Editor’s Note: This interview was conducted in English but published in Italian on RawandWild.com. The original English text is below…

Raw and Wild: Could you present your band?

Graveside: The band is Cruella (vocals), Myself (John Graveside-guitar), Jack Doran (bass), Jenny Williamson (keys), and Runtt (drums).

R&W: What’s about you previous recording-efforts?

Graveside: We also have 4 song ep, “Eternally”, which came out in 2005. We recorded it with our first drummer, and it was really meant just as a demo to sell at shows. Unexpectedly, it did quite well with the critics.

R&W: How do you want to introduce us to “Seas Of Blood”?

Cruella: Seas of Blood is our first full length CD. We believe it to be a better representation of the music we play and write than our original demo. It shows our diversity as a band with a much more grandiose approach. All of the songs tell different stories and stand well on their own. The themes of the song ranges from mythology, astrology and death to love, loss and betrayal. The title of the album comes from our title track with the same name. This song has a very sea shanty like feel and inspired me to write romantically sad lyrics and melody about a woman who loses her captain at sea. The song manifests the power of the ocean and the power of love. Romanticism is a common undercurrent within all of the songs on the album whether it comes across within the lyrics and orchestration or within the overall tone in general.

R&W: Any particular concept concerning the album?

Graveside: Not really, other than the concept that goes with the band in general: to play dark, dramatic music with a lot of melody that doesn’t follow and prescribed formulas. As a writer I try to push the boundaries of traditional song structure without breaking it apart completely like some bands do (Dream Theater would be an example.) Most bands I see tend to fall short in the songwriting area, they just don’t know how to fit riffs together and let the tension ebb and flow. I’m not too modest to say that we tend to get praised for our cohesive songwriting (an uncommon thing in progressive rock, I guess.)

Cruella: I was going for a powerful, romantic and artistic album.

R&W: Are you happy overall with the album and if there was anything you could change, what would that be? I think the production is not perfect.

Graveside: I’m happy considering it was recorded on a nonexistent budget in our spare time. We all have day jobs, so funds and time were in limited supply. You know, if you think the production is not perfect, why don’t you offer to finance our next disc? Pay the studio costs and our living expenses, and well give you a production that will knock your socks off!

Cruella: Yes, the production could be much better, but considering what we had to work with I believe that it came out pretty well. It certainly is a stepping stone and we have learned much from putting it out.

R&W: What’s about the artwork?

Graveside: Cruella is a visual artist, and I am a graphic designer, so the packaging was very important to us. We licensed the painting from a museum in the UK, and I “doctored” it a bit and did the overall layout. The cover is getting lots of compliments. I see a lot of indie CDs with very mediocre artwork, and as a graphic designer it pains me to look at some of them. Even though the world is moving away from CDs to downloadable files, artwork is still an important point of expression for any band, and usually a dull cover means a dull band. And if there’s no artwork at all…well, you get the point.

Cruella: Artwork is extremely important. I didn’t want it to be an after thought with the album. I am constantly thinking and creating with pictures, so when it came to choosing an image for the cd I already had tons of ideas. Luckily, Graveside and I were on the same page.

R&W: Satisfied with the work done by Jericho Hill Records?

Graveside: JHR is a very small label, and they were very frank from the get-go that, due to their size, they could take us only so far. I seem to recall them saying something like “If we do our job right, By Blood Alone will eventually outgrow us.” Still, we were very lucky that they gave us that initial boost into the business. We have gotten a LOT of positive reviews, so we can’t complain about the job they have done in that area.

Cruella: Indie labels are great (usually) and Jericho Hill Records is always a pleasure to work with.

R&W: Today, which is the state of health of gothic metal in your country?

Graveside: Terrible. Your choice is clones of clones of Nightwish, or generic radio rock bands adding female vocalist thinking that will make them sound like Lacuna Coil. Thank god that critics often comment that we don’t sound like any of those bands and really stand out in the crowd.

Cruella: Yes, I agree, Terrible. I honestly can’t think of ANY American gothic metal bands that I listen to.

G