Middle Earth, the highly promising hard rock/glam metal band from Athens, is going to hit the stage of An Club this Friday, 15th of November, and Myth of Rock had the chance to talk with the guys! Some words now and soon Middle Earth will let the music do the talking!
by Ira Bunia
Hello guys, how are you doing?
We are fine, thank you!
First of all, thank you from the bottom of my heart for the honor of speaking to Myth of Rock magazine.
We are equally honored and thank you very much!
Before we start talking about the music part of the band I would like you to introduce yourself as well as the role of each member in the band.
Well, Alexandros Staridis is the singer, Giorgos Buroyiannis is on guitar, Nikos Voulgaropoulos on bass and backing vocals, Kostas Paidas also on guitar and Menios Laskaridis on drums. During this time, Menios is performing his military duties and at the moment Christodoulos Avgerinos is on drums.
So, … Middle Earth! Whose idea was the name of the band?
It was Alex’s idea. Alex, also the creator of the band, was inspired by “Lord of the Rings”, but the genre we play has nothing to do with power metal, as it has been said.
We would like you to tell us a few words about the formation of the band. How did you get to your current line-up?
(George) Alex and I attended the same conservatory, where we met. In 2019, he suggested that I join the band he was forming. In the beginning we had a very different line up, until later, due to various circumstances, such as the National University Entrance Examinations, University exmas and other things that everyone had, Nikos on bass, Kostas on the other guitar and Menios on drums gradually joined in chronological order. I think that we have now established ourselves as a group, because apart from being bandmates, we are also very good friends with each other, and as far as the line-up is concerned, it seems we have finally matched.
What is the theme of your songs and what are the messages you want to send to the crowd?
Our songs do not have a standard theme. In general, when we write songs, the mood we have at that time, the stimuli that we might have, all these play a big role. Also, we are inspired from some situations we have experienced in our life, some movie or book we may have seen or read etc. Now as far as the message we want to get across, it is mainly derived from the good/fun/party vibes of the music we play (hard rock) – when someone comes to our lives or listens to our songs, we want to cheer him up and help in this way to make his day even a little better.
Listening to you and seeing you, we have the clear feeling of a complete hard rock band with elements of intense glam/poser metal, with a melodic vibe. In other words, you have both the explosiveness of rock and romanticism. Tell us a little bit about that.
Our influences come from the good, old ‘80s but also from younger bands like Maneskin, Greta Van Fleet and Palaye Royale. Such bands have played a big role in our music and our looks. As hard rockers, we love bands like Motley Crüe, Bon Jovi, Skid Row, Ratt and many others of the genre, but also more classic bands such as Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith and Deep Purple.
How many albums have you released so far and where can we hear your new track, “Lovin’ Pleasin’”?
In fact, very recently we released our first EP (“The Jackals”), which is our first professional work. A little while ago we released some singles like “Summer Breeze” and “Just Fine”. As for “Lovin’ Pleasin’”, it is one of the tracks on our EP and you can listen to it on all streaming platforms (Spotify, iTunes, YouTube, etc.).
Regarding the composition of your tracks, do you all have an active part?
Of course! Someone brings a basic idea and we all try to put our own touch together. Lately we have been working with the music producer Kostas Sakalis (Kiss Me Cleopatra), who has helped us a lot in terms of the compositional part.
Is there a common vision in the songs you write?
Of course! Otherwise, we wouldn’t be here now.
Let’s go now to the live shows you’ve done. You have played in both Athens and the province. How do you see the public response and what messages do you get from people?
Starting from Athens, where our base is, we have played many live shows, like one live show per month. We can say that every concert had a very good response! People will always like and need the explosiveness of rock and the good mood in a show. The majority of people’s comments are positive and that’s very important to us, it is also our motivation to continue. In the province we have played two times, in Ioannina and Patra, so far. It’s such a joy to be given the opportunity to play outside of your home town, with an audience that KNOWS how to SING YOUR SONGS!
An Club, 15/11/2024, this Friday. It’s the first time you’ll be premiering your new track “Lovin Pleasin’”. How do you feel about that?
In the beginning, “Lovin’ Pleasin’” was a bit different. We played it as it is now, in Ioannina and Patras. So, we are very excited and can’t wait for our Athens fans to hear it.
Is there a surprise cover we can expect?
Oh yes! And not one, but some… it’s going to be a blast!
Is there new material in the works?
We have material unreleased in general, which we want to gradually release, little by little. We are of course composing new tracks, which at some point in the future will be included in our first album.
Next concert stop?
We still don’t have anything definite to announce, but it will be in provincial cities from 2025 onwards..
Guys, thank you very much for your time, we can’t wait to enjoy you on stage!
