SHOCK : First of all, tell us how were Disharmony formed?
You know, some things just happen for a reason you don't comprehend that moment, meaning if it's going to happen and where it's going to lead you. When I created Disharmony, I didn't have in mind any specific goal I wanted to achieve. It was just the right thing to do. An artistic vehicle with which I could express myself and channel my energy, learn and - with the course of time - to relay the knowledge that I was acquiring from my involvement with the occult, in case someone else would like to use my lyrics and symbolism as a starting point to search his own internal path. If you examine our logo, you will notice that it has an alchemic symbol. Alchemy and magic in their darkest manifestations were my interests when I was 15-16 years old, but this whole thing for me started at the age of 11-12 years. When I created Disharmony, I already had some knowledge of the Dark Arts. In short, Disharmony and the occult are perfectly intertwined.
SHOCK : The Greek black metal scene that time (and in a way today as well) is small and more or less everyone knows who is who in the scene. Is there mutual support or are things today different from the more innocent era in the past?
Yes, you are right. But even in that era things were not idyllic. There was always the Unholy Trinity. The situation today - with exceptions - is good enough, at least when it comes to dealing with me as a person and with my work with Disharmony.
SHOCK : Regarding the reform of the band in 2014, was it Disharmony needed the world, the world needed Disharmony or both? Or neither?
Of course the world has no need of Disharmony. Music doesn't need Disharmony either. It's just an internal matter, which means there was a black flame inside me that had been burning for so many years, so I had to somehow find the right means to use it. The only way for me to use it are Disharmony. It's my own need to do that.
SHOCK : When the band started, it was within the first wave of Greek black metal bands batch, for example Rotting Christ, Necromantia, Varathron and Nergal. How does the scene look like it today, the way it has evolved?
There are two things today. One is the evident resurgence of the Greek scene. It's easier to record your music and release your album and this helps having a strong black metal scene with many remarkable bands. On the other hand, some bands still haven't found their own character or they are simply trying to reproduce the sound of the Storm studios in the early 1990s. But my great fear is if the scene will transform to something like a Facebook Hellenic scene. I hope the likes, followers and comments about 'how great and true your music is' not to become our own reason of existence. The extreme commercialization of the scene is also something to be aware of and it seems that many can't keep away from that trend. But this is a more general phenomenon in music.
SHOCK : Why did you depart from that early sound? Because your sound if different today.
That's a very important question. I understand that you as listeners and most of the other people ou there have identified the Greek scene with the sound of Thy Mighty Contract and/or early Thou Art Lord. But I will put it simply as that : Rotting Christ and Necromantia for example had their own sound and style and were completely different from each other. So you were listening to the groups of that era and you knew right away who they were. Same with Flames, Varathron or Sadistic Noise and I think the same was with Disharmony. Nowadays, you can't really spot the difference between bands, meaning who is who. The Greek scene had a unique authenticity in its groups and their own sound and everyone played in a different way from the other, regardless of the fact that they were members of the same scene. Therefore, me too, as part of the scene since that era, have my own sound and my own style and can't copy what other groups were playing in the early 90's.
SHOCK : But now your sound is different. It's modern. Compared to your old sound, you have changed a lot and it seems that it is not a matter of the recording studio but of composition, perception and playing or maybe the twenty years that have passed. So, it's not long-haul music to listen to at home anymore. It's more rockin' and good for concerts. And it doesn't necessarily mean that's bad.
From my point of view, the playing hasn't changed. If you take individual songs, e.g. The Gate Of Deeper Sleep or High Priestess and The Gates of Elthon, the sound is has a more doom feeling, with black metal parts, the voice has the same black metal aura, solos were there and they still exist, as well as synthesizers. Synthetically it's the same thing. We didn't play differently in the past and today we play bestial black metal like Blasphemy or Norwegian black metal like Darkthrone. The way we play is the same.
SHOCK : The old songs, the ones from your demo tapes, in terms of recording and aesthetic, has a putrid feeling, which doesn't exist anymore. Your new songs are based on guitar riffs, they are more concrete and to-the-point. They don't emphasize on atmosphere but on energy and a more violent feel. Therefore, we must insist for you to explain that difference.
