see Kiko Loureiro and Felipe Andreoli in Trio. And yes, they were playing mellow jazz fusion, but Felipe Andreoli has showed us his technique, but with Angra is doing basically is going with the double drums. So that’s what I’d like to listen from the other bass players. And so that’s also why I don’t like, you know, Billy Sheehan, or you know very quick and fast and playing a lot of notes, but maybe without follow the bass drum and the kicks. So that’s what I like.

BM: That’s a great way to put that, because one of my questions was going to be is this: what is harder for a bass player to master – playing with speed? or playing with emotion?

FD: Yes, you have to match both. [laughs] And then, that’s why for me to be a great bass player, you have to work a lot in the studio, and in the rehearsal room, of course. And you have not to practice so long the technique every day, like someone is telling me. Because you know, sometimes I have discussion with other bass players around Italy, at the concerts, at the venues, we are discussing how to make, drinking or something. And I heard from people improving every day for hours. No, for me it’s not so good.

BM: [laughs]

FD: I prefer to sit and listen to good albums, and then try to work at the same view with my songs. With Pathosray songs or anything else. So it’s not so easy, but it doesn’t mean that I have to practice so long with technique.

BM: Wow. That’s, so when you listen to a band, when you hear a band for the first time, are you listening to the bass guitar, or the vocals, or the drums, or they keyboard? What do you listen to when you find a new, cool band?

FD: Well, do you mean on the CD or live? Because it’s different?

BM: Oh, let’s say you go to a concert and you watch a band live. What are you looking at? Are you watching the bass player to learn?

FD: Oh, I basically try to watch to the whole band, because I’m interested in every instrument. I’m not a fanatic of my instrument.

BM: [laughs]

FD: I don’t care so long. No, I mean, I feel like a musician more than a bass player, because I am not so good as other bass players. I watch the drum player and the balance, stuff like that. I watch the guitar player, which guitar he is using. [laughs] The instrument, the player, the vocals are so important for me. I love singing, so I’m always looking for new vocalists, you know, unknown vocalists. I love the style. And so I’m always noticing the whole band, but the vocals maybe are the first impressions can give me to a band. The bass player I don’t care so much, because in the last period I didn’t see so good bass players as I told you, that can meld the two sides of playing. And well, apart from my favorite band, I saw a lot of concerts this last year, so I can say I preferred the vocalist, the guitar player, but the bass player, faster or maybe, ok, lot of groove, but annoying, boring me.

BM: Marco [Sandron] has a tremendous voice. The first Pathosray album is great.

FD: [laughs]

BM: And I see some of your preferred songs [in his bio on the Pathosray web site] are “Queen of the Ryche” by Queensryche or anything by Dream Theater or Symphony X.

FD: Yes.

BM: So you tend to like really powerful vocalists that have a great range. That’s what it seems like.

FD: Yes, yes, Marco has. Marco is a great, versatile vocalist that is also I think, in his perfect maturity period because he’s 30, so he’s not so young and neither older. And so we are doing stuff in the perfect period for him. And I think he has a large range of frequencies, from the lower to the highest. So maybe we are a little lucky also. Because he, in 2008, as I told you, it is not so easy to find versatile players and vocalists. Maybe they have some high points, strengths, but a lot of low points. And I think Marco doesn’t have so low points than has high points. And for me, he can do everything.

BM: Oh yeah, it’s amazing when I read the reviews of your album.

FD: Yes.

BM: A lot of people say the vocalist is absolutely stunning. So you guys have a great vocalist. Yeah.

FD: Yes, we have, and we are lucky. Yes.

BM: [laughs]

FD: Yes, because I don’t know if you are listening to, I am sure you are listening to a lot of albums in these years.

BM: Oh yeah.

FD: I am a fanatic, so I spend all my money in CDs and magazines because I love music, I love metal, progressive, so I’m mostly interested in the market and what’s going on. But sometimes the bands are really good, but the vocalist can destroy all the work of a band, because you know, the first impression is always the vocals, I think.

