17 Crash: Rock and Rage Inferno from Italy

17 Crash: Rock and Rage Inferno from Italy

17 Crash is a wickedly dynamic collective from Italy ready to unleash their own explosive brand of rock and roll upon this great big world.  The band has just released Through Hell And Back through Volcano Records, and what a grand slam this thrilling album is!  Containing instantly memorable selections such as Face And Face, Heroes, Bite The Freedom, and of course the kickass title track, Through Hell And Back is destined to leave an indelible impression all those who give a good listen.  Highwire Daze recently caught up with lead vocalist Ros Crash to find out a whole lot more about the rock and rage inferno of the one and only 17 Crash!  Read on…

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in 17 Crash, and how long the band has been together.
Hi there! I’m Ros, Lead Vocals of 17 Crash. We’re around since 2011 and, despite some line-up change, we’ve released 3 albums: Reading your Dirty Minds, Hit The Prey and our last work Through Hell And Back.

Where is the band based out of and what is the local music scene like there?
We’re based in Italy – Tuscany to be precise: I’m from Lucca, Phil (Drums) and Maxxx (Bass) are from Livorno, CJ ( Guitar) from Pisa and WildCat (Guitars) from Viareggio. We are proud to share the “hometown” with bands like Vision Divine and Labyrinth.  Unfortunately, the music scene is not as good as some years ago; times change and so do the audience, but we try our best to keep the RnR alive!

How did you wind up signing with Volcano Records?
We made it NOT the traditional way, to be honest. We had the chance to met Alessandro Liccardo (Volcano Records CEO) during a live gig of his band “Hangarvain” here in Tuscany. He already knew our project and when the Volcano Records & Promotion saw the light we begin to talk about the possibility to release our 2nd album with them. We have a strong mutual appreciation.

Is there any overall story or concept behind the Through Hell And Back album title?
Sort of. The main inspiration came from Dante’s Journey through the “Inferno.”
It describes who we are, what we’ve been through and showing all the steps we faced during all these years.
Among bad times and good times, we face our demons and mistake but we always find the way to carry on and believe in what we do.

Select two songs from Through Hell And Back and what inspired the lyrics.
Bite The Freedom and Don’t Surrender. I’m attached to this two songs ’cause there’s a lot of personal experience shared from the title, to the very last verse.

Who did the cover art for Through Hell And Back and how much input did you have on it?
Andrea Falaschi (aka Frate Orion from Deathless Legacy). Andrea is an amazing artist. We just shared with him some few ideas, let him listen to the album and that’s all. He did it “one take.”

How does Through Hell And Back compare to your previous releases?
Grown up. That’s the words we like to use to describe this album. Reading Your Dirty Minds has the sound of the music we used to listen when we where young, Hit The Prey is a “search of identity.” Through Hell And Back is an “Evolution.”

Who produced Through Hell And Back and what was it like working with them?
For the second time we’ve had the honor to work with Alessio Lucatti (Vision Divine, Deathless Legacy) for the production and Simone Mularoni (Domination Studio, DGM) for the mix & master. And, needless to say, work with two amazing artist like them is mindblowing. They can bring out the very best from everyone.

What could one expect from a live 17 Crash show?
A lot of R n’R! – We love performing on stage and we always our 100%.  Music runs in our blood and the audience always notice that, sharing with us all the fun.

If 17 Crash could open for any band either now or from the past, who would it be and why?
That’s a trickie question. We all have a different “soul” talking about bands and R n’R genre. Phil loves the 80s Sunset Strip sleazy scene, Maxxx has years of experience in a punk band, CJ is a prog Rock Lover and WildCat has a bluesy soul. How can we choose just one band?
Talking for myself, If I had a time machine my choice would be: Black Sabbath with DIO and Skid Row with Sebastian Bach.

Has 17 Crash ever played here in the States or plan to do so in future days
Unfortunately we haven’t the chance yet. But we have a strong fanbase in the States, and also a Fan Club! So, who knows? Hopefully one day we will!

Are you or any other members involved with any other projects outside of 17 Crash?
Yes, our CJ has a Prog Rock project: Homo Ex Machina.

What’s up next for 17 Crash?
We had plans, before the coming of the COVID-19, but since we don’t know when and how we will be able to play on a stage again, we’re already working on a new album.
Once the emergency will be over, we will come back stronger than ever.

Any final words of wisdom?
To all the people out there: Give to the new band a chance. Once we will be able to go out again, go on a local club and see what happen in the underground scene. There’s a lot of good music out there that deserve to be discovered.
In the meantime, Stay Home. Stay Safe.

Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions! Stay well and hope to see your band here in the States one day.
Thanks to you to Ken, it has been a Pleasure! Keep on Rockin’!

Band Members
Ros Crash – Vocals
Wildcat – Guitar
CJ “Black Dog” Guarne- Guitar
Maxxx – Bass
Phil Hill – Drums

(Interview by Ken Morton)

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