At that time we would record in the following way: we were all young and didn't have the financial means we have now, plus no support from fans or record companies. So we were trying to get as much money as we could and record in the best possible studio and not necessarily Storm studio.
SHOCK : Do you mean Zenetzis studio in Nea Zoi area?
Yes. There we recorded our demo tape Angel's Lament and that was the place we got to know the members of Rotting Christ more, since they also went there to record their split EP with Monumentum and their EP Dawn Of The Iconoclast. Every band was trying to create their own sound and their own style in the best studio they could book and were they could also communicate with the sound engineers, because we should not forget that there wasn't a lot of metal music in Greece those days, for producers and sound engineers to know how to do it properly. Therefore, we were just going to a studio that was closer to our mentality and had equipment that would give us the sound we wanted. The recording was a result of the studio console, microphones, drums, amplifiers as well as the outboard processing of the recorded music. All these were quite primitive then and that's why the sound has this putrid aura, which cannot be repeated now, because nobody can record on an eight-channel tape anymore. Our first demo was recorded on a four-channel tape. Also, I don't know if musicians today can record the songs in just one or two takes! Nobody today can release a rehearsal tape or rehearsal demo. The amplifier with which we recorded our High Priestess demo in 1993 (by the way, it was the same one used to record the Apokathilosis EP and nowadays it belongs to the collection of a distinguished member of the scene, as memorabilia) was the same and I also used it to record our upcoming album, Messe De Minuit. It's just that the sound output of a studio of that time is different from that of a studio from today. I should note that our albums Goddamn The Sun and Messe De Minuit were recorded, mixed and mastered on 100% analog consoles). What you hear is what the microphones got from the amplifiers and what the drummer played, without editing, triggers, hardware outboards, processors or plug-ins.
SHOCK : But your guitar player is different.
It doesn't matter if it's a different guitar player. It's a matter of how you write your songs and what feeling you achieve. My writing in the 90's and my writing today are the same. Another guitar player can't change the way I write the songs! What I write will definitely come out as Disharmony and even if someone else writes a song, through my filter and my own arrangement in the final result, again it will come out as Disharmony.
SHOCK : Several black metal bands - and Rotting Christ are one of them - occasionally encounter problems because of their name, aesthetic, lyrics, album covers etc. Your album cover for Goddamn The Sun has the devil with a large dick in plain sight. Have you ever had any problems because of your covers or the satanic aesthetic of Disharmony?
Unfortunately, not yet. Maybe because we don't have good marketing tactics?
SHOCK : You should put a devil with an even larger dick next time!
But it almost reaches his knee. It can't get any larger.
SHOCK : Then it should be with a hard-on!
Ha ha. But actually we didn't have any problems with that cover. At first I was in contact with Philip Lawvere, who did the covers for Celtic Frost and Kreator. But nowadays he is only doing digital paintings and I didn't want that, plus he didn't have so much available time, so I worked with an American artist, Brian LeBlanc, who is quite known in his field and he managed to capture the feeling I wanted for the cover, which was an 80's feeling. I wanted our comeback to happen with a cover faithful to the 80's metal aesthetic and I think he got that. That detail you spotted with the devil's dick is normal to be there. Lilith is also naked on the cover, so the male demon couldn't be different, unless he was named Minervazel...
SHOCK : Several Greek and foreign black metal bands have changed their sound today, towards black thrash, black n'roll, blackened death metal or made a turn towards ancient Greek themes etc. Do you see Disharmony changing at some point? Would you like to experiment or do something different?
It's OK, everyone can try whatever they can in order to stand out. For us, that's not the case, although there is indeed a tendency in the field with older bands to diversify their sound, following some trends or changing their sound and becoming more modern and accessible. If we change our sound, we will make it more old-school and more extreme. There is not way to make it modern.
Our live performance in Gagarin was for the festival Lords Of The Void II, which included Mortuary Drape and Varathron and had a 90's revival logic behind it. We had talked with the organizer of the festival and because of that 90's revival idea he wanted Disharmony to play as well. I was forced to play with session musicians, so that performance and the one in Never Surrender Festival will be very different. For the second performance we will be a proper band, bonded as people as well, since all of us are into black metal, and the visual part will also be more interesting than the one in Gagarin.
SHOCK : Never Surrender will include several big names in the genres of black,death,doom etc. From those bands that have been confirmed to play, which ones are you more intrigued to see?
