Rising Sunset was born in July 2001, when Carlo Calamatta (Guitars) and Mario Camilleri Brennan (Guitars) decided to meet for some jamming sessions. Carlo had the idea to create a metal band that delivers a positive message to the listeners and Mario agreed with this philosophy. A few weeks later, Christa Calamatta (Vocals) joined forces with Carlo and Mario. Christa introduced atmospheric and stylish vocals, which had a great influence in the compositions of the songs being written. Another musician, Joe Costa, joined Rising Sunset to help with the soloing and guitar rhythm parts. The prime notion was to have a third guitarist harmonizing with the other two rhythm guitars. However, as Joe lives across the waters in Gozo (one of the Maltese islands) it proved difficult for him to meet regularly with the rest of the members and the idea of three harmonizing guitars was not feasible. Joe was therefore asked to concentrate on some guitar solos of the planned project. Later, Oriella Casha joined up with her violin to create harmony melodies. Her violin touches blended very well with the vocal lines making the band’s style more classic and atmospheric.

At this stage the line-up was a 5-piece band without a bassist, a keyboardist and a drummer. The first few months together were a bit difficult due to the absence of these instruments. Carlo introduced the idea of using a drum-machine as a temporary measure so that Rising Sunset could start composing songs and jamming together along with a drum beat. For the time being the search for a drummer was postponed and the drum machine programming took a serious approach. This move was successful and it gave a heartbeat to the band. With great moral support from the co-founding members (Christa & Mario), Carlo created the initial drum patterns for the first song 'Timeless Beauty'. The next compositions followed the same path and the following songs were written: 'Immortal Devotion', 'Journey into the Woods', 'End of Iniquity' and 'Sword of the Spirit'.

As the band evolved through the years, there were some changes in the line-up. Joe Costa had to leave the band due to distance problems since he lives in Gozo (all the members would like to thank him for the good times spent together). In May 2007, Antoine Ferrito (ex-Sceptocrypt) contacted the band after reading a review of Rising Sunset in a local newspaper. He was interested in joining the band on drums and so he was auditioned for some weeks. He proved to be up to the job and introduced a powerful atmosphere to songs.

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“They say that life is a journey with a beginning and an end, however the end is only the beginning! And what we do on our journey, until its end, determines from where we are going to start our new beginning”.

Christa Calamatta