Cyanide 4 has prepared again an explosive cocktail for us – this time it is called “AmaΛgamA” and contains really great glam/sleaze metal anthems, which sound vintage and modern at the same time! With “AmaΛgamA” in their hands the members of this exquisite band gaze at the future with a smile on their face. Myth Of Rock and Dimitris Zacharopoulos contacted Cyanide 4 and Adrian Kyprianos, who answered gently our questions.

You have just released your new, third album, “AmaΛgamA”. Which are your feelings?
Well, after a long time, with numerous ups and downs, we can finally hold in our hands our latest effort! We could actually say that it was a really frustrating period for us, because we had to face the Pandemic-related issues (lockdown, no shows/no fun, “no-life”, etc.) but, meanwhile, the production of our album was not actually coming to an end. That was mainly because of the fact that it was actually 3-times mixed, we had chosen the -as it seemed- ‘not-so-right’ personnel to fulfill that task and eventually it costed both money and time…But never mind, here we are, we are proud of what we’ve done, it’s surely our best and most ‘mature’ effort so far and we hope “album #4” will be another step forward!

Why did you name your new album “AmaΛgamA”? What things do you combine?
All the new band-members had their own musical style and background, so, to one extend, it could be clearly seen on their ideas and playing. All in all, I guess we combine our main influences spanning from the 80s ‘so-called’ hair/glam Metal and Heavy Metal bands to more modern stuff, creating a ‘mixture’, an ‘amalgam’ of what we actually dreamed-off that the sound of Cyanide 4 one day would be…A glam metal band, sounding not like a typical glam metal band. We believe that we have achieved that and hope to build on that further on.

When, where and under which circumstances was “AmaΛgamA” recorded? Who did the production (mixing/mastering)? Describe the whole process of the recordings and the production.
Well, the recordings and mixing took place in Soundgarden Studios, Athens and the final mastering took place in Mystery Room Mastering, Madison (WI – U.S.A.). As mentioned before, we had chosen another well-known producer and had sent all the material abroad to its studio, but the overall result we received didn’t actually meet our standards, or better said, the actual sound-result we had in mind for “AmaΛgamA”!

Where would you trace the differences between “AmaΛgamA” and “Nekyia”?
For sure, it’s the production! Though it was a really time/budget consuming procedure, eventually it turned out to be a ‘level-up’ in comparison to our former album, for sure! Composing was also way improved, eventually resulting to getting closer to the sound-style/result we wanted to achieve!

Who are the main composers of Cyanide 4 today? How is a Cyanide 4 song usually composed? What does inspire you to write music? Where do your lyrics refer to?
The main composers are both our guitarists and the rest of us could give an ‘extra’ touch/idea, if needed. You know, composition is a matter of inspiration but inspiration doesn’t come that easy! I mean, it usually comes at the most “inappropriate” times, haha! Regarding lyrics, we never had any particular pattern in our minds, we had given ourselves the freedom to follow any ‘lyrical path’ we had inside us…Our lyrics are basically based on everyday-experiences, personal experiences or even historical-facts…Whatever inspires us could be eventually ‘transformed’ to lyrics…

In your opinion, which are the trademarks of your sound?
Our sound ranges from the "so-called" 80s' old-style/vintage hard rock one to the more modern, heavy sound. We think that our trademark is the “balance” between past and future and how we achieved to ‘mix’ all those elements, crafting that real amalgam of our own influences!

I sense a melancholy in your songs. Do you agree with me? What feeling of yours do you try to express though your music?
Yes, we agree to that…We never had followed that “Sex, Drugs, Rock ‘n’ Roll”-joyful subject 100%. As mentioned, it’s all about inspiration and taking into consideration that life is hard, unfortunately people go through stressful/sad situations…So, eventually, the expression of feelings through music/lyrics would follow that particular path a little more, to say the least.

You belong to the glam metal genre. How does it feel to be a glam/sleaze metal band in the year 2022? How do you see things for the contemporary worldwide glam metal scene?
When you say glam/sleaze genre, most people are expecting to chew old-staff or to copy the “dino-bands" of the 80's. For us, it's a big challenge, we know that we do something different, avoiding -as much as possible- the 'clichés' that have been established the past years. Of course, we feel grateful to have these influences and we do our best to further develop and progress our music to any direction feels right for us. All in all, there are many great bands in our genre, especially in Scandinavia but the 80s’ won’t be ever coming back…would they?

