WRATHBLADE (Nick Sotiriou) INTERVIEW
The genres of Epic and classic Heavy Metal have long enjoyed great support in Greece but what is very rare is to find a band from the land of the twelve Olympian Gods who are capable of creating passionate, good quality music. One such band is the Athenian quintet Wrathblade whose debut release “Into The Netherworld’s Realm” has already attracted much interest from the underground Metal community both in their home-country and abroad. Having been charmed by the album’s eight compositions, I decided to arrange an interview with the band’s axeman Nick Sotoriou and during the thirty minutes that I talked with this skilled guitarist, I managed to discovered many things about the members of the band, their hopes, dreams and future aspirations.
By Yiannis (John) Stefanis.
• Hi, Nick. Finally we have available a debut album by Wrathblade and what an album it is!
Nick: I assume you expect me to comment on what you just said, right (laughs)? Thanks for your words of praise.
• I believe that as you are a relatively young group, it is worth presenting you to people and explaining what it is that you are trying to achieve here.
Nick: Ok. The five of us have been playing together since 2003.
• So the band has been active since 2003 and I believe that its members, with you being the latest addition to the line-up, have had some experience playing together under different monikers, right?
Nick: Actually, the last person to complete our line-up is our drummer, whose name is Giannis Alexandrakis and before him it was me who joined the group. Some of our members have indeed played together in the past but they are also active members in other bands. Our bass player, George Koumparoulis, and our singer, Nick Varsamis, are still members of the band Litany. Our other guitar player, Chris Mosalos, used to be a member in a band called Raging Storm…he also played in one other band whose name I currently cannot remember, which is quite tragic…(note: the sound of deep depression at this tragedy are transmitted over the telephone line)…
• Ok, that’s not the end of the world – what is important is that you did not come together one day out of the blue but there is a level of knowledge and previous experience or even a connection through other bands which led to you guys playing together.
Nick: Yes, that is pretty much what happened and I cannot think of anything more to say that would be of interest to the readers – I hope that I have covered this point!
• You have indeed. Those of our readers who decide to listen to “Into The Netherworld’s Realm”, will easily detect that it is influenced by many different musical styles and that is, first and foremost, to your credit but also this helps achieve a certain level of variety in the music which is much needed these days.
Nick: That is very true – a variety of influences is always good, just like Litany who are a purely Doom Metal band but, having said that, I don’t believe that the dominant element in Wrathblade’s music is anything other than Epic music and Heavy Metal. Now, we all have our own influences, some of which we have in common, but there are also some that are individual to certain members…one thing that we are really careful of is not to sound too similar to any other band out there. We really want to acquire our own style, regardless of our influences.
• I assume that this is quite a hard thing to achieve as these things tend to operate on a subconscious level, right?
Nick: Yes, especially when the band members are more mature, like we are. We have been listening to this kind of music for many years now which has, of course, influenced us on a subconscious level so people should expect to find elements from other bands in our music. The trick is to be inspired by one’s influences, and not to blatantly rip them off.
• The cases when one thinks “I want to sound like Running Wild, so maybe I can incorporate the riff of one of their songs in my music in the hope that no one notices”…
Nick: Exactly that! Of course people should expect to find elements of Running Wild in our music as well as elements of most classic Heavy Metal bands as well as some that are more Epic and more underground in their orientation.
• You mentioned the subject of ‘age’ previously. Do you believe that your music would have sounded the same if the exact same members of Wrathblade had first met fifteen to twenty years ago?
Nick: No, I don’t think the end result would have been the same. Now, how much different it would have been? That I can only assume – maybe it would indeed have been much different, but all five members are fans of what we call the ‘epic sound’ – something that was also the case fifteen years ago. Most likely, the direction we would have followed back then would have still been the same. I am also certain that we would not have sounded the same. Would we have sounded better or worse? We’ll never know!
• You mentioned the term ‘epic sound’ and this can manifest itself in many different ways. Back in the 80s, when you mentioned the word ‘epic’ in relation to Metal, bands, such as Manowar, Manilla Road or Omen, sprang to mind. The word ‘epic’ also defined bands like Bathory during a certain period of time and there are also a few Death Metal bands which expressed themselves in a certain way that you, as a band, cannot really relate to, right? So when we are talking about Wrathblade and the ‘epic’ sound we are looking at things through a more Heavy/Power Metal prism, right?
Nick: Our sound is mostly influenced by classic Heavy Metal but we also have a few Power Metal elements in our music. These elements are mostly European in origin or those from the underground US Power Metal scene. I say that because you can describe some US bands as Power Metal which sound nothing like us, bands like…who shall I say now…
• Bands like Kamelot, for instance?
