After releasing their first album with Cruz del Sur, Sacral Rage and their Illusions in infinite Void are getting known worldwide by true metalheads, so finally I had the chance to have an interview with guitarist Marios and vocalist Dimitris. If you'd like to check the review please click here
Hi guys! Thanks for your time and also thanks to Jan from sure shot worx for making it possible.
First of all lets talk about the history of Sacral Rage, why did you come up with that name? What different metal styles have you been influenced when the band was formed?
Greetings to all of you!!
We started on the last month of 2011 and since then we have 2 official releases and a couple of demos/promos. The mini Lp “Deadly bits of iron fragments” by Eat Metal Records in 2012 and the full length “Illusions In Infinite Void” in 2015 by Cruz Del Sur on cd and Underground Power Records on vinyl.
You can liken the name as follows: The “Sacral” element stems from the darkness, paranoia and madness we breathe while the “Rage” arises from our lethal speed and rhythm attack.
The style and vision haven’t changed although it evolved a lot. We still bow down to bands like Judas Priest, Rush, Crimson Glory, Watchtower, Nasty Savage. Just like the “old” days.
Seeing the result of this combination of styles, what bands could be the major influence for Sacral Rage?
Too hard to answer that. The only thing I can tell you is that all of our influences, subconsciously rise through our songs and we don’t have a certain band in mind when composing stuff. Of course there are certain bands that we have in the back of our minds but As much as we are influenced By Rush and Mercyful Fate evenly Annihilator and Death made the same impact on us.
Not only you covered Mercyful fate, Sacral Rage heralds that influence all over the new album, among some US metal or power metal of course, when composing the instrumentals, did you have in mind to sound like king diamond or was it something that evolved automatically at the time of each composition?
The latter I would say. As said before we don’t try to sound specifically like one or two bands of our influences. We want this to come naturally out of our songs. Of course we knew that certain parts had the King and Mercyful vibe but we didn’t force it. To tell you the truth, we are extremely horny when something like that happens not only with the King but generally.
How was the process of creation of the new album? Was it easier now that you got more experience, than the first Ep?
On the contrary it was way more difficult because we had to overcome ourselves. I believe we achieved that by far. When we composed Deadly bits we didn’t had people expecting our album so it was an easier process. But now we had to satisfy both ourselves and the listener who knew what we offered through our Mini Cd. Also all of our recent songs are way more complex, weird arrangements. This in itself requires more focus and “Discipline”.
How is the general feedback from the media?
Very good judging by the fact that the press towards new bands is very circumspect. The only thing is that many are confused regarding the style we are playing and our influences. You can read in some zines that we are playing US metal while in others Heavy metal, Prog Metal , Thrash metal etc. The average of the reviews is great!
The vocal parts are really high pitched at some parts, sometimes pure theatrical performance and really powerful also at some points, are you happy with the result?
Yeap , I am extremely happy because Dimitris really surpassed himself both in terms of composition and performance .He has a unique voice and just like the rest of the band, he has his own style without copying any of his mentors. Especially in our times where everyone tries to sing like Dickinson, Dio or whoever.
How do you feel when performing live such a large range of vocal quality in terms of low to high pitched style?
There is always a stress about my throat's condition. For this kind of vocals it should be at a perfect state. But whether it is or not when I let myself into madness the result is always the same, screams coming out from outer space, high pitch terrorism destroying the stage.
I think one of your best tracks is en cima del mal, but the song that defines your sound better is Lost chapter E: Amarna's reign, what's your favourite song from the new album?
Again this is too hard to tell because it is really too soon to answer that. If you put a gun in my head though, I would probably say the twins (Sutratma, Amarna’s). The thing about En cima is that this is a kind of a standard heavy metal tune (catchy chorus , normal structure etc). So that’s why many people say that this is their favorite. I really love this song but I believe that there are others that deepens more as far as composition, instrumentation concerns. Amarna’s on the other hand has all of our elements. It is dark, progy, technical, extreme.
How is it going with the tour after the release of Illusions in infinite void?
We have already been added to Belgium’s Heavy sound festival’s line up and we are scheduling some extra shows in Greece. We are on the talks for a tour but it’s too soon to tell anything. We are open to play everywhere, so spread the word!!
How do you feel when you see that bands like Fist, Ostrogoth or The Rods are going to share stage with you?
Feeling AWE!! We are extremely proud to share the stage with these legends. It never really crossed our minds that there would be a day that we would support these bands. We have to be prepared and play a good show haha.
Which band could you choose to share stage with, in the future?
Well: Watchtower, Nasty Savage, Armored Saint. Fuckin’A !!
Can you tell me which country is your favourite for a concert?
Well, we have only played in Greece and Cuprous so there couldn't be a proper answer to this. I am sure though that the English grounds will be killer for a gig!!
Describe your most special moment from the last tour.
Although we didn’t actually toured but made one-off gigs, I would choose the show we did with Jag Panzer, there were lots of energy, and it was really intense and also met our heroes (Really cool guys). Also the Power of the Night Fest in Cuprous was really great experience.
Are you gonna hit the UK in this upcoming tour?
We really would like to do so!!! We know there are many people who dig us but we haven’t spoken with a promoter yet. Time will come to visit the island and taste the grounds who gave birth to Heavy Metal!!
Are you getting better promotion now that you signed with Cruz del Sur records?
So far so good they say. Right From the beginning of our course with Cruz, we can see lots of interest for us. So I guess he is the right man! He is doing great job really. Our madness has been spread almost everywhere and this is thanks to Cruz del sur.
Bands like mausoleum gate or convent guilt are also with Cruz del Sur, do you know them?
Oh yeah! Mausoleum Gate did a great job with their full length. For Convent Guilt, I am not familiar but going to check them asap. Also I met the guys from Magister Templi. Another great Cruz del sur band and their singer is a great guy!!
There are many new bands next KIT that will be reference for the true metal scene, Cobra, Mausoleum gate and Sacral Rage are among this bands, how do you feel about playing in this festival?
When we first heard that we are playing at KIT, we couldn’t believe it. It is a huge Honor for us that the headquarters at KIT chose us as the new act that’s playing. This is the biggest possibly underground festival in the more classic oriented sound. The lineup is killer as always so we will try to give the most of our madness and craze to all of you.
Finally please send a message to your fans!
Salutes to all of you and we hope to make you part of our madness soon enough!! Thanks for this interview.
Support METAL not trends!!
Cheers !!!
Line up
Spyros Bass
Vagelis F. Drums
Marios P. Guitar
Dimitris K Vocals
Links
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