You may remember that on the 7th November I added a review of Chthonian Alchemy's demo to the CD Reviews section of this site. You may also remember that I was extremely impressed with their demo and - if you happened to be in the same room as me or on myspace or on any forum that I happen to post on you may have been subjected to me telling you just how good I thought it was.

Lou: Hey, thanks for agreeing to the interview. How's things with you?

Andrea: Hi Lou! Everything is very well here. We thank you for the opportunity you are giving us of being in Loucifer Speaks. We really appreciate this.

Lou: "The Awakening" is a fantastic demo. I assume that as a band you already have a number of songs, how did you decide which songs to put on it?

Andreas: Thank you for your kind words. Well, when we decided to release the demo we already had many ideas, but we chose to put on it the songs that were completely finished. So "Moirai" and "Renaissance" were the ones that were totally finished until then. We didn?t want to hurry in order to have more songs in the demo and in the same time not to be satisfied with the result.

Lou: Why did you name the demo "The Awakening"?

Andreas: "The Awakening" has two meanings for us. The concept of the band has to do with the chthonian gods and the alchemy. So, through dark alchemy, that could be even our music, we try to be noticed by these ancient gods or else we are the awakeners of Chthonians with this demo. In this case we are talking about "The Awakening" of the chthonian deities. On the other hand, "The Awakening" is the band?s awakening as our first demo CD. At last, our past ideas are implemented and we are here to present them.

Lou: What have the reviews of "The Awakening" been like so far?

Andreas: Well, we started to promote our demo a couple of months ago so there aren?t so many reviews yet. But we can say that we are very satisfied from the comments that the band has received so far. If we take into account that it?s just a home made demo CD with just two songs presented by a two men band then I guess the fact that we are optimistic is legitimated.

Lou: Have you had any label interest?

Andreas: It?s too early for us to search for a label. Besides, we have to record more songs in order to make clear the style of the band and to have more material for an upcoming album.

Lou: If you had to advertise "The Awakening" what would you say/do to convince people to listen to it?

Andreas: We think it is not a persuasion matter. The listener has to feel your music, to take a journey through your concept. In this case we would only describe what is all about this demo; the atmosphere, the roughness, the dark and the optimistic sides of it. If someone is interested and understand all these then he would probably listen to the ?The Awakening? too.

Lou: I found that "The Awakening" was best enjoyed on a cold dark night with a nice cold drink. What would you say best accompanies the soundtrack you've created?

Andreas: I am glad hearing that "The Awakening" was the soundtrack of that cold dark night! This is how these two songs came out; through emotions and feelings. So, I can?t describe an ideal place or scenario that could accompany "Moirai" and "Renaissance" but I am sure that according your mood you can enjoy these songs even in different situations or time of the day. And this is achieved because they combine as darkness as lightness too!

Lou: How long has the band been together and have you been involved with any other bands prior to Chthonian Alchemy?

Andreas: Well, me and Grigoris were in a few bands before Chthonian Alchemy, he as a bass player and me as a drummer. But as many bands we also didn?t continue. This happens when many people want to participate in a song composition or when they realise that have different tastes in music or goals. Unfortunately, this made us to lose some valuable time in order to implement our own ideas. In the beginning of 2006 we decided to continue by ourselves and this is how Chthonian Alchemy founded.

Lou: Why did you choose the name "Chthonian Alchemy"?

Andreas: Occultism was always an interesting subject for me. Specially alchemy which stimulates my interest through all these symbols, mystic codes and the attempt of combining things in order to create something new. This is how we started composing songs; by combining ideas, thoughts, different genres of music or rhythms. On the other hand, ancient Greek mythology is a subject that also Grigoris want to deal with. Greek mythology and particular chthonian deities, who are the dark side of ancient Greeks? beliefs, inspired me to write some lyrics. So, the name ?Chthonian Alchemy? was the result of all these.

Lou: How long have you been playing your instruments for? Do you have any tips for aspiring musicians?

Andreas: I am playing drums for many years but unfortunately I never had my own because I live in a flat so neighbours have a different opinion. After that I became singer...
Grigoris play many years bass guitar and due to his inspirations he also plays guitar.
We believe practice is the only thing that someone needs to do in order to approve his skills on any kind of instrument. It is also good to have somebody to teach you how to practice at least in the very beginning.

Lou: As a band, who would you compare yourselves to?

Andreas: That?s a good question. I mean we never tried to be like somebody else. This is the kind of music that came out. We have many musical influences for sure. These can be from gothic or black metal to heavy, thrash or even power metal. But subconsciously I believe that we are influenced even from music that is out of metal. You know, music is like life. The more experienced you are the more mature you become. So, I wouldn?t specify bands or the kind of our music. Besides, music labels can?t describe the exact feeling sometimes. I would just say that we are something between gothic, black, doom or dark metal as people say.

