In only just over a month, NEREIS, one of the most exciting young bands, which for the rare occasion finds itself at the intersection of bombastic Hard Rock à la Europe, modern metal, and a touch of Prog, will release its new album, “AZURE.”
The album title was not chosen at random, but already hints at the underlying concept: the album is dedicated to the eponymous blue band that embraces our earth and enables (not only) us to live the life that we all too often simply take for granted.
NEREIS‘ desire to convey a strikingly simple yet poignant message to the world with “AZURE” is evident in many ways, as it resonates from the mood of the individual tracks, jumps quite directly into the prefrontal cortex via the lyrics, and becomes further anchored when viewing the lovingly designed album cover. No matter who we are, where we are, or what we do — if each of us could take a single look at our planet from the outside, with the monster of the unforgiving cosmos breathing down our necks, it would be tantamount to a transformation of human thought and feeling, because our blue ribbon protects us from space, but not from ourselves: “We feel safe at home, take it for granted, and live in our bubble, in our small human dimension, where dealings between humans seem to be the most important thing. If we had the desire and courage to cross that thin layer and look at our world from a more external perspective, we would realize how incredibly lucky we are to be alive, to be protected by a tiny, precious, and rare home surrounded by light-years of darkness, emptiness, and death. We would realize that our human problems and needs, and the differences that divide us, are insignificant. We could feel part of one thing, yes – a rare and incredible reality. Life in the universe.”
Following the first single, “Around the Sun,” which links the cycle of the small Earth ship on its circular orbit around the all-defining sun with our very own rhythm of birth, existence, and eternal farewell, “From Scratch” is now the second taste from space — and it hits like an asteroid shower. Beginning with a dark groove reminiscent of Pantera, the compact piece develops into an atmospherically dense, almost claustrophobic number that opens up widely with the chorus, inviting you to revel in it.
“From Scratch” presents itself as a very down-to-earth song from start to finish, fueled by the stark contrast between the instrumental rawness and the crystal-clear vocals reminiscent of Joey Tempest, while deliberately avoiding any frills – including guitar solos. Its abrupt ending feels somewhat unsatisfying at first, albeit without coming across as off-putting. It creates a feeling of abruptness that instinctively makes you crave a repeat, which is exactly what the song is about, as the band hints: “There are many ways to achieve a goal, but there is one thing they all have in common: failure. Without failure, there is no learning; without learning, there are no new attempts; without new attempts, there are no new results. We are made to be born, to act, to make mistakes, to learn, to start over again and again, and finally to succeed – or never succeed at all. But with one constant: we are born, we live, and we die.”
NEREIS’ new single “From Scratch” is accompanied by a beautifully animated music video that also echoes the theme, elegantly infusing the magic of early science fiction book covers with a psychedelic touch. Curious? Then open your eyes and ears:
Listen to “From Scratch” on the platform of your choice: https://orcd.co/nereisfromscratch
Pre-Save “AZURE” here: https://orcd.co/nereisazure2
— About NEREIS —
Founded in 2007 under the name Black Star in Trento, Italy, NEREIS initially started out as a cover act, touring Italian pubs with hits by greats such as Helloween, Iron Maiden, Saxon, Skid Row, Judas Priest, and Alter Bridge until they had enough original material to release their demo “Burnin’ Game” in 2012, followed by the EP “From the Ashes” (2014).
During this time, the band played dozens of shows, e.g. with Chris Slade (ex-AC/DC), Riot V, Royal Hunt, and Arthemis, performed at festivals such as Sun Valley Metal Fest and Rock im Ring, and finally released their successful album “Turning Point” on Eclipse Records in 2018, for the first time under the new name NEREIS. The album was so well received that NEREIS subsequently toured extensively with Three Days Grace and Bullet For My Valentine.
Meanwhile, the band moved from their original guitar-dominated sound towards a concept in which the boundaries between the instrumental layers blur: Sometimes the guitar follows the vocals, sometimes the vocals follow the guitars. Synth inserts form a meta-level that holds everything together atmospherically and makes the music seem like a soundtrack at times, without ever falling into the trap of sounding like a canned orchestra. In a sense, the synths do not play a primarily decorative role here, but one that can best be compared to that of a mediator. Together with the powerful foundation of bass and drums, they mediate between the guitar riffs and the vocals, which are thus able to maintain a state of perfect duality. To this day, bands such as Alter Bridge, Muse, Audioslave, Shinedown, and Europe are among the major influences of the quintet, which, after several lineup changes, consists of Andrea Barchiesi (lead vocals), Mattia Pessina (guitar), Samuel Fabrello (guitar), Michele Gelmi (bass), and Davide Odorizzi (drums).
Lead singer Andrea in particular stands out with his vocal range and professes Joey Tempest (Europe) as his vocal role model — even the water bottle Andrea uses to keep fit during shows belonged to Joey Tempest until a Europe show in 2004, when Andrea caught it after it was thrown into the audience. He has held it in honor ever since. What the singer, who was also active in a Europe cover band he had founded at the time, could not have imagined yet: 20 years later, in September 2024, NEREIS were even able to open a Europe show at the Trentino Music Arena themselves, after being personally selected by their Swedish idols from the participants in the TMA Contest.
With this stable and tour-experienced lineup, the new album is now on the horizon. It’s named “AZURE,” and NEREIS fans will probably simply remember it as The Blue Album in the band’s distant — and hopefully bright – future.
Lineup:
Andrea Barchiesi / Lead Vocals
Mattia Pessina / Guitar
Samuel Fabrello / Guitar
Michele Gelmi / Bass
Davide Odorizzi / Drums