ENGLISH BELOW
Full House Brew Crew sa vracia pomstiť na albume Glasgow Grin, novom a poriadne heavy albume, ktorý premieňa heavy groove metal na nemilosrdný útok. Kapelu vedie frontman a gitarista Vageliss Karzis, ktorý je známy aj svojou prácou v kapele Wolfheart a ako bývalý gitarista Rotting Christ, ktorý preformuloval zvuk skupiny do surovej agresie a priamych, úderných skladieb. Nahrávka, ktorú produkoval fínsky zvukový inžinier Saku Moilanen, prináša ostré gitary, výrazné bicie a drsné, do tváre smerované vokály, ktoré posúvajú intenzitu kapely na novú úroveň. Kapela označuje Glasgow Grin za nový začiatok a tvrdí, že dôveruje skladbám aj sebe samým. Odmietajúci mainstreamové obmedzenia, pred pár dňami nám doručila dielo, na ktoré sú najviac hrdí. hellmagazine.eu vám prináša tento exkluzívny rozhovor s Vagelissom osobne práve teraz.
Pozdravujem do pravdepodobne krásnych slnečných Atén z úplne mrazivého, snehom pokrytého stredného Slovenska.
To je úžasné, ale aby to bolo pre teba trochu príjemnejšie, počasie tu vôbec nie je dobré. Je zamračené, skoro prší. Nie je veľká zima, samozrejme nemrzne, ale ani nie je teplo. Áno, mali sme teplejšie dni, ale sme uprostred zimy, takže začína byť trochu chladnejšie.
Aspoň nemusím závidieť, vieš, pretože síce pochádzam zo Slovenska, ale som skôr letný typ. Nenávidím zimu. Túto sezónu by som úplne vymazala, keby som mohla.
Áno, úprimne, nie som zástancom zimy, ale rozhodne ani leta. Oveľa radšej mám tie druhé dve ročné obdobia — jeseň a jar, to sú moje naj.
Vieš čo, tak ja sa presťahujem k tebe a ty ku mne. Haha. Čo je nové v Aténach? Posledný raz som tam bola koncom septembra 2025, takže minulý rok, len pred pár týždňami, chýba mi to. Milujem to mesto. Vlastne som sa doň zamilovala.
To je dobré počuť. Vieš, posledné roky veľa cestujem a keď sa vrátim domov, vždy je to dobrý pocit, ale niekedy porovnávam krásne mestá, centrá a tak, a myslím si, že máme naozaj skvelé mesto a krajinu všeobecne. Mesto Atény však nie je také veľkolepé, lebo ľudia nevedia, že Atény sú len malá časť celej metropolitnej oblasti — mnoho regiónov a malých štvrti postupne vyrástlo a všetko sa pospájalo, takže teraz je to obrovské územie. Napríklad kde bývam ja, môžem povedať, že som v Aténach, ale autom som asi 35 minút od centra, teda vôbec nie blízko centra. Je to príjemné a ľudia asi oceňujú počasie — môžeš vonku jesť a piť, máme veľa skvelých miest. Takže nie veľa sa zmenilo od decembra.
Čakáš na vydanie nového albumu?
Áno, už sa na to teším, pretože tentokrát bol spôsob nahrávania a prípravy úplne iný, takže sa stále posúvame a meníme veci, najmä ja sám. Celý proces bol tentokrát úplne iný — oveľa lepší, zábavnejší — a výsledok zatiaľ vyzerá lepšie, tak neviem, možno to bude dobré.
Väčšina mojich otázok sa samozrejme bude týkať najnovšieho albumu, bez debaty, ale keďže je to môj prvý rozhovor s tebou, musím začať otázkou spojenou s názvom kapely. Pripomína mi to hranie kariet a pitie piva, mám pravdu alebo som úplne mimo?
Máš pravdu na 100 %, práve to sme robili — ty si prvý človek, kto to pochopil na prvú. Áno, presne tak to bolo, pred mnohými rokmi, keď som kapelu zakladal, hľadal som názov a napadlo mi, že Brew Crew je fajn doplnok. Si mladý, napadnú ti rôzne nápady, myslíš si, že sú super. Full House vzniklo pri hraní Texas Hold’em s množstvom kamarátov — jednu noc som vyhrával s Full House viackrát za sebou a náš basák povedal: „Full House, možno to bude názov kapely,“ a ja som spontánne povedal: „Áno, to je dobré, to je super názov.“
Nezniete ako Gréci, možno skôr ako Američania. Bol to zámer?
