WOLFCRY claim not to be professional
musicians and they compose songs only because they love heavy metal music.
Their cd, nevertheless, contradicts them, cause their music has quality
and it is very very good (you all should buy the cd!). All I'd like to
say is that I wish there were more non professionals, like WOLFCRY in heavy
metal music.
1.GIVE US A SHORT BIOGRAPHY OF THE
BAND. INTRODUCE THE MEMBERS.
-The history of WOLFCRY begins back
in 1992 when I first formed the band. In November of 1992 we recorded our
first track called “Angelsign” for a compilation that unfortunately was
never released. Due to several personal problems and line-up changes the
band went through a non-creative period of almost 4 years!!! In late 1996
I reformed the band and we recorded our first demo called “The Ivory Tower”.
After that we participated in some compilations through the period 1997-1998,
with some tracks from this demo. In 1999 we recorded a promo-cd with two
of our fresh composed material. This promo-cd was not for sale but only
for labels in order to sign a contract for the release of our first full-length
cd. In 2002 we recorded the material for our debut cd “Power Within” which
was supposed to be released from the German label “Iron Glory” but we departed
after mutual agreement with the label. So we signed with the local label
“Black Lotus” who released our first cd December of 2001. The current line-up
of the band is:
Andreas “The Wizard” Kourtidis – Drums
Costas Hatzigeorgiou – Vocals
Spiros Triantafillou – Bass
Simos Kaggelaris- Guitars
2.COULD YOU EXPLAIN US HOW DID YOU
CHOOSE THIS BAND NAME AND WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SAY WITH IT?
-The first name of the band was VANGUARD
but we had to change the name because there was also another band with
this name (I think they were from Switzerland…) so I named the band WOLFCRY.
I took the name from a song that I had composed which is included in our
first demo and called “When You Hear The Wolf Cry”. It means a lot for
me because this name has to do a lot with my name and surname but this
is something that I prefer to keep a secret. After all it is just a very
easy-remembered name for a metal band don’t you think ?…
3.HOW MANY DEMOS HAVE YOU RELEASED
BEFORE RELEASING YOUR DEBUT ALBUM ? ARE YOU STILL SATISFIED WITH THEM OR
WOULD YOU LIKE TO CHANGE SOMETHING?
-As I mentioned before we have recorded
one demo called “The Ivory Tower” and a promo-cd before the release of
our debut album. I am still satisfied with them, especially when I remember
the conditions that we had to face when we were recording them. When we
recorded the first demo we had to come through great financial problems,
so we stayed in the studio unfortunately not as much as we’d like to, but
as much as we could afford… As I look at it now I find things that I’d
like to change but I know that what we did back then was the best we could
do by that time. As for the promo-cd we are more than just satisfied. After
all that’s the one that helped us sign a contract. That is the reason why
we included both the tracks of this promo in our debut cd. Anyhow I have
the feeling that in the future when I’ll look back to them (including our
debut cd) I’ll like to change some things. I believe that everyone who
plays music always changes the way that he sees the music he creates and
he always has new ideas, so he will never stop wanting to change a little
the songs he had written. You never get bored to create…
4.WHAT ARE YOUR LYRICS TALKING ABOUT?
FANTASY OR REAL LIFE STORIES? HOW HAS MOORCOCK INFLUENCED YOU IN THE LYRICS
SECTION?
-Our lyrics when you first read them
seem very simple and easy-written but we always have secret meanings in
everyone of our lyrics. This is something that we do in purpose. I don’t
want to tell anyone how to think or how to see things. If someone thinks
that they are just a simple story it’s o.k. with me. On the other hand
if someone finds out what I really mean with them it’s o.k. too. You can
say that they are real life stories that are given through fantasy lines
if you find out what they talk about. If you see them as simple lyrics
they are just fantasy stories… As for MOORCOCK I like him very much but
the man who is responsible for these lyrics is Costas our singer, who has
Elric as his best fantasy-book hero. So you’ll have to ask him about how
he was nfluenced by him…..
5.HAVE YOU DONE ANY LIVE SHOWS? DO
YOU LIKE PERFORMING LIVE? WOULD THERE BE A CHANCE TO SEE YOU IN THESSALONIKI?
-Well we haven’t performed live yet
with this line-up because we have a lot of problems with our jobs. Unfortunately
we have very little time to use for the band right now and we spend it
on composing our new material. Of course we will play live in the future
because it is something that we all like very much but I can’t promise
something concrete until we solve the problem that I mentioned before….
6.WHICH ARE THE MAIN DIFFERENCES AND
SIMILARITIES IN YOUR MUSIC AND TO YOU AS PERSONALITIES FROM THE DAY YOU
FIRSTLY FORMED THE BAND TILL NOW?
-In our music I believe that now we
have a most mature approach to it. We always liked and played Heavy-Power
Metal but as the years go by and we listen to more and more different thinks,
we form another perception about music. I believe that the music that someone
plays is the totality of the music that he has heard throughout all the
years. So as he grows up he will fortunately have to put more thinks into
his music. As for me personally ( I can’t tell about the others in a question
like this) I don’t think that I change many things in my way of thinking
or something. I am still the same crazy guy that likes to play Metal and
has a band so he can make his dreams reality….
