1. TELL US IN A FEW WORDS THE MOST IMPORTANT MOMENTS OF THE BAND'S HISTORY. WHICH IS TODAY'S LINE UP?

• - 1995: SIRENS was founded originally as a threepiece from DRAGON POWER (Vocals / Bass / Guitars /    Keyboards) and ROCK EARTHQUAKE (Drums) - first demo „Approaching The Island“ was released
• - 1996: Cult-Debut-Maxi „Empire Of Clouds“ came out
• - 1997: First longplayer „Nameless World“ was released
• - 1998: Diverse touring and gigs through the year (EMERGENZA, Stuttgart, Röhre)
• - 1999: SIRENS went back to the studio to record „The Battle Dragon“ – shortly after this release the „Power Battle“-sampler with „B-Head Your Move“ came out
• - 2000: After forming the new line-up with TOMMY THUNDER (Bass) and DANNY WIZARD (Guitars) the Best-Of-CD „Dragonblood 1996 – 2000“ was meant as a donour to the TRUE and loyal SIRENS-Fans – some sampler-CDs  („No Exit“, „Legacy“) feat. „Free Your Mind“ were released
• - 2001: Actual double-CD „Global Killers“ caused and still causes an earthquake to the whole METAL scene
• - 2002: Diverse touring and gigs (E-Werk, Erlangen, GER) – distribution deal with THE METAL MERCHANT                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  MASSACRE REC. – several samplers („Atlantida“, „The Metal Merchant“) feat. „Mindfood“ and „A Dream“
• - 2003: SIRENS will play at „Band’s Battle 2003“ in Germany, one of the biggest underground festivals

2. THE BAND'S MONIKER COMES STRAIGHT FROM THE GREEK MYTHOLOGY. HOW DID YOU CHOOSE THIS NAME AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU? ARE YOU INTERESTED IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY?

• I know that SIRENS were the evil women in Greek mythology that seduced the sailors to death, but I honestly have to say that I chose this name because of my love to SAVATAGE. As you surely know, „SIRENS“ was (and of course still is and forever will be!!!) a great song and album from these power metal heroes. But I’m also still focussed on nice, beautiful and wild women, perhaps even nasty and evil women. So this name had to be the one-and-only for my band. Former days in school I had to learn much about Greek mythology in Latin, so these themes mean nothing strange to me.

3. YOU CLAIM IN YOUR BIO THAT YOU HAVE THE POWER TO BRING BACK THE GLORY OF THE 80'S. CAN YOU TELL US HOWYOU WANT TO DO THAT? ISN'T IT A LITTLE DIFFICULT WITH ALL THESE TRENDS?

• My inner and strong believe is that bands like SIRENS with a TRUE and solid basement are able to bring back yesterday’s METAL glories, when they get enough support from their labels, managements, promoters, etc., but the most important thing is that you’ll never give up and always believe in what you are and what you’re doing. I tell you this: The human will is one of the strongest forces on earth and if you never let it become weaker, you will definitely reach your aim!!! Look, most of the bands surrender if the wished success won’t come too fast. But me, myself and I, DRAGON POWER, I don’t give a shit about all these bullshit-trends like „Kid SHIT Rock“, „Papa COCK Roach“ or „Linkin STINKIN‘ Park“. It’s better for myself to hide my opinion about this stuff because I’ve got not so much time to beat the shit out of all these “Yo-Metal(???) freaks”. This bullshit is just a trend and I guess, nobody will talk anymore about this music (???) in several years because the sound of the “live-fast generation” has no basement. So it doesn’t bother me, what these dilletants are doing!

4. WHY DO YOU USE NICKNAMES AND NOT REAL LIFE NAMES? DO THEY HAVE A SPECIAL MEANING TO YOU? DO YOU WANT TO CREATE A SPECIFIC ATMOSPHERE AROUND YOU? CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHAT EVERY NICKNAME MEANS TO EACH ONE OF YOU?

