ELYSION- Christianna and Johnny Zero

\r\nAbout a month before the end of 2009, Elysion released their debut album via Massacre Records, marking the beginning of a new era. Metalzone conducted an interview with the band’s singer, Christianna, and guitarist, Johnny Zero, a few days before their upcoming live show with Draconian, Shattered Hope and Daylight Misery in Athens. Here’s what they told us.. \r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: Hello guys and welcome to Metalzone! Would you like to introduce Elysion to our readers?
\r\nChristianna: First of all I would like to thank you on behalf of all Elysion for having us! Elysion were founded in 2006 by Johnny Zero and Elysion’s former singer Maxi Nil, who then invited friends they considered to be very talented musicians to join them in what they hoped to be an ambitious and beautiful plan. Gladly, chemistry worked perfectly and that was just the beginning. Today the will to make our dream come true is stronger than ever...apart from myself and our guitarist and composer Johnny Zero, Elysion are aparted from Petros Fatis (drums) and FxF,our bass player. \r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: You have just released your debut album,“Silent Scream”. What’s the feedback so far?
\r\nChristianna: Everything has been amazing so far! The release of "Silent Scr3am" is very recent, it has only been out for less than a month but we are more than grateful for all the support we have come to meet, both in Greece and abroad. We cannot thank everyone enough for embracing us and showing us that even in these days, that competition has reached extreme levels, a good work can always be appreciated. \r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: Your music combines many elements ranging from metal to electro pop, which is more “mainstream”. How would you describe your musical orientation?
\r\nJohnny:Like you said, our music is a combination of many different elements, ranging from atmospheric metal and rock to gothic and electro influences. We wouldn’t like to label our music, since music is about emotions and emotions cannot be categorized. Elysion’s sound is clean and simple but at the same time strong and alluring.  If we had to describe our sound in sound in this debut album in a sentence we would say that "Silent Scr3am" to us is a fluid ray of light sneaking into a dark room… \r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: Do you agree with the term “female fronted metal” as a music form?
\r\nChristianna:…Well, I would prefer the whole music not to be categorized under the gender of its singer but under its atmosphere and content, but personally I am ok with everything. Call it what you want, the label doesn’t make the band…Elysion’s sound will be as it is no matter what category anyone could place us under. All we care about is for the listener to truly listen to us and maybe hear something beautiful… \r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: One of my favorite songs from the album is the “Dreamer”. I would like to ask, who is writing the lyrics? Generally, what’s the composing procedure?
\r\nJohnny: Well, most of the lyrics in "Silent Scr3am" were written by Maxi. As for composing, I think we probably follow the most common procedure...inspiration never stops and I usually get up in the middle of the night and start working on a song. When it comes down to recording, before entering our recording studio a pre-production of the album is completed at my  studio so we have a better understanding of what the needs for improvement are and have some preview of what the whole thing will sound like. Once we are satisfied with what we hear we enter the studio and all of us take turns recording, starting with drums and bass, right after the guitars, then synths and loops leaving the vocals being recorded last. The time we spend at the studio is always very creative and exciting; it is like giving birth to your feelings and see this all take shape and form. \r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: You signed with Massacre Records, which is a major record company. It is a pretty remarkable achievement for a new band; however do you think that signing with a major label can be risky in some ways? For example, are there any restrictions regarding your music style?
\r\nJohnny: Our signing up with Massacre Records, a leader company in its field was definitely a huge gift, especially since this all happened for our very first album. It was very important for to be able to have all the support such a label can provide. Of course, it was also a huge responsibility to us, having to measure up to the label’s expectations and trust upon us, so we did our best to come up with a beautiful album. Luckily, we had Massacre’s full support and faith in our sound, and absolutely no restrictions. We were offered this contact exactly because our music style was appreciated and some people who know what they are doing liked what they heard and trusted that many people out there would like it the same way. \r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: Do you think that a band should “stick” to the music and let the management do the rest?
\r\nChristianna: I think that music in all its forms is a magical thing and the responsibility to put magic down to notes and create feelings out of it is so sacred and Devine that it should not be infected with anything else, if possible. Of course, we are interest in everything and try our best to be as better organized as possible, but we leave the details to those whose role is to manage them. We play music, this is what we are meant to do and we try to do it right! \r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: In the not-so distant past, there was a general opinion that actually there’s no greek metal scene at all. What do you think of the greek metal scene nowadays?
\r\nJohnny:I think gladly this statement belongs to the past! The past years the overall level of the Greek metal scene has gone way up and this is very positive for all of us involved in this industry because it changes the whole perspective of the international market towards Greece, as well as the perspective of big foreign labels. Elysion have the great chance to perform with many upcoming Greek bands in our gigs and we everytime come to see how professional and serious about its work almost every band has grown to be. This is truly amazing, I believe there are many extremely talented people in this country talent should always be acknowledged. \r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: Are there any (greek) bands that really stand out for you? (except for Rotting Christ and Septic Flesh, which is a very common answer!)     Christianna: …truly a common answer and it should be so because both these bands have managed to make us truly proud internationally! That having been said, I must say that lately I find that more and more Greek bands have what it takes to succeed and that is so promising and good to know! Personally, any band aparted from guys who work their butts off and sacrifice everything to follow their dream, however difficult it is to do so in Greece, is a band who will always have my full respect and admiration. \r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: What kind of music do you like listening to?
\r\nJohnny: Luckily we are all very open-minded when it comes to this…we listen to all kinds of music and believe there are no boundaries in it, only different approaches and this is what makes it so interesting because there is always a lot to learn from and new elements to consider. Our being able to respect the beauty of different kinds of music has contributed a lot to the sound of Elysion, since there is no label we would like to place upon it. \r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: What are your other interests apart from music?
\r\nChristianna: We all have different interests and hobbies but I think we are so into music that our everyday lives are totally "soaked" in sounds and melodies and the uncountable ways one could occupy himself with all the different things there is to know about music. I personally devote all my free time to compose, write down some lyrics or play my piano and still I wish a day had more than 24 hours to be able to be even more involved with music… \r\n

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\r\nMetalzone:  Let’s say that I’m not familiar with your music. Why should I listen to Elysion?
\r\nChristianna: I think that one of the greatest things about Elysion is that anyone can easily relate to something in it ,regardless of his musical background .Our music is simple, straightforward ,we target the human soul and celebrate all its weaknesses and flaws. The most important thing is that listening to Silent scr3am is probably gonna make you feel good…I believe that this alone is a good enough reason! \r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: Future plans and expectations?
\r\nJohnny:At the time being, our top priority is to tour and try to communicate "Silent Scr3am" best way we can, starting with Greece and having our European tour follow right after that. An American tour is probably going to follow in second half of 2010 so we are thrilled about this all and looking forward to visiting as many countries as we possibly can. Also, we are now trying to make a decision of which "Silent Scr3am" songs will be our first videoclips, I guess you will sometime soon see "killing my dreams" on the screen! Elysion’s main expectation out of "Silent Scr3am" is to see it reach people’s hearts and have them see something beautiful in it. This will be our greatest reward and the best possible way to make our entrance to the scene! \r\n

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\r\nMetalzone: So.. do dreams come true if you believe it ?
\r\nChristianna and Johnny: …hell they do! either way, we will see our dreams come true or die trying!
\r\nThank you so much for your patience and all your support, it means a lot to us!
\r\nAll the best from all ELYSION! \r\n

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\r\nInterview by Nicoleta Sarantou \r\n

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