Lethal Saint Interview on SPRITSIAN

Cyprus Heavy metal is growing strong the last few years. Lethal Saint, are one of the most known Cypriot metal bands, and we are very happy to have a little chat with Andreas Kasapis, the guitarist of the band.

 - Hello Andreas, and thank you for giving "Spritsian blog" the chance to make an interview about Lethal Saint.

 Hi there Costantinos, it’s my pleasure, thanks as well for helping us to spread the name of the band even further.

 - I've heard that there are some changes in the band's lineup. What are the changes and who are the new members? 

 Yes, lately we went through a line-up change so now on guitars is Christoforos Gavriel (new member) and me, on drums is Christis Isseyegh, on vocals Andreas Pogioukkas and finally we manage to find someone to handle the bass, an old friend of ours Nicholas Liakos. At the moment everything is working out great and I hope it will stay this way!

 - Your latest release, was a 7" vinyl, came out by 3 record labels (Emanes metal records, Under siege and Dying Victims records). How did that came up?

 Well, to start with our CD-single “Saint Strikes Back” was to be released as a 7” vinyl, but due to the fact that no record label replied to us at that time, we decided to release it first on CD and hopefully later someone would be interested doing it on a 7” as well. Thankfully, the French label Emanes Metal Records approached us five months after the release of the CD-single, and they were interested on releasing “Saint Strikes Back” on a 7” vinyl. After a lot of planning about how we wanted the record to be, we moved on to find another two labels so they could split the cost and finally on March 2012 it was released. The vinyl contains a selection of two songs (Remixed, Remastered) from the single and it’s limited to 500 copies - so grab one soon!

 - Should we wait to listen to new material from LS soon? 

 I‘m not sure yet if we’ll release any promo material before the new album, but we probably should, because it will take a while for the new album to be released. We are doing our best though to add on our live set some new stuff hopefully by the next gig we have them ready for you guys to enjoy!

 - Do you think that the fact that your basis is in Cyprus is a negative or a positive aspect for the band, and the other metal bands on the island? 

 Unfortunately is mostly negative because there are fewer opportunities to be successful, luck of professionalism in every aspect (sound engineers, venues, organizers, bands, etc) and we are not taken seriously by the rest of Europe and this is extremely sad because there are some great bands in CY that deserve to be known!

 - Would you ever change the style of music that LS play? 

 I wouldn’t say change it, I’d rather say evolve it to something more mature and original. If you listen to the new material you will notice that we took a different path than what we were doing in the past, it’s more less a combination of US metal such as Helstar, Liege Lord, Vicious Rumors, Metal Church etc, with a blend of German metal in the style of Accept, Heaven’s Gate, Primal Fear and many more. I’m confident that our fans will love the result.

 - What are the main influences that inspired LS?

 That should be definitely Accept, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and Helloween.

 - What do you think about the new wave of Heavy Metal bands especially in Europe? Is it a trend or is it going to last?

 Well for me they all sound the same. They are using the same formula for their songs and there is nothing special about it. We heard those riffs a billion times before. For sure is a trend and reminds me of Glam Metal, I can’t see it last long.

 -Are there any plans for some live shows soon? 

 As far as I am concerned we are waiting for a gig on the 22th of December to be confirmed. If not we will definitely arrange another show in Christmas. For more information about our future plans you can visit our websites at the following links:
 Official Website: http://www.lethalsaint.com/
 Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lethalsaintheavymetal
 Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/lethalsaintmetal
 ReverbNation: http://www.reverbnation.com/lethalsaint
 Encyclopedia Metallum: http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Lethal_Saint/3540259646

 If anyone is interested in buying Lethal Saint merchandise they can contact us at the following email: Email: lethalsaintheavymetal@gmail.com Thanks a lot Costantinos for the interview I wish you and the readers all the best! STAY FUCKING LETHAL!!!
 Andreas Kasapis

Alltheniko Interview on SPRITSIAN

Having just heard the new album of Alltheniko , (out 23/11/12 Pure steel Records) I thought it was a good chance to have a chat with Joe Boneshaker , the guitarist of the bandabout the band and the new release . -

Hello Joe and thanks for accepting the invitation to do an interview on "Spritsian" 

- Hi to You and all readers of Spritsian from me and the whole band ALLTHENIKO!

First of all i would like you to tell me what is the meaning of the band's name ?

- I think that the moniker is strange and it's understandable that the first time you read it you don't immediately think of a Heavy Metal band! 10 years ago, when we started, we had different names with which we signed up to as many competitions for bands, we kept the same name we performed the first time with, then we haven't changed it because has become dear to us! Alltheniko literally is a play on words sounding like "Oldenico", which is a small village near our town Vercelli (in the north-west of Italy).

 So , you are celebrating the 10 years of the band , what do you think are the best moments of these years for the band ?

- it is usually easier to identify the worst and the most difficult moments, but luckily we had our small satisfactions, and are these ones that make us think it's the right way.

