40 Years of Chaos · EP.09 — Giovanni Leaves, Marcello Enters

Right after Psycho Pain Control came out, Giovanni Rovatti moved to Milan for work. He was the last survivor of the Hydra line-up still in the band, on vocals and guitar since 1986. The departure was inevitable but symbolically heavy: with Giovanni gone, the direct thread of continuity with the Hydra phase was cut, and AydrA became fully post-Hydra for the first time. His imprint stayed in the credits, four of the five tracks on the debut were his writing, and it lingered in the sound long after he left.

In his place came Marcello Lammoglia, a metal guitarist from Senigallia and a close friend of Francesco Olivi. His approach was more rhythmic and more modern, complementary to Francesco's lead playing, a balance that became the trademark of the next line-up. He had already recorded a clean guitar part on Psycho Pain Control before officially joining, entering the record before he entered the band. Together with Francesco he worked on the first new piece, destined for the Scream From Italy compilation.

Meanwhile the record moved through the underground. Metal Shock ran an interview by Laura Archini in 1996. Photocopied fanzines, letters and promo tapes did the rest: the Dawn of Sadness cassette was stamped Only For Radios, Zines, Mags Underground.