It's always a unique experience to watch Blasphemy, because of their raw energy. Of course I also want to see Sabbat, which are my favorite. I also want to see Reencarnation (ed.note: it's not a spelling mistake. that's how they spell their name and they come from Colombia and the city of Medellin, which was the birthplace of superstar drug-trafficker, Pablo Escobar), because it's not easy to see them live in Europe. I actually want to see band from Asia or Latin America, because we don't have chances to see them often.
SHOCK : Why are you making a video clip for your band?
The answer if very simple. Because we have the available time in 3 to 4 minutes to give people an idea about what we stand for from a visual aspect as well. And I am talking about people who can't see us live and they have to get an idea of how we look. Therefore, a video clip can make the visual aspect of Disharmony accessible to all. It's not just the music. If it was so, we would just record the music, write the band name on the CDs with a marker and sell them. Album covers, photos etc. support the visual aspect and the whole aesthetic of the band, so a video clip can give an idea about us to people who can't see us on stage.
SHOCK : Where are you going to post that video clip?
Perhaps on Red Tube? An interesting fact is that I was in contact with a very famous and important neo-symbolist artist to do the video clip and with him involved, we were certain to encounter censorship problems. But because of the lack of funds, we decided to try with him next time, so it comes out the way we both want it to. So, our video clip will be done in the Super 8 format, following my initial plan.
SHOCK : Your compilation Vade Retro Satana and your album Goddamn The Sun were released by German label Iron Bonehead Productions. How are they treating you and how do you feel about them as a label, compared to labels you worked with in the past?
I've mentioned several times that Patrick (ed.note:the owner of the label) is like a brother to me. He is incredibly honest and trustworthy and he has great love for black metal and death metal. Its isn't a strictly-business-oriented label. He is not in it for personal profit and I am very happy we released through Iron Bonehead our albums Vade Retro Satana and Goddamn The Sun and our upcoming album, Messe De Minuit, will also be under their banner. I believe that our cooperation is too
very good so far.
SHOCK : Compared to other European countries, Greece is quite traditional and there are several taboo subjects here, can you tell us if you remember the era of satanic panic in Greece, which started with the events of Katsoulas and Dimitrokalis (ed.note : the events of the 'satanists of Pallini' and the ritualistic sacrifice of a girl, which lead to their imprisonment), during which time metal music was under fire and all metal fans were encountering problems. What are your memories of that period?
In a word, it was dangerous. As soon as those events happened, we were just hearing (without being able to know details) that in Katsoula's interrogations they wanted to find out why he did what he did and he confessed that one reason was because of the music. Authorities found the bands that Katsoulas listened to and among them were of course some Greek black metal bands. There were several occasions where I would get out and spot policemen in uniform or undercover to watch where I am going and what I am doing. Don't forget that our 7”EP The Gate Of Deeper Sleep, was one of the very few Greek metal releases (maybe the only one, together with Morbid's photo in Thy Mighty Contract) with a clearly satanic symbol on the front or back cover. There was also a list at the post office and the customs and anything 'suspicious' that was coming from abroad would either be confiscated or they would call me to pick it up in person. I had several items confiscated and most of them were books and especially the ones from the USA. It was a really strange situation. Of course we didn't encounter any serious problems with the authorities, but clearly nobody could go out wearing a provocative T-shirt as they can today. Today people may even find it nice, but that time it was entirely different, thanks to the satanic panic caused by Katsoulas and his gang. In fact, he was recently released from prison but they went after him again, because he tried to do something once more.
SHOCK : Why do you think that black metal, more than any other metal genre, fit the satanic concept?
Maybe because the Devil himself decided that? Maybe because metal had always been part of the outcasts or the elite? What worries me is that nowadays even black metal has become another pawn in the New Order. A lot of money has been given to that genre and it has stopped being underground and for few and select people. It has changed.
SHOCK : In your opinion, which is the most satanic band of all time?
That's easy to answer : Iron Maiden. The reason is very simple. For example, Damien King III will come out and say 'Join the Prince of Darkness' and he will be heard by fifty or five hundred or one thousand people? But when Iron Maiden come out with a Flight 666, they will bring to Satan thousands or even millions of people. Therefore, I don't think there is a greater satanic band. And it's a known fact that Steve Harris is a Nephilim (ed.note: the offspring of an angel and a human) and it makes sense for him to promote his ideas through music.
