Agnes Vein, one of Greece’s historic heavy metal bands, will be the special guests at Spineless’ live presentation of the “Dysphonia” album in Thessaloniki on January 18, 2025. As this highly anticipated event draws near, Myth of Rock connected with Agnes Vein for an exclusive interview. The band graciously answered our questions with both brilliance and humor, offering us a glimpse into their world ahead of the big night.
by Dimitris Zacharopoulos
How was Agnes Vein formed?
Well, a long time ago, around 2001 – not the movie (!), Sakis has decided to create a doom metal band, to fulfill all of his need for Steel, along with creating more elegant music in the shape of the alternative/avant garde/funk/pseudo jazz metal project of National Pornografik. Errikos and Kostas co-led this attempt to play some pure doom/heavy metal in the (agnes) vein of old Candlemass, Solitude Aeturnus, Black Sabbath etc. Therefore Agnes was born!
Which is the current line-up of the band?
Sakis on guitars and vocals, Lefteris on bass and Fivos on drums.
How many full-length, studio albums have you released so far? Can you make a brief presentation of these albums?
We have released three full lengths so far, “Duality”, “Soulship” and “Deathcall”. Each album represents a specific period in the lifespan of the band, but all of them are based in the same need forriff driven heavy music that combineselements from different genres. “Duality’’, our debut album, leans toward the more traditional heavy and doomy side of things, whereas “Soulship” adds a more post-rocking depth and atmosphere in our sound. Lastly, ‘’Deathcall’’ probably incorporates elements from both the previous releases, adding more complex song structures ad progressive in the whole picture.
Three years have passed since the release of “Deathcall”. What have Agnes Vein been doing these years? Have you written any new songs? If yes, how do they sound? When should we expect a new album from Agnes Vein?
Hahaha, that is the million-dollar question in our echo chamber! As already, history has proven, we are not the most productive band in the world. Especially whereas now asmiddle-aged men, we are burdened with more responsibilities than our careless youth it is really difficult to keep up our creative pace. Having said that, I must inform you that we have the structures for almost four songs and hopefully we will be able to finish the writing process within 2025. I strongly believe that the new material sounds like a progression of our sound and aesthetic but at the same time a return to more simple ye effective forms.
“Deathcall” was released through Venerate Industries. Is your deal with Venerate Industries still active? How do you see the “Deathcall” album now? What would you change to it now, if you had the opportunity?
To be totally honest, there was never a “deal” in the traditional meaning of the word, even if Venerate is always trying to keep the level of professionalism high. But since we have known Markos and the guys from the label for almost 20 years, it was more than natural for both sides, to carry a mutual feeling of respect and trust. Let’s hope that at the time we will be ready to release new material, Venerate will be still going strong and willing to cooperate with us for a new genre-defying record! Duscussing how we see “Deathcall” now, after a lot of consideration regarding the hypothetical question “what would we have changed if we are able to” my personal answer would be: nothing! Please don’t get me wrong, there are still all these flaws and fuck-ups in the album, from our performances to the sounds and the compositions themselves, but as I am getting older, I am tending to see each album as a diary of the exact period the album was conceived and recorded. Based on the aforementioned assumption that and to put it more simply I must admit that I don’t like the perspective of a musical Mandela effect equivalent, meaning that I like the past to stay exactly as it was!
In which subgenre would you classify Agnes Vein?
Ehmmmm, probably a combination of doom, black metal with a dash of non-metallic and more pretentious elements, hahahaha!
Describe Agnes vein with three adjectives only!
Epicus, doomicus, metallicus (ok that was a cheap one, hahahaha)!
Which are your main music influences?
Each one of us carries his own musical influences and inspirations.However, all of us grew up listening also to the same artists and bands: From classic heavy metal to progressive rock, then to extreme metal sounds and back to genres outside the realm of rock music, such as classical, jazz, experimental, ambient etc.
Which is the main composer of Agnes Vein? Who writes the lyrics? Where do the lyrics of Agnes Vein refer to?
Sakis (guitar/vocals) is the main composer as he is the one responsible for bringing most of the music to our rehearsal room. Sakis also used to be the sole lyricist in the band, but as time goes by, we are getting more and more involved with writinglyrics collectively. Subjects may vary from fantasy-oriented themes and stories to philosophical subjects and hymns to the cold universal indifference.
How is a typical Agnes Vein song composed? What comes first, music or lyrics? Sakis usually brings a couple of riffs to the table, along with some compositional ideas and then we start workingaltogether in our rehearsal room, fooling around with thοse ideas till we are satisfied with the outcome. To be honest this satisfaction comes rarely, since we arealways facing the tendency to constantly change things in the songs, even after they are recorded! After establishing a song structure, we focus on the vocal melodies and finally the lyrics. So, there is no doubt about it, music always comes first!
How would you describe the atmosphere of the songs of Agnes Vein?
Harrowing and haunting, but never miserable or self-loathing.
Which is your motto in life?
Probably one of my favorites is something like “you can’t have it all” .
When was your last live show? How does Agnes Vein sound live?
The last show was at our anniversary gig for the 20 years of the existence of the band, last April, at AN club, Athens. I think that live appearances might be one of our strongest selling points. Even if we are not by any means the most gifted musicians or the more precise one, after all these years we have developed a strong musical bonding and understanding between us, so even when being sloppy as a unit, the overall outcome sounds tight and overtly confident (or at least I really hope so!)!
If you could perform live on stage with a famous musician, who would he/she be?
Sakis had the opportunity to share the stage with Mark Shelton of Manilla Road, with a previous Agnes line up, so I think that might answers partially your question! Apart from that I think that all the three of us will be delighted to have Tom Warrior as a guest with us on stage!
Spineless are playing live in Thessaloniki on the 18th of January 2025 and you are the special guests. How do you feel about that?
Very niiiiice! It will be a great opportunity to perform in our hometown, after more than one year and have a great time with our good friends Spineless!
Have you cooperated with Chrysa Tsaltampasi in the past? Can you give us some info please?
Sakis, Chrysa and me used to play in the same band half a million years ago, called National Pornografik. That band was active between 2001 – 2010 and has released a couple of demos as well as a full-length album, titled “D.”. In many ways the music of National Pornografik was kind of a harbinger of our current musical career, for both Chrysa and us. Also, that band shaped some really strong bonds between us as friends.
What should we expect from Agnes Vein in the future?
Some consistency in our discography and creating some more (hopefully) interesting music, firstly for our personal satisfaction and then for everyone who’s might be attracted to our sound!
Send a message to the fans!
I would prefer to call them supporters and music lovers! Try to focus to the art itself and not the packaging (digital or not) surrounding it! Thanks a lot for your support and hope to see you all on the 18th of January!
