Symphonic baroque, atmospheric doom metal act Dionisyan, is an act of its kind, having been around for some time now, they have released some content, over the years, as well as done other forms of activity. Tregor Russo (composer, arranger, multi instrumentalist, lyricist) is the one who did the talking about all things music!
1. Give a brief history of your Band, and the members.
I created DIONISYAN in 2010 with the intention of making music from deep feelings, full of pathos, emotions dark and melancholic, mix in complex arrangements leaden, very different from anything that I wrote the concept lyrics, created and arranged all the compositions with all my other musical projects in the past like GATES OF EDEN, SORTILEGIUM, LEPER DIVINE AND ERIAMINELL. The current 2018 line up is me (Tregor Russo): all instruments in the studio, Silvia Balistreri: lead and backing vocals, Alessandro Basso; bass.
2. Where did you get the idea for the band name, you planned it or came out just like that?
DIONISYAN is the dark side of my spiritual soul, of my artistic creativity always changing, time introspection of being and catharsis redeemer.
3. What genre does the Band play and why did you want to play this particular genre?
My second DIONISYAN’s opera "Delirium and Madness – Concerto Grosso Opera °2 in G Minor", in which I reinvented and renewed the polyrhythmic counterpuntic polyphony of baroque music in metal style. It's my 6th career album and it's my absolute masterpiece, where I've surpassed myself, in every detail, compared to the first album of DIONISYAN "The Mystery of Faith" which is already very complete and intricate album. With "DELIRIUM AND MADNESS" I wanted to give a strong and impactful identification with spirituality coupled with philosophy, completely switched to female opera and modern vocals. Certainly it is a pioneering album of a new genre; the symphonic baroque/ atmospheric doom metal.
4. Did you know each other before the band was formed?
Well.... Since I created DIONISYAN as solo project. I am a teacher of music, composer, singer, author, arranger, multi-instrumentalist, (electric guitars 7 strings, classical guitar, bass 5 strings, drums, folk percussion, keyboard and singer), producer and sound technician. I studied at two academies of music and singing where I graduated, majoring in composition, arrangement, virtuosism with electric guitar, drums, bass, classical guitar, singing and music history. In the past I taught for three years history of music, with specific address from the middle ages to the present day, at the Regional Academy in the province of Palermo. Currently I also teach privately.
5. Do you write your own songs?
I wrote, composed, arranged, orchestrated and performed the whole album. From the first to the last note of the whole opera, there is a continuous harmonizing guitars duel line of reasoning made of scales in Hungarian style, of Baroque German polyrhythm polyphonic contrapuntal, with harmonic major and minor and chromatic scales tonal and tonal harmonies on various degrees of ascending octaves and descendants, who make my DIONISYAN an original band and differentiated for his musical and technical baggage for it’s sound captivating, dark, powerful, melodic, sweetly sad and melancholy, in all it’s variations.
6. What are the songs about?
All the songs that are on the album, are absolute melodies, harmonies, from the very first to the last note of the opera, lyrical and modernized female singing, alternating baroque music with progressive metal and atmospheric doom metal, in my original and innovative blends.
7. Who are your musical and non-musical influences?
My influences are all the philosophic and spirituals elements, nature, art and cemetery. I wrote a novel for the second opera "Delirium And Madness" talking about the sacred concept of human beatification, the earthly life of a man who receives from God the gift of stigma and then becomes saint, but must grieve, make many sacrifices and renounces, including suffering for the love of his own woman who is dying and he cannot do anything to save her.
8. What releases do you have under your belts thus far into your career as musicians?
In my 21 years of career, I have always been very important to the compositions, arrangements, orchestrations, lyrics and artworks of my albums of my bands; SORTILEGIUM, GATES OF EDEN, LEPER DIVINE, ERIAMINELL and of course DIONISYAN. As for DIONISYAN's first EP "Land of Dreams", the first album "The Mystery of Faith" and the second album released a month ago, "Delirium of Madness", I wanted to give a strong and impactful identification with spirituality coupled with philosophy. I am an academic teacher of music, composer, arranger, singer, author, multi instrumentalist, musical producer and sound technician.You know, having created a masterpiece, light years compared to what exists in the trade of metal music in general, people are still not culturally and musically prepared for this type of opera that is so structurally complex, intricate, complicated and full of details. Normally only another music teacher who studied classical composition and orchestration could understand it. All in all I am satisfied, both of the very beautiful and crystalline production, of which I meticulously edited the sound of the album, exalting every single note of every single musical instruments.
9. Do you have any new music in the works at this time?
This period is full for me as I'm dedicating to an old project of mine that I have exhumed GATES OF EDEN, here I propose a very powerful musical invention; progressive metal with Mediterranean, jazz, ethical and traditional middle eastern music. From January 2018 until last week, I returned to the recording studio to perform and record "ENTIRELY ONLY" the first album of the GATES OF EDEN; (electric guitars 7 strings, 5 strings bass, drums, and other ethnic and traditional Middle Eastern instruments), one of my solo musical projects that in 2008, I released the first professional EP, printed in worldwide 1,000 copies sold out!
The album that I conceived as a new pioneering metal genre, also has the intent to be music for the masses, direct, catchy, for the very first listening experience, that is easy to understand even for those whose music compositions, arrangements, and orchestrations, that they do not have technical and cultural backgrounds to be able to understand it.
With this first album of the GATES OF EDEN, in which I propose an innovative and original Middle Eastern progressive metal, in it’s interior I amalgamated different styles of music in the "technical-arranging-compositional-orchestration" phase.The result of my careful research, studies, and deep thoughts, finding a way that unites different stylistic tastes that attract the mass and are struck by direct, catchy and easy to understand melodies without going crazy trying to understand them!
10. What other plans do you have for this year?
I take this chance to thank you and the large community of your webzine, for the kind interview and the opportunity to make known both me and my DIONISYAN. I also invite anyone who wants to know the second album "DELIRIUM AND MADNESS – CONCERTO GROSSO OPERA°2 IN G MINOR", can see "Blood Prophecy" and "In The Mirror Of My Soul" lyrics video and the last audio video "Guardian Angels" with Sarah Eick as special guest from the band Funeral. Our Album is still available for sale. Anybody willing to buy a copy please contact me at castellus@tiscali.it and with the copy, I will do an autographed postcard! Thanks again for everything.
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