SHOCK : Isn't he a mason?
I used to think he was a mason and that's why Janick Gers joined the band. But then I had an epiphany. Iron Maiden never needed a third guitarist. I just assumed Gers was higher in the masonic chain of command and forced Harris to have him join the band. However, Harris is undead and you can see it from his face. He has a reptile-like face, like Queen Elizabeth. He is part of the same cast of people.
SHOCK : But surely that isn't enough evidence that he is a Nephilim. Isn't there any other evidence?
If you are a non-believer, you can't change. There are obvious criteria to recognize the undead. You see that they don't change their form easily. They look like they are always 34-45 years old and they don't get sick, unlike other people. See for example the case of Dickinson, who got diagnosed with throat cancer, but not only he was fully healed but he has also returned and sings better than ever. And that makes sense, because the undead wants him for his own reasons and purposes. Because they have to come to fruition. Another proof is this : If you listen to Metallica's first album, it's music recorded by normal people and you can feel that. The inspiration of Steve Harris to compose and record Iron Maiden's albums when he was 16,20 or 25 years old was given from somewhere else...
SHOCK : An extra question is that at least in Scandinavian black metal the musical influences of the people who created that scene are obvious. Celtic Frost, Venom, Bathory etc. In that early Greek black metal scene, what were you listening to and you created that very special sound, which is much different from the Scandinavian one, and in the Greek bands of the First Wave it's kind of uniform?
Compared to the Scandinavians, I think we were more melodic and we had broader influences from heavy metal, thrash and death. Take for example the drumming of Bolt Thrower's World Eater. There are many Greek metal songs with the same drumming technique. In other songs you can hear riffs that remind you of bands like Savatage. In other bands in the genre, their sound is like Bathory, in terms of the primitive aspect. Venom with their satanic NWOBHM style were of course a big influence, the same as Celtic Frost and a lot of heavy metal as well as death and thrash. We personally had some special influences, like Mercyful Fate, who were in fact proto-black metal, and some doom groups like early Candelmass, early Sodom, Morbid Angel and Sarcofago and even the epic albums of Bathory and Manowar. Now that I mentioned Manowar, you can see their influence on Necromantia, who also did a Manowar song cover. Therefore, the Greek black metal scene is more melodic and closer to pure heavy metal as well as thrash, death and proto-black metal, in contrast to the mix of Bathory/Motorhead/punk of the Scandinavians.
SHOCK : If someone wanted to read some books as an introduction to satanism or the occult, what would you recommend?
Before mentioning books on the subject, I would like to say what I would urge someone to do first, if he/she wants to research the Black Arts. They should ask themselves first why they want to deal with this material. To gain knowledge? To enter a new circle? For power? Out of encyclopedic interest? Because it's trendy? But I imagine, if their interest is serious, they already know the answer. Therefore, my ultimate advice is one : to follow your own path. Not to follow blindly any dogma and after being released from restrictions, their path will be there, wide open. To study, to accept,to reject, to challenge and hold in mind and in the etheric body what feels is right, no matter where it comes from. The Black Arts are everywhere, in all organized and non-organized religions. Then it depends on what each person wants. Someone, let's say, is studying medicine, but there are dozens of medical specialties. As an introduction, someone could read Black Arts by Cavendish or the -rather superior- Occult Sciences by Waite. Unless he/she can manage to infiltrate into Crowley's world, for example with Magick in Theory and Practice. On the other hand, it depends if someone wants traditional devil worshiping or its more anthropocentric approach, as it was developed in America a few decades earlier. In that case, we can find a great selection of things to read, from ancient manuscripts to hexes for how a woman will use her beauty to her benefit. Honestly, it depends on what each person wants. But a different, and maybe a bit more 'kinky' from the usual, proposal would be Christian Mysticism by Inge (especially for those who have Greek education) or Mystical Theology by Ribet. And these should be viewed in the light of the of the principle: there is no darkness without light. A serious researcher of the Black Arts should always know there is another side of the coin. Although perhaps what we know so far is inverted. What they present to us as 'light' is the real darkness an vice versa.
