Checkout Steinmetal’s interview with Emiliano Sicilia who is the soul behind the new signing of Locomotive Records, Regardless Of Me, from Italy. Emiliano talks about the band, its beginning and its material.
Metal Express Radio: Hello Emiliano, I want to thank you on behalf of Metal Express Radio for taking this interview as the prime man in Regardless Of Me, it’s sure a great honor.
Sicilia: Thank u too my friend, it’s a great honor for me to be interviewed by your Metal webzine!!! Hi to everybody!
MER: How is everything going with Regardless Of Me? Is your debut album, The World Within, what you all hoped for?
Sicilia: We are happy about our debut album, Locomotive Records have released it in March all over the world and we have seen that the public has appreciated it so much. We hope to do the best in the future for our fans
MER: Musically speaking, what were your personal inspirations / influences when you wrote the material for The World Within? Did you try to create something new?
Sicilia: Thank u for the question: my influences are so various, I have to tell you that I listen to every kind of music, from Metal to Jazz, to Death to Trip Hop, to Rock to Hip Hop… I think that it’s important to listen to music in this way, ‘cause a complete artist doesn’t have any limit. My favorite bands are Massive Attack, Portishead, Meshuggah, Tool, Mastodon, Katatonia, Opeth and many more. Create something new? Yes, I will try to combine Metal with different sounds such as Trip Hop and Hip Hop is the key, I really like the modern sound.
MER: Regardless Of Me’s style is rather dark yet did not leave any impressions that this is a Gothic Metal band. Others may have thought otherwise. Can you give a clear picture regarding your style and its roots?
Sicilia: Yes, you are right: I think that “Gothic Metal Band” is too restrictive for us. I think when people listen to a band with female vocal and guitar distortion the first impression is “..wow, another Goth Metal band”, but it’s not true!
We’re more than a simple Goth Metal band. I think that the Progressive is the key and you will be able to discover it on our second release, you have to trust me!
MER: What were your personal impressions of your amazing lead vocalist, Pamela Manzo? Where did you meet? Did you have any other tryouts before approaching her? Also if you can give some details regarding the other members of the band.
Sicilia: I discovered Pamela during the sessions of my first album as a soloist (Devotion Materialize, 2006, Audioglobe). I understood immediately her potential and I decided to create a Metal band with her as a singer. She is one of the best singers in the world.
The bassist (Enrico Cassano) and the Drummer (Fulvio Torresani) are friends of mine, we played in the past in many Prog Metal bands, and I think they are the perfect musicians for my idea. Regardless Of Me are a family first, this is the most important thing in a band.
MER: Back to The World Within. What is the main idea behind the album? What do the themes represent? Did you derive the themes from events , stories and such or it was just the hand of imagination?
Sicilia: It’s not imagination, it’s my world vision. The name of the band and the lyrics mean that we are slaves in this life. We are a part of the machine, but we got a chance to reach internal freedom only if we will start to buy ourselves. The reasons, the truth are inside of us and not elsewhere, we have to keep that in mind.
MER: As a writer / composer / creator , can you please express your opinions regarding Metal music , in general, in modern times? Do you think Metal is going back to the top as it was two decades ago?
Sicilia: I think that the best bands in these years are Deftones, Tool, Mastodon, Linkin Park and Nickelback. To me the problem is that it’s too many bands all around the world, but the quality is low..I really like the Linkin Park music ‘cause they are really modern, I love their arrangements, sounds, lyrics and the production. I think that they have changed Metal music in general
MER: What are your / the band’s plans for the future? Have you already begun working on a new release? What about tours and such?
Sicilia: Yes, we’re working on a second release and we got some dates in Europe, probably we will be in Spain for a mini-tour in October supporting a famous band, we hope that we will do it!
Then we will be in Switzerland, Belgium and Germany.
MER: Emiliano, I want to thank you for taking this interview with me for Metal Express Radio. I do hope that it won’t take long for you guys to forge another release for everyone to enjoy. Take care and good luck on the road ahead!
Sicilia: Thank u too for the interview and keep fuckin’ supporting Regardless Of Me, keep updated on our myspace profile!!!!
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