• It’s quite difficult for me to calculate the exact time in order to compose the songs, because our schedule is very complex and we meet only once a week. It took us 8 months to completely finish the album, but the thing is that we got together 5 times only. As for the studio, we stayed there for a couple of months, but once again we had Christmas in between and some other days off. We didn’t rush or push ourselves to record the album in a hurry and generally we don’t like the deadlines. So, I think the final result is more natural and spontaneous. We named the album “Nightbreed” because we were searching for an easy to remember name, so we first said to name the album “Vanguard”, but we didn’t want to name the album after a song of ours, because it’s like focusing and emphasizing on a specific song and I never liked that. So, we wanted to give a title relevant to the night, since the wolf is a creature of the night and moreover that period we had night jobs, so it was a title suitable to us.

• The first song is “Metamorphosis” a fast classic heavy metal song. We took the intro of the song from a cult b-movie of the 80s called Werewolf. The song speaks about werewolves so this intro was suitable. The lyrics deal with the internal suffering of a werewolf trying to avoid the curse, but he can’t after all… the second song is “Vanguard”. There is a long story behind it and it’s one of the first songs we have ever written back when the band’s name was Vanguard. It’s a song we wanted to work on and we found now the time to do it. It has a special meaning to me since this song was composed by Stelios, the guy with whom we formed the band and is now dead. It also shows the band’s evolution since 1993. It’s a mid tempo epic song.  The third song is “Screaming Whispers”  and it’s a fast and melodic heavy/power metal song, with a big solo and lyrically it deals with the fear of the dark, the primitive fear of the night, something that led him into creating myths and fables. The fourth song is “Endless Circle” and it’s the most diverse from the rest of the songs and the most experimental for us. It’s a song that we haven’t labeled it, because it has many different elements in it and it also has some female vocals. The female singer is Vivi Kitsou and she is a professional singer and teacher of our singer Kostas. When we decided to put some female vocals we asked her and she said yes. Basically we wanted her to sing for the last song of the album, which is 10 minutes long, she did the voice of a fairy and since we had some spare time in the studio we asked her to do some vocals for the fourth song as well. It has a piano in it and it’s an experimentation that fitted very well with our sound. We didn’t have a specific idea how we wanted this song to sound, we got in the studio, we played and this is how it came out. I think that we will hear a lot of views for this song, it’s very different!

• We liked it a lot too. If something is good, is good! The fifth song is…can you imagine this! My mind is stuck!!!

• The sixth song is “As darkness”, a heavy mid tempo epic song and it’s a song with a strong 80s feeling, very close to our roots and its rhythm stands out from the rest of the songs too. This is about an army coming from the dark in order to conquer the world, it’s allegoric. Each one can find a message to relate with…I finally remembered the fifth song, it’s “Dying Of Innocence”. This is the song included in many compilations (note: it’s in Mortal Affair too). It’s a heavy and powerful song and lyrically deals with the fear men have in relation to innocence. When a man starts to be afraid, even if he is a child, his innocence dies. The chorus is catchy, close to the 80s sound.

• Yes, yes! It has a more German feeling and it’s more aggressive. The seventh song is “Saint/Sinner” and it’s fast and melodic with some “children’s vocals” and it’s about the story of a man that is about to die, trying to evaluate his life, correct some things he did wrong in the past and trying to understand…We leave it up to the judgment of every person to come into conclusions. We don’t want to manipulate anyone. We don’t enforce our views. The last song is “The Fable Of Agnor”. The trilogy, which is a pure epic song, lasting about 10 minutes. It’s separated into 3 sections, the first one is acoustic with some female vocals, the second one is up tempo with some declamations and the third one is more power and heavier.  

• Don’t tell me such things, I don’t feel comfortable!

3. I OBSERVED A HUGE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THIS AND YOUR PREVIOUS ALBUM. YOU FOLLOW NOW CLASSIC 80S METAL PATHS. HOW DID DECIDE TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT? DO YOU AGREE THAT THE ALBUM HAS AN INTENSIVE GERMAN HEAVY METAL FEELING?

• It was something spontaneous for us. This sound is something natural for us since we all love 80s metal. Basically, 80s metal is what we listen when we get all together. Each one of us listens to different stuff. Our guitarist listens to thrash mainly, our bassist Spyros listens to death metal as well, Kostas our singer likes AOR too. I listen to more epic stuff from the rest of the guys, but 80s metal unites us all. Our music is a mixture of the German and the American sound.

• It was an effort that Basilis and Christos started, something like smaller and Greek HEAR ‘N’ AID. Guys from 15 bands gathered and we wrote a song. The money we will earn will go to the community “18 and above” which is for kids drug addicts. It was a very good effort and the Greek scene had to cooperate.

• The thing is to see if we can do this again in the future, cause the important thing is to manage to do it again. Perhaps this release was something that some people got advantage of because of all this publicity. I don’t want to say anything bad, but we have to prove that such actions don’t happen just once, but we can do it again. It requires good heart and eagerness. Surely there are guys that got involved in this just because they didn’t want the others to say that they are senseless. If the Greek scene will unite, well this is something that we will have to wait and see… I liked a lot the MARAUDER song, the song from PHANTOM LORD and also the songs from BATTLEROAR and RAGING STORM.

