• "The incredible power of the rain: that can be a sweet caress sliding down your hair, but can also be a destructive heartless and fearless giant". This is Rainspawn's definition for the name. Could it also be used as a definition of their music? You can find out by reading the interview below...

1.TELL US IN A FEW WORDS THE MOST IMPORTANT MOMENTS OF THE BAND'S HISTORY. WHICH IS TODAY'S LINE UP?

• Rainspawn was born during 1998, like many young band: five friends, sharing the same love for metal.... During 2000 was recorded our first promo-cd "Messenger Of Death". The very good response from media and audience permitted us to do a lot of concert and find a very good deal for our first album with a small italian label: Temple Of Noise Records. Some problems with our singer forced us to  stop the recording session of our debut album to find a good new singer. Actually we are testing some different singers.

2.HOW WAS YOUR BAND NAME INSPIRED? WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY IT?

• In the beginning the name of the band was Black Widow. A flood in the north of our country inspired us the name "Rainspawn". The incredible power of the rain: that could be a sweet caress that could slide down from your hair, but could be also a destructive giant with no heart, with no fear. Probably is only a coincidence, but every time that we leave from our city for a tourneè we always go with a rainstorm, than we have seriously considered to change our name in "Sunspawn"!!!!

3.YOU HAVE STARTED AS A COVER BAND. WHAT MADE YOU START COMPOSING YOUR WON SONGS? HOW WAS THIS PASSAGE FROM ONLY PLAYING SONGS YOU LOVE TO CREATE YOUR OWN?

• Well....I think it was a natural progress, you can't play cover songs forever!!! Then there are two choices: your band will be only a cover band, or you start to write your own material. We have chosen the second option! In th beginning our songs was very similiar to the cover that we play, but song after song our own style was emerged.

4.WHICH ARE YOUR INFLUENCES? GIVE US A DEFINITION OF YOUR MUSIC AND A LIST WITH SOME OF YOUR MOST BELOVED ALBUMS.

• Our music is a mix of '80 thrash metal with some influences of the great power metal, than Metallica, Megadeth, Testament, Nuclear Assault and Helloween, Blind Guardian (the first albums), Iced Earth.... Is very difficult to mention our most beloved albums, because are a lot and because in our band we love some different style; I can tell you my favourite album: Countdown & Peace sells from Megadeth, Master & Ride from Metallica, Handle with Care from Nuclear Assault. Something Wicked...from Iced Earth, Somewhere far Beyond from Blind Guardian, than the two Keepers from Helloween.

5.NAME ALL THE BAND RELEASES AND GIVE SOME GENERAL INFO FOR EACH ONE OF THEM AND ESPECIALLY CONTRETRATE ON YOUR LATEST RELEASE. ARE YOU IN THE POSITION TO SAY THAT YOU HAVE WITNESSED A PROGRESS AS A BAND?

• At the moment our relases are limited to "Messenger Of Death", our first EP. This is a very great mix of '80 Thrash and Power Metal. Now we are working on our debut album "No Escape". I think that this album is so much stronger than "Messenger...", I can say that if "Messenger..." was a 50% Thrash and 50% Power, "No Escape" is 80% Thrash and 20% Power, this is our progress. The great influences of Power Metal in our first EP was beacause the song contained on "Messenger..." was written from the beginning and frequently re-arranged.

6.WHAT ARE YOUR LYRICS TALING ABOUT? WHICH ARE THE FIELDS THAT ATTRACT YOUR ATTENTION?

• In our band the lyrics are written from me and Davide (lead guitar) I'm very interested to talk about the everyday life: the problem, the feeling, the rage... Davide's interest are fantasy and film, than his lyrics talking about fantasy and films story. Now you can understand that our lyrics are so different!

7.WHY HAVE SO MANY CHANGES IN THE LINE UP OCCURED DURING SUCH A LITTLE TIME?

• The first line-up change, was determined from technical and musical differences. After the "Messenger..." relased the line-up changes was determined from personal differences: our first drummer Roberto Vallati, was hunt during the Messenger Tour 2001 the same, in different periods, for Fabrizio Damiani and our last singer. When you are in tour, you live in a little tour-bus and you need to live in harmony and understanding with the rest of the band and the technicians. If this is not possible is impossible to have a tourneè because when you go up the stage, you need to be on the same wavelenght as the rest of the band. If there isn't because of the continous quarrel on the bus, your show will be without soul and than it was all in vain! We love the "on-stage" life and we want to play everywhere is possible, and we prefer to have a little stop and to find the better line-up rather than have no more live show only for keep the same line-up.

8.WHICH WERE THE REACTIONS OF THE FANS AND PRESS ON YOUR DEBUT CD? ARE YOU STILL SATISFIED WITH T OR IS THERE ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE TO CHANGE? WHICH WAS THE BEST AND WHICH WAS THE WORST REVIEW YOU HAVE RECEIVED?

• "Messenger..." had a great press and fan success, I don't want to change anything! All the copies we have printed, were sold in about 1 year, that is a great success for an unknow band at the debut cd. The good reviews have permitted us to do a lot of concert and to sign an important deal with Temple Of Noise Records.... I'm very satisfied from the response of "Messenger...". The best review was the first review, from an important italian web page: Metallus.it I'll never forget it!!! The worst that we have received was the second, from another italian web page: Metal.it but it was not a bad review, we got a 6,5/10.