Which are your favorite glam metal bands? How have these bands affected Cyanide 4’s sound?
The “Dinos”, hahaha! Well, the great ones, of course, like Mötley Crüe, Dokken, Ratt, Poison, Skid Row...Of course they have affected us, by mainly giving us huge inspiration and some of our biggest “idols”! Musically though, we guess that their influence could not be so easily spotted, at least nowadays…

How did the Covid-19 pandemic and the restrictions affect you as a band and as individuals?
Well, as individuals, we guess that it was one of the most boring but also stressing periods of our lives, full of “insecurity” and “isolation”! It was really sad not being actually able to LIVE like you used to! On the band-aspect now…13.03.20, we had just landed in Dusseldorf, Germany and before we even disembark the airplane, we had seen the “postponement” post of the festival we were about to take part (just to mention, we have received NO SINGLE information about what’s eventually happening to that event or anything, whatsoever…still today!)…Adding to that, for a period of about 2 years we couldn’t actually meet/rehearse and consequently do any gigs, because of the occasional “lockdowns” that had been happening in Greece. This whole shit affected the release of the album, too, of course…But, in any case, we hope nobody lives again under those circumstances and we are looking forward to start celebrating life and rock music, as soon as possible, on a stage near you!

Which are your future plans? A tour maybe?
Adding to our former answer just above, we are looking forward to announcing a first run of shows in promotion of our newest album “AmaΛgamA” and get the engines rollin’ once again!

Send your message to the fans!
We are looking forward to seeing you at venue near you and rock our asses-off to some rockin’ tunes! Can’t wait to share the energy with!

https://www.facebook.com/Cyanide4/
https://www.instagram.com/cyanide_4official
https://www.youtube.com/user/Cyanide4band

The last years, Sonata Arctica, one of the most accomplished metal bands of our times, is in an … acoustic … state of mind! The Finnish power/progressive metallers have released two acoustic albums and are on a long acoustic tour. Like it or not, Sonata Arctica’s endeavors are special and unique, and pique our curiosity. So, Myth of Rock tried to contact the band and finally, managed to discuss with the bassist, Pasi Kauppinen. It was a really interesting conversation!

by Dimitris Zacharopoulos  

Hello Pasi, how are you?

Hi, I am fine, it is fall here in Finland and the tour has already began. We have played some shows here in Finland and we are heading to Europe. So we are back on tour!

So, there is a tour underway, how are the shows, until now?

Yeah, it has been really good. The shows we have played in Finland have all been in concert halls, they were not the normal electric shows in venues. It has been good. People have been sitting during the shows, so it is a bit different with these acoustic shows.

Sonata Arctica have released two acoustic album, “Acoustic Adventures – Volume One” and “Acoustic Adventures - Volume Two”. Why did you decide to release acoustic albums?

We started the whole acoustic thing already years and years ago. Even before I joined the band in 203, they had acoustic parts during their normal electric shows, in which parts they were playing two-three songs in acoustic versions. When I joined the band, we had some radio shows, exhibitions and happenings like that, where we could only have these acoustic experiences and performances. The whole thing went so good that we started thinking, “Maybe we shall do a whole acoustic tour!”. We started it in Finland, and then we brought it also to Europe, already in 2018. It went so good and people liked the acoustic arrangements and the acoustic shows so much that we talked about recording a whole album with the acoustic versions. But of course, we didn’t have time to do it in that period, because we already had that normal cycle of getting to the studio, then releasing the album and going on tour to support the new album … When the pandemic started in 2020 and all the shows were postponed or canceled and we couldn’t go on tour, then we started to think that maybe it was now time to hit the studio and do the acoustic albums.

With which criteria did you choose the songs, which you played acoustically in the acoustic albums and on the acoustic concerts?

Basically we decided together. We went to rehearsals, when we started to practice for the tour, and we decided together to release a bunch of songs that could work on live shows. Then we started the rehearsals and to arrange the songs we felt that would suit the acoustic form. Basically it was like that.

Which was your attitude towards the original songs? I mean, did you try to keep the character of each song or did you try to make changes to them?

It depended on each song. Some songs were already kinda acoustic or close to the acoustic approach, for example some ballads and songs like that, that didn’t need a lot of arrangements. We just took the acoustic instruments and started to play, thinking only a little bit how to change the approach for the acoustic theme. Then, we had the more complex songs or the faster songs, which of course we didn’t work in the same way. We started to play and hoped for the best, haha! We needed more effort on them, to find out what would be the best approach for each song, and often the final format was diverse from the original version.

People say that the acoustic versions are more difficult, because when you play acoustically, you can’t cover the mistakes. Do you agree with that?

Haha! Yes, that’s somehow true, but of course, I don’t wanna make a lot of mistakes in the electric shows as well, haha! So, I try to do my best all the times and in every approach, I try to do my best whatever song we are going to have. Yes, it is true that when there is an acoustic set, there is so much more air that you can hear the mistakes there better. I hope that we can avoid the mistakes, as much as we can, haha!

Pasi, were you involved in the mastering of these two acoustic albums?

No. Actually the albums were recorded at my studio, at the 57 Studio, which I own and I run. We went to my studio and recorded all the basic tracks live at the studio, all the drums, basses, pianos and acoustic guitars were tracked at the same live at my studio. Tony did some overdubs and vocals that were layered afterwards. And then, we have an outside producer, Mikko Tegelman, who produced the albums together with the band. We have also mixed the albums with Mikko, and then Janne Tolsa, from the band Turmion Kätilöt, was the one who mastered the albums.