7.WHICH ARE THE AIMS YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE
THROUGH YOUR MUSIC?
- We are not professionals. So the
only aim that we have is to play the music we love and give it to the people.
If I can satisfy some people with my songs I have reached my aims. The
best payment for me is to know that there are some people around the world
who put our cd in their cd player and having some great time when they
listen to our songs.
8.WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU WEREN'T
ABLE TO COMPOSE MUSIC?
-Well I was thinking about that some
time ago. I think that I’d try to get involved with the metal-scene in
a different way like a label, a ‘zine or something like that. I can imaging
my life without composing, but can’t imagine my life without involving
with Metal at all!!!!
9.WHICH DO YOU THINK IS THE MOST IDEAL
TO REPRESENT YOUR MUSIC FROM ALL THE SONG YOU' VE COMPOSED?
-This is a difficult question to answer.
You see it is hard for me to choose a track from all the tracks that I’ve
composed in anyway. Everyone of them has something from me in it, so please
allow me not to answer to this question. All of them represent me and our
music the same in my mind…
10.WHICH ARE YOUR INFLUENCES?
-You can say that our influences are
the whole Heavy-Power Metal-scene of the 80’s. It is useless to start mentioning
bands because they are too many… You will find a lot of influences in our
tracks and this is something that we never hided. We’re not trying to play
something new but we play all this stuff in a personal way. On the other
hand if you listen to a track of our band you will say that it is WOLFCRY
. It may remind you something but it is given with a very different way.
11.WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THE
GREEK METAL SCENE? HAS IT IMPROVED? DO YOU THINK THAT THE FANS ARE STILL
SKEPTICAL WHEN THEY COME TO LISTEN TO A GREEK BAND?
-The Greek Metal-scene unfortunately
has two faces. The one is the good face where you see that we have a lot
of really great bands. The scene has improved very much and the bands have
put new and higher standards for their work. The other face is the old
time classic backstabbing from the one band to another. I don’t have enemies
in the Metal-scene but the most bands work out that way: “Your death is
my life!!!” The most bands are trying more to do something bad to another
band than to look their own actions. But don’t misunderstand me. I have
a lot of friends in the Greek Metal-scene but I’m not trying to fight all
the others that I don’t know. I believe that there is space for everyone
in our scene but unfortunately most bands don’t see it that way. Another
problem is that most of the members of the bands that release a cd or a
demo or something like that suddenly turn out to a man who believes that
he is the king of the world!!! It is very selfish. You don’t have to show
anything to the others. Just do your job as good as you can and you’ll
get as recognition as you deserve. The finest example about this is the
Italian Metal-scene where the bands united and in only a few years they
achieved to create one of the greatest Metal-scenes in the Heavy-Power
Metal in the whole world. As for the Greek fans I believe that they are
still skeptical about the local bands, but in a very smaller level than
they were before. I believe that as soon as the bands continue to work
on this higher level the fans will stop being skeptical and they’ll recognize
the bands as they really deserve.
12.ARE YOU SATISFIED FROM BLACK LOTUS?
- We are more than satisfied. The guys
in the label are doing their best and they deserve a really great THANK
YOU for everything that they’ve done so far.
13.DO YOU LIKE READING BOOKS? WHICH
IS YOUR MOST BELOVED BOOK AND AUTHOR?
-Yes, I like reading books. You can
call me a Book-Eater!!!! My all time favorite author is J.R.R.TOLKIEN since
I was eleven years old. Of course back then when I was reading his books
on this age I thought they were just simple a tale for kids. As I grew
up I discovered the greatness of this writer. I can choose one of the books
of J.R.R.TOLKIEN as the best. The only thing that I can say is that
my most beloved books are all the f books of J.R.R.TOLKIEN.
14.WOULD YOU LIKE TO COMPOSE THE SOUNDTRACK
FOR A MOVIE? WHICH MOVIE WOULD YOU CHOOSE?
-That’s a great idea!!! Yes, I’d love
to write music for a movie. I don’t have a concrete movie in my mind but
I’d prefer something about Ancient Greece. Something about Alexander The
Great would be great.
15.WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THE
POLITICAL SITUATION DEVELOPED NOW WORLDWIDE, AFTER THOSE TERRORIST ATTACKS
IN THE U.S.A?
-I am against anything that has to
do with the killing of innocent people everywhere in the world. For me
it is the same if the innocent people who die are from U.S.A. or Afghanistan
or Yugoslavia or Iraq or anywhere else. In every war the unable to fight
people pay the price of the arrogant brains that rule their country. The
better way is to put in the same arena all the arrogant rulers of this
world and let them eat their guts out themselves!!!!!
15.WHAT IS YOUR DEFINITION FOR HEAVY/POWER
METAL?
-For me Heavy-Power Metal is the heroic
and proud side of metal. It has it’s own ideology. It never surrenders
and it onwards rides for the glory through it’s music and it’s lyrics
16.THANK YOU! THESE LAST LINES BELONG
TO YOU...
-Thanks for the opportunity that you
gave us to be heard through your e’zine and sorry for the very long answers….
I believe that the help that the e’zines like “Behind The Veil” give is
incalculable. I wish you all the best for you personally and for “Behind
The Veil”. A great THANKS to all our fans who stand on our side through
all these years. And don’t forget: