Nightrage, a band that not only masters the art of melodic death metal but reshapes its very essence, is going to crack the stage of Gagarin 205, Athens, Greece, on the 26th of November, together with Elysion and Beyond Perception! Metal enthusiasts, fasten your seatbelts and prepare to be engulfed by the melodic death metal storm that is Nightrage. Marios Iliopoulos, mastermind of the band, is showing the way …
by Dimitris Zacharopoulos
In a few days you are playing a live show in Athens with Elysion and Beyond Perception. How do you feel about that? Which are your expectations from this show?
We are very happy to get back on stage again and play in a really cool club like Gagarin sharing it with Elysion and Beyond Perception, we didn’t have to think twice when we got the call from Elysion, and we thought that this would make for a cool package and a great metal night.
Nightrage is known for its intense live shows. How do you prepare for your live performances? What kind of experience do you aim to create for your audience?
We want to give the best performance for our Greek audience and even though we don’t have the luxury that all the members living on the same country, we always manage to find the time to prepare properly and rehearse the songs beforehand, as our aim is to give the best live experience for our lovely fans.
What has been one of the most memorable live performances for Nightrage, and why?
I think the festival that we play in South Korea was an awesome and memorable live experience. We get to know this awesome country and meet many great people that welcoming us and support the band the best way possible.
As far as I know, apart from preparing for this live show, these days you are also recording your new album. How are the recordings going? How does the new material sound?
The recordings going really great at Devasoundz studios with Fotis Benardo as he is truly an awesome producer and musician, we are very happy with the results so far, we have done recording drums and as we speak we are recording guitars now.
Your latest album, “Abyss Rising”, has received positive acclaim. Can you talk about the creative process behind the album and the thematic elements you explored?
Yeah, this album we have record the drums and mix and master at Fredman studio and it was a really nice collaboration once again with Fredrik Nordstrom after many years coming back again, the creative process was the same formula where me and Magnus wrote all songs together and also every member add their own great ideas to contribute their parts on the album. Thematically the album talks about the fact that we have reach the abyss that we as humans have created and there’s no turning back.
How do you feel your music has evolved over the years? What factors have contributed to these changes?
I feel that with each album we manage to keep the original sound of the band, without getting away from our metal roots, and explore new ways to find inspiration to progress our sound and create better and more interesting songs.
The death metal genre can be demanding. What challenges have you faced as a death metal band, and how have you overcome them?
The challenges can be too many and mainly has to do with the business side of things, finding cool partners to work with, and also keep up the balance in the band. There is a lot of ups and downs in the process, but our love of creating music and the passion to maintain our artistic vision brought us here, and I feel there is more to come from Nightrage.
How do you engage with your fans, both online and offline? Are there any particularly memorable fan interactions that come to mind?
We are very active and open on our social media and we love to engage with our fans, answering to all their questions and show our love and respect for them. We are blown away many times from the amount of love we get and for us getting all this attention, giving us more hope to keep it up with the band and create more music.
Death metal often has a strong visual component. How do you approach the visual aesthetics of your band, including album artwork and stage presence, to complement your music?
We leave that to the hands of our awesome artist Jon Tousas, that he understand the lyrical and artistic vision that we want to follow with our artwork. For us is very important that we have good covers and visuals for the album and the digital singles.
For aspiring death metal musicians, what advice would you give based on your own experiences with Nightrage?
Never give up no matter what, that is the key to keep up with the band, don’t listen to no Sayers.
Are there any artists or bands you would love to collaborate with in the future?
Yeah, I guess too many to write down, but maybe Lorna Shore and Sleep Token would be great to play with, for starters.
Do you have any particular songs from your discography that are personal favorites to perform live? What makes these tracks stand out for you?
Yeah, “The Tremor” and “Being Nothing” always make it to our set list, they are very intense songs that our fans always love to hear.
Your message to the fans!
Thanks so much for the interview, and want to send our warm greeting to all our fans out there and many thanks for your love and support, see u soon all in the Gagarin stage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33oC_olFrC8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53agzqANgl4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0B7jzMCeZWI