• He reminds me the STORMWITCH singer too every time I listen to him singing and what I like a lot in Kostas is the fact that he has a good accent, something that most of the Greek bands have a problem with. On the other hand you will tell me that of course he will have a Greek accent since he is Greek, but it’s a good thing when you want to promote your cd outside the Greek boarders to have a good accent. He has improved a lot since the first album, he has worked a lot with his voice.

• Yes, the wolf is something like our mascot. W call him ONASO. He is something like the fifth member of this band. I don’t know if we will continue having him as the main theme of the cover of our next studio release, but we will surely use him, because he has grown to become something like our trademark.

• Right now we are exclusively a studio band. We face problems with our jobs and schedules and we only have a day we can get together. Kostas, our singer works at night, Spyros our bassist has a 9-9 job, so you realize that we can only get together on Sundays. We try to work something out, find a solution, because we really want to play live, but right now it’s extremely difficult and one of us will have to leave his job or change his job. You know, it’s more difficult now, we are not kids anymore to say we don’t care. We are of some age and the job is our survival. It’s not easy for us to leave what we are doing. We can only play live shows on Sundays, but this means that we won’t have Sundays to practice together and rehearse, so some things should be left out, like we won’t be able to compose new material. One more thing is that we are in a search of a second guitarist because we need 2 guitars to play live.

• Yes, he participated and he played all the solos, except for one that Simos our guitarist played. This happened because I wanted to let Simos relax a bit since he wrote all the rhythm, lead and acoustic guitars, composed the songs and played the keyboards. Elias is a very nice guy and a good friend. I asked him and he accepted at once. We are friends 10 —12 years now.

• I had the chance to listen to their latest albums and I can tell you that they are really great!

• No, no they exist and they are in a search of a label. They have material ready to record it. They are according to me the best Greek heavy/power metal band and their new material is incredible. If you have the chance, listen to it!

• What I’d say to him is that we play the kind of music we like, it comes from inside of us naturally. If he is interested in listening to true heavy/power metal, then he should check us out. From that point on it’s a matter of taste if someone will like our music or not. I think that this true and natural element is missing from most of the latest releases, cause I see many bands trying to play something just because it’s mainstream these years and you get to listen to some reunions aiming only at the money or some releases made in a rush. I think that the heavy/power lacks of fresh sound.

• The big labels like NUCLEAR BLAST or CENTURY MEDIA go to Sweden find good musicians and tell them I will sign you if you form a band and play this way or another. In this case you can’t have a natural and true release. It’s pure professionalism and this is something that will be revealed as soon as you get to hear the album. You will realize something missing. The thing is that there are many great musicians up there, they have musical education and it’s easy for them to form a band.

• Of course! You become one of the pack and you don’t win anything. Except if you are so good and you have something that the others don’t. these things lead to the disaster of power metal and unfortunately you rarely see epic heavy/power or heavy bands popping out. Most of the bands play power metal cause it sells more, but I miss something more into classic heavy-heavy/power metal.  

• Instinct, although this is not a feeling. We are a bunch of romantics, so perhaps romance. You have the chance to listen to many feelings on our album, some more aggressive ones, others more melodic or lyrical. There are many feelings and I don’t think I am able to mention just one, but I want to make clear that everything comes from our hearts. If it were a painting, then in relation to each song I would describe a different picture. However, all the pictures would be intense, for example for the “metamorphosis” song I’d have a picture showing a full moon night or a werewolf. For “the fable Of Agnor” I’d have a castle with knights or a forest. 

• We receive a lot of positive feedback for our album from the press and the fans (in Greece and abroad). Comparing the success we have in Greece and abroad I’d say we are more famous abroad, because the market is bigger. In Greece despite the fact that the metal market, in relation to the population, is big, the fans don’t trust easily the Greek bands. The situation is getting better day by day, but it still exists. Luckily we do well inside and outside of Greece. The previous album went really well and I am sure that this one will go even better, because it’s a step further. I don’t wan to say big things, because you never know what will happen, but till now I am very satisfied!

• I know that you must have received this answer a thousand times, but since I am a fantasy literature lover, I’d say “Lord Of The Rings”. Although our music is not very epic, I’d like to do such a soundtrack because Tolkien is my favorite author and “Lord Of The Rings” my favorite book. I am crazy with Tolkien since I was 14.

• Our basic aim as a band is to have a good time. Like all friends gather on Sundays to play basketball, we gather and play the kind of music we like. This target has been accomplished as well as the fact that we had the chance to release Cds with our music. From that point on a target we have is do some live shows in the future. Imagine that the last live we did was back in 1990 with vanguard.

• Surely, because it’s the kind of music that if you don’t love, then it’s better to leave it because you wont’ have any profit from it. We exist from the 90s and we released our first album in 2000. If we didn’t love what we were doing we would have disbanded. I would play another kind of music, that would be easier for me to release an album. 

• I would like to thank you for all your help and support throughout the years! Thanks for everything!

•  I like your zine a lot! It has become more functional and much better.