EMQs with Cremisi
EMQs with Cremisi
Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with Italian Epic Metallers, Cremisi. Huge thanks to their Vocalist, Davide, for taking part.
What is your name, what do you play and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?
Hi Ever Metal, my name is Davide, I am the singer of the band Cremisi, thank you very much for having us today. We are Cremisi, we play Epic Metal and today we’re going to tell you more about this project of ours.
Cremisi was born in 2016, after a general meeting of four young guys, with the goal of putting on the table new ideas for a band. These four people are still part of this band since then, and they are Davide Tomazzoni (vocals), Francesco Messina (bass guitar), Federico Palmucci (guitar and orchestra programming) and Rolando Ferro (drums).
The general idea of the band flies around the concept of history and arts, especially the great times of the Italian Renaissance.
How did you come up with your band name?
That night when the four of us met for the first time we were brainstorming some names for the band. We had many, but since we had this “Cremisi” (which means crimson in italian) I guess the competition with the other was soon over. The name sounded great, easy to pronounce correctly also from non-Italian speakers, but most of all it reminds of the colour worn by the Cardinals, which led a special role into the History of the Italian Renaissance.
What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?
We come from different parts of Italy, but we are based close to Ravenna. I would say that the Rock scene in Italy is pretty alive, especially our fathers’ generation is full of people listening to Classic Rock: I myself grew up listening to my father’s LPs, such as ACDC, Pink Floyd, Guns n’ Roses and many more. Unfortunately I won’t spend so many words about the Metal scene, since I would say there’s no such thing in Italy, or at least very underground. Of course we have TOP bands now all over the world, probably Rhapsody of Fire are one of the most listened Italian Metal bands outside of our country, but we have so many new bands like Wind Rose, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Nanowar of Steel, Folkstone. We do have top bands playing tours all over the world, but I kind of feel there’s a huge gap between the underground level and the big well known bands.
What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)
Our latest release is an EP called ‘Lustizia’ (‘justice’ in an older version of Italian) and is thematically inspired by Savonarola, a Renaissance priest, and his censorship.
Our latest video, Ancient Wonder, came out a few months ago.
Who have been your greatest influences?
I believe that bands such as Wintersun, Amorphis, Fleshgod Apocalypse and Sabaton are among our shared influences, but everyone of us has his personal ones. I tried to incorporate my passion for Blind Guardian, Iron Maiden and some musicals that I love.
What first got you into music?
Speaking for myself, it was my father. He used to (and still does) listen to many albums and compilations in the car and on the speakers. He has vinyls of pretty much every genre of music (with the exception of Metal, unfortunately!) and since I was a little kid I was exposed to a lot of music.
I have to thank a cousin of mine for getting me into metal. I was searching for something heavier than the Zeppelins and he made me listen to Maiden’s “Live at Donington”. I was blown up completely.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
I think as Cremisi we could really benefit from a collaboration with folk or classical instrument players. We did it with a violin player on our EP and it sounded amazing. Personally I would love to hear a Cremisi song with Francesco Cavalieri, vocalist for Wind Rose.
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
It would be Wacken Open Air for sure. I believe that for any Metal band there is a before and after this stage.
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
We haven’t got any weird gifts so far, but I can tell you more about the best: it was a knitted Cremisi logo with a plague doctor mask, inspired by the song “The Black Death” from our first record. We put it in our rehearsal room and it was given to us by a Russian fan.
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
Read books, eat healthy and play our songs with your friends!
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
Freddie Mercury, instantly.
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
The part that I mostly love is of course the music. Singing it, playing it, listening to it. On the other hand I admit I hate the social media promotion you have to do to be seen nowadays. I don’t like making reels and stuff like that. I try once in a while and I feel a strong discomfort doing it.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
The “Pay to play” type of deal. Comprehensible, but awful and sometimes disrespectful for the artist.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
“A Thousand Suns” by Linkin Park. Maybe an odd choice, but I really think it is great.
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CDs or Downloads?
Vinyls, although I do not listen actively to them anymore. I entirely joined the dark side of streaming music.
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
In my opinion, but I think I’m going to speak for all of us, it was a show on our latest tour. We were in Poland, Bielsko-Biała: we had an amazing night with Cronica, a Polish Folk band and the crowd was on fire and the venue got completely full. That night will definitely stay in our mind for a long time.
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
As music currently does not pay for groceries, I stick to my job as an art teacher. Occasionally I draw comic stories that I self publish. We all have jobs outside of music.
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
The other members of the band and a couple of friends!
What’s next for the band?
We have a video in the making and are planning some shows in Italy and Rest of Europe for next year!
What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
https://www.facebook.com/cremisiband16
https://www.instagram.com/cremisiband
https://www.youtube.com/@cremisiofficial3542
There’s a long-standing food-based debate here in the UK. And we’d like your help. So… A Jaffa cake – is it a cake or a biscuit? Discuss!
(I had to check what a Jaffa cake is, I have to admit) I believe it is a cake because I trust wikipedia on this.
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Thank you for this interview, it was very fun! I also wish to thank our booking agency IDIA management which gave us the chance to make this interview with you guys!
And as we were talking about food, I just want to invite people to taste some Apfelstrudel, a dessert from where I live.
Disclaimer: This interview is solely the property of Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this interview unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