Lou: What is the metal scene like in Greece? Are there any other bands that we should keep an eye out for?

Andreas: In Greece metal scene faces many problems but I have to admit that is getting better through the years. There are many bands that have good ideas in many genres of metal but the production is usually poor. Bands know that and they seek for solutions out of borders in order to go a step further. The good thing is that new studios and more professional engineers come out so I am optimistic for the future. On the other hand fans don?t support so much the underground scene. I have to mention here that almost the whole underground scene unfortunately arises only in Athens and in the second largest city of Greece, Thessaloniki. There are many gigs monthly but sometimes this is negative because underground fans are not so many and also don?t have much money to be in all these gigs. I believe that if a band try more to have a professional sound then fans will prefer to be to their concert as well.

Lou: Your lyrics in "Moirai" seem to deal with mythology/Pagan beliefs in quite an interesting way. For instance the "three elder female deities" could be the Norns from Norse Mythology or - more obviously - the Moirae from Greek Mythology. Is this an area that you have a strong interest in and, if so, what draws you to it? Personally, I find it to be an incredibly interesting topic, but so far I have only really looked at the Norse/Anglo Saxon side of things.

Andreas: Yes, as I said before Greek mythology is an area that interests me a lot. Greeks learn about it from the early ages of school. But only if you realize what is all about you may feel impressed. In Greek mythology you can find all the answers you are seeking, from daily matters till cosmogony. The more interesting part of it is the way that everything are combined and analysed. This is why all these years many people find it such an interesting topic. So, ?Moirai? is the ancient Greek way of writing ?Moirae? who are the deities that define humans? life.

Lou: I found that the lyrics in "Renaissance" were incredibly powerful. What inspired you write them?

Andreas: The lyrics in "Renaissance" were written in the beginning of 2006 when Chthonian Alchemy came out as an idea. At the same time that period was a commutative period for me. Many personal things were made clear and I also took many decisions for the imminent future. So, these lyrics contain personal feelings and thoughts as well. I believe everyone can find through these lyrics his own positive commutative period.

Lou: Do you have any songs lined-up for an album?

Andreas: There are many songs or ideas that we are working on right now. At the same time some recordings are taking place in order to try out our sound and to be prepared for the final recordings. Our intent is to release our debut album in 2008. We really can't wait. Lou: Do you have any gigs planned?

Andreas: No, we haven?t planned any gigs yet. We are working on this though. In the beginning of 2008 we will be ready to participate in some gigs. We are looking forward about that too.

Lou: Do you have any merchandise available?

Andreas: Merchandise is the last thing that we are concerned about right now. But for sure we will do something about it in few months.

Lou: At the moment the band consists of two members. Do you have any plans to recruit anyone else?

Andreas: Of course, we just announced the new line up. So, except me on vocals there are Panos and Michail Z. on guitars, Yannis on keyboards, Mechblastess on drums and due to Grigoris? military obligation, Spiros will play the bass guitar until Grigoris' return. Personally I am very optimistic with this line up and I hope that everybody is going to contribute for the success of the band.

Lou: I "discovered" you because of MySpace. What are your thoughts on MySpace? Is it a valuable tool for bands like yourself?

Andreas: Well, when I first heard for MySpace from some friends, my first thought was "Hey, this would be very useful for the promotion of the band...". The truth is that MySpace is a very good portal for someone in order to find some interesting people or some interesting bands. Internet nowadays is more powerful than TV or the radio. It connects people internationally. But as every technological achievement has also the bad side. There are so many people and bands in MySpace that is much more difficult to find something interesting or qualitative. So, the key is to know how to use MySpace and not to let MySpace use you. Until now I can say that it helped us a lot.

Lou: Do you feel that the Internet - both by offering both illegal and legal downloads, and cheaper CDs - is killing the record shop? How do you feel about that? Is this the way forward? Will record shops become extinct, or is there a way for both them and the Internet to co-exist?

Andreas: This is a great topic that we could analyse for hours. I would only like to say that music industry for sure has changed in the past few years. As I mention before technology leads every human aspect to a different way. So does in music. But I believe that I wouldn?t know many bands or songs if there was no internet. On the other hand I admit that I rarely buy a CD from a record shop. Though, the fans still buy the CD of their favourite band from a record shop and at the same time can listen to new bands in the internet. So, coexistence can be achieved if the record shops take advantage the internet too by promotions, discounts etc.

Lou: Finally, what's next for Chthonian Alchemy?

Andreas: More songs, the upcoming album and as many gigs as possible. Also we would like to have a great time by drinking beers with new friends.
Finally, I want to thank you once again for your support and for the interview. I hope to see you soon.


More Links: "The Awakening" Review.