The deranged brainchild of instrumentalist G9 and singer-songwriter NiNi, CORVO is the culmination of contrasting, yet compatible sounds of theatrical opera and crushing guitars, elegant symphonies and churning electronics. Horror in all its forms is the common thread woven through CORVO’s art. Born in part from a passion for cinema, CORVO’s songs often instinctively evolve in “three acts,” similar to the conventions of film. This cinematic flair has not gone unnoticed among the horror community, and has lately drawn the attention of independent filmmakers and production companies.

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CORVO’s dark machinery begins with founder, composer and multi-instrumentalist G9, whose passion for developing new sounds spews forth an unsettling creation that listeners have consistently deemed “scary and beautiful.” Taming the mechanical beast is vocalist and lyricist NiNi, whose operatic flourishes and jazz-infused leads extend a hand of enchanting guidance through CORVO’s dark imagery.

Born in part from a passion for cinema, CORVO’s songs often instinctively evolve in “three acts,” similar to the conventions of film. Along with pioneering musicians like Trent Reznor, Claudio Simonetti and RAMMSTEIN, CORVO considers filmmakers like Mario Bava, Dario Argento and Werner Herzog of equal importance, influence and inspiration to their compositions and lyrics. This cinematic flair has not gone unnoticed among the horror community, and has lately drawn the attention of independent filmmakers and production companies.

CORVO is currently in the studio [aka "The Crow's Nest"] working on their debut full-length album Telltale, which will be released by their independent label, Telltale Creative Productions. In 2006, the band released a demo EP, Terroreyes: The Demos, which contained four Telltale tracks in their infant stages, and in early 2008, a body of work called Instrumental Cuts. This most recent collection of instrumental singles contains twelve tracks that continue to explore macabre art and horror through cinematic soundscapes. Many of those instrumental tracks are available here at the CORVO Official Site for streaming and download under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Attribution License.

As of September, 2009, CORVO has begun work on the score for CAMERA OBSCURA, the new web series from Emmy-nominated filmmaker Drew Daywalt. Drew is well known among horror fans as one of the founders of Fewdio, a collective of experienced Hollywood insiders who have been creating award-winning short horror films for the web – and now on DVD (their first disc NIGHTMARE HOUSE made its debut at this summer’s San Diego Comic Con).

Slated to launch October, 2009, the 17-episode series revolves around a young woman (Reagan Dale Neis) who inherits some strange artifacts from her late grandfather (Jack Klugman – yes, THAT Jack Klugman!), a crime-scene photographer. One is a magical camera capable of capturing the images of ancient, demonic creatures who prey on humans, and the other is a “scrapbook” in which he kept the creatures imprisoned in photographic form. When she unwittingly destroys the book, the demons are released, and… well, let’s just say that the script alone had NiNi and G9 sleeping with the lights on for more than a few nights!

Post-production is now underway, and the recording process officially began 09/09/09. Expect some studio updates here at The Crow’s Nest throughout fall of 2009!

[Click Here for THE UNABRIDGED BIO]

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An excerpt from G9′s interview that I’d like to share here is something that we definitely relate to: the slow process of releasing an album when doing it 100% independently! Also, the article features links to free Celldweller music downloads and amazing art resources, so head on over to FEARnet for the whole thing… oh, and in the end, “sweet fear” awaits!

[ FEARnet Meets Cinema's Secret Weapon: Celldweller ]

Enjoy! -N.

INTERVIEW EXCERPT:
[G9] So how is the Celldweller album progressing? Can you share any details, or hint at a possible release date?

[Klayton] I can share only a few details [because] I may be castrated if I say too much and don’t deliver. Like I said earlier, the process for this album is totally different than any other I’ve done. So, that being said, I’ve recorded all the final vocals first. That has usually been the last step for me, but I wanted to put more of an emphasis on vocals on this album, so [co-producer] Grant Mohrman and I agreed that I would cut vocals first and build everything else around them.

I do actually have one song completely done ["So Long Sentiment"] and I’m working away on a few others simultaneously. I would love to just tell everyone “The album will be done by this date,” but I’ve learned my lesson on that one. It’s hard to predict when it will actually wrap up. I can tell you that I am thinking about alternative methods of releasing this album altogether, but I won’t say anything until I’m ready to commit… that always gets me in trouble.

I’ve also had an album title for a while, but haven’t officially announced that either. I’d love to say it’s because I’m “dark and mysterious,” but it’s more like “I get distracted by other things and forget.” Not quite as cool, huh? [ More @ FEARnet Meets Cinema's Secret Weapon: Celldweller ]

G9: Speaking of gear… I keep lots of weird toys in my recording studio for inspiration, monsters and robots and stuff. Do you guys do that too, or am I just a big dork?

Curtis: [Laughs] if you’re a dork, then I guess we are too. I’m a huge collector of ‘things,’ especially vintage film posters, so we have some of those framed around our studio, along with some action figures, toy dinosaurs, Halloween decorations, all the amazing fan art we get on tour, and a few actual move props I’ve collected over the years. I also have an extensive collection of movies on Beta, VHS, Laserdisc and DVD, so we also take frequent breaks to watch horror movies. Some people call that “putting off work’, but we like to call it ‘research’. I think having the stuff that inspires you around you at all times when you’re working creatively is a must… it just seems to open up those pathways so strange creations can creep in.

More Here: [ FEARnet Talks Touring, Toys and Monster Kung Fu with Creature Feature's Curtis RX ]

I can barely keep up with the guy, so you really should just save the FEARnet music page to your blogroll or in your RSS news reader for all the latest and greatest in the world of dark music. You may notice that unlike many large-scale music blogs out there, G9 likes to devote a lot of time and space to indie musicians.

[ G9 on MySpace ]

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I have never in my life experienced a concert more perfectly than at Apocalyptica’s very first show in Dallas, TX [at the House of Blues]. At first, I was just going to string together a few videos and a bunch of photos my new-found front-row friend Shelby had captured on her camera, but then… this video just took me on an artistic journey of its own, and I couldn’t stop it [nor did I want to]! Enjoy this fan documentary, and let me know what you think of the video. Finally, if you ever get the opportunity to see these guys in concert, don’t let it pass you by… it’ll be one of the best shows of your life, I promise.

Have you seen Apocalyptica live? What do you think of the band? What are some of your favorite Apo songs? Who is your favorite band member?

[ @ YouTube ] [ Right Click For MP4 ] [ Right Click For FLV ] [ Apocalyptica.com ]

“White spotlights appeared one at a time to highlight each player as he launched into the enigmatic opening strains of the title track from Worlds Collide. The cheers built to a deafening crescendo as Mikko’s thunderous toms launched the song’s first explosive synchronized cello riffs. I felt a physical blast of compressed air from the amp stacks as the low-end vibrations kicked in, hammered home by a machine-gun double kick.” ~From G9′s FEARnet Review of the Show