Mourn in silence was born in 1997 in Imola, a deadly pleasant town in northern Italy, as an evolution of a former solo project by Andrea Mosconi, founder and main songwriter of the band. The meeting with Francesco Pastore, an Andrea's old friend and classical music qualified great musician, took place in 1998, in the misty Imola's countryside. Since the beginning, the band's sound and musical purpose got focused, based on a mix of death/black/gothic/symphonic metal defined by decadence, majesty, melody and musical instruments worship!
The band made use of several session musicians to play live shows, one of these is Alessio Mosconi (Andrea's brother), on the keyboards since the band's debut but entered firmly in the band in 2003 and, recently, Luca Silecchia on drums and Elia Fusella on bass, both great-skilled musicians.
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1. How did you decide to form Mourn in Silence in 1997? Why did you decide on the namefor the band?
1. Mourn In Silence was born in 1997 as a solo project by guitar player Andrea Mosconi. The first songs were composed as a three-piece band, with drums, guitar and keyboards, they sounded like thrash-death metal with keyboards’ textures and they were instrumental. Only after developing these compositions, Andrea felt the urge to give his project a defined identity and he decided to form a real band by adding vocals and another guitar player, setting the band’s sound on symphonic death-black metal stuff. The band’s name has a deep meaning, both in a musical and in a human sense, we fell in love with it instantly because it represents in few words a way of living, which is to mourn in silence, that belongs to each one of us.To “mourn” is a feeling that every human being has to face someday, while “silence”, which is also a fundamental element in music (often underlooked), plays a deep role in human sensibility and it has a very wide range of meanings. It’s our highest ambition to give voice to our mournings and sufferings and translate them into music.
2. "Until the Stars Will Fall" is your second album d study in sixteen years, what has happened within Mourn in Silence in all this time? Are there times when you thought to terminate Mourn in Silence?
2. Since Mourn In Silence’s birth, sixteen years ago, many things have happened: we released just two albums and one Ep in such a long period of time because of complications due to home-recording and near-manic attention to details regarding our latest album “Until the stars won’t fall”: between 2001 and 2003 we have been able to release to records “Light of Misery” and “Redemption”. In 2005 we began recording “Until the stars...” but we spent a huge amount of time re-arranging, re-recording or even re-writing entire songs. The following sessions were committed to mixing and mastering and it was very hard to reach a sound quality that could highlight each song and could compete with the releases of the best bands in the metal scene. In the meanwhile, several line-up changes brought to the band two young and talented local musicians, Luca (drums) and Elia (bass), then we added Caterina on vocals, by the time we decided to play the songs from “Until the stars...” live. We never thought about quitting the band, even during all these years of silence, because we worked as hard as we could to give ourselves and who follows the band a very good record
and I think we reached our goal.
3. How was the process of writing and recording of "Until the Stars Will Fall”? How have the new additions of musicians in the sound of "Until the Stars Will Fall”?
3. In terms of songwriting on “Until...”, we worked as we always did: me and Andrea, who is the main songwriter, composed each track’s structure then we worked with Alessio on arrangements and details just before recording. During the recording phase we worked on solos, orchestral parts and instrumental sessions. We completely home-recorded our album: this way of recording allowed us to redefine, experiment and work deeply on incomplete parts, arrangements and sounds. We worked comfortably and in a very relaxed way, so we were able to give quality to our songs and that’s way it took so long for us to complete the record. The new band’s members, Luca, Elia and Caterina fitted very well in Mourn in Silence’s sound, thanks to their technical skills, passion and will that they put in playing music. They helped us with completing “Until...” just in the final phases because they entered the band just before the record was released and Andrea, Alessio and me did the biggest part of the work already.
4. Since the release in 2003 of your Ep "Redemption” until the release of” Until the Stars Will Fall" almost ten years have passed how his scene has changed in this time? How has the sound of Mourn in Silence from these early works until today?