• They do have a special meaning to me, of course. Look, first of all I guess it’s more attractive to THE FANS that they recognize a band with such cool fantasy nicknames because the names go hand in hand with the image of SIRENS. Further on, through these special names, every bandmember gets a more star-like and monument image. And if we’re honest, our real names sound like bullshit in the showbiz (and METAL is still a part of it, if you like it or not!!!). Let’s start with TOMMY THUNDER: My association to this name is that our bass-god carries inhuman METAL thunder with his part in SIRENS! DANNY WIZARD is the witch-master on the guitar, whose riffs and licks have a mystic mood that’s definitely not of this earth! This guy plays lots of axemen to the wall. ROCK EARTHQUAKE is the one-and-only name for a drummer, isn’t it?! And last but not least DRAGON POWER: I chose this one because of my endless love to this mystic and mythologic creature of destruction. DRAGON stands for destruction, power, but also a new resurrection (after the destruction follows the new improved erase) and POWER shows the unbreakable will, the force of METAL, the power of steel. Any question left?!

5. IN YOUR SHOWS YOU USE WOMEN. CAN YOU TELL ME WHICH IS YOUR RELATION WITH WOMEN?

• I guess, I showed my love and passion for nice ladies in question 2. Beautiful women are very important to me, also in my private life. I am a man, who’s fascinated by beautiful ladies and who likes to show all this live on stage, too.

6. GIVE US SOME GENERAL INFO FOR EACH OF THE BAND RELEASES. COMPARE THEM, WHICH ARE THE SIMILARITES AND DIFFERENCES? ARE YOU STILL SATISFIED WITH THEM OR IS THERE ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE TO CHANGE?

• Every release from SIRENS was at it’s time something special. Even the „destroyable“ (???) review from ROCK HARD for „The Battle Dragon“ was important. Furthermore we sold our complete first edition with 1000 copies within half a year. So what?! I don’t like to analyze every little part, every record has it’s own mood, history and also positive and negative aspects. For me it makes no sense to compare all my releases because at that time every release had to be created in this way as it is. So even every demo or sampler has it’s own special place in my SIRENS-backcatalogue! My motto of life is: „You just regret everything you haven’t done!“ Nothing left to say!!!
• Releases:
• - Approaching The Island – Demo 1995
• - Empire Of Clouds – Demo 1996
• - Power Metal Kid – Demo 1996
• - Various Artists – Summer Hatred – MC 1996 (Germany) with SIRENS – „Empire Of Clouds“ + „Bride Of Steel“
• - Empire Of Clouds – Debut-Maxi-CD 1996
• - Nameless World – CD 1997
• - The Battle Dragon – CD 1999
• - Various Artists – Power Battle – CD 1999  (Germany) with SIRENS – „B-Head Your Move“
• - Various Artists – LEGACY Magazine – CD 2000 (Germany) with SIRENS – „Free Your Mind“
• - Various Artists – No Exit – MC 2000 (Austria) with SIRENS – „Free Your Mind“
• - Spark, Torch & Dragonfire-Dragonblood 1996 – 2000 – Best Of CD 2000
• - Various Artists – Atlantida Vol. 10 – CD 2001 (Lithuania) with SIRENS – „Free Your Mind“
• - Global Killers – CD 2001
• - Various Artists – Atlantida Vol. 11 – CD 2002 (Lithuania) with SIRENS – „Mindfood“
• - METAL UP YOUR ASS – TRIPLE DRAGON TREAT - Video 2002 (Germany) with SIRENS 47 min LIVE + ARISE (Melodic Speed from Nuremberg) 34 min LIVE + Ghostvideo (ACES HIGH)

7. THOUGH YOU CLAIM TO BE A TRUE METAL BAND, YOUR LYRICS DON'T PRAISE METAL, BUT YOU PREFER SCIENCE FICTION STORIES. HOW ABOUT THAT? WHAT INSPIRES YOU AND WHAT TAKES AWAY THE INSPIRATION FROM YOU?

