Persefone - Hi, Thanks a lot! We are really happy with the release of our first CD. Persefone was born in 2001. It began as a cover band. It wasn’t until Miguel Espinosa joined the band, that we started writing our own songs. We started recording a demo of Niflheim (The eyes that hold the Edge) at Orion Studios, with Aleix Dorca as the producer. Seeing this was working well, we started working in what would be “Truth Inside The Shades”. In 2003, the album was ready, although it wasn’t until 2004 that Peter in de Betou would master it. We then contacted Adipocere and the album was released. On the other hand Persefone has suffered some line-up changes during this process. During the recording of “Truth”, our former drummer Xavi Perez would be substituted by Aleix Dorca. Finally Marc Martins would join as the singer in order to let Carlos concentrate on playing guitars.

2. How has your new album been received by the media?

Persefone - Well, this is a hard question to answer. To be honest, most of the reviews have been excellent. It is also true that we can’t please everyone and there have been some not so great reviews. There is a point in common in all reviews though … We are a young band and we’ve just released our first album and we think that being compared (for good or bad) to bands of worldwide influence like Dream Theatre, Symphony X, Opeth, Death… it’s not fair. We are musicians, that enjoy to share our music with people and we put a lot of effort into it, but we truly think it’s unfair to be treated this way on our first CD.

3. I know artists are not happy to categorize their music, but how would you describe your music to an outsider?

Persefone - It's without any doubt, the fact, that many have tried to categorize our music, that these kinds of comparisons have been made. In Persefone we are influenced by the bands mentioned before but also from many more. Typically or topically, our music is hard to be categorized into a unique style. We use death metal, prog, black or even classical music. With this in mind the person that hears our CD has to be very open-minded. Even more, since all songs are pretty long, the person has to be prepared to hear complex structures. We think, that in order to express all we want, we need to use all of these styles and write such lengthy songs.

4. Where does your inspiration come from, both musically and lyrically?

Persefone - Normally, when we start working on a song, we try to start with a story. A movie, book, drawing, or events can bring us ideas to the writing. Then we search for interesting musical ideas. Once this is done, music brings music! We create the story and we try to stick musically to it. When you play some chords or notes, immediately you need something else. Music is our main form of inspiration.

5. What topics do you deal with in your lyrics and why?

Persefone - “Truth Inside The Shades” is a conceptual album. We set off with two ideas in mind: the five illnesses of the soul (hate, sadness, loneliness, depression and insanity), and our point of view of the journey from birth to death of a person. Each of the songs talks about one of these 5 illnesses. They are all present, though, in all songs, at the same time. One interesting thing though is the fact that the lyrics never explicitly talk about this. We love to use metaphors in order to let the listener create its own story.

6. Who has produced and mixed the album, and are you pleased with the end result?

Persefone - We recorded it at Orion Studios in Andorra, with Aleix Dorca producering. Since this was going to be the first album, we thought, that we had to choose the most economical option, and working at home was also the most comfortable. We spent 4 or 5 month recording, editing and mixing, a time that in any other studio would have cost us a fortune. Also the fact that we had no real experience in the studio, would have delayed all even more. Aleix was of great help all the time and you can plead him guilty of the great sound of the CD. The mastering process was done by Peter in de Betou. Both Aleix and Peter have done a great work and the result pleases us completely.

7. Who has done the artwork? And how important do you feel it is to have a great cover?

Persefone - All the artwork design was done by Daniel Gil. Dani plays in a Death Metal band and Miguel knew him from there. So we contacted him because all the artwork, he had done for his band was great. Initially we only asked him the “Persefone” logo. We later asked him all the other artwork, which we really loved. He has done an outstanding job and we are very happy with it. The truth is that it is very important to have a great looking artwork. Some people these days buy CDs only based on covers, so everything has to be excellent.

8. Do you have any touring plans?

Persefone - Not really, there are no dates established yet, though, of course, there will be soon. We hope to see you all there, and we hope that you can enjoy our music as much as we do.

9. How do you feel about the co-operation with your label, and are you satisfied?

Persefone - Obviously, the collaboration between Persefone and Adipocere is total. We are both looking for the same, to make Persefone go as far as possible. Our disposition to collaborate is complete and this has already brought us some results, even before we expected. On the other hand the treatment we are receiving from Adipocere is great.

10. The internet is a very important source for many metal fans - how do you use the internet and how important is it for you and other bands?

Persefone - This is perfect occasion to invite you to visit our homepage: www.persefone.com. Internet is a huge information centre. Time ago, if you wanted to know anything from a band you had to wait for magazines to write about it, this is no longer like this. Now, in minutes you can have all the information you want/need. Yet to be known bands like Persefone can take a lot of advantage from it.

11. How do you see the metal scene at the moment?

Persefone - We see it a bit saturated. Not only the metal scene though. Everyday hundreds of bands are formed, and some of those of great quality. It’s really hard to be someone in such a crowed world, but it’s only a matter of working hard and staying on board. However, it is hard to find a band these days that is original or that does something different, although, when you find one… it’s wonderful!

12. To finish things off - could you pls. make a all-time Top 5 or sort of the 5 most important albums in your opinion?

Persefone - This is going to be very difficult. I’d say that each of Persefone’s members would do a VERY different list.

Give these guys from Andorra a chance, because they are very unique and plays with a lot of enthusiasm!

Album on Adipocere Records.

Click on the album cover to see more info on Persefone.