SHOCK : Along with our thanks for the interview and the photo material you provided and also wishing the best of luck to Disharmony, can you tell us what plans you have for the band in the near future?
I've got the video clips, the concerts and the release of our album, Messe De Minuit sometime in coming autumn. It is not fatalistic and it is generally good to make plans, but only the Higher Powers know the future. Thank you very much and I am honored to by your invitation to SHOCK. Glory 108.
The band recently changed their name to TAGMA MAGIA DISHARMONY and you can listen and buy their music at the following link :
SHOCK : The Greek black metal scene that time (and in a way today as well) is small and more or less everyone knows who is who in the scene. Is there mutual support or are things today different from the more innocent era in the past?
Yes, you are right. But even in that era things were not idyllic. There was always the Unholy Trinity. The situation today - with exceptions - is good enough, at least when it comes to dealing with me as a person and with my work with Disharmony.
SHOCK : Regarding the reform of the band in 2014, was it Disharmony needed the world, the world needed Disharmony or both? Or neither?
Of course the world has no need of Disharmony. Music doesn't need Disharmony either. It's just an internal matter, which means there was a black flame inside me that had been burning for so many years, so I had to somehow find the right means to use it. The only way for me to use it are Disharmony. It's my own need to do that.
SHOCK : When the band started, it was within the first wave of Greek black metal bands batch, for example Rotting Christ, Necromantia, Varathron and Nergal. How does the scene look like it today, the way it has evolved?
There are two things today. One is the evident resurgence of the Greek scene. It's easier to record your music and release your album and this helps having a strong black metal scene with many remarkable bands. On the other hand, some bands still haven't found their own character or they are simply trying to reproduce the sound of the Storm studios in the early 1990s. But my great fear is if the scene will transform to something like a Facebook Hellenic scene. I hope the likes, followers and comments about 'how great and true your music is' not to become our own reason of existence. The extreme commercialization of the scene is also something to be aware of and it seems that many can't keep away from that trend. But this is a more general phenomenon in music.
SHOCK : Why did you depart from that early sound? Because your sound if different today.
That's a very important question. I understand that you as listeners and most of the other people ou there have identified the Greek scene with the sound of Thy Mighty Contract and/or early Thou Art Lord. But I will put it simply as that : Rotting Christ and Necromantia for example had their own sound and style and were completely different from each other. So you were listening to the groups of that era and you knew right away who they were. Same with Flames, Varathron or Sadistic Noise and I think the same was with Disharmony. Nowadays, you can't really spot the difference between bands, meaning who is who. The Greek scene had a unique authenticity in its groups and their own sound and everyone played in a different way from the other, regardless of the fact that they were members of the same scene. Therefore, me too, as part of the scene since that era, have my own sound and my own style and can't copy what other groups were playing in the early 90's.
SHOCK : But now your sound is different. It's modern. Compared to your old sound, you have changed a lot and it seems that it is not a matter of the recording studio but of composition, perception and playing or maybe the twenty years that have passed. So, it's not long-haul music to listen to at home anymore. It's more rockin' and good for concerts. And it doesn't necessarily mean that's bad.
From my point of view, the playing hasn't changed. If you take individual songs, e.g. The Gate Of Deeper Sleep or High Priestess and The Gates of Elthon, the sound is has a more doom feeling, with black metal parts, the voice has the same black metal aura, solos were there and they still exist, as well as synthesizers. Synthetically it's the same thing. We didn't play differently in the past and today we play bestial black metal like Blasphemy or Norwegian black metal like Darkthrone. The way we play is the same.
SHOCK : The old songs, the ones from your demo tapes, in terms of recording and aesthetic, has a putrid feeling, which doesn't exist anymore. Your new songs are based on guitar riffs, they are more concrete and to-the-point. They don't emphasize on atmosphere but on energy and a more violent feel. Therefore, we must insist for you to explain that difference.
At that time we would record in the following way: we were all young and didn't have the financial means we have now, plus no support from fans or record companies. So we were trying to get as much money as we could and record in the best possible studio and not necessarily Storm studio.
