Shortly before the people’s summer leaves start and a few days after the release of the first full length album of Sirius we sat down with the singer/guitarist of the band Dimitris Napas to talk about this first release. Interview: Michael Ntalakos, Camera: Yiannis Dolas, Editing/Post Production: OneManArmy
Rockpages.gr: Dimitris, I would like you to tell us a few things about the history of the band…
Dimitris Napas: The band started in 2007, I created it personally with some friends at that time. The members of that time are no longer in the band, they have stopped. The line-up we have now has been stable for 7 years.
Rockpages.gr: Your debut album came out, at the first, in digital format a few days ago. What are the first reactions from those who have heard it?
Dimitris Napas: So far, we’ve had really nice feedback on the new album, it’s doing really well on social media and streaming platforms and also on Bandcamp where a lot of people have listened to it. Now we are waiting for the physical version soon.
Rockpages.gr: What can you tell us about the recordings of the album?
This is a long story. It took us a very long time to complete it because it was done during the covid period the whole process. We started in 2020. we recorded the instruments in 10 days but we were delayed with the vocals because of the lockdown. It took us a total of one month to get to this result with its positives and negatives for “A Quest For Life”.
Rockpages.gr: There is a big distance between your EP and your first album. 7 years to be exact. What has the band been doing all this time?
Dimitris Napas: Yes, indeed since our EP “Wings Of Fire” that came out in 2017 until now 7 years have passed. For the last four years we’ve basically been in the process of completing our album. As I said before with covid and due to restrictions we couldn’t do much. Our goal was to have the album out in 2020.
Of course, the band was playing the songs live all this time. We had a lot of good feedback from the people and at the last live shows we did it seemed that they wanted the album. In general we were very active, we didn’t let the band sit around.
Rockpages.gr: How would you describe your sound to someone who hasn’t heard you yet?
We have a wide variety of influences and it comes out in our playing. I consider us to be a mix between Grand Magus, Gamma Ray and Iced Earth. That’s what I think. Now some people hear other elements in our songs. For example, we have been told that we have some elements of Metallica. I won’t say no because I like Metallica very much too. But if you told me which bands people should listen to in order to understand us, I would say these three.
Rockpages.gr: What themes does your album deal with lyrically?
Dimitris Napas: The whole album “A Quest For Life” is something of a concept lyrically because the songs have a common denominator. They all have to do with the quest for life. With the difficulties we go through, the consequences of our actions and all that. So, I can say that lyrically we’re closer to more human things than fantasy themes. On the EP it was a little bit different.
Rockpages.gr: If I asked you to suggest a track from the album to listen to. What would it be and why?
Dimitris Napas: From this album I would most recommend “Lost Light”. I think it has everything in it. That or “Among The Heavens”. I think this track has everything you need to hear from Sirius. As a personal choice I would say “Lost Light”. It’s also my favorite of the album.
Rockpages.gr: There are some special guests on the album.
Dimitris Napas: Right! We have two guests on the album who are also my childhood musical heroes. One is Tim “Reaper” Owens and the other is Derek Sherinian. I think we all know them. They are great musicians and the result is incredible. They were very cooperative and friendly and I hope to work with them in the future.
Rockpages.gr: Will we see you guys live soon?
Dimitris Napas: We are already arranging for the album launch. I think that in the next few months we will make some announcements and we will definitely play outside of Greece.
Rockpages.gr: How did the collaboration with your current company occurred?
Dimitris Napas: The collaboration with Wormhole Death started a few months ago. When we were emailing different labels they directly replied that they wanted us on the label. They paid attention to the record, definitely more than other labels.
Rockpages.gr: Where can your friends find the album to listen and buy it?
Dimitris Napas: Our album was released July 26 digitally on all streaming platforms, it’s also available on Bandcamp for anyone who wants to buy it from there. Basically next month it will be released in physical form as well.
Rockpages.gr: What are the immediate next steps for Sirius?
Dimitris Napas: We’ve already started writing the next album. So, we already have 4-5 tracks completed. Slowly that will be done as well. That’s how we worked last time. Now the most immediate steps are to do a lot of concerts to promote the album. We will definitely get the video clips and lyric videos running.
Rockpages.gr: Black Sabbath with Ozzy or with Dio and why?
Dimitris Napas: Very difficult question! I’ll say Ozzy because when I talk about Black Sabbath I have this four in my mind. He always had musicians Iommy next to him and Dio great voice and a favorite but I prefer him to Rainbow.
Rockpages.gr: American heavy metal or European?
Dimitris Napas: Also a tough question. It depends on the seasons. I really like the American scene. I think 70’s was much better than Europe but I can’t see anything in it. There are favorite bands and musicians in both scenes.
Rockpages.gr: Thank you for your time. Close this interview with a message to your friends.
Dimitris Napas: Thank you. I want them to know that they should expect bigger things from Sirius than what we’ve done so far, thanks for the support and I hope we live up to the expectations of the fans to the fullest.
