People say that “old loves go to heaven.” It’s true. Visions of Atlantis frontwoman Maxi Nil is one of the very few people that I really love. And that love was born some years ago when I discovered her on a compilation album of a musical contest. Back then, she was still with her old band, and she was singing “I will be always a dreamer / Always fighting for more than I can have.” And I was hooked on her voice and mostly on her lyrics. In that period of time, I had no idea about bands like Nightwish or Epica or Within Temptation, and I can’t say that I was a “femme metal” fan. And to be more accurate: the bands I was listening to during that period of my life had nothing to do with female vocalists or gothic/symphonic/whatever metal. But I still remember very clearly that I was very impressed by Maxi’s voice. The warmth of her voice made me listen to that song again and again. Ηοwever, I had no clue about band’s name or the name of the vocalist. The years passed by, and one day (night, to be more accurate!) I “met” the girl who wrote and sang that song. Fate can play really weird games.

That is the story of my meeting with Maxi. In 2011, I finally met her in person in Athens. And that was the moment that I really understood one simple thing: Maxi was born to be an artist. A few days after our meeting, the recordings of Delta, her first album with Visions of Atlantis, started and her dream became true. She was finally a part of a “music” family, and she was really happy. If you want to know more about that extraordinary girl, keep reading.

Surely our readers at Sonic Cathedral have heard of MaYaN, the symphonic death metal project of Epica founder Mark Jansen. Anyone who owns a copy of MaYaN’s album Quarterpast will also recognize the name Laura Macrì. Her operatic soprano voice graces the crushing tracks “Celibate Aphrodite” and “The Savage Massacre,” and shimmers on the orchestral ballad “Essenza di Te.” The 21-year-old Italian singer has also toured with MaYaN in The Netherlands, Belgium, and most recently Central and South America. What else do we know about Laura, though? Not much – which motivated us to pursue this interview!

After Laura returned home from South America, Sonic Cathedral staff writer Sara Letourneau chatted with Laura about obvious subjects (Quarterpast and the MaYaN tours) and much more. How did Laura become an opera singer? What did she think of her recent visit to the ancient Mayan city of Iximche? And, our most burning question: Will Laura join MaYaN for their North American debut at ProgPower USA next September? Read on to learn more about this rising start in the opera (and metal) arena.