How would you describe the band having regard the style of music you play and the lyrical themes you use ?  

-the band can be identified as ...a three-head mutant, haha! jokes aside: musically I think we have a good balance of influences, and the result is a recognizable sound! while with texts we always look for something different from the stereotype of the genre, but equally effective, certainly both music and lyrics will always be evolving.

Who writes the songs for Alltheniko ? What's the usual process ?

- I usually create the structure of the songs, only the musical base, not lyrics. tracks are selected all together, then played and arranged by the whole band. While vocal lines and lyrics are written by Dave and Luke, and are made afterwards.

Tell us a few words about the new album "Back In 2066" .

- Back in 2066 is an album, and as such exists for pure and simple communication, which is the need you have to express yourself, and at the same time to photograph a particular point of your life. certainly in this work, we expressed more our emotional side rather than the technical one, although this last is however contained in the 50 minutes of the cd, but its simplicity is its real strength.

How do metal fans in Italy respond to Alltheniko , and generally in local Heavy Metal bands ? 

- Fortunately, over the years we got attention and support from those who follow Italian and European underground, mainly working "in the old way", that is, doing good concerts, that's why we try to give the best in our live shows. in general, metal in Italy is going through a difficult and confusing period, there are so many bands and some really valid, but it seems that lacks the will to find them out, and it may be due to too much supply that has generated a lot of indifference! hope enthusiasm to make and to live music will come back soon!

Would you ever change the style of music you play for any reason?

- hehe! I'll let you know if one day I'll have a big money offer! but in the meantime I'm happy to express myself without restrictions! I suppose then that a band is able to change its genre, but is unlikely to change even its own style!

What would you say to a heavy metal fan that has never heard of you yet?

- there are many who have never heard of us and I don't know what to say more than "try to give a listen", but I am sure anyone who want to, will come to our music without prompts by me or others!
I wanted to take advantage of this space to greet all fans of heavy metal in Greece! Unfortunately, we never had a chance to play there by you, but we hope it will happen soon!

Wotan Interview with guitarist Mario Degiovanni

Traditional Epic Metallers "Wotan" have just announced that they are going to play a gig in Cyprus in July 13th , so i took the opporunity to have a chat with their guitarist Mario Degiovanni about the band .

-Hello Mario . What are Wotan doing this time as a band , and what are your expectations and plans for the future?

-We are working hard on the songs for the upcoming next cd , "Nibelugenlied" . It's 5 years we are working on these songs , and believe me it will be our masterpiece . It will be a double concept album with 18 brand new songs , without any intermissions , intros , spoken parts and other bullshit .

-Who writes the songs for Wotan ? What's the usual process ?

-Vanni (the vocalist) writes all the lyrics , always , and i usually write the music . Usually we start with a guitar riff or a chorus melody , and then we all together work for the song . Sometimes songs come up very quickly but sometimes it's a long procedure . We don't finish any song unless we are 100% satisfied .

-You have played at many cities . Where did you had the best responce from the fans ?

-Greece has a very special place in our hearts. This is beacause we've played there lots of times , not only in Athens , but Thessaloniki , Xanthi , Komotini , Drama etc . Also in Spain we had a very good responce , and of course in Germany .

-Is it easy for a Traditional Epic metal band like Wotan to find a label and to play gigs abroad?

-Of course not . It's a very underground status , and usually its fans who organise gigs for us around Europe . About the labels ... In 2012 probably the labels are not so important .You know for an underground band with internet contacts it could be easy to find distro , mailorders etc . If you want to make the difference and go out from the underground status you need a good label . With a good distribution and promotion in all channels . It's very difficult . Actually we don't know wich label will publish our next cd .

-Would you ever change the style of music you play for any reason?

-Never . From the beginning in the 80's 'til now . This is the music we love and feel inside us . And it always will be !

-What does Heavy Metal mean for you?

-Good question ... It's not only about the nusic ..It'an attitude , a filosophy of life , a beliefe . Heavy metal gives you the strength to go on through all the difficulties of life .. Everyone ahas own problems (school,work,health,family) and i think Heavy Metal really could help everyone of us .

-How do metal fans in Italy respond to Wotan ?

- In the last years , we played very few gigs in Italy . There are no more spaces to play Heavy metal .It's sad but tue . Hope to make some better in the future , he have a good fan base here .

- You are playing in Cyprus in the 13th of July . How didi this came up?

- To be honest we had to play in Cyprus last year . Tragedy End Agency contacted us ( I think some Cypriot fans of Wotan got in touch with Tragedy End) and all things are going on very easily and so we confirmed the 13th of July with Grave Digger .It's the first time for us in Cyprus and will be very exciting .We will also play 2 new songs from our upcoming album live for the first time !

- Send a message to the metal fans in Cyprus .

- Be there brothers ! You will never forget this show and we promise you , we will give you 110% of ourselves and we will play a very special setlist .