MASTERCASTLE To Release 'On Fire' Next Month

Italian metallers MASTERCASTLE will release their fourth album, "On Fire", on April 19 via Lion Music.

MASTERCASTLE has been honing its trademark sound since its debut, "The Phoenix" (2009),and refining it through "Last Desire" (2010) and "Dangerous Diamonds" (2011). Led by the powerful vocals of Giorgia Gueglio, the virtuoso guitar of Pier Gonella and the driven bass lines of Steve Vawamas, "On Fire" contains nine tracks of melodic heavy metal with neo-classical influences and marks MASTERCASTLE's first release with one of the metal world's most respected drummers behind the kit, John Macaluso (ARK, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, JAMES LABRIE). Macaluso's addition has given the band a kick up the proverbial backside, taking their unique brand of metal to an even higher plateau.

On the band's new member, Gonella comments: "John gives us great energy because from the first time he heard our music he was really impressed. He participated in the composing process and his vast experience was a great help for the album's production."

Once again, all lyrics were composed by Gueglio. She states: "I started the lyrics with the intention of writing a concept album with the title 'Metals', concerning metals in metallurgy, chemistry, alchemy and magic. But during their creation, I found my lyrics full of sentiments, suffering and emotions. So 'Metals' became too cold. Many tracks have a title with a metal within, but these are 'warmed' by blood, my/our human warmth, the passion of making music in a difficult world. So the album title was changed to 'On Fire'. 'On Fire' is a hot work, very human. On the front cover (also created by Giorgia) you can see a metal hearth. It represents our body that became real and can be hot or burn thanks to our emotions."

Regarding the new album, Gonella comments, "I don't feel a big difference to our previous releases, but I think this is our most (and best) melodic album so far. Our first album, 'The Phoenix', had a similar sound but with more evident classical influences. For the second album, 'Last Desire', we moved to hard rock style and less neoclassical. Our third album, 'Dangerous Diamonds', was somewhere between those first two, with heavy riffs and powerful sounds. This new album has our best work in the vocal melodies and their presence, with a more 'natural' sound, especially in the drums. There are some classical influences in the instrumental songs, and generally it has a heavier vibe in many ways thanks to Giorgia's vocals. The production is also heavy, but never harsh and really emphasis the power this band has."

The writing process for "On Fire" began three months after the release of "Dangerous Diamonds" in February 2012, shortly after John Macaluso joined the band. Many demos were recorded with John of the new material before recording for the album began, with drums first being recorded from July 2012 to September 2012. Gonella recorded the album along with Macaluso, aiming for a strong metal sound without the reliance on triggered samples and sounds. Guitar and bass recording came next before vocals were laid down. The mix was also done by Gonnela and Macaluso, before the album was mastered by Pier with Simone Mularoni at Domination Studio from late 2012 to early 2013.

"On Fire" track listing:

01. Silver Eyes
02. Chains
03. Platinum
04. Quicksilver
05. Gold Violet
06. The Final Battle (instrumental)
07. Leaden Roads
08. Titanium Wings
09. Almost a Fantasy (instrumental)

The "Chains" video can be seen below.