Approaching another day of this year’s Release Athens Festival, it’s time to have a word with our “own” bands that are invited to open each day. On July 21st, before Epica, Blind Guardian and Sabaton take the stage at Plateia Nerou, heavy/power metallers The Silent Rage and symphonic metallers Enemy Of Reality will handle the opening. Let’s see what guitarist Nick Sarbanis of the former and singer Iliana Tsakiraki of the latter have to say.
Interview: George Terzakis
Rockpages.gr: Hello there. We’re over halfway through 2022, so tell us a bit about what you’ve been up to in the year so far and what you have planned by the end of it, both live and in the studio.
Iliana Tsakiraki: Hello George and thank you for having us! We’ve had the pleasure of being one of the bands that have been given opportunities to play gigs and we’ve (finally, after the Covid stop/start) finished our next record. We will participate on the first day of Under The Quarry Metal Fest on September 10th.
Nick Sarbanis: Regarding the studio part, since the end of last year we have completely finished the recordings of our second album. At the same time, after I finished the recordings on the guitars, I started to “remodel” together with the other guitarist Nick Siglidis, the song “Harvester Of Souls” which was released in 2011. Then we recorded it in my personal space, Nomad Studios, and the processes of reamping, mixing and mastering were handled by Giorgos Nerantzis (Gus G., Abbath etc.). The material has been released on digital platforms and can also be heard on YouTube. As for the concert part, after at least two years of inactivity for the obvious reasons we did a live show at An Club with WildFire and Fortress Under Siege. It was an enjoyable show for us, I hope for the crowd as well, as after so long away from concerts we had missed live shows. We will also play on the second day of Under The Quarry metal fest on September 11th and on Power Metal Quest Fest that will take place in England on October 1st.
Rockpages.gr: Almost all bands dream of achieving what you are about to do, that is, to open for very big names in the scene, something you have done several times in the past. What is the “secret” behind being given such an opportunity? How should one go about chasing the big gigs? What does the support act can gain from these appearances?
Iliana Tsakiraki: These things are earned when you have patience and persistence over time. When you are there and over the years you get better and better and there is progress, it will definitely not go unnoticed. Of course, this is also something that is slowly changing, we will see in the coming years. If the support band does a good job and it’s the moment to make this move, of course it will win new fans.
Nick Sarbanis: I don’t think there is any secret. It just needs organization, tactics and consistency for a band to chase a show with big names in the scene. If after this effort and patience the first gigs happen and they are decent, more will follow. Certainly the support act gains an additional big band on its resume. But the most important thing is that it can win new audience if the show is very good.
Rockpages.gr: It’s no secret that many organizers and headliners behave badly towards support acts. How has your experience been by Release Athens until now and what’s the worst thing you’ve been asked by any organizer in the past?
Iliana Tsakiraki: We just want to say a big thank you to the people of Release Athens as not only us, but all the support bands have been taken great care in the issue of promotion. We are on the posters, in the magazine entries, on the radio, etc. This means a lot to these people, that they really love music and respect people. There are other events that announce the support band a week before the concert and so no one pays attention.
Nick Sarbanis: Our cooperation with the organizers of Release is impeccable so far. I think it is one of the most well-organized festivals in the country and this is clear as they provide us with more than what is necessary for a support band. The worst thing we’ve ever been asked to do as is to play with a band that we had verbally made a specific agreement with, because they were known to us and we felt we could trust them. In the end, they did not keep the agreement and sought to benefit at our expense.
Rockpages.gr: Release Athens has many days for different tastes this year. If you had the chance to choose any day to play, would you choose another or do you think this one suits you better?
Iliana Tsakiraki: We couldn’t have played somewhere better. Musically it would do us more harm than good if we appeared on any other day than this one.
Nick Sarbanis: For me personally, there was a dilemma between this particular day and the one with Slipknot/Sepultura, mainly because of the more thrashy nature of the riffs we have written for the upcoming record. However, the day we play is also fitting as it objectively is more suitable with the genre we play.
Rockpages.gr: The schedule has not been announced yet but we all know that you will go on stage while the sun is still burning hot. How would you encourage people to come early to see you and what can we expect from your appearance?
Iliana Tsakiraki: We will play two songs for the first time from our new record, so those of you who know us, come and listen them! For those who don’t know us, I hope through this interview you will go to our social media, listen to us and if you like us we will wait for you at our appointment!
Nick Sarbanis: For the old fans, we will certainly play songs from the first album as well as new songs that we haven’t released yet. This might trigger a new listener to know what to expect on the upcoming record that is on the way.