Áno, ale je to veľmi zložité, vieš, ako čas plynie, veľa ľudí hovorí, že táto kapela znie príliš grécky, tamto znie príliš grécky. Čo tým mysleli, a s čím súhlasím aj dnes, je to, že keď sa snažíš robiť niečo, s čím vyrástli Američania, je to naozaj ťažké. Je to ako učiť sa cudzí jazyk a hovoriť ako rodený. Je nesmierne náročné dostať niektoré veci do tela a do hlavy a potom byť schopný vytvoriť niečo vlastné, čo môže byť jedinečné, pretože pochádzaš z iného sveta. Možno ľudia hovoria, že neznieš tak americky kvôli gréckym alebo iným vplyvom, možno kvôli spôsobu myslenia, neviem, ale áno, je to zámerné. Keď sa snažíme vytvoriť niečo, čo sa nám páči a čo pramení odtiaľ, snažíme sa hrať podľa ich pravidiel. Nie je to tak, že by sme chceli znieť úplne americky, pretože sa nám nepáči celý americký štýl, ale berieme vplyvy, robíme niečo, čo nám sedí. A to je hlavný dôvod, prečo znieme „americky“.
Chápem, na druhej strane je dobré, že nechcete znieť úplne americky, lebo si vás neviem predstaviť, že by ste hral, nejaký redneck country alebo tak. Haha.
Presne.
Dnes je na prvý pohľad dosť ťažké určiť, odkiaľ kapela pochádza, pretože sa všetko tak mieša, žánre aj štýly, takže dnes je to veľmi náročné. Na druhej strane, toto nie je tvoja prvá kapela. Ako formovali a ovplyvnili tvoje skúsenosti z Wolfheart a predtým Rotting Christ tvoju prácu vo Full House Brew Crew?
Nebol som ovplyvnený, čo je dosť zvláštne. Rotting Christ ma ovplyvnil len na začiatku mojej gitarovej cesty, keď som sa učil niekoľko piesní. Rotting Christ bola jedna z prvých kapiel, ktoré som vôbec počúval. Neskôr, aj keď som sa pridal do kapely, Sakis zvolil iný prístup, pridal sa som k nej tesne pred vydaním Kata Ton Daimona Eaftou, spomínam si, že sme sa učili skladby z predchádzajúcich albumov a oni stále riffovali, znelo to úžasne. Novšie skladby sa však začali trochu opakovať a pre mňa boli menej zaujímavé z hľadiska hrania. Kapela síce rástla a stala sa populárnejšou, ale to, čo ma ako gitaristu zaujímalo, tam už nebolo. Naopak, Wolfheart ma ovplyvnil omnoho viac. V Rotting Christ som hral na basu, čo bolo málo, zatiaľ čo vo Wolfheart som musel robiť veľa vecí s gitarou. Thomas má prístup pripomínajúci Jamesa Hetfielda — veľa downpickingu, rýchle rytmy, tremolo picking, death metalové prvky aj groovy rytmy, ktoré milujem — takže Wolfheart mal na mňa väčší vplyv než Rotting Christ.
Musíš byť, po všetkých kapelách, v ktorých hráš, naozaj skúsený hudobník.
Neviem. Po všetkých tých rokoch. Je tu známy komik, Griswold, ktorý raz povedal, že skúsenosť je to, čo získaš, keď nedostaneš to, čo chceš, takže som pravdepodobne veľmi, veľmi skúsený.
Rozumiem, dobre, tak sa pozrime na najnovší album, volá sa Glasgow Grin, a samozrejme som si musela urobiť, no, trochu prieskumu, pretože Glasgow — prečo Škótsko, čo to má spoločné? A potom som zistila, že to so Škótskom nemá nič spoločné, ale so zranením alebo jazvou, ktoré spôsobí rezná rana. Prečo? Prečo ste si vybrali tento názov pre nový album?
Nemal som o tom ani poňatia a naozaj dobrá vec pri tom, že už tak dlho robím hudbu, je, že som prerušil väzby so všetkým a so všetkými, ktorí hovoria „nerob to“, „nerob toto“. Stať sa profesionálnym umelcom niekedy znamená — obzvlášť teraz, keď už nemám kariéru typu „ak nespravím ďalší veľký hit, budem zničený“, že sa cítim tak slobodne, že môžem robiť, čo chcem. Keď vidím proces výberu vecí pred albumom, je to vrchol, keď moje emócie vyvrcholia, keď emócie dosiahnu vrchol a myslím, že je to najlepší čas. Nesnažím sa rozhodovať, keď som v neutrálnej nálade. Snažím sa vyberať, keď som napríklad nahnevaný, proste emocionálny. Je to pravdepodobne najnásilnejšie obdobie môjho života, takže byť tak slobodný a vybrať si čokoľvek, keď nikto netvrdí „nemal by si to robiť“, „mne sa to nepáči“ alebo „uprednostnil by som niečo iné’’. Všetci ma chápali a išli sme do toho. Myslím, že je to jedna z najnásilnejších predstáv držať niekoho, chytiť ho za hlavu a rezať mu tvár, s vedomím toho, že ten chlap bude mať tvoju tvár v hlave každý deň navždy, nech robí čokoľvek.
