Albums of Purgatory interview Rain's Alessio Amorati
Albums of Purgatory: Firstly, what are you up to right now?
Alessio Amorati: We're in studio trying to rec. the new album. We hope to
release for the beginning of the new year.
AoP: How would you describe the Rain sound?
AA: Well, I think that it is the classic '80 sound, owing our inspiration to the
big bands of that days, like the best Judas, Saxon, Motorhead and so
on.....
AoP: How did you get involved with the band?
AA: Each of us has his own story...The former is Luciano, guitar, who
began in 1980. Then all the others arrived one by one as the band needed to
change the line up. Personally I was a long time friend with some of the band,
but I decided to join in only in 1997-98, as they needed a picture for their new
album's cover.
AoP: Can you remember your first gig (how did it go)?
AA: First gigs of Rain were the same of thousand bands: you pay your lack of
experience. But go on stage and play is one of the greatest emotions you can
ever feel...
AoP: What sort of a reaction have you been getting for the new album, Bigditch 4707?
AA: Some really enthusiastic, some less...But generally people seem to
appreciate the work. And this is something that can only give satisfaction!
AoP: Where does the album name come from?
Jak: I usually do write the lyrics for Rain, and I also paint the
artworks...So, thank you for your appreciation! As for the title...Well, I'm
the ignorant who is responsible for that title...We were looking for a name to
give to our brand new CD, and we thought, as usual, to use the title of a
song...Then, the idea. Our studio is in a very small town near Bologna, and the
name of this place ( 4 houses and an state road in the middle of the
country ) is Fossatone. Now, in italian fossatone means Grande fossato,
literally Big ditch. 4707 is the number of the wharehouse where the studio
is in! ( it could be like 95,Broadway... 4707 S. Vitale State Road, Fossatone
...). In a certain sense we gave the address of our studio to
everyone who got the CD. All the band enjoyed the idea, and that's it!!
AoP: What are your favourite Rain tracks?
AA: Hum...I think The Gate, Odyssey (Bigditch 4707), Walking hand by hand
(Ten Years After ), Mamma please don't cry, Red Revolution (Red Revolution),
Born To Kill, The fight for the power (The Rain Is Coming).
AoP: What are your favourite all time songs or albums?
AA: Ha! It's really hard to choose!!! I should say: Defenders of the faith,
Battle Hymns, Another perfect day, Highway to hell...And many more!!!
AoP: What was the first record you bought?
AA: Crusader ( Saxon )
AoP: What would be your dream band line-up?
AA: Tattini, Amorati, Zenari, Baldi, Tronconi...Of course...Oh, I don't
know...Maybe: Halford, Zakk Wylde, Satriani, Geezer Butler, Mikkey Dee
AoP: What do you think of the position of metal and music in general today?
AA: Metal is following the stream of fashion, like all music: now it's time for
nu-metal, there's a rewiew of power-epic, soon will return " grunge II°
act - The Revenge "...but Heavy Metal is always the best and forever will
be at the first place in our minds and hearts!
AoP: Which other bands in the scene really stand out for you at the moment?
AA: I don't care that much...So I don't know the 99% of the new bands...The gods
(in my opinion) are always the same old ones (from Purple to Gamma Ray), but
also " young" bands such as Primal Fear...
AoP: Do you have any funny stories about the band you can
share with us?
AA: The whole history of the band is made of funny stories, and that's because
playing is not our job, but only an hobby...anyway: in the early days of Rain,
during a gig, the boys on stage were playing "Born to kill", but the
gig was organized by the priest of a certain church. As they shouted " Born
to kill! Born to kill! Born To kill!" in the refrain, that priest started
to shake, staring at the stage: in fact, in italian, "born to kill"
sounds quite
exactly like a popular blasphemy!!! I can assure you that it was more
funny than it seems...
AoP: and finally, what do you see in the future for Rain?
AA: Crutches, false teeth...Grandpa' Metal...Ha!Ha!Ha!! Well, I suppose that we
will go on playing as long as we can. As long as we have fun...as long as the
metal people want to hear us !