We have been waiting for it for many years. A triumphant return with “At Night We Prey”. One of the most important bands in the history of the Greek scene and a member of the…unholy trinity along with Rotting Christ and Septicflesh. Nightfall is here again and this time things are different. Efthimis Karadimas explains why. Founding member and unique constant in their course. Singer, composer, lyricist. At times keyboardist, bassist and guitarist. A conversation in which he says a lot of interesting things. Interview: George Terzakis Camera: Yiannis Dolas, Editing/Post Production: OneManArmy
Rockpages.gr: Let’s start with what the band did or did not do since 2013 and the release of “Cassiopeia”.
Efthimis Karadimas: Fallow, the so-called. This is not something new for us. As a joke, I parallel all the activity of the band since its inception with a Netflix series. For some strange reason, completely by chance, I noticed that we have fallen into four different decades where each time with a different company and line-up we make a new beginning. So now, in the fourth season we are with Season Of Mist, with a new album and now with the decision to start a concert activity, something we had very rarely in our history.
Rockpages.gr: So new line-up, plans for live performances and a new album. How did all this come about?
Efthimis Karadimas: Regarding the line-up, I am one of the people who like to meet new musicians, to exchange ideas and I demand from each musician I collaborate to submit a piece of his or her soul. I’m not a fan of bands that do everything one or two people and the rest are just “hired guns”. So, “At Night We Prey” is the result of the effort between us as a small group, as a small family. The situation changed compared to the previous period because I missed the contact with the musical side of the band, that is, playing in a studio and giving concerts. The creation of The Slayerking also helped in this as well as Mike Galiatsos, our guitarist from the first period who told me to do something together again. There came the story of depression, an old story that I refused to see because of society’s stereotypes about men and the weakness they should not show. So I wanted to tell this story and I did it through Nightfall. Of course, this did not start during the quarantine, but around 2018, it just so happened that we came back again at that time. We were also lucky in a way because the subject felt relevant to all this mental weight that we all have on our backs worldwide due to this situation.
Rockpages.gr: Didn’t you think to keep the release for a couple of years later?
Efthimis Karadimas: Not at all. This is a piece from my soul. It is not a product that you throw in the market whenever you deem it right. You take it out of you so that it won’t crush you. Of course, your question is very correct, since our music has turned out to be a product, which is completely wrong. It is played by a few and is for a few, it is a subculture in the good sense of course. It’s not mainstream, so it’s stupid to operate by the rules of mainstream music.
Rockpages.gr: You also had a recent addition to the band, a new bass player. The fact that you played it again after years for Nightfall had to do with the fact that you play it also in The Slayerking, right?
Efthimis Karadimas: Yes, that’s right.
Rockpages.gr: So how did Vasiliki Biza come into the picture?
Efthimis Karadimas: Vasiliki is a person who was missing from the band. She has a very nice personality and as a woman she helps our cause, because we now belong to the wave of our time that wants to destroy patriarchy, because we too are victims of patriarchy as I said before. Vasiliki is also a complete musician and after I had recorded the bass and the idea came to come with us, I made her listen so that she could tell me her point of view. Not only did she listen to the bass parts but she also played them. It made us all feel comfortable, thinking that she is a person who will make us spend beautiful creative moments either in the studio or on tour. From the next album I believe that Vasiliki will be in her post and will offer many nice things.
Rockpages.gr: How long did it take for “At Night We Prey” to be prepared from the songwriting to the recordings and how much did the new members contribute to it?
Efthimis Karadimas: The recordings took more than a year. The songwriting started with Mike in 2018, then Fotis Benardo came to the band and we decided to start from scratch, even though we had the songs, so that he had room to work. It took about two and a half years all together, with some breaks of course.
Rockpages.gr: Season Of Mist is a leading company in the field. How hard was it to come to an agreement since you were inactive for so many years?
Efthimis Karadimas: The good thing about Nightfall is that while it is a band that has been away from concerts for two decades, it is a band that everyone knows. We never had a problem with a door opening for us. Never. The problem has always been with us and me. Obviously, it had to do with my refusal to see some things in their true dimension. So, the strong opinion I had these twenty years, the wrong treatment of the scene and the issue of depression that has been with me for so many years, certainly played a role in the decisions.
Rockpages.gr: Along with the album, many re-releases from the first period of the band came out. Your own idea or the label’s?
