Official Biography

The Ophidian were officially formed in November '96, under the name Within the Dark. The band consisted of the two founder guitarists: Luca, coming from the Dismal, and Max, from the Anxiety. After trying different members, they engaged Gianluca, former drummer of the Orthodox, who had a remarkable experience in live and studio's performances. Gianluca, decided to offer himself as session-man for the promotional-tape, while the voiceand the bass parts were temporally entrusted to Luca. The first arrangements were enriched with classical influences by the addiction of keyboards and soprano parts; Luca, who was in touch with the classical music circle, contacted the soprano Francesca, and proposed her to join the band as second vocalist. Formerly she was puzzled, but after listening the pieces, which were almost completely finished, she decided to get together with the line-up. During the preparation of the promotion's songs, the name was changed in Prophet. In April they decided to record the promotional with a three men formation plus the soprano, but unexpectedly a bass-player answered to an announcement that in the meantime the band had published on different music magazines: he was Marco (former Tombstone). The promotional recording date was post-dated, in order to allow the new member to prepare the pieces; the moniker was definitely changed in Ophidian. The promotional recording was fixed for July, at the Malibù Studio. The very first day of the recording Marco, the new bass player was turned away on the grounds of incompatibility of character and because of a different vision of the group's aspirations and objectives. The promotional-tape, A Fragment Of Eternity, was welcomed by the audience and also by the qualified magazines, which published very good reviews. Even very important record companies as Music For Nation, Nuclear Blast, Massacre, Metal Blade, and Holy Records appreciated the tape, but none of them made a concrete proposal of collaboration. Only an Italian label asked for a partnership, but the Ophidian considered its proposal not very serious and they decided to refuse it. Nevertheless many distributors, included important ones like the Holy Records, have contacted the Ophidian in order to give out the promotional-tape, especially in Europe. Once the promotion of A Fragment Of Eternity was finished, the Ophidian started preparing new material for the next demonstration-tape and they decided to look for a real singer; after having listened to some auditions, they chose Mauro (former singer of the Eresia, and afterwards of the De Occulta Philosophia). By the end of January the new pieces were ready; in these songs Francesca's voice was heightened and the keyboard's presence was increased, in order to give a much more personal mark. Since Mauro was the new singer, Luca intervened as melodious voice. During the enrichment of the pieces, the band carried on its research for a serious and motivated bass player, to obtain a definitive line-up and finally be ready for a live performance. Michele, former member of the Orthodox, was chosen and the band gave him time to study the pieces. The first concert by the Ophidian was at the Indian Saloon in Bresso (in the province of Milan), as supporting band. Although Ophidian were not known to the audience, their performance was a success. As the date for the second recording was approaching, the band continued working on the tunes, and decided as well to start again the research for a bass player, since Michele was removed. A month after the band was asked to play again at the Indian Saloon; for that performance the bass was played by Carlo, a guitarist, but for the recording, which was going to be a week later, it was going to be played again by Luca, as for the first demonstration tape. For the recording the Ophidian went back to the Malibù Studio, where for four whole days they worked hard in order to get a perfect and complete work. During the recording, some of the keyboard's melodies were replaced with a string trio, in order to enhance the contrast between electrical and acoustic sounds, while for the live concerts the band decided to keep the former keyboard's parts. The cello and the violin were respectively played by Francesca and Luca. A week after the recording the bad played once more at the Indian Saloon, this time as headliner. As supporting band they chose some friends, who created few problems within the night-spot, however the Ophidian were able to play, and once again the audience's reply was positive. By the end of May, notwithstanding many unforeseen events, finally came out Lost In The Hall Of A Dream. This time the recording was definitely bettered, and it included four pieces plus an intro., and an high quality art-work by William (Max's brother and a drawer) Mauro, who worked out and made up the whole, and Michele, a band's friend who courteously settled and improved the logo. The band recorded five hundred copies, instead of three hundred, and the demo was first mastered on CD by Elettroformati, while extraordinary copies on CD wer e recorded just for the record companies. The promotion was begun sending copies to specialised magazines e to some labels. The first answers came from Nuclear Blast and Metal Blade, but even this time nothing was definitively settled. In the meantime, after some problems and irresolution, the band decided for the removing of Gianluca, as a consequence some live performances have been cancelled. They are looking for a drummer and a bass player seriously inclined to embark this activity as a profession. Obviously they are also looking for a label who would produce and support them in a satisfactory way. At the moment the Ophidian are making use of some sessions for the imminent recording. For infos or to buy the demos contact the band:

Luca Difato - via Rossini, 14 - 20060 Vignate MILANO - ITALY

Phone: +39 2 9566998

Massimiliano Mazza - via Padova, 147 - 20127 MILANO ITALY

Phone: +39 2 2617611