Interview with the brothers Gian and Dante Granados of Anima Tempo

PoM: Here’s a chance for you to tell our readers about your new debut “Caged in Memories”. But could you please start off by introducing the readers to the band and give a short version of the biography?

Gian/Dante: Hello Power of Metal! First of all, we want to thank you for the opportunity to show our project to your readers, we appreciate it so much. Well, the current line-up is Dante Granados on guitars and synths, Pedro Vera on Bass, Antonio Guerrero on drums, Daniel Gonzalez is the harsh vocals and Gian Granados is the other guitar and clean vocals. Anima Tempo was born in December 2009 with the recording of our first Demo called “Alas de Cristal” and then in late 2010, we recorded a second demo called “Caged in Memories”. It laid the foundations of our debut album and the composition process began early 2011, and was finished late 2015. On the road, we have shared stage with amazing bands like BTBAM, Textures, Veil of Maya, Vision Divine, Septicflesh, Soilwork, Sabaton and Dragonforce from which we have gained valued experience.

PoM: And now onto “Caged in Memories”… track-by-track, what inspired you, what topics are you dealing with, what do you want to express with this song etc.

Last Awakening
Confession
Art of Deception
Scarlet Angel
Behind the Gates of a New-Come
Cellophane Eyes
Caged in Memories
1. Desperation
2. Contrition
3. Acceptance

Gian/Dante: As we always say, you can consider the whole album as a unique long song inspired by the stories we are experiencing during our daily lives in México. We wanted to write this concept album with the intention of creating awareness of how we are living our lives and if the path we have chosen is what we always has been searching for and to those important people surrounding us. It is a story based on a common Mexican family, which was destroyed by lies in which the corruption and the desire of power takes an important role along the entire musical journey.

In general, we talk about the duality of the human being and how easily we can be corrupted and blinded by wealth, even when knowing the fatal consequences of our choices.

PoM: How was your first “real” studio recording experience?

Gian/Dante: Well, I must say all our experiences we’ve lived through by working in the studio were extremely exciting, we experienced many new exciting things each time we went to the studio. Our recording sessions were always amazing, with a very loose atmosphere in our team. It definitely improves and helps the recording process with these good vibes floating between us all.

PoM: Could you please tell us a bit about the artwork – who made it, what’s the concept behind it etc. and how important do you feel it is to have a cool artwork?

Gian/Dante: Rainer Kalwitz was the man behind the artwork of CiM. We are sure you remember him, because he created the artwork of “Room V” for Shadow Gallery, and worked for Century Media, BMG, Metal Blade, Inside Out among others.

As we mentioned before, the duality concept is constantly present along the album and Rainer did an amazing job illustrating the dark and light side of the story. In addition, he included many details that you will notice if you look carefully. Therefore, we are extremely happy with every brushstroke. He created exactly what we were looking for.

PoM: This is your debut on the progressive metal scene under the banner of Anima Tempo. It has already received rave reviews from the critics – PoM included J. What are your own feelings on the positive reactions?

Gian/Dante: We feel extremely honored. We have received such great critics from all around the world saying positive things about our debut album. Honestly, we did not expect that reaction. It is amazing to wake up and find that someone is saying great things about our work. We feel grateful to everyone who has taken the time to listen and put some thoughts into the review of CiM.

PoM: Is there any track that means something special for you on the album?

Gian/Dante: I think the entire album is special for us, because it was a challenge to complete. Before the release of our debut album, we had to overcome many obstacles. I am sure that PoM can witness and confirm all the hard work involved to get our album finished. However, we never gave up and here we are, happy with the final product.

PoM: The creation process of “Caged in Memories” was a long path. Can you tell us about it?

Gian/Dante: Every phase we lived through while working on our debut album (Songwriting-Pre-production-Recording Sessions-Post-Production) was very exciting and at the same time, a very long process; we honestly accept that it was not easy in the end.

All the hard work involved in the creation of “Caged in Memories” was a long process; we worked hard to improve our English language to become better at explaining our ideas. The same thing happened with the songwriting; we‘ve always tried to improve our musical skills with the intention of creating the best music we can accomplish.

As I mentioned before, we started the song-writing on early 2011, and we finished the recording sessions on the middle of 2015. I know that all this seems to be a long journey, but if you consider that we re-recorded CiM twice and then we suffered the leaving of two members during the process, you will for sure understand.

PoM: You have been touring a lot in the past. Have you planned any touring this year outside the borders of your homeland Mexico?

Gian/Dante: For sure, currently we are trying to find cool places to play live; also, we are trying to find the opportunity to tour in other countries. Meanwhile we will keep on going with the songwriting of our second album, which is already planned to be released in 2017. We promise that the next album will be delivered within reasonable time compared to our debut 🙂.

PoM: Thank you very much for answering my questions. Do you have any last rants for our readers?

Gian/Dante: To our new friends out there. It would be of great honor if you would take the opportunity to know more about us. We can assure you will hear music created with lot of passion and devotion. So please visit us and let us know your impressions.