Samozrejme, môže to znieť ako klišé, ale znova, vieš, moje asociácie a predstavivosť pracujú. Si fanúšikom filmu Joker?
Nie, s tým to nemá nič spoločné, ale áno, som.
Viem, ale musela som to povedať. Haha.
Myšlienka nevznikla odtiaľ, skôr to bolo ešte v 1910/1920-tych rokoch, keď v štvrtiach, vieš, kde boli gangy a podobne, kroré sa medzi sebou bili. A áno, stalo sa z toho niečo, keď sa do toho viac zapojili futbalové tímy a futbaloví chuligáni v škótskych oblastiach a robili to ako mstu voči iným tímom.
Čítala som, že nový album je akýmsi novým začiatkom pre kapelu. Čo presne to znamená?
Myslím, že by som mal povedať, že každý album sa zdá byť novým začiatkom. Keď sa snažím spomenúť si na obdobie písania každého albumu, dokážem s istotou povedať, že každý raz to bolo niečo nové. Nikdy nepíšeme len tak, aby sme niečo napísali, a veľký rozdiel tentokrát bol, že som takmer prosil ostatných chalanov, aby do toho dali svoj názor, kam by sme mali ísť, pretože na konci dňa som tímový typ. Neznášam, keď sa mne niečo páči a ostatní povedia, že sa im to nepáči. Tentokrát som mal väčšinu hudby a nápadov hotových a povedal som, aby sme si prenajali veľký dom, zostali tam štyri dni, zobrali sme si notebooky, gitary a všetko ostatné, a môžeme tam pracovať celý deň a celú noc a snažiť sa vytvoriť to najlepšie. Tak to bolo. Teraz už nikto nemôže povedať „mne sa to nepáči, mal by si to robiť inak“, lebo každý bol zapojený a ťahal za rovnaký koniec. Proces bol naozaj jednoduchý a dobrý. Jedným z dôvodov, prečo to vnímame ako nový začiatok, je, že sme to urobili inak a pracovali s iným zvukovým inžinierom pri mixoch a masteringu albumu, čo nás posunulo o krok vpred a výrazne zmenilo zvuk.
Takže to bol super team-building, znie to super. Zaujíma ma aj cover album, ktorý je poriadne výrazný. Prezraď, ako ste k nemu prišli.
Myslím, že je to rovnaké ako vždy — jednoducho vyberieme umelca, o ktorom cítime, že prinesie niečo hodnotné, a ostatné necháme na neho. Bol to ten istý chlapík, ktorý robil aj Vision Black, teda predchádzajúci obal, a keď ten predchádzajúci urobil, povedali sme si, že je to fajn. Keď nám poslal grafiku, pridal aj komentár, prečo to urobil takto, odkiaľ čerpal nápady, a bolo to podobné aj pri tomto návrhu, hoci jeho prvá verzia bola viac naviazaná na názov albumu — a to sa mi až tak nepáčilo. Pravdepodobne aj preto, že mám tetovanie dosť podobné tomuto motívu, takže tam vzniklo ďalšie prepojenie s jedným z členov. Ako som už povedal, snažíme sa byť ako umelci sústredení na seba, robiť to, čo sa nám páči, a robiť to s dobrým vkusom.
Absolútne sa mi páči tretí singel The Tear. Čo bolo jeho inšpiráciou?
Myslíš textovo alebo hudobne?
Najprv textovo.
V podstate rovnako ako pri každej piesni. Nesnažím sa mať vždy jeden konkrétny nápad pre každú skladbu, pokiaľ nemám niečo presné, o čom chcem hovoriť. Pre tento album mám možno tri až štyri piesne, pri ktorých riešim niečo špecifické, čo sa mi premieta v hlave. The Tear je hlavne o hneve. Snažím sa zachytiť moment, keď si sadneš a vypočuješ celý album a texty, uvidíš, že je to podobné aj pri predchádzajúcich albumoch, asi 70 % tvoria spoločné témy a zvyšok je iný. The Tear je o boji, a vlastne nie len o boji s tým, že ťa už viac netrápia šikany. Keď to roztrhneš, stávaš sa iným. Namiesto toho, aby si sa oslobodil, stávaš sa príšerou, pretože si si myslel, že keď prejdeš týmto momentom, budeš slobodnejší, no nie je to tak. Stále si uväznený v klietke a riešiš nové problémy. Už ťa síce znovu nebudú šikanovať, ale tvoja reakcia navonok je oveľa násilnejšia a to prináša iný typ problémov. Možno sa ti to páči, možno nie, ale toto je tá trhlina, roztrhneš veci na kusy a už sa nevrátiš späť.
Tentokrát ste spolupracovali s novým zvukom inžinierom s Fínska. Ovplyvnila táto spolupráca aj celkový dojem z albumu?
Určite. Urobil to inak, pretože sme mali malý problém s predchádzajúcim zvukárom a čas nám bežal. Boli sme veľmi blízko tomu, že by sme nič nevydali, lebo sme sa ponáhľali. Povedali sme si teda, skúsme toho chlapa, Sakuho. S týmto chalanom som pracoval už roky, lebo robí albumy aj pre Wolfheart a Before the Dawn. Spolupracoval som s ním pri nahrávaní sól a vokálov pre Wolfheart aj pri predchádzajúcom albume. Je veľmi pohodový, rýchly a efektívny. Keď sme to prebrali, povedal, že to zvládneme. Už sme s ním raz spolupracovali dávnejšie a vedel som, že to dopadne dobre. Dal som mu niekoľko referencií, ako by mala kapela znieť, a samozrejme on navrhol, čo bude podľa neho lepšie. Zhodli sme sa a on rozhodol, kam to smeruje. Bolo super, že hneď ako začal nastavovať veci, povedal som „trochu viac gainu na gitarách“ a bolo to pripravené. Bolo to veľmi jednoduché a uľahčil nám veľa práce, lebo keby sme pri tom strese mali rozhodovať o všetkom sami, dopadlo by to zle. Teraz máme viac času na ďalší album, už pracujeme na zvuku, takže bude jednoduchšie spolupracovať s ďalším odborníkom. Teraz nám však doslova zachránil situáciu.
Snažila som sa v tom celom koncepte zorientovať. Povedal by si, že tento album je akousi odpoveďou na súčasnú spoločenskú situáciu a klímu, ktorému čelíme, hlavne v Európe dnes?
Áno, určite. Nie som veľmi typ, čo by hovoril „nemali by sme to robiť“ alebo „svet sa mení pre nás“ a podobne. Väčšinou sa nechávam ovplyvňovať tým, ako sa cítim k veciam, ktoré sú priamo späté s mojím životom. Ak ide o sociálne médiá, povedal by som, že to so mnou súvisí, nehovorím často o všeobecnostiach. Nebudem hovoriť „sociálne médiá sú zlé a ľudstvo zhorí“ alebo niečo také. Predovšetkým rozprávam o osobných skúsenostiach. Ak som nahnevaný alebo niečím pohŕdam, ide väčšinou o niečo konkrétne, čo mám v hlave. Takže by to nebolo o sociálnych médiách všeobecne — možno áno, ale z môjho pohľadu, keď hovorím o sebe, nie za celý svet.
Bál by si sa experimentovať s novým zvukom?
To je vtipné, pretože túto debatu vedieme s veľkými fanúšikmi tu v Grécku. Čo budete robiť ďalej? Nikto nevie, čo príde, pretože sa snažíme vyvíjať a neviem, či je to dobré alebo zlé, lebo niekomu sa môže páčiť prvý album, niekomu druhý alebo tretí, a ten istý človek môže povedať „tento áno, tento nie“. To sa môže stať každej kapele, nikto nevie, čo bude ďalej. Pred pár dňami som mal rozhovor a novinárka sa ma pýtala, či je toto posledná zmena, ktorú urobíme. Povedal som, že si to nemyslím. Ona trvala na tom, že sa už nezmeníme, ja som si však istý, že áno. A potom vyjde nový album a opäť prinášame niečo nové. Je to osviežujúce. Možno sa ešte raz vrátime k starším veciam, pretože sú naše, náš starý štýl, neviem. Ale nie, zatiaľ sa nebojíme. Všetko ide dobre. Jediné je, že čokoľvek robíš, aj keď zostaneš pri tom istom, riskuješ. Riskuješ zmenou, ale aj tým, že ostaneš rovnaký. Nepovedal by som, že zmena je riskantná, riskantné je viac-menej čokoľvek. V hudobnom priemysle nikdy nevieš, či tvoj ďalší krok bude lepší, či ostaneš tam, kde si, alebo ideš niekam inam. Nikdy to nevieš.
Je dnes ťažké prežiť v hudobnom priemysle?
Áno, je to takmer nemožné. Je to nesmierne ťažké. A jedna vec, ktorú ľudia prehliadajú, je, že existuje množstvo kapiel, ktoré sme kedysi počúvali alebo sme ich videli dvakrát a potom len zmizli, pretože v tomto biznise nevydržali dlho. A my ako fanúšikovia zvonku si často nevšimneme, kto chýba. Vidíme len ďalšiu novú kapelu. Takže ak dnes frčí Bad Omens, tak si ich obľúbim a potom zabudnem na Soil. Kde je Soil? Áno, spomínam si na nich, nehrali už 20 rokov. Naozaj? Kedysi som ich mal rád. Ale úplne si na nich zabudol, lebo prichádza niečo nové. Aby si zostal relevantný v hudobnom priemysle, musíš byť naozaj veľký, aby si tam vydržal. Preto ma niekedy vytáča postoj hudobníkov z veľkých kapiel, ktorí si myslia, že vlastnia svet.
Blížime sa ku koncu. Chcem sa ti veľmi poďakovať za tento rozhovor. A chcem ti poďakovať po grécky. Tak sa o to pokúsim, efcharistó.
To je úžasné. Úžasné.
A možno budete mať čoskoro koncert na Slovensku. To by bolo super.
To by bolo skvelé, tiež by to bolo fakt úžasné. Ďakujem ti.
Vageliss Karzis: ‘I hate the attitude of the musicians of the big bands that think that they own the world.’
Full House Brew Crew roar back with vengeance on Glasgow Grin, a bruising new album that channels American-inspired heavy groove metal into a sharpened, savage attack. Led by frontman and guitarist Vageliss Karzis — known for his work with Wolfheart and formerly Rotting Christ — the band has recast its sound with raw aggression and blunt-force songwriting. Recorded with Finnish engineer Saku Moilanen, the record features razor-sharp guitars, punchy drums and gritty, in-your-face vocals that push the band’s intensity to new heights. Calling Glasgow Grin a fresh start, the band says they trusted the songs and each other, refusing mainstream restraint to deliver what they consider their proudest work yet. hellmagazine.eu is bringing this exclusive interview with Vageliss himself right here, right now.
Okay, so I am sending greetings to probably beautiful sunny Athens from absolutely freezing covered in snow central Slovakia.
That’s amazing, but to make things a little bit smooth for you and nice, the weather is not good at all. It’s cloudy, almost rainy. It’s not too cold, but not freezing at all, of course, but it’s not warm at all. Yeah, we had some warm days, but we’re in the middle of the winter, so yeah, it’s getting a little bit chillier.
At least I don’t have to be that envious, you know, because well, I come from Slovakia, but I’m kind of a summer person. I hate winter. I would erase this season completely if I could.
Yeah, to be honest, I’m not into winter, but I’m definitely not into summer. I prefer the other two seasons, way more autumn and spring, my best.
You know what, so I should move to your house and you should move to my house. Haha. Okay, well, what’s new in Athens? Last time I was there, it was late September 2025, so last year, just a couple of weeks ago, I miss it. I love the city. Actually, I fell in love with it.
Yeah, that’s good to hear. You know, I’ve been traveling a lot these years in general, and as soon as I come back home, you know, it’s home, you always feel good when you get back, but sometimes I try to compare beautiful cities, you know, compare them, how great the city center is, and I’m like, we have a really great city and country in general, but the city of Athens is not really great, because one thing that people do not know is that Athens is only one small part of the whole city, because it’s like many regions, small neighborhoods became, grew bigger and bigger, so everything in between stuck together, so now it’s a huge place. So, for example, where I live, I can say I’m in Athens, but I’m probably 35 minutes away with a car from the city center, so I’m not close to the city center at all. I’m closer to getting out of the city, so yeah, I’m not in the suburbs, but yeah, because the city is quite big, but yeah, it’s nice, but I think people prefer the weather, you know, you can go out to eat and drink, we have many great places and I totally get it, so yeah, not many things changed since December.
Are you waiting for the new album to be released?
Yes, I’m eager for that, because this time was a totally different way of recording and setting up everything for the new album, so we are pushing ourselves on changing things all the time, especially myself, and this time the whole process was totally different, it was way better, more fun, and the outcome seems to be better so far, so I don’t know, maybe it’s good.