4. Luca: Since the release of “Redemption” the scene has changed a lot but this doesn’t mean necessarily in a good way: talking about our local scene, there’s a lot more people playing, more bands has formed and it’s always nice to see people having fun playing music. But in our opinion, quality stands only in few bands and only few people has really something to say, especially in heavy music. The thing took over: everyone is playing, everyone has a band, everyone thinks that his band is just the best band ever and everyone can show all these things through social medias. It has become really hard for listeners to focus on bands that do it with passion, quality and honesty because everyone is selling his own stuff like the next big thing. It can’t work like that: until 10 years ago only few bands were coming out of the underground just by word of mouth, because people were going to live shows and went like “Oh, this band is amazing!” and that was the test, this was the way you could show your band was good. Not just posting a photo or a teaser on Facebook. A lot of time passed between “Redemption” and “Until...” and the music scene evolved just like we did. We grew up musically, even if the songs were written mainly between 2004 and 2005, but we gave them a new identity during these years and a sound’s change can be heard. Adding a female voice is, without doubt, the ground-breaking element of our new way of writing our music: this was done because we wanted to emphasize the gothic part of our sound without giving up our symphonic death-black roots. I think that “Until...” is the result of our musical evolution and it represents 100% our way of conceive and making music.
5. Your music is very symphonic, with a number of arrangements that enrich and Gothic elements and black among others, how do you describe your music to someone who does not know it yet? What are your main musical influences at the group level for example?
5. In few words you did a right synthesis of our music, good job! We always tried to find a good balance between many different elements that we wanted to develop in our songwriting process, while maintaining our main ones because they are part of our way of thinking and composing music. Keyboards’ arrangements are well-finished both in writing and sounding, melodic moments in a powerful and extreme metal context, technical and soloist parts to show each musician’s skills while avoiding overplaying are basic elements of our sound. Each one of us has different musical influences that evolved and got wider throughout the years. To me, metal music reached its highest peaks in the 90’s (and part of the 80’s) and I grew up with bands like Dimmu Borgir, Cradle of Filth (early albums), Emperor, Death, Dark Tranquillity, Meshuggah and Megadeth and Ctynic. All these bands influenced my way of thinking and playing music, along with the great classical composers from the 700’s and 800’s. Andrea: I agree with Francesco, talking about different musical influences. Having to set a list of bands I got influenced by I would say Dimmu Borgir, Cradle of Filth, Swallow the Sun, Megadeth, Wintersun, Evereve and, last but not least, the main composers of classical
music and soundtracks... We owe them A LOT!
6. Your texts deal with themes of Christian mythology, Could you explain a little the subject of your lyrics and why you decided to address these issues?
6. Andrea: made exception for “Light of Misery” (2001), on which we decided to write a concept about Lucifer, focusing on rebellion, descent and Hell’s creation upon a pretty classic symphonic-black metal base, later on “Redemption” and mainly on “Until...” lyrics concern personal themes like melancholy, wrath, hope, depending on how a single track could make me feel.
7. What song would you like it to ring at your funeral?
7. Nice question ahahah... Without any doubt I would say Mozart’s “Requiem” which is, to me, The Music, the nearest example to perfection in the art of Music.
8. With which band would you like to do a split?
8. If I have to tell you a name of a professional band that nowadays blew my mind I would definitely say Wintersun: in a certain way they have a musical approach that’s quite similar to ours, even if playing different genres. They put a maniacal care in arranging music (which I think it’s a very good thing), they shred the hell out of their guitars and they rule live, their live show is amazing. Also I would like to name an underground italian band from Bologna that I warmly recommend you to listen, Eva Can’t: their singer and guitar player Simone is a dear friend of mine and a very talented and passionate musician!
9. How are resulting stasis performing concerts? Do you find it very difficult to take your studio sound to a concert?
9. Right now we are satisfied with our live performances. During last year we played a lot and constantly to promote “Until...” the best we could. This allowed us to get tighter as a band, musically and personally, after Luca, Elia and Caterina entered the band. We usually play in small venues where it’s hard to convey our sound in its complexity but we try to do our best.