9.YOU USED TO HAVE IN THE BEGINNING OF THE BAND A KEYBOARD PLAYER TOO, WHOM YOU KICKED OUT FOR YOUR PRESONAL REASONS. HOWEVER, MORE AND MORE BANDS NOWADAYS ADD KEYBOARDS TO THEIR MUSIC. SO, WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO DO THE VICE VERSA?

• We have kicked our keyboard player out for tecnical reasons. The reason that made us eliminate the keyboards from our line-up, was because the keyboard made our music so soft. When the keyboard was eliminated, we started following the way that led us to the thrash way, and the keyboards in the thrash metal are superfluous!

10.HOW ARE YOU THINKING TO PROMOTE YOUR WORK? WHICH ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE FUTURE?

• Now we are working on our debut album, I don't know when it will be ready. When it will be ready we will play everywhere will be possible, I hope to play also outside our contry maybe in Greece! I know that the Metal scene in your country is so good! Our label are working very hard to find the better distributors and to plan a good european tour for us.

11.YOU HAVE TAKEN PART IN A EUROPEAN UNDERGROUND COMPETITION. CAN YOU SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCIES WITH US?

• Emergenza Festival was not a very good experience, this is called "european" competition only because this is a competition present in a lot of european cities. Every night-match 5 or 6 band present their show in 30 minutes and win the match the band that have more audience and like a world soccer championship, every band play in the eliminating round, than in the quarter finals, than in the semifinal and than in the city final. The winner will play in a festival in Germany with the winner from all the other european cities. The rip-off is that the winner of every night-match is chosen by the public that if you have a lot of friend you can win the night-match, but you can also be a musical incapable but if you have a lot of friends you can also win this competition, is not required to play a good music!

12.YOU HAVE PERFORMED LIVE IN FESTIVAL AND SMALL CLUBS TOO. CAN YOU TELL US THE DIFFERENCE? WHAT DO YOU LIKE THE MOST? CAN YOU POINT OUT THE DIFFERENCIES?

• When you play in small clubs often there are tecnical problems: the stage is too small, the light system doesn't exist....etc...but the little dimension of the club can create a very good feeling with the public, you can play all the time you want: sometimes happen that when our show finish the public want more song and we don't have nothing more to play for them!!! When it happen, we start to improvise and we play some very know thrash metal song that the public can sing togheter, is very fantastic!!! The great festival are too different from it: you have a little time at your disposal, the public is here not only for you and often it's too difficult to stir up them! But the festival permit to reach a lot of people, to have a good stage and to play with something great band! Is too difficult for me to choose between small club and a festival because they are two too very different things!

13.CAN YOU PICK OUT FOR US SOME INTERESTING BANDS FROM YOUR COUNTRY?

• There are a lot of interesting bands in the Italian underground: Enemynside (thrash) Coram Lethe (death) Adimiron (black) Perpetual Destiny (prog)....

14.IF YOU HAD THE MONEY TO MAKE A PROPER EXPENSIVE VIDEOCLIP, HOW DO YOU IMAGINE IT TO BE?

• I've written the screenplay for our new album's song video. This is set in a froozen castle, with a lot of slowly camera movement and a cold color....I think that this idea is was already used for another videoclip I think it was Ricky Martin, but he was is a frozen flat not in a frozen castle!!! Another one I've set on a disused metropolitan station, we have also found the right location but is too expensive!!!

15.WHICH IS THE BEST AND WHICH IS THE WORST PART IN YOUR MUSIC? IN WHICH FIELDS DO YOU THINK YOU NEED IMPROVEMENT?

• I need to improve my english!!!! Seriously, I think that we need improvement in our lyrics. The best part in our music? Probably the "contralto riff"!!!

16.HAVE YOU READ ANY INTERESTING BOOKS LATELY? HAVE YOU WATCHED AN INTERESTING MOVIE?

• I've read an interesting book about the difference between the oriental and the occidental theatre, I liked it so much especially when I see a theatre experiment called "Teatro Mundi" by Eugenio Barba: in this show was presented all the world theatre....very interesting!!! About the movie, I've just finish to see "A beautiful Mind" is a good film but I do not agree to all the Oscar that this movie won.

17.IF TIME TRAVEL WAS POSSIBLE, WHICH HISTORICAL PERIOD WOULD YOU LIKE TO VISIT AND WHY? WHAT WOULD YOU MISS THE MOST FROM OUR TIME?

• What a strange question! Is too dangerous travel in time: disease, war, ignorance...probably something could mistake me for a wizard and some century ago was not good to be a wizard!!! No! No! I like my time! I want a time machine for come back (for a little time, not for a trip!) in time and avoid to do some mistake, but it could be too easy!!!

18.WHAT PROLOGUE AND TITLE WOULD YOU LIKE THIS INTERVIEW TO HAVE?

• "Rainspawn - the thrash rainstorm from Italy", do you like this?

19.THANK YOU!HAVE I FORGOT TO ASK YOU ANYTHING AND YOU'D LIKE TO MENTION?

• Thank you Nick and thanks to your webzine, excuse me for the late answer! I hope to play in Greece as soon as possible and stay tuned for the upcoming Rainspawn debut album "No Escape" follow us from our home page: www.rainspawn.com
• Keep on!