Efthimis Karadimas: It was a conjuncture. Holy Records held our rights, as did for all the bands it owned and wanted to sell them at some point. Because of the very good relationship I had with them, they agreed to give it to me. These discussions and negotiations took years because it was not my priority. We came to a solution just before the deal with Season Of Mist and proposed to give them the rights. At last, I got them and gave them to Season Of Mist for the re-releases.
Rockpages.gr: You also shot two videos where you performed two of your older songs at Sierra Studios. How did this idea come about and was there a plan for more to come out?
Efthimis Karadimas: There was a plan to release “Precious/All My Love Is Lost” and “Iris (And The Burning Aureole)”. But there was no reason, they are identical. There is an idea to release an EP with these four played live, so if it happens we will release the other two then. They have nothing to offer, it is the same thing as “Ishtar (Celebrate Your Beauty)” and “As Your God Is Failing Once Again”. These came out because there was a gap after the first quarantine, in order to introduce ourselves to the world again.
Rockpages.gr: As this year marks thirty years since the founding of the band…
Efthimis Karadimas: This year, huh?
Rockpages.gr: Yes, 1991 to 2021.
Efthimis Karadimas: Yes, right.
Rockpages.gr: Didn’t you think about it?
Efthimis Karadimas: I do not even take it into account [laughs].
Rockpages.gr: What differences do you see in the music industry of then and now and which period do you prefer?
Efthimis Karadimas: I prefer the present. I always prefer the present. The difficulties of that time are different from those of the present. Back then, metal was more like a social reaction through art. It was an attempt by minorities, people who were on the margins of societies because they had alternative tastes, alternative style or views, and these people were trying, before the internet even existed, to find others like them so that they would not feel like outcasts. So all this effort started because of the need for communication, not so much to produce the right music. Many times we just made noise, we did bad productions but there was this soul that had to come out. Our age stands in contrast. You have the choice to make whatever sound you want, to produce flawless creations and the risk of being sterile. There isn’t this soul, this rage that existed then. In order to get it out, you have to enter a state of self-submission, to feel that you have to deposit something. It’s very difficult when you have all the goodies in the world. That’s why more effort is needed from the bands to talk about things that are about now and not yesterday.
Rockpages.gr: Let’s go to the upcoming stage appearances. Initially, a show at Gagarin on November 13th. Anniversary show or promotion of the new album?
Efthimis Karadimas: It will definitely be the new album, the new line-up, the new season of the band but there will also be old songs. We are looking forward to it and we will try to produce an audiovisual result worthy of the band. Of course, we want the support from all of you because you are an integral part of this effort and your honest reaction.
Rockpages.gr: After that there is the postponed European tour with the mighty Draconian, in March. How long will this last?
Efthimis Karadimas: About three weeks.
Rockpages.gr: Is there anything else on the horizon?
Efthimis Karadimas: After Gagarin we will play at the Metallian Festival, one of the oldest and best-known magazines on the European metal scene. It is the equivalent of the British Terrorizer for France and is doing an anniversary festival for its thirty years. We will essentially appear as Nightfall in France after twenty years. It’s a big deal for us. And soon after, more dates will be announced.
Rockpages.gr: Just before we close, tell us a few words about the documentary that is being prepared with the history of the band.
Efthimis Karadimas: This is an idea of Antoine de Montremy from Paris, who discovered the band in our first season and was inspired by our lyrics and music in various aspects of his life. He has his own production company and one day he called me and told me that he wants to make a documentary about Nightfall because as we helped him in his life he wants to do the same to us now that we are back in the spotlight. When I asked him what it would cost, because it is still an expensive production, he told me not to worry. His company is doing very well and every year he puts aside an amount of budget that goes to the arts, supporting things and people he loves and gets inspired by. I have not heard anything better than that. That’s awesome. He came to Athens, we talked and I agreed. I believe in about two years it will be ready.
Rockpages.gr: Finally, what is the best and what is the worst memory from the history of the band?
Efthimis Karadimas: There are many good ones, because we do the so-called fallow that I said at the beginning, every beginning has its beauty. It brings you closer to your youth again. I love them, each one is beautiful. The difficult time was the end of the first period because there was no knowledge of how to close a chapter. We learned it the hard way and it was a very hard lesson.