Nick: Kamelot is a good example of what we do not sound like! We have elements from US Power Metal bands, such as Manilla Road, but basically we express ourselves through a more classic sounding style as this is what we wanted to do as a band. I believe that the same people that listen to Power Metal are also fans of classic Heavy Metal but I believe that you are right in saying that there are many other styles of music which express themselves in an epic way. Let’s take Death Metal and bands like Amon Amarth, for instance, which are a huge band but which has absolutely nothing in common with what we do.
• I am not trying to categorise you guys, far from it – it’s just that we have reached a stage and age where describing a Metal band’s style becomes a real mission. The best way to understand your sound is to listen to “Into The Netherworld’s Realm”, of course.
Nick: Indeed, especially for those people who have never heard of us before!
• Ok, let us focus more on the album, “Into The Netherworld’s Realm”, which I have listened to countless times so far. What you play is the kind of Heavy Metal that I listened to while growing up where the ‘mighty riff’ dominates everything – the sort that charges you with infinite energy. That is the best accolade that I can think of.
Nick: Thank you very much (laughs) for the compliment. I think that the reason why this happens is because all five of us happen to be fans of this music, first and foremost, so the feeling that you are describing is one we can relate to. As fans of this style of music, we play the kind of stuff that we like to listen to ourselves so this ‘attitude’ certainly influenced the compositional process of the album. Now, even though I agree that the guitar plays a central role in the proceedings, as happens with most classic Heavy Metal groups, I also believe that the drums and the bass guitar, as well as the vocals, are quite distinct. These instruments work in variations, sometimes influenced by Manilla Road and other by Slough Feg… It may be true that the guitars take the lead and our riffs are up-tempo and arousing, but they are not the sole focal point in our music.
• Of course, but I just wanted to highlight that you have one of the most dynamic rhythm sections that I have heard in a Greek band. Both the bass and the drums carry some inspirational themes and come across quite clearly in the final mix, but let’s discuss it more in detail later on.
Nick: Ok.
• More on the record itself. This album comes out more than a year after the release of your Demo EP “Reins Of Doom”.
Nick: Well, the EP came out in September 2011 and the album was released in March 2012 so it is more like six months in between releases.
• Apologies for the error -I stand corrected! The EP consisted of four songs only two found their way onto the album.
Nick: Yes, these are “Reins Of Doom” and “Flee To Freedom”.
• With regard to “Reins Of Doom”, I found that the album version is slightly different to the one featured in the EP, it has certainly evolved as a composition. Do you agree?
Nick: The basic difference between the two releases, apart from the album not featuring some songs from the demo EP, is that, since then, we also changed the way we play in relation to how we tune our guitars. Our intention was to add some more power to our songs by slightly changing our tonality and that is the major change that you have most probably noticed – something that you can detect much clearer in a song like “Reins Of Doom”. Having said that, we were also more careful in terms of how we composed our new songs, specifically, the orchestrations, to put it more correctly. As the new album contains two tracks from our demo EP, we had to do something to ensure that people who already possessed the EP would find the new versions to be of value and interest to them. The demo EP is a sample of our work which was self-financed and which came out at a time when we had material that we simply had to give to our fans as there was a long time since we provided them with anything new. Our last release prior to the demo EP was a 7’’ which was released back in 2005 (note: “War Of The Titans”) so we had to offer people something new. With a new album on the cards, we wanted to ‘lift’ the compositions from the EP to another level, thereby adding value both to the demo EP and the record. We didn’t want to simply take the four songs of the demo EP and add them to an album that would feature an additional four new songs. That would not be honest of us towards the people who listen to our music! Also, since there was material to offer, I do not see any reason why it should not be released. We had songs to put on the album and we could have easily not included any songs from the demo in “Into The Netherworld’s Realm”, but we talked about it and agreed that it would be a good idea to add the new versions of these two songs to the album.
• Well, the fact that “Reins Of Doom” is one of the best songs of the album certainly justifies your decision and so I cannot see many people disagreeing with what you did. I find this song not only to have really matured in the process but also to fit well with the new material on offer.
Nick: Thanks.
• Some of the songs that are featured on the album exceed the six minute barrier, what one could describe as the average duration for a song of this genre. I also find very interesting that you did not fall into the trap of saying things like “a normal album should have ten songs, so let’s record ten songs, come what may”. The eight songs you have included are well balanced and perhaps adding one or two extra songs would have undermined that fine balance.