The final result is quite faithful to the sound on the record, Luca plays to a click track so that we can play live while maintaining our atmospheric parts, especially on keyboards and vocals. Usually we get a good response by the audience I think because we are able to put all of ourselves while we are playing, both as individuals and as a band.
10. What equipment do you use music in the recording sessions and what you use at concerts?
10. With regard to studio gear, until today we have always used a drum machine, Mesa Boogie guitar amps and Jackson guitars, Spector basses, Yamaha, Korg and Kurzweil keyboards and Cubase as recording software.
This said, I would point out that we recorded and produced all of our records at home, during the years we spent a lot of time and money to become independent and to reach a quality level that could be near to the recordings of the bands that we admire: we are musicians and not engineers, we worked very hard to make our songs sound good on record and the experience that we gained during these years will be very useful in the next records.
With regard to live gear, Luca plays Vibe Drum (he is a brand promoter), we play Jackson guitars with Peavey and Marshall amps, Elia uses Spector basses and with Aguilar and Mesa Boogie amps and Alessio plays Korg and Yamaha keyboards.
11. After all these years, do you still enjoy playing as the first day? How did you get started in music: first concerts I attended, your first cds? Why did you decide to become a musician?
11. Years are passing by but passion remains the same, we all have daily jobs and we have fewer time to dedicate to music but I think that the secret is to keep our fire burning, to hold on playing music and having fun just like we used to do when we were kids.
I got into metal when a classmate brought an Iron Maiden tape to my ears. My first metal show was Pantera live in Milan, in 1994, while the first cd that I bought was “Arise” by Sepultura: I remember that I didn’t have a cd player even and I used to go to a friend’s house just to put the record on his pc so that I could listen to it... And he had such poor speakers!
My interest in playing music began after I saw the video tape “Live After Death” by Iron Maiden and I casually found a classical guitar at home that someone lent to my sister: I started hanging around with it and few time later I began taking lessons. Then, after I graduated from high school, my passion for classical music brought to apply to Conservatory of Bologna and I got to the seventh year.
I would like to point out that the meaning of the word “musician”, in my opinion, has been distorted and debased and nowadays, whoever takes up an instrument use to be called musician. I completely disagree and I think that the right word to describe me and many other guys is “aspiring musician” because there is so much to learn, technically and theorically, before I can be defined “musician”.
12. Who designed the cover of "Until the Stars Will Fall"? What do you intend to represent her and how it relates to the content of the disc?
12. The “Until...”’s cover has been drawn by a Polish girl, Wioletta Szczepanska. Andrea saw the picture on “Devientart” and he loved it instantly because it is the perfect translation of the music on “Until...” so we got in touch with Wioletta and we asked her to use her picture, she was so kind to accept and she was excited about it!
Since the days of “Light of Misery” we had connections between our covers and these are angels, because they are the right shell for our art, with regard to our lyrics and themes and as a figurative translation of our music.
Very important to notice is that we are NOT a Christian band and we don’t support ANY form of religion, because it has been a frequent question lately.
13. "Until the Stars Will Fall" is published by Controcorrente Records , what can you tell us of this label?
13. Andrea: Controcorrente Records is a small label through which we produce and promote our works, also the last record by our dear friends Eva Can’t “Inabisso”: we are satisfied with the results and we look forward to a growth and improvement.
14. What plans do you have to Mourn in Silence as concerts, upcoming releases, etc. ?
14. Our next plans are all about playing live and trying to bring “Until...”, our music and our name to as many people as we can.
In the meantime we are already working on the new record, we are trying to bring our songwriting to a higher level and I’m sure that it’s going to be another step forward for Mourn In Silence’s music.
15. Thank you very much for taking the time to Black Metal Spirit, if you want to add something for the followers of Mourn in Silence, this is the place . I hope the questions are to your liking.
15. We want to thank Blackmetalspirit.blogspot, in particular Fran Rocha Fernández for this interview, for the great review and we recommend the readers to take a look to our official site www.mourninsilence.it, where they will find news and more infos about Mourn In Silence.
Thanks a lot,
Francesco (Mourn In Silence)
