Italian guitarist Francesco Marras has caused quite a stir at Sentinel Daily with his new solo album It’s Me!, so we thought we’d tap the man behind the album up to find out a little bit more about the record, how it came about and what makes it so entertaining…

Congratulations on It’s me! – it’s a really enjoyable record. What prompted the move to a vocal-led album from you after a couple of instrumental efforts? Did you need much persuasion to flex the vocal chords? “Thank you so much. It was actually a very natural process because I have always enjoyed singing, but only in the last couple of years have I started doing it more often. Same for the change of musical genre, usually with Tygers of Pan Tang and with Screaming Shadows I do metal/power metal. I wanted to make something simpler/easier/more fun and my voice felt more suited to hard rock than metal. Besides I have always been a very versatile musician and I love different types of music”.

You’re a very busy man, not least with your involvement in the Tygers of Pan Tang; did the pandemic allow you some down time to get It’s Me! done, or is it something that’s been or work in progress since before we were plunged into COVID times? “The COVID lockdown certainly helped me to have more free time, it was during that time that I recorded and produced It’s Me!. Anyway, I always need to write new music, get involved in new things, new projects, to keep my creativity active. Recently I have released the Screaming Shadows album Legacy of Stone in 2021, the Tygers of Pan Tang EP A New Heartbeat in 2022, in September I’m going to release It’s Me! and I think in 2023 we will be able to release the new Tygers of Pan Tang album. A lot of new music is on the way!”

Do you have any plans to tour behind the record? “I’m setting up the band to bring this new project to life too, more information will come soon”.

Give us a brief insight into each of the tracks on the album:

Money Talks: “It is a catchy and melodic song that starts with an energetic guitar riff. The lyrics speak of the superficiality of modern society. The verse has a very sexy drum and bass groove while the guitars play a slow arpeggio and the vocals remain on a lower dynamic to open on the chorus. The first part of solo is a “question and answer” between guitar and the Hammond Organ”.

Take My Hand: “In this song I had the honour of having Bodo Schopf, the drummer of Micheal Schenker, as a guest on drums. The song begins with a rhythmic part of guitar strumming with wah-wah and drums to which is added a country mood theme played by banjo and electric guitars”.

You Set My Heart On Fire: “It’s the album’s first single and one of the best songs on the album. It starts with a drum fill that immediately catapults us onto a rocky guitar riff. The breakdown, in the first part of the guitar solo, has softer and bluesy atmospheres. In the choruses, note the fantastic work done on the double voices and choirs made by Marco Garrucciu“.

We Take The Blue Away: “This song has a gospel/blues mood in the intro with acoustic guitars, a choir of voices and the clapping of the hands. The dynamics rise with the entry of Marco Cossu‘s Hammond. The words of the lyrics invite us to leave behind problems and melancholy”.

The Thrill of the Hunt: “It begins with a biting guitar riff which is joined by the Hammond; note the solo, with a duel between organ and guitar”.

Lady of Ice – currently our fave in the Sentinel Daily office: “I agree with your choice, it’s definitely one of the most original and exciting songs I ever wrote. The album’s atmosphere calms down and this epic ballad begins with a Celtic-sounding riff on an odd tempo”.

In The Name of Rock n’Roll: “It is the heaviest track on the album with the Hammond that “roars” and pays homage to the best of Jon Lord of Deep Purple. A very rhythmic verse with guitars with the wah and Hammond always present, at the centre of the song is a break down in which the bass is the protagonist”.

Do You Hear Me Now: “It has a pressing groove and a melodic refrain, a rock hit with a “radio” flavour”.

Embrace The Silence: “Has an intro with the Hammond that recalls the style of keyboardist Ken Hensley of Uriah Heep; it’s certainly the most ‘seventies’ track on the record, with many modulations and a guitar riff in a psychedelic mood”.

Closer To The Edge: “It starts with a beautiful piano, Hammond and acoustic guitar part that creates sounds from distant memories, with a very nostalgic mood. In the refrain the violin (played by Emanuele Martinez) plays a melodic line a la Pink Floyd that dialogues and intertwines with the voice and the piano”.

You’re probably asked about your guitar influences a lot – but who would you say are the singers who inspire you vocally? “Thanks for the question. Surely even in my way of singing you can feel that somehow I come from metal, though many have told me that my voice is more in a nineties grunge style. I can tell you that, despite playing power metal with Screaming Shadows, I don’t like clean and super high voices. I prefer voices like John Corabi, David Coverdale, Chris Cornell… Dirty and scratched voices”.

Dirty and scratched voices – nice description! I might borrow that in an upcoming review! Anything else you’d like to tell the readers of Sentinel Daily about the album? “The new album pre-orders are available on my website. It’s Me! is very important to me, for many reasons, not only for the fact that I sing on it, it represents me at one hundred per cent and I hope you will enjoy it like I do. It will be preceded by three singles/videos that will be available on YouTube and Spotify. The first is already out and is titled You Set My Heart on Fire, the second will be released on August 22nd and is titled Money Talks, while the last, Closer to the Edge, will be released on September 5th. Please follow me on social, share my music and as always, thank you very much for your support! And, last but not least, a special thanks to Sentinel Daily”.

Cheers!

It’s Me! releases on September 15th – read Gavin Strickmann’s review of the record HERE