Exclusive Interview | Marcello & Richard of Caught In Action

To address the band and their new single

I dubbed the remarkable debut `Devil’s Tango’ of Swedish Caught In Action “overwhelming”, which was no less than an understatement proven since. The record is in frequent rotation since, and its key ingredients kept growing over time. Strong musical marksmanship combined with an excellent ear for nesting melodies and gigantic hooks pull their songs forward. The groove and dynamics are strong and powerful, with bass and drummer Mats Elofsson crafting the perfect foundation for the songs to flourish. Topping it off are wonderful guitar melodies and licks with intricate harmonies and wonderful soloing from guitarist Richard Jönssons.

Over all this musical greatness singer Marcello belts his excellent and versatile vocals, breathing passion and life into the songs. His wide range and perfect pitch inject the songs with character and the needed radiance. Powerful and roaring, soaring melodic when needed, he transcends the songs. 

`Devil’s Tango’ is packed with a wide range of melodic songs switching between classic Deep Purple toned raw classic rock songs packed with organic toned organs and Hammond tones, fist raising 80s melodic rock anthems with arena grandeur, and slick melodic tunes that border with Signal and King Kobra’s finest creations. It nests on the spot while it keeps the listener drawn, much like House of Lords remarkable debut. 

NEW SINGLE ,,I’LL BE ALRIGHT”

My review lying behind us little over a year, Caught In Action recently touched base to update us on their current standings. Adding bass player Jens Mattson to their ranks the band rounded up their line up and expanded its creative crew in terms of songwriting and rehearsal dynamics. 

The interaction between Mats and Jens intensified leading to 5 brand new tracks currently recorded for release next year, Caught In Action is carefully carving their future. In the meantime, they report back with their brand new single ,,I’ll be Alright” to keep your ears warm for new music.

,,I’ll be Alright” is not just a tune reporting back to the fold, the song tells quite a story. Written and recorded during the days following their debut, it hits deep due to vocalist Marcello’s situation. Unanswered love in a time of struggle, Marcello brings a strong vocal job to the plate even though he was battling cancer himself. ,,I’ll be Alright” is a tittle conveying more than the obvious even though the lyrics are stand alone in this situation…. Or are they?

ROCK AGAINST CANCER

We reach out to Richard for some additional info on the song and Marcello’s current condition. In the light of our collaboration with Rock Against Cancer, we wonder if it is possible to get in touch with Caught In Action’s heartwarming vocalist. Much to our surprise, Marcello reports back to answer a vast amount of our questions himself, which feels like a very good sign of his current health indeed. 

Guys, thank you for sharing the story and music with us. It is great to hear Caught In Action and the band back at recording new music. How is their powerhouse vocalist doing right now?
Marcello himself replies: ,,I’m doing good. As most people know, this damn disease stays with you, lurking… so you must be careful and watchful for any subtle change, but I’m fully focused on my mental and physical health right now and the keeping a positive attitude.”

,,I’ll be Alright” conveys a story of love unequally answered and stinging deep. How does the lyric hold in the story of your past illness in this perspective?
He continues: ,,It’s a ‘double entendre’ song. It doesn’t necessarily talk about my situation, but the underlying message is that I control this thing and not the other way around.  But it works perfectly as an unrequited love themed song too. We don’t want it to get too serious and dark here. We need people to have fun with our songs!”

CAUGHT IN ACTION – TURBULENT TIMES

You are (like on the debut) spot on with your vocals, flexed perfectly around the song’s content. The song breathes life and you certainly take the spotlight belting a wonderful job. Didn’t medication affect you during these turbulent times?
Marcello elaborates: ,,I had a necessary downtime during the worst part of it, but I always took care of my vocal apparel like an athlete and in doing so, I was ready to deal with it. I kept working and singing the whole time and fortunately that also helped me to retain my sanity a little bit. 🙂 ”

Ending his sentence with a smily warms up our interview. And we want to know how did the situation affected him and the band, as I can only imagine how hard this struck having just released the debut. How did it interfere with Caught In Action’s plans and future?
Marcello: ,,Since we had just come out of the pandemic when we released `Devil’s Tango’, our debut album, there weren’t many live shows scheduled. We had to cancel some festivals and decided to start working on the new album right away to seriously get on the road with enough material to kick ass towards the end of 2023 going into 2024.”

You bounced back in a remarkable way with ,,I’ll be Alright” capturing all of the band’s ingredients. Slick melodies, nesting hooks and harmonies, and wonderful musical marksmanship. How did the song come together and how did you guys execute?
Richard responds: ,,I think we just couldn’t stop writing and recording after `Devil’s Tango’ was released, and ,,I’ll be Alright” came together in the turbulent times that followed. This song is also the first song that my longtime friend and drummer Mats Elofsson is co-writer for. It means a lot to me since we started and went on to play in the same band together for almost 30 years.”

THE FUTURE OF CAUGHT IN ACTION

What does the future hold for Caught In Action?
He continues: ,,We have some really promising new songs coming your way. In Ricardo Dikk we have a great producer who creates that CIA sound we love so much. Ricardo is also known as a famed bass player involved with TV shows such as The Voice, Idols and X-Factor, and has lent his talents to many performers as their bass player. He’s got magic fingers translating our thoughts and songs.

Our new bass player Jens Mattsson is now starting to warm up. He enables us to rehearse and jam together as a real band, making us grow tighter. With Marcello from Portugal for the gigs we will maintain our Swedish-Portuguese collaboration continue. Jens has great musical ideas and is the brain new track ,,Nathalie” for example.  He plays really tight and has a very heavy sound. It’s an extra sonic addition to our sound.

We hope our fans also want to see us performing live and then hopefully there’s promoters willing to give us a chance. We want to show our fans that we really kick ass on stage! Caught In Action spent many hours in the studios, but it’s onstage where we want to be. You know, meet all the fans that supported us and hang out to share stories.”

Any famous last words for our readers?
Marcello: ,,The best is yet to come!’’

Thank you for your time guys, once again, and looking forward to hear new music, and hopefully see you perform on stage soon.

All photos taken from Caught In Action Facebook