Wicked Asylum is an Italian band that has been rocking the scene for a while now. With singles like ‘In My Soul’ and ‘Threnody’, the all-girl band showed the very high potential they possess. And now, the potential is getting kinetic as the band is set to release their debut album, just like the song from Annie says, TOMORROW. (If you’re not reading this article on the 20th of February, the album is already out. GO CHECK IT!)

Now you remember how awesome our interviews were when we had ONE female member in a band we’re interviewing. Just imagine how awesome this one will be with FIVE interviewees!

We know that you might get confused if you’re not familiar with Wicked Asylum‘s band members, so here is the band line-up (listed from left to right on the article’s main image), each in the colour code we’re using in the article:

Federica “Luna” Arreghini – Rhythm Guitar

Federica “Fade” Mapelli – Lead Guitar

Veronica Banshee – Vocals

Viola “Cioppa” Fai – Drums

Chiara Mascetti – Bass Guitar

And to make it even easier, whenever you’re not sure who’s talking, just click on the answer and a popup with the speaker’s name, role, and image will appear. You can then click anywhere on the page to close it.

Interview

Mirk: Hello ladies! It’s a pleasure to talk with you. How are you all doing?

Banshee: It’s our pleasure to be here! Thanks for the space you are allowing us. We are super busy and concentrated on the promotion of our debut album, Out of the Mist. We cannot wait for it to be finally out, we are genuinely curious to see people’s reaction to our first full length!

Mirk: You’ve released singles and EPs before and shared stage with big bands in the Metal scene. But in a few days you’ll be releasing your debut full-length album! How are you feeling about this?

Banshee: It is honestly a dream come true! We have been playing together for so long, working hard for so long that having our actual album in our hands feels kind of unreal. To be 100% honest, I cried the first time I held one. It was a very emotional moment for me, the zenith of 11 years in this band.

Mirk: Your music has many elements from classic Heavy Metal, such as the extended solos and the heavy riffs you use. How would you describe your sound in your upcoming album ‘Out of the Mist’?

Cioppa: The general sound in Out of the Mist has changed a great deal compared to our first EP, Rebirth, even though you can still hear its influence. Out of the Mist is definitely heavier, faster and more direct. We have improved our musical skills, both writing and playing -wise. We now have a clearer and more effective method of writing; being more confident on song structure, we were able to experiment more with orchestrations and percussions that we never used before.

Mirk: Fade, the guitar solo you play on ‘In My Soul’ is one of the best solos I’ve heard recently. It is one minute long, and rich with melodies and you play it with a wonderful passion in the music video. As a lead guitarist, what are the songs that have your favourite guitar solos of all time?

Fade: Thanks! It makes me very pleased. The guitar solos that I absolutely prefer is the one in Sun Will Rise. I think that is the most emotional among all those on the album. Every time that I play that solo, I feel moved and totally transported in the moment; I think that this feeling is the most important factor in composing a guitar solo.

Mirk: Do you remember the first time you performed live for an audience? How did you feel about it?

Fade: Yes, I definitely remember it! It was funny! I was a little nervous because it was the first time for me to play in front of an audience. However, the girls put me at ease and, mmm… I think it went well, because… I’m still here now!

Mirk: What about you, Banshee?

Banshee: First time on stage for me was very important but also painful for me. It was an external charity event promoted also by my school, I was 13. I had never taken any singing lessons yet, back then, but the guys from the charity loved my voice and decided to give me three songs throughout the night. All the other singers had one, two songs at max. I sang My Heart Will Go On, I Will Always Love You and a song I chose especially for my father, ABBA’s The Winner Takes It All. Too bad that he was off drinking at the bar instead of hearing me singing it.

Mirk: Chiara, people sometimes focus only on the vocalist of the band, forgetting that each instrument has an important role to make a song what it is. Can you describe from your technical point of view what a Metal song without bass would sound like?

Chiara: Well, it often happens that people forget about the one who plays the bass or about the instrument itself. The truth is that you may not notice the bass’ presence but you will notice its absence. I’m sure that if anyone paid attention to a song he would immediately notice when the bass plays and when it doesn’t. A piece without bass is empty, in power and completeness. Its strength is to complete a song, and bring together guitars and drums, making it a uniforme whole.

Mirk: If you had the ability to travel back in time to visit a certain era, what time would you travel back to?

Chiara: I’d like to travel back to ancient Rome; I love listening to the Roman history: their power, their culture and their society. They were so brilliant! I mean, today we have a lot of things thanks to the evolution of technology, but it’s stunning how they could think of machines and infrastructures using only their creativity, knowledge and common sense.

Mirk: What about you Cioppa?

Cioppa: I’d like to go back to medieval times, because they were very different times and also not completely known to us. Sure we’ve had a picture of how it was also thanks to movies, but it’s difficult to imagine how it must have been. Music-wise, I’d love to travel back to the ‘60s or ‘70s to relive the moments in which many of today’s music tropes were discovered. Also I’d love to meet and live with the great musicians who wrote a great part of music’s history.

Mirk: Luna, you’re a fan of 80s Hard Rock, would you travel back to the 80s or maybe some other era?

Luna: I would love to travel back in time and be able to see some of the great concerts of the past! I would also enjoy life without social media, cell phones and some of the modern music genres that you hear on the radio and that I quite despise. However, beside a light melancholy towards the past times, I always concentrate on the present because I think I’ve been wandering around too much already!