• Look, although we are a TRUE FUCKIN‘ METAL band, we don’t have to deal with things like swords, spikes, etc. all the time. It’s more than enough that we use all these clichés LIVE on stage, that’s the point. I’m used to write about things I’m interested in. And you have to know, I’m interested in many different things. As you surely recognized, a big interest of DRAGON POWER is the everytime brandnew topic of this „alien thing“. I love to watch STAR TREK,STAR WARS, etc. and I really believe that there are more things on earth and in outer space that you cannot explain and describe. „Research for ALIEN LIFE is the most fascinating thing.“ Last but not least, I can tell you that only the political madness on our fuckin‘ planet could take away my inspiration. It’s so fuckin‘ mad in this world with so many people fighting each other for nothing. War is just a thing for the METAL stage, but not for real life!

8. YOU HAVE ALSO RELEASED A LIVE VIDEO TAPE. CAN YOU TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT IT?

• The video-tape you mentioned is just an inofficial present for just TRUE, real SIRENS-fans and it’s previously unreleased till now. If someone wishes to get it, I’ll make a copy, that’s all! It was filmed during our 2001 / 2002 club tour in Germany and features all the „SIRENS- hits“ like „Free Your Mind“, „Mindfood“, „A Dream“ or „Renegade“  P L U S  some SIRENS-classics like „Political Tyranny“ or „Battledragon“. It’s more than one hour of TRUE FUCKIN‘ SIRENS!

9. IRON MAIDEN ARE A GREAT INFLUENCE TO YOU. WHICH OTHER BANDS CAN WE FIND AMONG YOUR INFLUENCES?

• Oh, thanks a lot! This comparison is very nice. I’m always glad if someone says that DRAGON POWER sounds like the little brother of good-old „Bruce Dickinson“. This guy is definitely my idol. But I’m always trying to sound like DRAGON POWER because I never wanna be just a copy like e.g. „Ri(a)pper (Ice-)T. Owens. He sings the old PRIEST-stuff originally, but unfortunately this is nothing new under the sun. I prefer listening to the METAL- GOD „Rob Halford“, the original. I see myself in the vocalist - tradition of those TRUE FUCKIN‘ METAL-singers like „Bruce Dickinson“, „Rob Halford“ or „Eric Adams“ that sing, scream and shout with balls. I don’t like these no-balled singers of all these „HELLOWEEN-coverbands (oh, sorry, they really tried to compose own songs?! I never realized that!!!) because METAL has to be sung with balls!!! My songwriting is strongly influenced by the old 80‘s US power metal („Jag Panzer“, „Heir Apparent“, (old) „Crimson Glory“, „Hades“ and many more) and of course the NWOBHM. We use some modern (but although) TRUE influences, especially for the keys. So you see, we are  N O  old-fashioned band that denies all future to come. To say it in a very primitive way: I take the best of the old stuff and combine it with the new improvements with the consequence of creating the TRUE FUCKIN‘ SIRENS METAL!!! Need I say more?!

10. WHO ARE LOVELY SISTER D. / THOMMY HANDSOME C. AND PSYCHO MDD THAT YOU WRITE ON THE "MINDFOOD" SONG?

• That’s a very personal question. Well, some say the first capital letters of these names are the same as the shortform of some well-known psycho-substances. My explanation is a little different: „Lovely Sister D.“ and „Thommy Handsome C.“ may help you to free your mind and to enlarge your psychological horizon. You understand?! The „Psycho MDD“-guy is my very best friend and brother of steel for almost 11 years now. „Mindfood“ is dedicated to him. The song is about „The Kindred“, our friendship. „Hail to the Kindred, Mindfood & Steel!!!“

11. IT'S A FACT THAT METAL BANDS SPEND MORE MONEY TO CREATE THEIR ALBUMS - DEMOS OR TO ADVERTISE THEM THAN THEY EARN FROM WHAT       THEY DO. WHICH IS AFTER ALL THE TRUE REWARD OF THE METAL ARTIST?

