With:	Sotiris [Bass]
Conducted by:	Søren (e-mail)
Published:	22.02.2008
Band profile:	Suicidal Angels

This is interview is with Greek thrashers Suicidal Angels exclusively for Metal Storm. Thanks to Sotiris for taking the time to complete this interview via email.

- Before we get into the interview, could you please introduce yourselves, the band, and your musical style for the benefit of our readers who may not yet be familiar with Suicidal Angels?

Hello Soren and thank you very much for this interview. Well, Suicidal Angels consist of Nick (vocals / guitar), Themis (guitar), Orfeas (drums) and me, Sotiris (bass). Our musical style is pure old school thrash metal. Generally, the band's philosophy is mainly old school.

- It seems that thrash is in the midst of a renaissance right now. With the myriad of musical styles and subgenres we see today, what inspired Suicidal Angels to adopt such an old-school sound?

The love for old school music is what all the members of the band have in common. That's the music that all of us are listening to since we were very young and that was what we wanted to play. We know that what we're playing isn't something innovating, but we were never interested in doing something like that. We don't want to reinvent the wheel, we just want to fuckin' thrash!

- Greece has turned out quite a few metal bands over the years. Rotting Christ immediately comes to mind, along with Astarte and Varathron on the black metal front, but I can't think of any thrash bands. Now we have Suicidal Angels and countrymates Released Anger. How would describe the thrash scene in Greece? How about the overall metal scene?

Fortunately, many thrash bands were formed during the 00's, like us and Released Anger that you mentioned above. I hope that, as time goes by, the Greek thrash scene will start playing a bigger role in the international thrash arena. That will turn the spotlight on the Greek scene, stir things up a bit with record labels and make it easier for all the bands to strike a record deal and open their wings.
Concerning the Greek metal scene in general now, my personal opinion is that it is much underestimated. Greece has many competent bands to offer. A few examples are Rotting Christ, Inveracity, Vulnus, Sacram, Released Anger, Firewind and the list goes on. We do have a lot of good bands. It's just that not many of them are prepared to do what it takes to achieve international acclaim. I'm talking about constant touring, ofcourse. Rotting Christ have toured around the world more than once, Firewind are also touring a lot. That's the only way to make it; spread your music around by being constantly on the road.

- My first exposure to Suicidal Angels was the EP "Armies of Hell," which I found to be an absolutely brilliant, refreshing piece of old-school thrash, reminiscent of early Slayer, with a hint of Kreator on the vocals. How do you feel about being compared to these legendary bands?

It's a great honor for us to be compared to such huge bands, which have shaped the face of thrash metal. Comments like this make us proud of what we have achieved so far, despite the aggravating circumstances that we have met, and also give us strength and courage to continue our efforts.





- Your follow up full-length debut "Eternal Domination" shows how you have managed to bring your own elements to the table and create a sound that clearly stands out without sacrificing the old-school style. What were the challenges around creating this album? Did you make a conscious effort to distance yourself from bands like Slayer and Kreator, or did your style just evolve?

The most important thing for us when composing a song is to like the sound of it and enjoy the whole procedure during rehearsals. That's how all the songs of "Eternal Domination" were created. There's always a basic idea of how the song goes, thrown onto the table by Nick, our riff master, but we start arranging it during rehearsals. We never start composing a song having something specific in mind. We write lyrics in such a way, but not music. So, in my opinion, our style just evolved during the continuous rehearsals.

- 2007 saw you playing with the likes of Massacre, Behemoth, Napalm Death, and Rotting Christ among others. 2008 opens with you touring with Onslaught and Carnal Forge. How were your experiences playing with so many death metal bands? Do you look forward to sharing the stage with other thrash bands?

Sharing the stage and being on the road with such bands was a great experience. We learned a lot while on tour with Rotting Christ and Massacre. From stage appearance to how to "survive" in a tour bus full of people, these tours gave us a lot to comprehend. Suicidal Angels are first and foremost a live band. We like being on the road and are prepared to tour as much as possible.

- As is to be expected, Suicidal Angels has played mostly European dates to this point. Any plans on touring any other continents?

At the moment our calendar includes only European shows, though we're trying to book a tour around America, both South and North. It's a bit early to have something solid in our hands, but we're working on it through our label, OSM Records. Hopefully, sooner or later we'll perform some shows there. We have a lot of friends on the other side of the Atlantic and we know they'd like to watch us playing live. We'll do our best to make it happen.

- What are your plans after the Horns Up Festival Tour wraps? Will you be looking to stay out on the road? Heading back to the studio?

When we return from the "Horns Up Festival Tour", we intend to participate in as many summer festivals as possible. As with the American tour, OSM Records is working on it.

- Finally, a couple more questions around recording. First, when can we expect to see a new Suicidal Angels release? Second, are there any plans to reissue the early demos (United by Hate, Angels' Sacrifice, The Calm Before the Storm)?

Well, we have already composed five new songs that will appear in our second full length release. I guess we'll start recordings in a few months, but nothing is arranged yet. It depends. When we feel ready, then we'll go for it. The new album will probably be out in late 2008 or early 2009. About the demos, maybe we'll include the best songs in our next releases, as bonus tracks, but again nothing is yet decided. What matters now is to promote "Eternal Domination" by touring as much as possible. There's plenty of time later to think about re-releasing old stuff.

- Before I wrap this up, is there anything you would like to add?

First of all, I'd like to thank you again for this interview. A big thanx goes also to all our fans for their continuing support! For further information on the band, news, updates, photos and concert video footage you can visit www.suicidalangels.com and www.myspace.com/suicidalangelsgreece. Always feel free to contact us, either by e-mail (oorfeas@yahoo.gr) or, if you are a MySpace user, by sending us a message through our profile page. Tell us what you think of the album. See you on tour!
THRASH 'TILL DEATH!!!

- I'd like to thank you for taking the time to answer these questions. I wish you guys much success and look forward to hearing what comes next.