Interview with Elysion answered by Johnny Zero (Guitarist) and Christianna (Vocals)

Thanks for the interview, and let’s get started with the question:

Infernal Masquerade: Is the name Elysion coming from the Greek word or are you guys sponsored by Honda and their car with their same name? Why did you select this name for the band?

Christianna: haha, Elysion is totally irrelevant with Honda ..It is actually quite funny because soon as we found out about the car we figured we might purchase it for the band’s transportation matters ..wouldn’t it be funny if it became our tour van..? As for our name’s origin, as you probably already know, according to Greek mythology, "Elysian Fields" was the place were warriors’ soul  would go afterlife, a paradise-like place to rest for the virtuous. We came up with the name because we loved the overall ‘’dreamy’’ concept and optimistic atmosphere behind it, thinking it best describes what our music is about .

I.M: How was working with Ted Jensen during the recording process of “Silent Scr3am” the band’s debut album?

Christianna: Working with one of the top sound engineers of the industry was a huge honor and opportunity, to begin with. Over the years we have been very impressed by Jensen’s work, since it has contributed so much to the sound of many of our favorite bands and artists, so we totally trusted him to do whatever he thought best with our music and , of course, he did. We should at this point give great credit to our producer Mark Adrian who did an amazing job recording and mixing the album, and therefore ‘’feeding’’ Ted Jensen with a very high standard material so he had a wonderful platform to work on and master "Silent Scr3am".For all these reasons, we consider ourselves extremely lucky, especially because "Silent Scr3am" is our very first album and it was very important to us that production brings out the best of our music.

I.M: Where you guys afraid that the album would not be as good as expected since you had to change vocalist right before the recording took place?

Johnny Zero: Well, in all situations of change there happens to be a normal amount of worry and concern until the matter is resolved. Once cooperation with our former singer ended, we very soon managed to make a fine choice for the future of Elysion and aim even higher, so there has not actually been any time of uncertainty I guess. On the contrary, there has been great excitement about the album finally coming out and sounding exactly like we wanted it to.

I.M: What is the overall concept behind “Silent Scr3am”, if no concept what are the lyrics about?

Johnny Zero: There is no such thing as a "strict" concept; however we feel that there is one strong atmosphere behind "Silent Scr3am" and this is prominent in every song of the album. Although our songs combine a variety of different elements and music influences, our overall mood is always a somewhat romantic view of our feelings and dreams, making it very easy for anyone to relate to our lyrics and emotions revealed."Silent Scream" is what each of us would like to whisper, sing or cry out to life, hoping to be heard.

I.M: What do you think it’s the main factor that is going to make Elysion stand out from the very crowded and though Gothic Metal/Rock scene?

Christianna: Indeed..,its quite crowded where we standJhowever, we believe that no matter the overwhelmed scene, there is always room for beautiful albums and talented bands. We surely hope to be one of them..so far we have done all possible to present what we believe to be a very interesting album, and this is just a preview of what Elysion will come to do in future. This all is our dream and our determination together with continuous hard work is best promise we can give to ourselves. Needless to say, there are no guaranties of success in this industry, no magic receipe of succeeding either. We‘ll follow the journey all the way to the end.

I.M: When forming the band, what were the initial objectives for it?

Johnny Zero: One of the main objectives we wished to accomplish was to compose a beautiful album, one that in every way respects the listener but that is is also respectful to our music identities and artistic characters. As a result, we aimed towards signing a good deal with a leader label throughout which Elysion would be able to flourish. Luckily, both the above were achieved in a level that overcame our greatest expectations. Signing up with Massacre Records was a huge reward for our hard work, and the best possible way for us to make our entrance to the scene. We have only made the first step of a very long way to follow and it is much higher goals that we wish to reach from now on. And we are fuckin’ looking forward to it!

I.M: Hopefully, where do you see Elysion in the next few years?

Christianna: As we already said, expectations are very high and we all keep our fingers crossed..it is hard to determine where this path will take us in the long run,so we are more focused into taking everything one day at a time ,making the best out of every chance we are given each day. If all goes well, we wish that some years from now Elysion will have shaped up their place both in the rock/metal scene, but also in people’s hearts. Hopefully our way to that will be filled with good music and with this type of Magic that sometimes happens between a band and the crowd and is what makes all the effort worth.

I.M: Having so high expectation for the release of the new album, are you guys feeling the pressure when it finally comes out and it’s time to promote it all over the world?

Johnny Zero: It is rather more of  anxiety rather than pressure..there are indeed high expectations on  our behalf but since this is the moment we have been working for and preparing ourselves for, excitement is the dominant feeling. Knowing that we worked as hard as possible for "Silent Scr3am" and being thrilled with the result is all we needed to ease our worries and focus on the even harder work but also trill of sharing our creation with the audience that is now to come.

I.M: Any touring planned for North America? Can you shed some details on this?

Christianna: We are now at the terms of planning all details of our touring and trying to make it possible to visit as many countries as possible, starting from Europe and hopefully America right after. We expect our full schedule to be announced soon..there is nothing we would rather say than make a promise to meet everyone from stage soon, this is probably going to be Elysion’s New Year’s Resolution!

I.M: Thanks for the interview! And good luck promoting the new album

Christianna: Thank you too for your interest in Elysion! Keep up with the great job!
Johnny Zero: I would like to thank you too! Hope to see you all in a gig! Check out www.myspace.com/elysionmyspace

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