Most of my questions, of course, are going to be related to the newest record, no question, but since this is my first time interviewing you, I have to start with the question connected to the name of the band. It reminds me of playing cards and drinking beer, am I right or completely wrong?
You’re 100% right, that was what we were doing, you’re the first person ever who gets that immediately. Yes, that was it actually, many years back when I was building this band, I was, you know, in the search for a name, so I knew that Brew Crew was a cool thing to add, but, you know, you’re young and you think, whatever idea you come up with, you think it’s cool, but it doesn’t matter now, and The Full House, yeah, it came because we were playing Texas Hold’em with lots of friends, and one night I was winning with Full House many times in a row, and my bass player was like, Full House, maybe that’s the name of the band, and I was like, yeah, yeah, that’s a cool name, that’s a cool name, spontaneously.
When I also look at your work, especially here in music, it reminds me immediately of the USA. You do not sound like a Greek band, was it an intention or not?
Yes, and it’s so difficult, you know, as the time goes by, there is a lot of people saying, we have a saying here in Greece that this band sounds too Greek, this sounds too Greek, what they meant was, and I totally, I used to agree with that, and I still agree with that, is when you’re trying to do something that the Americans born and raised with, it’s really difficult, it’s like trying to learn to speak a foreign language and talk like them, like a native person, so it’s super difficult to get a few things inside your body and inside your brain, and then being able to create something yours that might be unique, because you’re coming from a different kind of world, and maybe, you know, many people say that we don’t sound so American, because of the maybe Greek or any other influence that we may have, and maybe their way of thinking, I don’t know, but yes, it’s intentional, because as soon as we try to create something that we like, that’s coming from there, so we try, let’s say, to play under their rules, so it’s not that we are trying, because it’s what you like, so it comes a bit natural, but yeah, we are trying to sound as, not as American, because we don’t like all the American style. Of course, so we try to do something that feels right for us, so we get our influences, and then we try to write something new, and then back to the drawing board and see what we’re going to do next, so that is the main reason we sound American.
I see, on the other hand, it’s good you don’t want to sound completely American, because I cannot imagine you like playing, you know, the redneck country or so. Haha.
Exactly.
Nowadays, it’s actually quite difficult to kind of like, at first glimpse, to decide where the band is from, because everything is being mixed so much, and you know, throughout the genres and so on, so nowadays it’s very difficult. On the other hand, this is not your first band, how do your experiences with Wolfheart and previously Rotting Christ form or influence or maybe even affect your work with Full House Brew Crew?
I wasn’t influenced, that’s weirdly enough, I haven’t been influenced by Rotting Christ, only in the beginning on my guitar journey, when I started learning a few songs, and you know, Rotting Christ was one of my first bands that I’ve ever listened to, but after that, even though I joined the band, you know, Sakis was taking a different approach as he was getting along, you know, I joined the band right before they released Kata Ton Daimona Eaftou, and I remember we were learning songs from previous albums, and they were riffing all the time, and I was like, yeah, that sounds amazing. And then the newer songs, not this one, maybe the next one, that was starting repeating itself a bit and becoming a lot, not less interesting, but less interesting in terms of playing, because as songs, you know, they got more, the band became bigger and more popular, so the song writing process probably was better, but in terms of being, you know, what interests you as a player wasn’t there for me, but when I joined Wolfheart, definitely, because with Rotting Christ, I was playing bass, so it was already too little, too little things to do. Anyways, for Wolfheart it was exactly the opposite, I had to do so many things with guitar playing, and Thomas is having this James Hetfield attitude, a lot of down picking and fast rhythms and tremolo picking and death metal stuff and some other groove parts and groovy rhythms, which I really love. So I’d say that I got way more influenced by Wolfheart than Rotting Christ.
You must be really experienced as a musician after all the bands you’ve been to.
I don’t know. After all those years. There is a famous comedian here, Griswold, who once said that experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want, so I’m probably very, very experienced.
I see, okay, so finally let’s have a look at the newest record, it’s called Glasgow Grin, and of course, I had to do my, well, slightly my research, because Glasgow, I was like, okay, Scotland, what the hell is it connected to? And then I found out it has nothing to do with Scotland, but the wound, which is caused by making the cut. Why? Why have you chosen this as the title of the new record?