• The „TRUE REWARD“ is to play in front of hundreds / thousands of people that visit the METAL show just to listen to your own songs. They bang and scream in the front-row, and believe me, that’s more worth to me than thousands of Euros. Another aspect is that METAL bands have a more solid basement. In pop music there are more „shooting-stars“, famous for just a few days or weeks, but N O T for years! So you see, we’re on the right way with HEAVY METAL! Music is more than just a sum of tones. For me it’s more important to give the band an ideologic basement, too. All this, music, image, strength, will, loyality, attitude and METAL brotherhood, it’s more worth than one or two well-sold hits to me.

12. LABELS FORCE THE ARTISTS TO RELEASE AN ALBUM EVERY YEAR. DON'T YOU THINK THAT THIS MAKES THE ARTISTS CREATE "FAST" AND IMPROVISED ALBUMS, WITHOUT INSPIRATION AND AT THE SAME TIME THEY DON'T GIVE THE "SPACE" TO THE FANS TO CAREFULLY LISTEN TO AN ALBUM, ‘CAUSE THEY ARE "OBLIGED" IN A WAY TO BUY THE NEXT ONE? WHICH ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT?

• What’s negative, when a band has the possibility and ability to release good music every year? SIRENS also released several records in it’s seven years existence till now. And I guess, there exist some good records from us. I think, if a band is able to release good work in a short time, why not? You always have to improve, you must not copy yourself! Stagnation is poison to the artist! For my person, I feel able to release good records every year, but this point every musician has to deal with himself (. . . and some with their labels . . .). With all these yearly releases the band just wants to draw attention to their remembrance. My next album will be recorded at the beginning of 2003 and I tell you, this record will blow everything away!!!

13.WHICH WERE THE REACTIONS OF THE FANS AND PRESS ON YOUR LATEST RELEASE? WHICH WAS THE BEST AND WHICH WAS THE WORST REVIEW YOU HAVE RECEIVED?

• Although I might seem to be arrogant or selfish to you, I have to tell you that all reviews from all over the world for „Global Killers“ till now were positive! Of course, there are some differences in them, too. We mainly earned 8 – 8,5 points from 10. I guess, this is very good and we also could have the possibility to raise the point-scale with the next album to 9 – 10 points. The sales till now are quite nice, too. THE METAL MERCHANT / MASSACRE REC. distributes „Global Killers“. Nothing to complain!!! And I swear, the next record will be much better from the production, so that we could reach this aim of 10 points from 10 . . . ! ! ! The songs developed much harder, though the epical aspect had not been forgotten and the well-known SIRENS-variability still reigns! So be surprised and look forward to our new record!

14. IF YOU WEREN'T ABLE TO COMPOSE MUSIC, WHAT ELSE WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO?

• Before I started my musical career in 1991, I was a  full-hearted sportsman. I dealed with sports like karate and tennis. Perhaps if my love for music would’t have awaken, I would have become a karate-master or professional tennis-player. You never know, what surprises life has got for you.

• Every SIRENS-musician has his best part in the band and this is definitely the best line-up I ever had! And I would do everything to keep this great constellation! I guess, every musician still has (and ever will have) the possibility to become better with his instrument. As I told you, I’m a warrior that is constantly fighting against all kinds of stagnation, so every SIRENS-hero in my band (including me, too) has the fuckin‘ duty to improve himself permanently! But I’m not able to tell you special ideas of improvement, just try to tell me YOUR opinion about that! You have to know, as SIRENS-mainman I’m not so objective according to this topic. So ask the fans to this point!

• I really don’t know, what this question has to do with METAL, but I’ll do you the favour to answer this philosophical question. For me, „the biggest temptation of Man“ would be meeting some alien existence from outer space, as I told in many songs before. I’m curious, what kind of aliens and dimensions exist and if it would be possible to get in contact with them. In this case, I also would like to travel to the aliens‘ home-planet. PEACE FOR THE UNIVERSE!!! UP THE TREKKIES!!!

