Mastercastle

 
Genre: Power metal

Origin: Italy

Current line-up:
Giorgia Gueglio - Vocals
Pier Gonella - Guitar
Steve Vawamas - Bass
Alessandro Bissa - Drums

Current label:
Lion Music

Discography:
Phoenix - 2009
Last Desire - 2010

Official Site:
http://www.myspace.com/mastercastle

1. First of all, I’d like you to fill us in on what’s been going on in the band since the release of your debut “The Phoenix”.

    Pier Gonella: After the release of “The Phoenix” we made some gigs around Italy. We also played on the Italian TV channel “Rock TV” and made acoustic showcases in some Italian “Fnac” stores. In the meantime we started immediately writing new stuff.

    Giorgia Gueglio: The first album had a great feedback, more than we expected, and we thought that best thing to do was to release another album asap, and so we produced “Last Desire”, 14 months later.

2. Pier except for MASTERCASTLE you are also a member of NECRODEATH… You are a member of two bands that have totally different sounds. What artistic needs does each band fulfill? 
    Pier Gonella: Yes, I also play in NECRODEATH. As you said the sound is really different. We can consider MASTERCASTLE as “melodic metal” with neoclassical touches and NECRODEATH as “trash-death metal”. I’ve always been an eclectic musician, I played in many bands of all genres, many times as “session”. This is the reason while I like to play different kinds of music. Of course if the 2 bands played the same music it would not be “useful”, it would be a waste of energy. I joined NECRODEATH in 2006 as guest for a European tour supporting MARDUK. I had good times with the other NECRODEATH guys, so some years later, after the guitarist Andy left the band, I entered officially. I’ve recorded 3 albums with them. In the past I also played 5 years with LABYRINTH, a heavy-power metal band. MASTERCASTLE is very important for me because I founded it, together with the singer Giorgia, and it’s my best band for composing music and I really believe in this band.
3. How easy is it to combine these two acts and how do you know which idea or riff can be used for each band? Do you need to be in a different state of mind in order to write songs for each band?
    Pier Gonella: It’s not so difficult because when I compose music for MASTERCASTLE I always need direct collaboration with Giorgia, and when I work for NECRODEATH I always compose together with Peso (NECRODEATH drummer and founder). When I write music alone I never “force” myself in the direction, I just play guitar and automatically I find good riffs for NECRODEATH or MASTERCASTLE. Of course running many bands need organization, but all guys of both bands are very good people and friends so we can organize everything without any conflict. 
4. Let’s do some brainstorming, so I’d like you to tell me what comes to your mind, be it expressions or feelings, when it comes to your new album “Last Desire”.
    Giorgia Gueglio: We can consider the albun as a concept. There is not a story but every song tells about a different meaning of the world “desire”. This word seems so simple but the desire is the main engine of all our thougths and actions. There is nothing programmed about it. There is something “intriguing”, “sensual” and “energetic” in the songs and I did my best to express them with the lyrics.
5. Which are the main similarities and differences between “The Phoenix” and “Last Desire”?
    Pier Gonella: Of course there are many similarities because the line up is the same, and we worked in the same way composing and recording the album. “The Phoenix” was very well accepted by metal heads and reviewers all around the world, so there was nothing to change. In my opinion when an album sounds good there is a king of “chemistry”, or “magic” in it, done by the people of the band, the recording studio, the way songs are composed. 
    I also worked in the same way combining 2 instrumental songs on an album containing 12 songs.  I think it’s the best compromise for making the album interesting also for musicians, and make the instrumental songs interesting for “non musicians” without boring them. I think the only difference is in some “hard rock” contaminations and less neoclassical influences. You can see them in the songs “Away” or” “Cat House”. 
6. Which are the main topics your lyrics deal with? Is the album a concept one? Where does the album’s title refer to?
    Giorgia Gueglio: As I said all lyrics tell about the meanings of “desire”. The title track is about the pasion that lights between two individuals. In “Wild Speel” the desire means hope, the hope of escaping from reality and the will to dream anyway. In the opening track “Event Horizon” there is the desire to cross the human borderline of reason. In this song I tell about the general relativity, where event horizon is a point of no return that represents the curiosity of the man who wants to know averything new for him. And so on...
7. Who created the cover artwork and how is it connected to the album’s title and lyrics?
    Pier Gonella: The cover artwork was created by Massimiliano Mendolia, he’s a professionist designer (and also a drummer?). He also created “The Phoenix” cover. You can see Giorgia in the front, standing over a big palace or construction. Far away you can see a “bellic” scenary, with red as the dominant color. Giorgia has some “gothic” clothing, but she also has a modern “warrior” attitude. She represents MASTERCASTLE, returning more energetic than before. The back represents our energy. In the same time Giorgia is dominating a great construction, that represents the aversion to the excess of modern need for construction. The whole cover transmits energy, it’s the energy that rules ourselves and our desires.
8. How are you going to promote your new album? Have you started booking shows or even a tour?
    Pier Gonella: Yes, as the last year we are planning some acoustic showcases starting from September, and some gigs starting from November. But our goal is to play out of Italy, and we are working in particular for it.
9. There was a time when video-clips were important. Then metal music stopped being “commercial” and they stopped making clips. However, now with MySpace, YouTube and Facebook, the bands have started making video-clips again. Are you thinking of shooting one as well?
    Giorgia Gueglio: You are right, with the coming of the Iinternet and YouTube/MySpace and the rest, videoclips are important again. It’s a great chance because some years ago the only way to publish a videoclip was the television, now every band can make their stuff public. Our first videoclip “Princess of Love” was a real success for us. Now it’s reaching 70000 views. We are producing a new videoclip these days, it will be ready for the end of September. This is the good “aspect” of the Internet. The “bad” aspect is the illegal downloading that is becoming really ridiculous and is “diseducating” the new generations.
10. Which song do you think is the most ideal for a video clip? How do you imagine it to be?
    Pier Gonella: We are working on the song “Last Desire”. Other song that would be good, is “Away” or “Cat-House”, but "Last Desire" represents in the best way our style. We are planning to make the band scenes in front of a famous abandoned church in the north of Italy, and there are also 2 guys as actors. The rest is a surprise :)
11. What kind of comments have you received thus far? What was the most flattering and most unfair comment you’ve read?
    Pier Gonella: Fortunately we had so many good comments. The worst were by some people that didn’t like the album because it’s not a power metal album. It’s a great ignorance demonstration. I’ve been playing power metal many year, but this does not means that I have to play it for the rest of my life. There are so many albums in the world that I don’t like for their genre, but they are anyway great albums.
    Best comments was some people saying that “Last Desire”is the perfect soundtrack for this summer, and many people appreciating in particular the voice of Giorgia.
12. Thank you! Leave a comment to our readers…
    Pier Gonella: We thank you, Christine, and all Behind The Veil staff for this chance, and we invite all readers to visit our site www.myspace.com/mastercastle. They can listen to some new album previews and see our videoclips and upcoming shows.

    Giorgia Gueglio: Thanks for all Christine, and see you on stage!

Christine  Parastatidou