I had no idea, and the really good thing with making music for so long is that I cut ties with everything that’s, and everyone that says, don’t do that, don’t do this, and becoming a professional artist sometimes means, especially now that I’m not having a career that is like, oh, if I don’t make the next big hit, I’m going to be destroyed or something like that. I feel so free, and I can do whatever I want, and whenever I see the process of choosing things before the album as peak, when my emotions peak, so when my emotions peak and I choose something there, I think it’s the best time. I don’t try to decide when I’m in a neutral state, you know, I try to pick when I’m drunk, for example, angry, you know, emotional, and probably I am, or I was, I don’t know yet, I don’t know if I’m still there. It’s probably the most violent period of my life, so being so free to choose whatever, no one says, you shouldn’t be doing that, it’s only, I don’t like it, or I would prefer something else, so everybody was like, yeah, I get what you mean, yeah, we’re in, but I think it’s one of the most violent things you can imagine that you’re holding, and you’re grabbing the head of the person, and you’re cutting his face, knowing that the guy will forever have you in your mind every day, no matter what you do.
Yeah, obviously, this can sound like a cliche, but again, you know, my associations and imagination is working. Are you a fan of the Joker, the movie?
Yeah, nothing to do with that, but yes.
I know, I just had to.
The idea didn’t come from there, but it was like back in the 1910s, 1920s, where in the neighborhoods, you know, there were gangs and stuff like that, so they were fighting each other, so yeah, and that became a thing when football teams and football hooligans start involved more in the Scotland areas, that they were doing that as a revenge to other teams.
Yeah, the press materials we received, of course, I was reading through it all, and one of your comments, or one of your quotes, is that this new album is like a fresh start for the band. What exactly does it mean?
I think I should say that every album seems to be a fresh start. If I try to remember the writing period of each album, I can say confidently that every time is a fresh start. We never write, we never sit down to write, just to write something, and this time the big difference was that I almost begged the rest of the guys that they need to give them, I needed their advice on where we should go, you know, because at the end of the day, I am a team guy, I hate if I like something, and the rest of the guys are gonna be like, I don’t like that, so this time I had most of the music written down, most of the ideas, and I was like, guys, let’s go rent a big house, stay there for four days, bring our laptops, guitars and everything, so we can stay there for four days, and we can just work all day and all night, and try to make the best, and get the best outcome, and that’s what it was, so now nobody can say, I don’t like that, you should do it differently, so everybody was in the same, you know, taking out the same stuff, and everybody was agreeing, if somebody didn’t agree and was like, it’s okay for me, you know, just move forward, it was like, the process was really easy and good, and one of the good reasons that we feel like it’s a press start is that we did it in a different way, and we worked with a different sound engineer to mix and master the album, so that it’s one more step forward, and made the sound a lot different.
Yeah, sounds absolutely interesting, so you had a really, really nice, productive team, the team building, band team building. Let me ask about the album’s cover, it’s just quite striking, what was the concept behind?
I think it’s the same, like every time, I just pick, we just pick one artist that we feel like he’s gonna bring something to the table, and we leave out the rest. It was the same guy that did Vision Black, that did the previous one, and when he did the previous one, we were like, it’s okay, it’s good, and he just, when he sends back the artwork, he comments like, why I did it that way, and you know, I got the idea from here, and here, and there, and it was something similar to this one, but his first idea was a little bit more connected to the name of the album, but I don’t, I don’t really like that, I prefer more when you get something behind that, so the artist was like, this is it, I was like, let’s go for it, yeah, probably because I also have a tattoo, which is quite similar to this one, so it’s a connection again with one of the members, so we try, as I said before, you know, we try as being artists, being as focused on ourselves, and do what we like, and enjoy, and making it as, you know, with a good taste.
I absolutely like the third single called The Tear, what was the inspiration behind?
Do you mean lyrically or musically?
Lyrically, at first.
Yeah, pretty much the same with every song, I don’t try to, I don’t always try to have one specific idea for each song, unless I have something specific that I want to talk about, but usually, so for example, for this album, I have maybe three or four songs that I talk for something specifical, that I have something exact, you know, something that projects in my mind, usually, like The Tear is mostly anger. I just try to capture the moment. If you sit down and listen to the whole album, like the lyrics, you’ll see that it’s the same for the previous albums too, that there is a common theme, like 70% of the albums are common themes and then you have something like 30% that’s different. So The Tear is the struggle and actually not only the struggle of being, let’s bully it anymore. So now you ripped that thing apart. So now you’re becoming different because instead of becoming freer, you’re becoming a monster because you thought that if you can get through this moment that you will become freer, but you’re not becoming exactly freer. You’re still stuck in a cage where you’re now dealing with other issues. Now you cannot get bullied again, but your response to the outside world is so much more violent that now brings a different kind of problem. You might like it or not, but now it’s the tear. You just tear apart things and you’re never coming back.