17. IF SOMEDAY YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO MEET THE CREATURE THAT CREATED THE UNIVERSE, WHICH WOULD YOUR BIGGEST QUESTION BE?

• I would ask the METAL-GOD, if our lives are real or if we live in the world’s circus‘ matrix. Nobody knows, if we’re just clowns for another higher existence. Perhaps these beings from outer space watch our silly human deeds destroying our planet and still wait till man has eliminated himself to settle on earth someday. That would be very interesting, but not very nice!

18. IF TIME TRAVEL WAS POSSIBLE, WHICH HISTORICAL PERIOD WOULD YOU LIKE TO VISIT AND WHY? WHAT WOULD YOU MISS THE MOST FROM OUR TIME?

• I wouldn’t go back too long in time and never to the future as for example Mr. H.G. Wells in his „Time Machine“. I would travel to 1975 to found a band called IRON MAIDEN (but I think, I would choose the name „ACES HIGH“!!!), I would play all their (future-) songs and then nowadays the line-up of the MAIDEN would be a little different . . . I’m just kiddin‘! No, I would do the following thing: I would travel back to 1975 to found a band called SIRENS, I would play all  O U R  songs and you can be sure that in this possible case  S I R E N S  would rule the HEAVY METAL OLYMP!!! (another Greek mythologic mountain; I guess, I showed my „love“ for Greek mythology more than one time, didn’t I?!). You see, my whole life is reigned by HEAVY METAL, even the hypothetical time-travel!!!

19. WHAT PROLOGUE AND TITLE WOULD YOU LIKE THIS INTERVIEW TO HAVE?

• I would give it the title: „ G E N I U S    O R    M E G A L O M A N I A ? “

20. THANK YOU! HAVE I FORGOTTEN TO ASK YOU ANYTHING AND YOU'D LIKE TO MENTION?

• Nowadays there only exist quite good (even excellent) bands, but where are the characters? There are no more characters. A TRUE METAL band needs more than just good musicians. The music and the image should go hand in hand. Only if it’s the right mixture between these two basic elements, you may call yourself a TRUE musician. I tell you, where the OZZY’S, DIO’S, DEE’S or BLACKIE’S of the millennium are: In Dragonland, inside the heart and mind of DRAGON POWER. I really do hope that you won’t consider myself to be a megalomaniac, but tell me one reason not to trust in my musical skills and talent and my unbreakable will to be a METAL-star someday. Since my very first band DEATHMASS (1991), I still have relied upon myself and always have done the best job for my band. I just demand from my musicians to play the songs in a good musical quality with their own ideas, too. The recording, promotion, press stuff, graphical design, remixes, homepage, etc. is the job of DRAGON POWER and of course the vocals and keyboards. I had and still have less possibilities, but I ever give the best I can. So I can be proud of it, ‘cause I made it my way. I have to reach my aims on a hard and stony (!) way. So I can be proud of it. And I am! I want you to take myself serious, I tell you no bullshit! You surely understand my ideals: LOYALITY & ATTITUDE. So, it’s time to end the stories of yesterday’s glories. Now it’s time for SIRENS and my new album! I won’t promise too much. Every Metallian, who joins DRAGON POWER and SIRENS, will earn his own part in SIRENS’ “RESURRECTION OF STEEL”, I swear! The Metal community has to cross their swords of steel and let glitter their spikes of METAL to keep up the eternal fight for TRUE FUCKIN’ METAL! HAIL  TO  METAL  EVERYBODY !  FEEL  FREE  TO  VISIT  MY  HOMEPAGE :  WWW . SIRENS . DE
• “ THE  SPIRIT  OF  TRUE  METAL  HAS  RETURNED  SINCE  THE  DAY  SIRENS WAS  BORN . . . WHO  THE  FUCK  SAID  THAT  TRUE  METAL  IS  DEAD ? S  I  R  E  N  S     I  S     S  T  I  L  L     A  L  I  V  E     !  !  ! “
                                      Nick  "William_Kidd"  Parastatidis