Diamond Signs is a Greek all-female cover band, with an unyielding love for hard rock and heavy metal music. Myth of Rock has discovered these music diamonds and having witnessed their live show at Nomads, in Athens, Greece, we had a nice conversation with the members of the band! Look out for these rough diamonds!
by Ira Bunia
photo: Chris Kissadjekian
Hello, girls, how are we?
Hello Ira, we’re all fine, and thank you very much for the invitation!
First of all, before we start with the questions, we would like you to introduce yourselves and tell us your role in the band.
We are Diamond Signs, an all-female hard rock/metal cover band since 2017, consisting of four members. My name is Maria Abatzoglou and I play the drums, Ioanna Mitsioni is on the guitar and the vocals, Kiki Karanikola is on the bass and the vocals and Argiro Igilizian is our lead vocalist.
Tell me about your band name, Diamond Signs. Which girl came up with the name and where did she get inspired from?
Many ideas were thrown on the table, but this one prevailed, because this name characterized more precisely what we do: playing “diamonds” of foreign hard rock/metal repertoire but putting our own “signature” as a band! Our own “signs”.
You are all-female band. Was it something that happened by chance or was it a team decision?
No, it didn’t happen by chance! It succeeded, hahaha! … It was an idea and a personal dream of mine that I had for a long time. To form a band, but I wanted it to be purely female, because there aren’t many in this genre in Greece. It’s quite rare. I was searching for the right members for many years who shared the same passion and love for this music, and thanks to these girls, my dream came true in the best possible way!
Since when did you start jamming together and when did you decide to start the first live shows?
The band was formed in September 2017, and we immediately started rehearsals to put together a setlist. Our first live show took place in December 2017.
Do you share common musical tastes among yourselves?
Yes, we all love hard rock sound, but each one of us has her own personal taste, so our setlist consists of selections from all the girls. We listen to many different genres of music, but mainly we focus on this genre to give the band an identity.
Watching some of your live performances, I notice that you enjoy playing not only hard rock but also classic metal, from Queensrÿche and Metallica to Iron Maiden. Tell me a bit about your influences?
Maria: My initial influence is Socrates Drank The Conium, especially with their latest lineup featuring Makis Gioulis on drums… listening to them and getting to know them, I immediately realized that I wanted to become a drummer!!! I also adore and have been greatly influenced by Cozy Powell for his style and the fire he brought to his playing! From there came my nickname Maria ‘Cozy’, and I studied extensively all the bands he played with: Whitesnake, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, etc.
Argiro: In this group, I’m the softie! I enjoy the hard rock scene, still learning about the metal scene… and I have a lot more to learn. My influences range from Janis Joplin to Deep Purple and from Joss Stone to Rival Sons, and it’s all in the mix!
Kiki: My influences vary, but most of them come from the music of the 80s up to the mid-90s, and I enjoy listening to anything related to that era of music, from Madonna and Wham to Coroner and Death.
Ioanna: My influences range from Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, and Metallica to Death and black metal. From very classic to grunge, metal, etc. I’ve been listening to various genres since I was little, depending on my mood.
What is each girl’s favorite band and album?
Difficult question indeed!!! There are so many bands… countless!
Maria: I really enjoy listening to hard rock bands like Toto (my favorite album is “Kingdom of Desire”), King’s X, Thunder, Thin Lizzy, FM, Mr. Big, and metal bands such as Iron Maiden (favorite album “Somewhere in Time’), Annihilator, Riot, Dio, Pink Cream 69, but my all-time favorite piece that represents me the most is “Resurrection Time” by John Norum! If I don’t listen to it once a day, it’s like missing my daily pill!
Argiro: It’s indeed a very difficult question, but I’ll tell you which are the first and the most recent albums that I loved and listened to extensively! The first one was “Cheap Thrills” by Janis Joplin, which I listened to when I was 16, and I decided that I would forever be in love with the electric sound, and the most recent one is “Burn” by Deep Purple, which I still enjoy listening to until today!
Kiki: The question is indeed very difficult, because there are so many favorite albums, I’ll just mention three without which I can’t live: Camel’s “Mirage”, Iron Maiden’s “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son”, and the first album by Mercyful Fate (“Melissa”).
Ioanna: I struggle a lot with such questions, but one album that came to mind and I love is “…And Justice for All” by Metallica! Also, “Over-Nite Sensation” by Frank Zappa. Bands are very difficult… Led Zeppelin, Whitesnake, Metallica, and many others!
What will be the next destination?
Our next live show will be at Rockwood on April 27th! We’ll be delighted to see you all there!
Thank you very much for the time you dedicated to me, and I wish you all to achieve your goals.
You’re very welcome.