This time you had a Finnish sound engineer on board. Did this collaboration or did it influence the sound as well?
He did, yeah, definitely he did. He did it in a different way because we had a small issue with our previous sound guy and we were running out of time and we were really close in not releasing anything because we were running out of time. And we were like, okay, let’s try this guy, Saku. This guy is the guy that I’ve been working with for many years because he does albums for Wolfheart and Before the Dawn. So I’m with him, two albums before the Kingdom of the North he was producing. So I worked together with him when we were recording solos and vocals for Wolfheart and the same with the previous album. So he’s such an easy-going guy, so good and so fast and efficient. And when we talked together, he was like, yes, we can do it. We worked together once more many years back and I knew that it’s going to be good. And I gave him a couple of references how the band should sound for us and of course, how he thinks it’s going to sound better. And yeah, he decided what’s going to be and we totally agreed with that. It was really nice that as soon as he started setting things to us, I was like, yeah, crank the gain a bit on the guitars and we’re good to go. It was super easy and he took out a lot of work from us because if we had to choose everything at the moment that we were so rushed, it would be a really bad thing. Now we have more time for the next one. We’re already working for the sound. So it’s probably going to be easier for us to work with the next guy. But now he was a lifesaver.
I was trying to put it up a little bit. I mean, the lyrics and the concept and all that. Would you say that this album is something like the response to the current social situation and climate we’re facing, especially in Europe nowadays?
Yeah, definitely. I’m not too much into, oh, we shouldn’t be doing that or the world’s changing for us or stuff like that. I try mostly to get influenced by how I feel about things that are more direct to my life. So if it’s social media, I would say then it’s something that is associated with me. I’m not talking really often about generalities. I’m not going to be like, oh, social media is bad and humanity is going to burn alive or something. I mostly talk about personal experiences. So if I am angry or I despise something, it’s mostly something specific that I have in my mind. So it wouldn’t be social media in general. Maybe it is, but it would be on my perspective when I’m talking about myself, not for the world.
Are you afraid of or would you be afraid of taking risks when it comes to experimenting with new ideas and new sounds?
That’s the funny thing, because we have that conversation with some huge fans here in Greece. What are you going to do next? Nobody knows what we’re going to do next, because we try to evolve, but I don’t know if that’s good or bad, because they may like the first album or the second or the third, and then they might be like, oh, okay, we like this one, but we don’t enjoy that one. It might happen with every band, but nobody knows what’s coming next. And it’s really funny because it was the same. I had an interview the other day and there was a lady asking me from the previous album, is this the final thing you do in terms of changes? I’m like, I don’t think so. And she was like, I’m pretty sure you’re not going to change again. I’m pretty sure we are. And then the new album is coming out and yet again, we have something new. It’s really refreshing. And I don’t know, maybe we will come back again to play some kind of, let’s say, old stuff, because it’s ours, old style of ours. I don’t know. But no, we’re not afraid at all so far. It’s been going really well. The only thing with whatever you do, even if you do the same thing, you might be afraid of not changing because you’re risking, but you’re risking staying the same too. So I wouldn’t say it’s risky to change. I would say it’s risky to do anything pretty much. So you actually never know in the music industry what your next step is going to be. It’s going to be better to stay there or go somewhere else. You never know.
On the other hand, is it difficult from your perspective to survive in this music business, in this industry, as you have just called it nowadays?
Yeah, it’s almost impossible. It’s almost impossible. It’s super difficult. And one thing that people miss is that there are tons of bands out there that we used to listen to or we saw them twice and then they just disappeared because they cannot stand on that business for too long. And we don’t really, as fans outside, we don’t really see who is missing. We are just seeing the next guy. So if today is Bad Omens, oh, that’s Bad Omens. I like this band. So I start listening to this band and then I forget about Soil. Where is Soil? Oh, yeah, I remember this band. They haven’t played for 20 years. It’s like, really? I used to like this band. Yeah, but you totally forgot about them because there is other stuff coming up. So being relevant in the music industry, you have to be really big to be able to stay there. So that’s why sometimes I hate the attitude of the musicians of the big bands that they think that they own the world.
We are coming to an end. I want to thank you so much for this interview. And I want to thank you in Greek. So I’m going to try. I’m going to say efcharistó.
That’s amazing. Amazing.
Perhaps you may have a show in Slovakia. That would be cool.
Yeah. Yeah. That would be great, too. That would be really awesome. Thank you. Bye bye.
Photo credit: Dionisis Bizas