BM: Yeah.

FD: The drums for the production and the vocals.

BM: Yeah. You’re right.

FD: Yeah, the color can give the drums in the background. And then, of course, the first impression is the vocals because you can listen for the first time if you are bored about a singer or if you like singer because you like the sound, I don’t know how to say, but it’s really difficult. And I think Marco for the first time I heard him from the Strange Kind of Energies CD, I thought, “Wow, this is definitely vocalist.” [laughs]

BM: Yeah. Passionate. Yes, very.

FD: Yes.

BM: Let me ask you another question about your bass-playing style. Do you play with your fingers a lot? Or do you use a pick?

FD: Yes. No, live, I always using my fingers. But I can use a pick in the studio. And also because of the time, sometimes you have to save time because it’s costing so much. You know, with the power time riffs, like double bass? I sometimes I use the pick to be much precise, you know. And if I have to sound like more heavy, you know our song, “The Sad Game”?

BM: Oh yes.

FD: On the verses, I preferred to use the pick, because it was a very metallic verse. So I like to hear the sound of the pick on the string, so that’s why I used it. But you know on live stage, I prefer always to use my fingers. Always.

BM: You have a nice tone. Your bass guitar has a crisp, bouncy tone, like you’re using a Rickenbacker, like the old ‘70s Chris Squire sound.

FD: It seems to, it seems to. But it’s just Yamaha.

BM: Yeah.

FD: Yeah, yeah. I, for the recordings I use my Yamaha RBX-775. I don’t know if you know the model?

BM: Sure.

FD: It’s very recognizable. There’s nothing special, but just now I’m using the John Myung signature bass.

BM: Wow.

FD: The old Yamaha, the old one, the six strings. And on the new recording, I can do much, much more. Yes. I can do better on the sound because I have much time to work with.

BM: How much time do you spend looking for just the right bass tone? Is the tone of your bass really important to you?

FD: Oh, well, I prefer looking into the bands and maybe find some on instrument. And not specifically finding one bass player around, just bass player. I prefer to look into the band, I listen. And so, maybe I can notice the all instruments, and then I can say, “Oh, the bass is good.”

BM: Yeah.

FD: Yes. And I spend a lot of time looking for new stuff to listen, to hear in the car while I’m driving work. And so, yes, I can say yes.

BM: I heard that you will be working with a band called Fairyland.

FD: Yes, yes.

BM: You and Marco. How did you get that gig? Was it through Intromental? Tell me about that project.

FD: Yes. As you know, Fairyland is a very known band from France.

BM: Yeah.

FD: The band is doing a sort of symphonic metal, but in the last summer, Philippe [Giordana], the keyboard player, was left from the other players in the band.

BM: Yeah, they all walked out on him.

FD: Yes, it was, I don’t have to say anything, because I just heard a bit from him. But from what I heard, it was very sad. And so he remained alone. But Intromental and the label Napalm Records, suggested him to continue. And Claus told him to contact Marco first of all, for the vocals, because he preferred for the future just to make some sort of metal operas with guests. Something like Avantasia.

BM: Yep.

FD: So just invite good talents not specifically famous players or vocalists. And Claus from Intromental suggested him to call Marco [Sandron, Pathosyray vocalist]. And you know, we begin writing emails to each other, and he told us about the project. And it sounded very interesting because you know we were next to promote our album and I thought it was the right chance to increase the same, I can’t say the same, but increase fans. To attract the crowd to the new stuff from Fairyland but also to Pathosray, to our band. And then, after Marco affected to try this new project, Philippe also asked me to do the bass for that production and for the future. And to record the backing vocals. So we planned a meeting in Lyon, France. We met up, me and Philippe, and we discussed a lot on the project, and he gave me the files, the tracks we’re to work in. So I took everything to Emerald Studio, and we started to do the pre-production.

- end part one

NOTE: The entire interview can be found in the ProgPower USA IX program given to all attendees at this year’s metal fest.

Tags: Interview //