Nick: Look, basically our style and mood is quite aggressive and we tend to play quite fast and so I believe that if our album ended having ten such songs then the end result may well have been slightly tiring for the listener, you know what I mean? Any record you pick up that consists of ten to twelve songs, you will see that it tends to operate on many different rhythmical variations and that is the right way to approach things, so an album of such duration that is only fast and aggressive throughout would be too tiring. That is one of the reasons why we included the song “Dream Trap (Doomopolis Pt. I)” in the album which is predominantly a Doom composition. We simply wanted to offer a kind of break in between our fast and aggressive material and we also felt that eight songs in total were more than enough. I feel that this is the right number of songs to attract and not exhaust the listener.
• Two of the eight songs include the words “Part I” in their title. Presumably “parts II” are on their way, right?
Nick: Correct! We are already working on new ideas with regards these two songs. We named both songs like that deliberately and let me also tell you that, with regards one of them, there might also be a third part!
• Ok, but how early in the creative process did you realise that a second or even a third part of the music that you have already composed would be necessary to help you convey whatever message it is to the listener?
Nick: This was solely based on lyrical and not musical needs. There is a continuation on the stories that are presented through both songs, not in the music itself. The continuation of the story is already available – the lyrics, I mean. We will work on the continuation in musical terms in the future.
• Do you believe that the lyrical aspect of the story, which as you say is already available to you, will in a way define the style of music that will potentially express it? I cannot see, for instance, how the second part of a Doom composition like “Dream Trap (Doomopolis Pt. I)” will move at a different pace or style, so I assume that you will try to provide the second part with a similar musical character, right?
Nick: I understand what you are trying to say but I will not necessarily discard the possibility of the second part of this song moving at a faster pace – it could be that to express the next part of the story, a different musical interpretation may be needed.
• Ok, now for one of the most unfair questions for a composer and I say that in knowledge that you are one of the most active members with regards the compositional process right?
Nick: Yes, I am an active member but not the only one; we are all pretty active in that respect. Everybody has offered parts that made it onto our album and we are all credited with a certain song. There are parts that might have been included after a suggestion made by our bassist or drummer, for instance…I am one of the very active members…
• …so the question I am just about to make is a very relevant one. Is there any specific composition from the eight which you feel best expresses you as a musician/composer? Which is the song that you would describe as a stand out track – a “trademark” Wrathblade piece?
Nick: To be honest with you, there is one such song and there are specific reasons for my choice. This is the first song on the album, “God-Defying Typhoeus”. This is one of the oldest songs that we created as a band and it is the one song that I have never managed to better personally and it also happens to be the one song that we have created collectively as a band. Musically it has been created by three people. I believe that it is a stand-out track as it expresses all of us on an emotional level – all five of us. We all had a say and so I believe that it is the most representative of them all!
• Well, I also happen to believe that this is a stand-out track but allow me to be of the opinion that “Dolorous Shock” is a more impressive and commanding offering. Choosing the best track of any album is a very personal thing, of course.
Nick: That is something that makes everyone in the band exceedingly happy because it means that we touched people on many different levels!
• Nick, Greece is one of the countries where your chosen style has a very loyal fan base and has been popular over the years. Having said that, it is interesting to say that there are not many similarly-sounding Greek bands that have made a name for themselves abroad. I guess that is just one of ‘those things’ that do not necessarily make sense. Do you believe that, as a band, your target audience is specific to this style of music or do you feel that it is capable of transcending musical boundaries and appealing to people from other scenes?
Nick: Hmm…I believe that as a band we do not focus on targeting a specific audience or scene. Of course, this style of music, as we have already discussed, is very specific to epic music but I do think that somebody who listens to a totally different style of Metal music and bands like Amon Amarth might end up liking a song or two of ours. Our singer Nick does use some brutal vocals at certain times throughout the album, something that we all like, but we never targeted a specific group of fans with our music; nothing was deliberate in that respect! The music that was created was not the product of a specific thought process; we did put a lot of thought in the orchestration of the songs but that was purely in order to come up with the best possible result. A far as Greek groups of this scene are concerned, there are many good quality bands out there but, unfortunately, they do not enjoy the necessary support. There are many groups that could potentially offer music of equal value to bands from abroad but we lack the necessary infrastructure that you can find in most European countries.