Yes. There we recorded our demo tape Angel's Lament and that was the place we got to know the members of Rotting Christ more, since they also went there to record their split EP with Monumentum and their EP Dawn Of The Iconoclast. Every band was trying to create their own sound and their own style in the best studio they could book and were they could also communicate with the sound engineers, because we should not forget that there wasn't a lot of metal music in Greece those days, for producers and sound engineers to know how to do it properly. Therefore, we were just going to a studio that was closer to our mentality and had equipment that would give us the sound we wanted. The recording was a result of the studio console, microphones, drums, amplifiers as well as the outboard processing of the recorded music. All these were quite primitive then and that's why the sound has this putrid aura, which cannot be repeated now, because nobody can record on an eight-channel tape anymore. Our first demo was recorded on a four-channel tape. Also, I don't know if musicians today can record the songs in just one or two takes! Nobody today can release a rehearsal tape or rehearsal demo. The amplifier with which we recorded our High Priestess demo in 1993 (by the way, it was the same one used to record the Apokathilosis EP and nowadays it belongs to the collection of a distinguished member of the scene, as memorabilia) was the same and I also used it to record our upcoming album, Messe De Minuit. It's just that the sound output of a studio of that time is different from that of a studio from today. I should note that our albums Goddamn The Sun and Messe De Minuit were recorded, mixed and mastered on 100% analog consoles). What you hear is what the microphones got from the amplifiers and what the drummer played, without editing, triggers, hardware outboards, processors or plug-ins.
SHOCK : But your guitar player is different.
It doesn't matter if it's a different guitar player. It's a matter of how you write your songs and what feeling you achieve. My writing in the 90's and my writing today are the same. Another guitar player can't change the way I write the songs! What I write will definitely come out as Disharmony and even if someone else writes a song, through my filter and my own arrangement in the final result, again it will come out as Disharmony.
SHOCK : Several black metal bands - and Rotting Christ are one of them - occasionally encounter problems because of their name, aesthetic, lyrics, album covers etc. Your album cover for Goddamn The Sun has the devil with a large dick in plain sight. Have you ever had any problems because of your covers or the satanic aesthetic of Disharmony?
Unfortunately, not yet. Maybe because we don't have good marketing tactics?
SHOCK : You should put a devil with an even larger dick next time!
But it almost reaches his knee. It can't get any larger.
Ha ha. But actually we didn't have any problems with that cover. At first I was in contact with Philip Lawvere, who did the covers for Celtic Frost and Kreator. But nowadays he is only doing digital paintings and I didn't want that, plus he didn't have so much available time, so I worked with an American artist, Brian LeBlanc, who is quite known in his field and he managed to capture the feeling I wanted for the cover, which was an 80's feeling. I wanted our comeback to happen with a cover faithful to the 80's metal aesthetic and I think he got that. That detail you spotted with the devil's dick is normal to be there. Lilith is also naked on the cover, so the male demon couldn't be different, unless he was named Minervazel...
SHOCK : Several Greek and foreign black metal bands have changed their sound today, towards black thrash, black n'roll, blackened death metal or made a turn towards ancient Greek themes etc. Do you see Disharmony changing at some point? Would you like to experiment or do something different?
It's OK, everyone can try whatever they can in order to stand out. For us, that's not the case, although there is indeed a tendency in the field with older bands to diversify their sound, following some trends or changing their sound and becoming more modern and accessible. If we change our sound, we will make it more old-school and more extreme. There is not way to make it modern.
SHOCK : Regarding your live performances, the reunited band's first concert happened in 2016 in Gagarin and your next one will be at the Never Surrender Festival in Berlin, so what are you planning about that second performance? What will be different from the one in Gagarin and what ideas do you have about your stage performance there, something that is essential for a black metal band?
Our live performance in Gagarin was for the festival Lords Of The Void II, which included Mortuary Drape and Varathron and had a 90's revival logic behind it. We had talked with the organizer of the festival and because of that 90's revival idea he wanted Disharmony to play as well. I was forced to play with session musicians, so that performance and the one in Never Surrender Festival will be very different. For the second performance we will be a proper band, bonded as people as well, since all of us are into black metal, and the visual part will also be more interesting than the one in Gagarin.
SHOCK : Never Surrender will include several big names in the genres of black,death,doom etc. From those bands that have been confirmed to play, which ones are you more intrigued to see?
