First, congratulations for the new CD! Could you give some insight into the writing and recording process of the new album? How long did it take you to write/record, any funny anecdotes from the studio to share, etc?

Thank you for your words!! I compose my songs on keyboard, so I often sing the melodies in my mind, then I record them with the voice and I develop the best ideas with my keyboards, and prepare demos for the rest of the band. I have thrown away many songs because I wasn’t satisfied with them. We felt a big pressure in the studio during the recording (one month) sessions...to me, I would have done it much more dark, but in studio things change. We are very satisfied anyway!! We have found also the time to enjoy! There is a spaghetti house near to the studio, and we have drunk all wine and beer of this restaurant, during the break/lunch...so when we returned in studio...can you imagine? ;-)

From reading reviews on some websites, it appears that people are raving about this new album. Has the response to the new CD gone beyond your expectations?

The reaction has been very positive, also here in Italy!! I didn’t believe in such reaction. Anyway we don't want to do CD's that sound always in the same way. We hope that our fans will understand this new direction. The Dark Flower in any case is a big goal for me and the band. We are very satisfied to this result!

The title of the album, Dark Flower, what is that supposed to mean? A glimpse of where the Earth is headed, perhaps?

This is my personal vision of our dying world. This is a pure genetic failure, another memory in time...The Dark Flower is the perfect title for this album. The dark side of the flower (world) is the sad and real image of our souls slave in this genetic system, the life. Life (matter) is not the real image of reality. Dark Flower is the virtual world where you're living, a deceit for your mind slaves in a sinful genetic system, controlled by soldiers of light, where you can find the answer only in your dreams. There is a big confusion inside every religion, we've confused our religions with fanatic interpretations and this is all a mistake! We do not notice who has always observed us, who has always allowed our free-will in the game. Sometimes I’m tired of the things I see in the world, I feel like I am imprisoned in an imperfect human; there are doors closed to us beyond which I would like to see. This is what I tried to transmit to the readers of my lyrics.

On The Dark Flower I feel that you took a step away from power metal and went towards a darker and more aggressive sound, thrashy at times, yet still having very melodic and catchy choruses. I was wondering what were the reasons for the change in the band's sound?

My goal was to have very aggressive verses with melodic choruses, and that's a “great blending”!! Changing a music style so vastly is a big risk for a new band, but we are not afraid. This album is full of different and particular sounds, also in vocal melodies, I need to feel special sensations from my music and lyrics. Personally I find the album perfectly balanced between aggression and melody, and the whole atmosphere of the album is much darker/thrash than the previous. The guitar riffs are really heavy and sound pretty modern and you can find also many weird and futuristic keyboard parts. Inspiration and ambition to changing way and diving in new dimensions; this is the most important thing for a musician! The Dark Flower is only a little step in our evolution. I'm sure the next album will be more interesting in every lyrics and song!

What happened with the line-up changes between albums? Why did Lee & Mat leave or had to leave the band? Maybe they drifted apart from the direction Cydonia was going, or...?

Nothing of particular about the line up changes. We are still friends with the members of the first album, but they are full of commitments to play their music. I think that the new guys were what we were looking for. I have arranged my music with the great Pete Daniels, completing the work together with real and efficient guitar riffs sounds.

So tell us a bit about the new guys, why did you choose them?

Because they are great musicians! Pete Daniels on rhythm guitar and Stefan Ray on drums. They are my friends from many years, and they have also a band called Maya, it’s a great heavy metal band of course, and maybe I will sing in their band in the future...

Why did you decide to produce the album yourself this time? Do you prefer to be "in control" of the recording? Are you pleased with how the CD turned out?

I'm very satisfied! Yes, I prefer to be in control of the recording. I had some experiences producing demos, but maybe I have good musical instinct. This album is a mixture of thrash/power/nu/cross-over/prog/melodic... melodic/cyber-thrashadow???...It’s quite hard to define it :-) Each member of the band bring his contribution to the final result; plus credits for co-producer and technical of the studio. Music is way of my life, I would like to realize something of majestic and innovative, different from Cydonia; I have already started to write something for a new Keying's album.

I've had the chance to listen to the CD about 4 or 5 times this last week and there seems to be a different concept than on the first one, so what is the main thread of the story?

This is only a fruit of a huge crazy game. There are things with neither time nor space, completely opposing the pure concept of matter, the most visible ones are dreams. My dreams are always full with real facts, that I can’t recollect. The "crash" of the mirror in "One Last Crime" is the real start of my concept, when I killed my curse in a moment of despair…against my virtual image...slaves to a crazy game. Lyrics are based on different stories connected one to the other. Our senses lead us towards the most comfortable and safest path, we are careless, we look ahead, improving our life-style, our eyes betray us with clear images, distracting our attention from the real ones…maybe an alien truth behind false reality? From above, watchers, soldiers of light, control matter, senses, thoughts, dreams, so that your fierceness may remain confined within the dark flower. The fans have to dig in this virtual/real dream. I hope it will bring more attention to what there all around our existence!

For lyrical inspiration, do you read a lot? Are there any specific sources that are particularly good for you, or... it's just your head? ;-)

It is not easy to explain where I find the inspiration... This is not an influence derivative from science-fiction. I loved Ufology and other mysteries since many years, sometimes inside my dreams I feel presences beyond hidden dimension, I found many answers by my self, but the most important sensations were inside my dreams, and this is not a fruit of my imagination.

Can you pick two or three favourite tracks? Which do you think is the most ideal to represent your music from all the songs on the CD?

My favourite songs are: "One Last Crime", "Another Age" and "Dark Flower". I think "One Last Crime" is the key song, the lyrics and music are very suggestive!!

What are some plans for the future? Will there be a tour this time? Any specific places you would like to go?

We want to play live!! No plans, for now...We hope in a summer festival in Europe, and out from Italy, I don’t care italian metal scene. Personally I prefer spend my time writing new songs, I’m very busy with my personal job, about live we want to be sure that everything will be well organized, and it depends on the sales, so it is still all to define.

One last question. On our last interview, you listed Astronomy, Ufology and other mysteries as your hobbies and interests. Have you read something of interest concerning these subjects lately? Just curious, hehe :)

Not really... but I think that will happen a big catastrophe in next five...six years. I don’t know what kind of huge world crisis, but will be something of uncontrollable for human race, and will be the moment of the truth…? Can we meet these mysterious and silent watchers, soldiers of light? We will lose our faith…

Dan, "molte grazie" for answering my questions! End with any comments you'd like, words of wisdom, contact address...

Thanx Marina, for your kind attention!! A big CIAO from Cydonia!!!

"Possibility to stop time hides the key of the limits of the thoughts"

Dan (www.dankeying.com)

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