Dark Opera

DARK OPERA WAS BORN IN SPRING 2003 IN FLORIDIA (SR, ITALY), AND IT WAS CREATED BY TWO OLD FRIENDS, VALERIO ZAPPULLA (A.K.A. “LORD VENTRUE”), PERFORMING ON VOCALS AND KEYBOARDS AND ANDREA IANNONE (A.K.A. “VHARGHEFF”), ON DRUMS AND GUITARS. AFTER THREE MONTHS OTHER GUYS CAME IN THE BAND: MARCELLO PORRELLO, ON GUITAR, AND RICCARDO PUGLISI, BASS PLAYER. NOW, VALERIO AND FRIENDS ARE READY TO START THE PROCESS OF WRITING, AND THEY BEGIN TO PERFORM LIVE IN SOME FESTIVALS AND PUBS. AT THAT TIME, THE NAME OF THIS NEW BAND WAS “THE SMAVE”. THE BAND DIDN’T PLAY BLACK METAL YET, BUT DARK/ROCK STUFF. NOW, DARK OPERA WAS READY TO RECORD SOME BRAND NEW SONGS. SO, IN JUNE 2004, “PATHETIC SURREALISM” (SIX TRACKS, CD-DEMO) WAS RECORDED AND MIXED IN THREE DAYS BY VINCENCO CAVALLI AT SONORIA STUDIO”, IN SCORDIA (CT), AND SELF-PRODUCED. ON THIS RECORD, AS GUESTS, THERE ARE BRUNO MONELLO, GUITAR PLAYER FROM SIRACUSA (NOISE(‘S)BACK, ALBERTO ANASTASI BAND, BANDA FLEMING…) AND WILLIAM VOI ON CLEAN VOCALS. THIS FIRST WORK SOUNDS SUCH AS POWER/GOTHIC METAL STUFFS. WITH THIS NEW LINE-UP, DARK OPERA PERFORMS LIVE IN SOME FESTIVALS, BUT IT DIDN’T LAST LONG TIME…AT THE END OF THE SUMMER, GUITAR PLAYER, MARCELLO PORRELLO, AND BASS PLAYER, RICCARDO PUGLISI, LEAVE THE BAND, AND ALSO BRUNO MONELLO DECIDES TO GO ON WITH A SOLO PROJECT. IN MARCH 2005, VALERIO, ANDREA AND WILLIAM (NOW BASS PLAYER, TOO), MEET UMBERTO FERRO, A BLACKHEARTED GUITAR PLAYER FROM SIRACUSA, AND THE BAND STARTS AGAIN WITH THE PROCESS OF WRITING…THE NEW SONGS SOUND REALLY SYMPHONIC/BLACK ORIENTED, AND WITH THE ARRIVAL OF VITTORIO VENEZIANO (ANOTHER BLACKHEARTED GUITAR PLAYER FROM SIRACUSAS, AND FRIEND OF UMBERTO), THE BAND SEEMS TO BE, FINALLY, COMPLETE! IN OCTOBER 2005, “LAST DECADENCE”(6 BRAND NEW SONGS, A COVER BY SATYRICON, AND TWO LIVE SONGS) IS RECORDED IN JUST ONE DAY AGAIN AT “SONORIA STUDIO” BY VINCENZO CAVALLI AND MIXED BY SALVATORE ADORNO AT “MUSIC NOW” (SR), IN A WEEK. THE SOUND IS REALLY RAW, BUT REFINED, AND WE CAN EAR ECHOES OF SUCH BAND AS EMPEROR, DIMMU BORGIR AND BORKNAGAR, ABOVE ALL, BECAUSE OF CLEAN VOCALS AND KEYBOARDS, THAT GIVE TO THE CD-DEMO THE SOUND AND THE SMELL OF “DECADENCE”… IN SUMMER 2006, DARK OPERA PERFORMS LIVE AT CHAOTICA METAL FEST IN CALTANISSETTA WITH, APOSTHATE, ZORA AND CRIMINAL HATE. AFTER THE SHOW, TAF PRODUCTION GIVES A CHANCE TO THE BAND TO DEAL THE UPCOMING MCD “BLACK SEWAGE”, RECORDED IN NOVEMBER/DICEMBER 2006 IN DIFFERENT STUDIOS: DRUMS AND BASS, AT FEDERICO GALAZZO’ STUDIO, GUITARS AND VOCALS AT VINCENZO PARTEXANO’ STUDIO (ALSO SPECIAL GUEST ON “AWAKE OF INNATE MALEDICTION”, WITH A GUITAR SOLO) AND KEYBOARDS AND MIXING PROCESS AT “MUSIC NOW”, WITH SALVATORE ADORNO. THE SOUND IS REFINED AND POWERFUL, BUT ALWAYS SYMPHONIC/BLACK ORIENTED.