Mirk: In your opinion, Luna, what makes a great guitarist? And who inspired you to be a professional guitar player?

Luna: In my opinion a complete guitarist is the one who can express their deepest emotions through their instrument, but also curates technique and rhythmics. The latter are sometimes way underrated compared to virtuosity, but I personally deeply value them. I have a good lot of musicians I look up too, and many of them are women too, but one I really want to mention is the great Andy Timmons: he has an extraordinary touch on his guitar but he’s also a very kind and friendly man!

Mirk: Banshee, in your bio it’s clear that you went through a lot of difficulties in your quest to become a vocalist. When you look back now at these hardships, what lessons have you learned from your successful journey?

Banshee: First of all I will be forever grateful to my grandfather: without him I would have never had the chance to fall in love with music and singing, to find my first teacher. He always believed in me and he gave Music the value and worth it deserves. My parents never did. So I learnt to rely on people who trust you and support your passions and dreams, even when your closest ones don’t.

Mirk: Cioppa, Who or what made you want to become a drummer in a Metal band?

Cioppa: There wasn’t an artist in particular that made me think “Hey, I want to be like them, I want to play in a metal band!”. I think my will to become a drummer actually derives from my very own nature, a natural instinct that I had to follow. To me drums are the most direct instrument, the most physical one, the primordial instrument bound to Earth itself. I needed to express all this through drums and percussions. But I’m not only rhythm and instinct. I had a classical formation where I mainly studied melodic instruments and gained experience in chamber music and orchestras. For a metal drummer it’s a fairly non-standard, far from the norm path, and I’m really happy about where it has and it still is taking me. Metal music is a passion I discovered when I was around 14 or 15; it grew and grew until I finally found someone to share it with: Wicked Asylum!

Mirk: You ladies are achieving a dream after another. What advice would you give to girls around the world that cannot achieve their dreams because of how society looks at them or because they have raised to suppress their dreams to please their husbands?

Cioppa: I don’t think it’s a matter of genre. There are also men who can’t follow their passion because their partner won’t support them. It is a matter of respect and understanding. If you have a dream you cannot live without, you better work for it and pursue it without listening to those who tell you it’s useless or unattainable. The road is longer than we can imagine, so the earlier you start walking it, the better for you.

Mirk: Final question. I would like each of you to name one thing she likes about each of her bandmates.
Let’s start with you Fade. What is one thing you like about each of your four bandmates?

Fade: I consider them all truly talented, serious musicians with deep and strong principles. It’s not easy to find musicians and friends like that. I learn a lot from them! Cioppa is a war machine that taught me the importance of maximum musical precision, Luna can learn 20 songs in less than a month, she taught me that nothing is impossible, Banshee taught me not to be afraid to play all my emotions (just like she does), Chiara taught me to stay cool in critical situations and always keep (at least apparent!) control.

Mirk: And you, Chiara?

Chiara: Each on of them is special in her own way: Cioppa is a really talented drummer, I love her total devotion to music and her strength in overcoming her limits; Luna never stops in front of anything, I appreciate the way she juggles family, music and her interest in fitness; I like Fade’s pragmatism and self-confidence, the way she manages and carry on her projects and her dreams; Banshee has an incomparable voice, I like the fact that she’s able to expose herself and put into words her deepest emotions, making us feeling part of them.

Mirk: What about you Banshee?

Banshee: Cioppa is fierce and stubborn: it’s basically impossible to take her off a plan she’s made or an ideal she stands for. It’s thanks to that attitude if we’re still here as Wicked Asylum to this day! We’ve known each other and played together for 11 years already, I couldn’t imagine myself with any other drummer. She’s shockingly talented and 100% committed to music. Fade is zealous and creative, she studied intensely to be where she is now and she achieved all that by also having to pass through a wrist surgery. She works hard for everything in her life and I consider her a good friend too. Luna is spontaneous and imaginative: we always fantasize about having our own activity together, maybe one day we will open one for real! She’s super passionate about her hobbies and I know she will be a great mother to her daughter. Chiara is straight to the point and meticulous, she always has an interesting question about everything and is also proactive when it comes to finding answers. She’s been a huge help for me with all that concerns social media graphics, calendars and organizing stuff in general. I do consider all the women in Wicked Asylum as the sisters I never had.

Mirk: And Luna?

Luna: I want to start with our frontwoman, Banshee! Veronica has an extreme sensitivity and talent in transforming deep, harsh emotions into words. She puts them into music with elegance and consideration. I also deeply appreciate her commitment to justice for the ones who suffer or that can’t express and ask for their own rights. Fade is my partner in crime, a concentrate of energy and fun, a creative, kindhearted person who never ceases to amaze me. Chiara is precise, meticulous, with great attention to detail. She is an inspiration for always better myself in music and in studying. Last but not least, Viola Cioppa is the rhythmic foundations of the band, she makes me feel solid and secure on stage. Our passionate gazes during the concerts always renovate my energies!

Mirk: Finally, what about you Cioppa?

Cioppa: I love Fade’s musical instinct and the marked creativity she needs to express through her guitar. I adore that Luna is passionate and that she shows it when she plays; she exudes the will to always put herself on the line. I admire Chiara’s industriousness and her character which is not manipulable and stands by her knowledge and will. I appreciate Banshee’s tenacity against hard circumstances and the sense of oneness she always puts first.

Mirk: Thank you girls for the interview! I can’t wait to listen to the new album. I believe it will be great judging by your already released material. Thanks again!

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