It's always a unique experience to watch Blasphemy, because of their raw energy. Of course I also want to see Sabbat, which are my favorite. I also want to see Reencarnation (ed.note: it's not a spelling mistake. that's how they spell their name and they come from Colombia and the city of Medellin, which was the birthplace of superstar drug-trafficker, Pablo Escobar), because it's not easy to see them live in Europe. I actually want to see band from Asia or Latin America, because we don't have chances to see them often.
SHOCK : Why are you making a video clip for your band?
The answer if very simple. Because we have the available time in 3 to 4 minutes to give people an idea about what we stand for from a visual aspect as well. And I am talking about people who can't see us live and they have to get an idea of how we look. Therefore, a video clip can make the visual aspect of Disharmony accessible to all. It's not just the music. If it was so, we would just record the music, write the band name on the CDs with a marker and sell them. Album covers, photos etc. support the visual aspect and the whole aesthetic of the band, so a video clip can give an idea about us to people who can't see us on stage.
SHOCK : Where are you going to post that video clip?
Perhaps on Red Tube? An interesting fact is that I was in contact with a very famous and important neo-symbolist artist to do the video clip and with him involved, we were certain to encounter censorship problems. But because of the lack of funds, we decided to try with him next time, so it comes out the way we both want it to. So, our video clip will be done in the Super 8 format, following my initial plan.
I've mentioned several times that Patrick (ed.note:the owner of the label) is like a brother to me. He is incredibly honest and trustworthy and he has great love for black metal and death metal. Its isn't a strictly-business-oriented label. He is not in it for personal profit and I am very happy we released through Iron Bonehead our albums Vade Retro Satana and Goddamn The Sun and our upcoming album, Messe De Minuit, will also be under their banner. I believe that our cooperation is too
very good so far.
SHOCK : Compared to other European countries, Greece is quite traditional and there are several taboo subjects here, can you tell us if you remember the era of satanic panic in Greece, which started with the events of Katsoulas and Dimitrokalis (ed.note : the events of the 'satanists of Pallini' and the ritualistic sacrifice of a girl, which lead to their imprisonment), during which time metal music was under fire and all metal fans were encountering problems. What are your memories of that period?
In a word, it was dangerous. As soon as those events happened, we were just hearing (without being able to know details) that in Katsoula's interrogations they wanted to find out why he did what he did and he confessed that one reason was because of the music. Authorities found the bands that Katsoulas listened to and among them were of course some Greek black metal bands. There were several occasions where I would get out and spot policemen in uniform or undercover to watch where I am going and what I am doing. Don't forget that our 7”EP The Gate Of Deeper Sleep, was one of the very few Greek metal releases (maybe the only one, together with Morbid's photo in Thy Mighty Contract) with a clearly satanic symbol on the front or back cover. There was also a list at the post office and the customs and anything 'suspicious' that was coming from abroad would either be confiscated or they would call me to pick it up in person. I had several items confiscated and most of them were books and especially the ones from the USA. It was a really strange situation. Of course we didn't encounter any serious problems with the authorities, but clearly nobody could go out wearing a provocative T-shirt as they can today. Today people may even find it nice, but that time it was entirely different, thanks to the satanic panic caused by Katsoulas and his gang. In fact, he was recently released from prison but they went after him again, because he tried to do something once more.
SHOCK : Why do you think that black metal, more than any other metal genre, fit the satanic concept?
Maybe because the Devil himself decided that? Maybe because metal had always been part of the outcasts or the elite? What worries me is that nowadays even black metal has become another pawn in the New Order. A lot of money has been given to that genre and it has stopped being underground and for few and select people. It has changed.
SHOCK : In your opinion, which is the most satanic band of all time?
That's easy to answer : Iron Maiden. The reason is very simple. For example, Damien King III will come out and say 'Join the Prince of Darkness' and he will be heard by fifty or five hundred or one thousand people? But when Iron Maiden come out with a Flight 666, they will bring to Satan thousands or even millions of people. Therefore, I don't think there is a greater satanic band. And it's a known fact that Steve Harris is a Nephilim (ed.note: the offspring of an angel and a human) and it makes sense for him to promote his ideas through music.
SHOCK : Isn't he a mason?
I used to think he was a mason and that's why Janick Gers joined the band. But then I had an epiphany. Iron Maiden never needed a third guitarist. I just assumed Gers was higher in the masonic chain of command and forced Harris to have him join the band. However, Harris is undead and you can see it from his face. He has a reptile-like face, like Queen Elizabeth. He is part of the same cast of people.