• Nick, I believe that there are both positive and negative things to be said about the production of the album. I will be very honest in that I find this to be one of the weakest points, but, having said that, I like the fact that all instruments are quite prominent as a result of a very thoughtful and well-balanced mixing process. The bass comes across as both powerful and commanding and Giannis Alexandrakis’s contribution on the drums is also very prominent and cleverly highlighted throughout. Having said all that, I do feel that this is the one field that you guys should put extra attention to for the next album! These massive riffs of yours should have been supported by a more powerful sound, in my humble opinion! This, of course, is a debut release and thus a learning process so one would be totally unreasonable in expecting a top-notch production at this stage, right?
Nick: Yes that is indeed the case as experience is acquired with time and especially by releasing many albums. You can be in a band that has been doing live shows for five years but the experiences gained by doing that are different from releasing albums during the same period of time. The truth is that what we wanted to achieve was a sound that would not be too polished and thus not what you would consider to be “perfect”. We wanted the production to achieve a certain level of “gloominess”. Now, I think the production will be different on the next album; I personally believe that the sound will be better solely as a result of us being more experienced in this field. Having said that, we are happy that the sound was not polished so it was a deliberate attempt in many respects.
• What I think is that Nick Varsamis’ vocals are quite back in the mix at times and he seems to operate more in the background which I believe has not necessarily helped the dynamism of certain songs.
Nick: I understand what you say but I believe that there are not many groups out there, and that is a personal opinion, and these tend to be the biggest bands in the scene, which would have accepted to re-mix a certain release of theirs five or six months following its official release! I believe that most albums would have ended sounding much different in such cases but only bands with a twenty or a thirty year old history can achieve such things! These bands know exactly what they want to achieve and so they are capable of recording a similar sounding album if they choose to mix them again! The rest of us would be unable to mix an album again and make it sound the same as it was the first time round.
• Last time I spoke to you on a more personal level you informed me that there is much interest for “Into The Netherworld’s Realm” abroad and you have been offered the opportunity for some live shows. You mentioned the Hammer Of Doom festival among them, right?
Nick: Yes, that takes place on the 9th of November in Germany (note: Würzburg). We did want to plays shows abroad because I believe that there are people outside Greece that will potentially appreciate what we do and so we would like to do a live performance for them! I believe that any band has to prove its worth not only in the studio and not only on stage but in both environments! You must give a good live performance to those who listen to your music to allow them to appreciate and compare your performance in a live environment and not be disappointed in the comparison, as has happened with many other bands in the past –bands both small and big! So, we did want to play outside Greece and I hope that we have the financial means to do that more often but unfortunately we currently live in difficult times in our country so you could blame things on bad timing I guess. Anyway, we are indeed performing at this year’s Hammer Of Doom festival and if any other offers come along the way we will definitely consider them!
• I will stick to the Hammer Of Doom inclusion because, as far as I know, it was the organiser of the festival who approached you, right? Hammer Of Doom is a sister-festival to Keep It True which is one of the top festivals for the style of music that you play!
Nick: What you said is indeed what happened and the organiser for both festivals is the same person. Hammer Of Doom is a two-day festival which features epic-sounding bands on one day and Doom-sounding bands on the other. It is a great honour for us to have been invited to perform there as it makes us feel that we are really appreciated as a band which is the most important thing. We did not chase this performance for purely economic reasons, not because we didn’t want to play there. It is difficult to be a band without any label support these days. If there was label support, things would have been much easier but as things stand, it is very difficult to arrange even for a bunch of shows to take place in countries like Great Britain, Germany or Holland.
• A very important question as far as I am concerned is with regards the band’s future. As you already mentioned, you are of an age when becoming a Rock Star is less of a prospect. This may be pretty annoying to anyone that sees the band’s potential and the interest that “Into The Netherworld’s Realm” has generated but that is where we are now. In view of that, how do you perceive the future for Wrathblade? What are you guys looking to achieve as a band at this stage of your career?
Nick: I will begin answering your question by first referring to our expectations. We do not have any specific expectations at this point. We are simply five friends that play music; that’s how things started and that is how they remain! We are five fans of this music who have a few things to say and use the band as a means of achieving that. With regards future plans, we are certain that a second album will be released as we are already in the process of finalising the compositions that will be featured there and that release will see the light of day soon, not in two or three years’ time. Now, where will this whole thing take us? What I personally want to happen is for us to remain both musically and emotionally connected as a group – just as we have been from the moment we first started playing together. Where will we end up? I will let other people decide that!
• Nick, I think those were probably the best words to finish this interview. I wish you to enjoy what you are doing, be well, and hope for another such enjoyable chat in the future after the release of another album, if that is where fate takes you. Thanks a lot for you time!
Nick: Thank you also and I wish you all the best
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