Room With A View Biography

Beginning with the band in 1999, Francesco Grasso (vocals, guitars) and Alessandro Mita (guitars) rehearsed with a series of crews before deciding to assemble their own squad. It was still in 2000 that the band recorded their first 6 tracks promo, with the monicker "Black Thorns Lodge". This Promo 2000 was trying to combine and interpret different influences raging from gothic and Swedish metal to 80s pop and wave. Promo 2000, although still naive, allowed Francesco and Alessandro to gain them the attention of both audience and critics (demo of the month on the Italian top magazine Psycho!, elected among the

three best Italian young bands by the Psycho! readers, together with bands as Lacuna Coil and Linea77). Instantly, the cult label My Kingdom Music showed his interest in having this newborn creature on his roster. But Alessandro and Francesco didnt feel satisfied with what Black Thorns Lodge was becoming. They felt the need to totally evolve both musically and lyrically. So, at the end of 2001, they simply decided to let the Black Thorns Lodge die, and to restart a new adventure with the new monicker ROOM WITH A VIEW. "The change of our monicker had the symbolic meaning of a rebirth for us", Francesco says."When we were still called Black Thorns Lodge, we felt that the music we played and also our monicker were not so personal as we wanted them to be. We needed to escape from cliches, to open ourselves on new and stimulating horizons... "Room with a View", that's it. I like to think about a dynamic view, something like an emotional kaleidoscope". My Kingdom Music had the insight to realize the potential this band held, and the guys were quickly signed and put in the studio to record their debut album, "First Year Departure". Recorded during 2002, and released in 2003, "First Year Departure", with its passionate mood, its vintage soundscapes and its retro-futuristic spirit, has gathered not only an instant fan base, but critical acclaim on the main international magazines and webzines. The drums parts for this record were handled by Fabio Cappabianca, coming from previous experiences in some of the best Italian hardcore bands such as Face the Fact, Purification and Dehumanize. "Most of the stuff on our debut album has been composed in very little time, like an irrational and raving stream of consciousness", Alessandro says. "It's a journey of imbalance into the daydreaming minds of four melancholic young men", Francesco adds. "In "First Year Departure" there's a deep sense of uneasiness. But it's life itself that's uneasy: behind the joy of a discovery there's always the bitterness of parting".

Since their debut album release, the band didnt stop for a single moment, constantly confronting with line-up changes, but always working and maturing in their capabilities, with hard work and extreme dedication. Until summer of 2004, when they finally flew to Örebro, Sweden, to work with the famous producer Jens Bogren on their second effort, in one of the finest studios in Europe, the renowned Fascination Street Studio (Millencolin, Katatonia, Opeth, Soilwork, Pain of Salvation, Deep Insight, Disco Ensemble, etc.).

With their debut album, RWAV have created a sound that was quite unique and unambiguously their own. Still, with their new "Collecting Shells at Lighthouse Hill", starts a brand new beginning. With their basis built strongly from their previous achievements, RWAV have ventured to progress as well. The result is an astonishing mixture of modern rock aggressiveness combined with solid songwriting and strong melodies. RWAVs sound has evolved into a highly unique blend of fresh and melancholic emo-rock, where you might hear the echoes of Dredg, Thursday and Katatonia, as well as The Cure and Depeche Mode in the background. While previously penned in the gothic/metal genre, RWAV is now breaking free with a true definition of their sound: full-blown, dynamic, nervous, mesmerizing, emotionally moving rock. The changes in their line up (Gino Palombi at bass and Piero Arioni at drums) have not only pushed RWAV creatively, but improved the depth of their sound as well. "I think that when we released our debut album, we were an example of a band with potential, but still trying to focus on their objectives", Francesco explains. "This new record completely blows the other record away, in our humble opinion. We've worked really hard on the arrangements, and the album finally shows a confident and genuine band thats starting to become aware of his means". RWAV write with honesty and insight you would never expect from such a young band. Their music is a liberating whirlwind of hypnotic melodies and heart stopping time changes going flat out in a burn-up against the clock, among burning vocal harmonies and memorable choirs. "Collecting Shells at Lighthouse Hill" is a stunning movement of art and music that can really mesmerize the listener like few other records in recent memory... RWAV's music is not only able to move its listeners on a musical level, but it raises feelings and emotions that can only be captured and conveyed through sincere music that comes from the beatings of a blazing heart. Its easy to find yourself carried away by their soothing guitars and hushed, smooth vocals. Still abrasive guitar explosions and asymmetrical, nervous rhythmic structures demolish any misleading sense of comfort, leaving the listener out of breath and yet begging for more.

"Collecting Shells at Lighthouse Hill" will come out on November 2005 on My Kingdom Music in a special edition, limited to 2000 copies, containing the video of Friction, and an exclusive multimedia track, full of info, comments, pictures and curiosities about the band.

Discography:

-Promo 2000 CD (as Black Thorns Lodge, Self Produced, 2000)

-First Year Departure CD (My Kingdom Music, 2003)

-Collecting Shells at Lighthouse Hill CD (My Kingdom Music, 2005)