“God Is A Witness”, self-released debut album of the Italian hard ’n’ heavy band Anims, led by former Danger Zone and Crying Steel guitarist Francesco Di Nicola, has been released on all major digital platforms on August 6, 2021. The band has now signed a brand new deal with Sneakout Records / Burning Minds Music Group for the release also in CD format, scheduled on April 29, 2022.

The album “God Is A Witness” came to life in an old-school way, with various face-to- face encounters in a music rehearsal room in Bologna, Italy. The project started with the clear and precise intention of creating and recording an album containing ten tracks; ten songs that were clearly united by the same "hard ‘n’ heavy" influence, yet each with their own specific character. The ten songs originated from the guitar riffs composed by Francesco Di Nicola (Danger Zone, Crying Steel), put together with the collaboration of bassist Elio Caia, drummer Diego Emiliani and singer Luca Bonzagni (Crying Steel), who proceeded to elaborate nine of the ten vocal melodic lines. After the composing and arranging of the songs, as well as the recording of the ten arrangements, the singer, unable to continue the work for personal reasons, abandoned the project, inevitably leaving room for new evaluations, including that of the use of a voice that could offer a totally different and therefore absolutely unexpected twist to the band's sound. It was therefore decided that a classic hard/heavy metal voice was not what the band envisioned, so various specialized and experienced male voices were auditioned. The group therefore decided to wait for the right opportunity, without necessarily rushing into the completion of the album. 

Meanwhile, the tracks were recorded by Roberto Priori at “Pristudio” in Bologna. During a work break to check the backing tracks and to listen to some tracks recorded in said studio, the opportunity arose to entrust the task of completing the album to Elle Noir, a singer who, by virtue of her own experience and singing versatility, subsequently accepted the challenge of steering towards a decidedly “hard” horizon as she had never done before. 

The ten lyrics were written by Francesco Di Nicola, who, speaking from his own experiences, dreams, desires and fears, tried as much as possible to follow the previously composed melodies, composing the missing one (“The Dancers”) and, with the collaboration of Elle Noir, completing, perfecting and adapting the singing parts to suit the new voice. The overall result, fruit of the combined effort and common taste of the four musicians, yet inevitably characterized by the freshness, power and femininity of Elle Noir's voice, subsequently inspired the name of the band.

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01.  God Is A Witness

02. Freedom

03. Around Me

04. Live For Somebody

05. Boring Lovers

06. Bright Eyes

07. Look Who’s Back

08. The Dancers

09. He Says

10. Like Colours Of Flowers

Elle Noir: Vocals

Elio Caia: Bass guitar 

Francesco Di Nicola: Guitars 

Diego Emiliani: Drums