Information
Author: Dope Fiend
Line Up
Angelos Ioannidis - Vocals
Kostas Salomidis - Guitar
Giannis Tziligkakis - Guitar
Stavros Giannakos - Bass
Fotis Mountouris - Drums
Today I am pleased to know better Sorrows Path, a Greek band that have released in 2010 the first full-length "The Rough Path Of Nihilism".
Welcome to Aristocrazia Webzine, how are you guys?
Hello! We are doing really fine... we just started working on new material with the band!
Usually we begin our interviews with some biographical mention of the band. Will you tell us something about the history of the band?
Of course! We were formed on November of 1993 and released two demos in 1995 and 1996 entitled "Sorrows Path" and "Promo '96" that made us known in the Greek underground as a doom band with truly personal and unique sound and influences. From 1998-2005 the band was inactive because of various reasons and we came back with the compilation of our demos named "Resurrection", that was released by Greek Eat Metal Records in 2006. We have performed many gigs all over Greece since our birth and their rebirth as well, either supporting well known metal bands like Solitude Aeturnus, Isole, Forsaken, Ereb Altor, Memory Garden, Pagan Altar, Scanner, Crystal Viper, Wotan and Brocas Helm, or sharing the stage with some of the most popular Greek bands. On October of 2010, our new album "The Rough Path Of Nihilism" was out by German Rock It Up Records. It contains 12 brand new metal songs!
Have you formed in 1993, why your full was released only after seventeen years?
The reason was the bad incidents that happened to the band! One of the two founders died by a serious brain disease in 1995 and the other was almost paralyzed a few years later because of an after effect of a previous motorcycle accident. The result was that the band was inactive for the years 1998-2005, but when things got better about the health of the co-founder we were back in business for real...
"The Rough Path Of Nihilism" is, in my opinion, one of the best albums of 2010. As has been it received by the public?
Hey friend, thank you very much! The first reviews are really stunning! The majority of ratings are very high and the reviewers describe the new album as the ideal, unique mixture of epic Doom with progressive elements, maybe some progressive Rock and oriental stuff! We also have some really encouraging comments from fans and friends here in Greece. This is very important if you consider that we are talking about the first album of a band!
Mainly classic Doom, but also Power and Progressive inserts. What are the bands and the albums that you love and that have most influenced you?
Well we can’t talk about particular albums, but when we started with the band back in 1993, we were influenced by doom bands like Memento Mori, Solitude Aeturnus and Candlemass. Now the years have passed and of course we don’t forget our mentors but on the other hand, we ought to be mature and offer the audience something new, that is our dream. So, we don’t believe that there are specific influences about our new album.
Personally "Dirty Game" and "Prostitute" are the songs that I like more. Is there any piece of your disk to which you are particularly related to?
Well, of course these two songs are from the most popular! Every song on the new album has its own personal meaning, we hope that we have something to say... Maybe, you should firstly check our official video clip "Empty Eyes And Blackened Hearts", this is a song that includes most of the messages that can be found on "The Rough Path Of Nihilism" (www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYLr-sNI5HI).
How did you come in contact with Rock It Up Records?
Rock it Up Records was cooperating with our previous label, the Greek Eat Records, since three years, in order to distribute the compilation of our demos, that is to say, the "Resurrection" album! Having earned some propositions from record labels worldwide about the release of “The Rough Path of Nihilism, we just decided that this upcoming German label was the ideal choice for us! Franko Sturm, the boss of the label, showed real interest and care about our band and what is more, he is a very reliable person.
How did your songs born? Who takes care of the various stages of songwriting?
There was this same musical and lyrical philosophy to the band from the very beginning! This was a secret deal between the two founders so the co-founder that remained alive kept writing some songs and lyrics on that mood. Then, all the members of SORROWS PATH were occupied with the arrangements and suggesting some things that had to be changed, meaning some lyrics, melodies or harmonies... whatever! We really believe in communion and brotherhood and this becomes firstly reality in our own “home”, our band!
What are the issues that you dealt in the lyrics?
We wonder how man can save his mortal existence through sympathy and pain and by overcoming his vanity and his desires! We talk about the liberation of man from the chains of dogmas and meanings so that he can find the animal and child that are hidden inside. We also express sarcasm and contempt towards vanity, fame, money, power and to all kinds of addictions. In a few words, we refer to things that can restore the broken harmonies anywhere they can be found!
What is represented by your "path of nihilism"?
In our conscience and our minds the name SORROWS PATH was connected from the beginning with the life of all people. A life that, no matter how it looks, short or long, ugly or beautiful, has a quick ending and from that point only we consider it to be a vain path of sorrow. But even if our life was eternal, vanity would still exist. Man would be like a sad vampire, lost into a pointless eternity! So you can only end up finding nihil (zero) in everything! The only thing you ought to do is to understand this reality and trying to find your own "nirvana". You got to be a fighter in life and not to be scared of death! Death is only a doorway to something different and the original union with the universe that you have to practise in your life on Earth too! Otherwise you will be a pathetic being and a living cancer on the earth…
In recent years, the self-production by the band is an increasingly common phenomenon. What do you think are the reasons of this trend?
Nowadays big labels only trust some old bands to earn some money for sure! On the other hand, this is very difficult for a band to find even a smaller label to sign and if this happens there are some bad conditions on the deal! The band will take no money and in most cases no distribution so they prefer to do it all by their selves! We are lucky enough to be in a label that respects the band very much and we are grateful to Rock it Up Records on this!
Social networks and file-sharing, what is your opinion about it? Use you them? They damage the music or they promote it?
The only way for the new bands to promote their stuff is through internet! So we totally agree with the use of internet but you have to be mature about that. Support the underground metal bands buying their albums and being on their shows, this is the only way to help this music live!
The extreme metal scene in Greece was often the cradle of many pearls, what are your relations with the bands of your country?
Yes, that is a fact! Rotting Christ, Septic Flesh, Nightfall and many more famous Greek bands are really extreme! We have nice relations with some Greek bands but many of them don’t support each other much, they feel jealous and being compared to other musicians into a vain contradiction. They are fools, if they could only understand that the success of a Greek band would really help all the others...
How is your everyday life outside the band?
Well, we are really normal people that have daily jobs and families! The only thing that we are trying most is to dedicate much of our spare time to Sorrows Path so that we could be professional and reliable to what we are doing with the band!
Are you doing concerts to promote the album? What is the response of the audience on stage?
Yes, of course! We had our two release parties in Germany and Greece, played some serious lives and visited Malta last November for the Malta Doom Festival. We have also closed some lives including our participation in the big Agia Napa Youth Festival this August in Cyprus with great bands like Stratovarius, Rotting Christ, Sabaton and more... We also plan some small Greek and European tour! We want to schedule things carefully because the times are much difficult; there are many economic problems in Greece... On the other hand, we really don’t want to be vain but to step carefully and doing the best for Sorrows Path! We are much satisfied about the response and dedication of the doom fans to the band!
Projects for the near future?
As we have already mentioned, we are working on new songs! You can wait for a new Sorrows Path album in a couple of years! We are back to stay, that’s for sure!
We will see you in Italy?
We were quite close to perform live in Italy last year but something changed for bad at last... We are open in any suggestion and we will be glad to finally play live in Italy! You can find there many good metal bands and some dedicated metal fans too.
Well, the interview is over, thanks to your availability and, extending you my best greetings, I give to you the word for a final message to our readers.
Thank you very much for the honor of this interview! Good luck to your future plans! There is only one true message: Doom rules eternally...
