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First of all, could you give a small introduction of Chrisallys for the people who aren't familiar with your band?
Chrisallys is a gothic/darkwave oriented band from Argentina, born in 2003, as a side project of my former band, Skinmask... which was more into a sound like old Slipknot and Tool.
How was Chrisallys born, and why did you choose this bandname?
Martin Adolfi (guitars and programing) and I met in a Party in Bs. As., he knew Skinmask already, he used to go to our shows, and then he told me he had some stuff and wanted to do something with it, then he came to my house and I really like the songs!!! So at that moment the band was like a studio band, we never rehearsed together to record the first album “ReBorn”. It was more like a guests album. But then Skinmask splitted up and Chrisallys ended up being our main band with real musicians. And Chrisallys stands for Chrysallis in latin... the language of the wise, and spiritual men, as it is said. We found that very powerful, cause in this cocoon is where insects like dragonflies do their metamorphosis... they change treir shape, and its a great symbolism for a band like ours, that is always pushing the envelope to go beyond our boundaries...
What are your main influences, both musically and lyrically?
Well I can find a lot of influences in our music, basically because we all listen to different music and styles and that is what in my opinion makes our sound diverse and fresh, even though we are mainly influenced by 80s dark, goth, pop and even metalbands like The Sisters of Mercy, U2, The Cult, The Cure, Depeche Mode, then the industrial revolution of the 90`s, such as Ministry, NIN, Front Line Assembly, but then artist like David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Meter Murphy, Fields of the Nephilim... old school gothic rock, then metal bands such as Slipknot and Korn, then bands like Diary of Dreams, Diorama, Fukervogt, Rammstein... and many more! I alwyas say that Chrisallys has an 80s heart, a 90s body and a sound from 2000!!!
Regarding the lyrics, there are a lot on them, from personal, private codified lyrics to more spiritual and mystic symbolism, and alchemy... codified on the lyrics too. I really find myself a very spiritual person, Im really into old Egyptian religion, ancient oriental, religion, Zen, Astrology, Astronomy... and still each lyric has a very everyday story that can be understood in many ways. The album has clues in it, many ties bounded... it’s up to the listener to discover them.
Just like probably many people outside Latin America I've totally missed the debut album 'ReBorn'. Could you give us some information about this release?
Well, our debut album Reborn, is out of stock right now, it was sold out, you can find it in the net though... as mainly everytihng haha! We had a more darkwave, gothic, electro sound those days, with the direct influecies of European darkwave and EBM too, it has 12 songs and a Psychedelic Furs cover (The Ghost in you, an 80s classic). We did it with a more gothic rocker approach and songs like Born in Bondage, Dark Embrace, Night has Fallen, Process Completed, Everything is gone and Hellsfire, are still a classic on every live show by us... It was the first album, and we really keep a good vibe about it.
The latest album - 'Sacred Fire' - got an excellent rating on our webzine, but what are your own views on this album?
Yes I know!!! We are on the 9th place!! It was a surprise and we are really happy about it! I think it is definitely more mature, more powerful, with a much more significant musical production and sound engeneering and song composition. And - it was recorded, mixed and mastered by the band! Basically Rodolfo Ferrari (drums), Martin Adolfi (Guitars and Programing) and myself. Lots of hours of work, and sacrifice, but in the end we came with the album that we wanted, fully made by us with no other support.
What is in your opinion the best track on the release and why?
I have several ones really cause all of them have something to do with me and with us... but I have a special love for “Taking Over” and “Fogshade”, the first one a song about revenge, and blood as a life bringer... and fogshade, a song about old age.
What are in your opinion the main differences (improvements?) inbetween 'ReBorn' and 'Sacred Fire'?
There are a lot of improvements, sound, song writting, lyrics, interpretation... as I have explained before, here we are a band, a real one, with a great number of shows behind us, and much more mature... all our spirit is improved in Sacred Fire, along with a lot of experience.
One thing I couldn't help noticing is the English pronounciation, which is specially for Latin American regions excellent. What is your secret?
Haha thanks for the compliment!!! Wel I have studied English since I was 8... so almost 29 years now haha! I have as well worked for lots of English speaking enterprises, befote being an outsider, that makes music and teaches English, like I do now!!! And I really love my job now!
The music you play fits a highly visual and powerful live show. What could a stranger expect when he visits a Chrisallys live show?
Pure, and powerfull energy. Unlike many so called “gothic” bands, we are really energetic onstage, we really care about transmitting our energy to the audience, and we take the song’s vibes. Chrisallys is intense, and we really care about people feedback downstage, jumping, singing, shouting along with the songs!!! We really love that kind of feedback.
How is the alternative music scene in Argentina? And how about the music scene in general?
If you speak about the gothic scene, it is a really small scene, our audience is not only about goth, theres a whole diversity, and there also lacks of sponsors here, you have to struggle a lot to get to be known - specially with our style... it is really hard but it’s not impossible.
What can we expect of Chrisallys in the year 2010?
To be around everywhere! We are getting really great compliments about our work in Europe, and we really want to go there touring... so you can expect to know more about us soon!
The interview ends here, thanks for your time. If you have any final words to add you can do it here.
Thanks to you Gerardo! And thanks To Industrialized Metal!
Interview by: Gerardo, answered by Billy (vocals) - January 2010
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