SHOCK : But surely that isn't enough evidence that he is a Nephilim. Isn't there any other evidence?
If you are a non-believer, you can't change. There are obvious criteria to recognize the undead. You see that they don't change their form easily. They look like they are always 34-45 years old and they don't get sick, unlike other people. See for example the case of Dickinson, who got diagnosed with throat cancer, but not only he was fully healed but he has also returned and sings better than ever. And that makes sense, because the undead wants him for his own reasons and purposes. Because they have to come to fruition. Another proof is this : If you listen to Metallica's first album, it's music recorded by normal people and you can feel that. The inspiration of Steve Harris to compose and record Iron Maiden's albums when he was 16,20 or 25 years old was given from somewhere else...
SHOCK : An extra question is that at least in Scandinavian black metal the musical influences of the people who created that scene are obvious. Celtic Frost, Venom, Bathory etc. In that early Greek black metal scene, what were you listening to and you created that very special sound, which is much different from the Scandinavian one, and in the Greek bands of the First Wave it's kind of uniform?
Compared to the Scandinavians, I think we were more melodic and we had broader influences from heavy metal, thrash and death. Take for example the drumming of Bolt Thrower's World Eater. There are many Greek metal songs with the same drumming technique. In other songs you can hear riffs that remind you of bands like Savatage. In other bands in the genre, their sound is like Bathory, in terms of the primitive aspect. Venom with their satanic NWOBHM style were of course a big influence, the same as Celtic Frost and a lot of heavy metal as well as death and thrash. We personally had some special influences, like Mercyful Fate, who were in fact proto-black metal, and some doom groups like early Candelmass, early Sodom, Morbid Angel and Sarcofago and even the epic albums of Bathory and Manowar. Now that I mentioned Manowar, you can see their influence on Necromantia, who also did a Manowar song cover. Therefore, the Greek black metal scene is more melodic and closer to pure heavy metal as well as thrash, death and proto-black metal, in contrast to the mix of Bathory/Motorhead/punk of the Scandinavians.
Before mentioning books on the subject, I would like to say what I would urge someone to do first, if he/she wants to research the Black Arts. They should ask themselves first why they want to deal with this material. To gain knowledge? To enter a new circle? For power? Out of encyclopedic interest? Because it's trendy? But I imagine, if their interest is serious, they already know the answer. Therefore, my ultimate advice is one : to follow your own path. Not to follow blindly any dogma and after being released from restrictions, their path will be there, wide open. To study, to accept,to reject, to challenge and hold in mind and in the etheric body what feels is right, no matter where it comes from. The Black Arts are everywhere, in all organized and non-organized religions. Then it depends on what each person wants. Someone, let's say, is studying medicine, but there are dozens of medical specialties. As an introduction, someone could read Black Arts by Cavendish or the -rather superior- Occult Sciences by Waite. Unless he/she can manage to infiltrate into Crowley's world, for example with Magick in Theory and Practice. On the other hand, it depends if someone wants traditional devil worshiping or its more anthropocentric approach, as it was developed in America a few decades earlier. In that case, we can find a great selection of things to read, from ancient manuscripts to hexes for how a woman will use her beauty to her benefit. Honestly, it depends on what each person wants. But a different, and maybe a bit more 'kinky' from the usual, proposal would be Christian Mysticism by Inge (especially for those who have Greek education) or Mystical Theology by Ribet. And these should be viewed in the light of the of the principle: there is no darkness without light. A serious researcher of the Black Arts should always know there is another side of the coin. Although perhaps what we know so far is inverted. What they present to us as 'light' is the real darkness an vice versa.
SHOCK : Along with our thanks for the interview and the photo material you provided and also wishing the best of luck to Disharmony, can you tell us what plans you have for the band in the near future?
I've got the video clips, the concerts and the release of our album, Messe De Minuit sometime in coming autumn. It is not fatalistic and it is generally good to make plans, but only the Higher Powers know the future. Thank you very much and I am honored to by your invitation to SHOCK. Glory 108.
NOTE : The interview is translated from Greek and the original text was published in the 44th issue of SHOCK (August 2018)
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