Magenda, one of the most promising newcomers in Greece’s hard rock and melodic metal scene, is gearing up for the final of the Rockwave Festival competition, which will take place at the Piraeus Club Academy on May 8th, 2025. The band will compete for a coveted spot as one of the opening acts at this year’s Rockwave Festival—an opportunity that could mark significantly their musical journey. Just a few days before this event, Myth of Rock caught up with the talented Greek outfit for an engaging conversation. You can read the full interview below!
by Ira Bunia
Good evening, how are you?
Hello! We are very well and we are very happy to have the opportunity to talk to you!
First of all, I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the honor of speaking to Myth of Rock.
Thank you!
Before we start talking about the musical part, I would like you to introduce yourself to us as well as the role of each member in the band.
So! We are a four-member hard rock band consisting of Dimitris Chantziaras
Martens (vocals – rhythm guitar), Klimis Gelenkloglou (lead guitar – vocals), Marios Chaldeos (bass – vocals) and Marios Smaragdas (drums). The two Marios are the new transfer acquisitions of our group! Most of the material of the first album has been written by Dimitris and Panos Antonopoulos (former bassist and singer).
Magenda!!! Whose idea was the name of the band and what does it mean?
The name was Panos’ idea and we have essentially changed the spelling of the color magenta, which we like a lot. The variations of this color express the diversity of our songs and the different genres that someone will hear in our material.
I would like you to tell me a few words about when you started and how you arrived at the current line-up of the group?
The band started when two fellow students at the English Language and Philology department of the National University of Athens, Klimis and Dimitris, decided to form a rock band in the autumn of 2019. Dimitris was away for a semester in Amsterdam due to Erasmus and as soon as he returned, the quarantine began… Various members were tried out by the band but the regular start of the band took place in October 2021, with the quartet consisting of Dimitris, Klimis, Panos and Orestis Mavros on drums. The current line-up was completed in the summer of 2024 and we are very happy for our new group!
How many albums have you released and where can you be heard?
We have released one album so far, called “Reach For The Sky” as well as a cover of “House Of The Rising Sun”. There are also three video clips and a performance clip of Metal Hammer on our YouTube channel! Our album has also been released on CD, which you can find on our Bandcamp! You can also contact us on all our social media to get it!
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1Qe1ih4nwl1P26OXU2caph
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@magendabandofficial
Bandcamp: https://magenda.bandcamp.com/track/house-of-the-rising-sun.
Regarding the composing of the songs, do you all have an active part?
As we said above, the first album has songs mainly by Dimitris and Panos, with Klimis and Orestis following. At this stage, in addition to the various live shows we play, we have already started composing songs for a second album with compositions by Klimis and Dimitris so far!
Is there a common thread in the songs you write?
From the beginning of the band, our mentality was clear: everyone brings a relatively complete piece and the rest of us “dress” it musically and vocally, each in their own role. For this reason, you will see that in the credits of the songs there is usually one person per piece, with exceptions of course.
Tell us about your influences!
Because everyone writes his own songs, our influences are many and varied! We listen to mainly music from the 70s and 80s, such as Scorpions, KISS, Queen, Bryan Adams, Mötley Crüe, Alice Cooper, Rod Stewart, Savatage, Cinderella, Europe, Bon Jovi, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and many other great bands of the time.
What is the theme of your songs and what messages do you want to convey
to the world?
Our songs deal with various topics and emotions. For example, we have songs that talk about romantic feelings in all their forms (joy, uncertainty, pain, anger), social issues and always dreaming, regardless of what others say, inner searches, haunted castles and much more!
Listening to you, one has the clear feeling of a complete hard rock band with a strong presence of ballads and punk. You have both the explosiveness of rock and a romanticism. Tell us a little about it.
This is precisely due to the fact that we have many different composers and we believe that it gives us an advantage because the audience shows that they like this diversity and the alternation of rhythms and moods!
Let’s talk a little bit about the live shows you’ve done. Have you only played in Athens? How do you see the audience’s response and what messages do you receive from the world?
So far, we’ve done 21 live shows in various parts of Athens. Our goal is to go to other cities soon, because we know that the people there have a great thirst for rock! The audience always shows us their love and appreciation and this is very encouraging for the continuation of the band!
Piraeus Club Academy, 8/05/2025, the final contest for the opening concert at Rockwave Festival in Malakasa and Terra Republic. What are your feelings and is there any anxiety?
The Rockwave Festival competition is our second experience in this type of competitions, since in our first live show in 2022 we won the national Metal Hammer Greece competition at Remedy! This time, the stakes are huge and we hope our fans will be at Piraeus Club Academy on May 8th and support us with their vote! We know it is Thursday, but we believe that our fans will be there once again! The ideal scenario would be to come and open the Alice Cooper concert! Of course, all the concerts will be excellent and we cannot have preferences! We would like to thank Rockwave Festival, Piraeus Club Academy and Mr. Hakos Pervanidis for the organization and the opportunity they give us!
How much and in what way do you think the shock rock king Alice Cooper has influenced the rock and metal scene?
We are talking about an eccentric figure, which has undoubtedly influenced the rock and metal scene and the name Alice Cooper has been written in the history books! Alice’s persona was pioneering from the beginning and all the theatricality, appearance, make-up and of course the anthems he has sung are integral elements of his success as well as many other artists, who were influenced by the great Alice Cooper!
Is there new material in the works?
Of course! At this stage you have us in a pleasant rush of running between live performances of the competition and composing new material!
Next concert stop?
Lazy Club in the near future!
Guys, thank you very much for the time you dedicated to me and good luck!!!
We thank you! Be well! We will be happy to see you at Piraeus Club Academy on May 8th in our final!
Instagram: https://instagram.com/magendaband
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/magendaband
TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@magenda.band