So, you did two acoustic albums with Sonata Arctica. In general, do you like acoustic, unplugged albums?

Yes! Definitely I like this kind of albums, for example Mr. Big had released a really cool acoustic album - actually it was a live album, it was called “Live from the Living Room” (2012), and it had some really nice arrangements of their songs on an acoustic environment. You shall listen to this album.

After two acoustic albums, is it maybe time for Sonata Arctica to do an album with an orchestra?

We have been asked that a lot of times, haha! Of course, that would be really cool to do, but … ! I don’t know, maybe we will do something with a small orchestra, not a symphonic orchestra, because it is so huge and it needs so much effort and money of course, in order to hire such a big orchestra to perform the songs! So, if this possibility comes, we will definitely do it.

Let’s now go to your latest full-length studio album, “Talviyö”. How do you see this album right now?

I like this album. When we released the album in 2019 and started the tour, we managed to do the North American part and the European part of the tour. Then we had to do the Latin American part, but the pandemic hit and everything went down, all the tours went down and everything was cancelled. When we think of it now, it gives a little bit frustration, because we couldn’t do our job and go out to play. So, maybe we have forgotten this album someway, but definitely the album is really good and needs to get more attention. We couldn’t tour properly and everything was cut down, both physically and mentally, since we couldn’t work, we couldn’t do our job and perform shows. We shall give up with this album and start doing the next one. The tour of “Talviyö” has now gone. Maybe in some point in the future we will play it in its entirety, but I think this will be years and years later.

How would you define the current music style of Sonata Arctica?

Sonata Arctica has always had its own style. Of course, it has started as a power metal or melodic metal band, “Silence” and “Winterheart’s Guild” were pure power metal, more power metal than “Ecliptica”. The band started like this, but if you listen to “Ecliptica”, you will understand that this debut album already had all these kinds of elements, it wasn’t a pure power metal album, it had more complex songs. I think that this direction has been developed during the years, Tony Kakko’s songwriting has been developed as well. I think that nowadays the songs have more angles, when Tony writes them. Yes, our style is growing all the time, let’s wait and see what is coming.

Many fans of the band are disappointed with your change of music style. Of course, Sonata Arctica doesn’t sound like the way they sounded in albums like “Silence” and “Winterheart’s Guild”. What would you say to all these people who are disappointed with your style now?

Haha! I think that those years are kind of golden memory. When people have been younger and they have gone to concerts, all have been new and they have loved, have fallen in love with those songs and those years. Of course, the same thing happens now, even though we are not that young anymore. So maybe we have more experience and more mature approach for the songs. Of course we are playing a lot of songs from that era on live shows. And also, the new album has all those elements that we have already had, but maybe the general style has developed. And as I said, we are not that young anymore. Maybe we have more mature approach for the arrangements and stuff like that.

 Have you started writing any new songs for your next album?

Yeah, there’s been a lot of time to stay at home, Tony writes all the music for Sonata Arctica and he has also had a lot of time, because we hadn’t gone on tour. Yes, there are new songs already written. I don’t know yet, when we are hitting the studio, but maybe next year we are going to record our new album and I hope that it will be released, until next year or at least early 2024.

Can you give us some info about the new songs and how do they sound?

I have heard a couple of rough demos of the songs, and we haven't started rehearsals or anything recorded for the album yet. So I have only heard rough demos of the songs. But if I tell something to you, of course you’ll have my opinion, it's only what I say or I feel now. So it's better that I won't tell anything yet, haha.

Pasi, how did you become a member of Sonata Arctica?

I have known the guys from the band years and years now. Henrik (Klingenberg, keyboards) is my childhood friend. We had a band called Silent Voices, we had founded the band in 1995 and we have done lots of shows and albums with Henrik, since that time. So, when Henrik joined Sonata Arctica in 2003, I began my studio career, I recorded and mixed some things for Sonata Arctica and then, I played in a band called Winter Born and we toured together in 2009 and 2010. So I knew the guys from that time, and when Marco (Paasikoski) left the band in 2013, they just called me and asked if I want to join.

Which is your personal favorite Sonata Arctica album?

Uhh, that's a hard question, because all the albums are special. So it's hard to put them in in a special order. But uh … maybe “Pariah’s Child” (2014) is really important for me, because it's my first album with Sonata Arctica. But of course, the latest one is always the one, for which you have gave all your effort and all your power to make that. So it's complex. So, the latest album is the best, my first album is the best and of course those albums, which started the whole thing, like “Ecliptica”, we have played a lot of songs from that. And “Silence” is actually the first album I heard of Sonata Arctica, it have good memories from that, “Reckoning Night” is a strong album also,  so is “Unia” … , it's really hard to put them in order, haha!

You have never played with Sonata Arctica in Greece. Why is that?

Ahh, that's a good question. I really would want to come and visit Greece. I have been there on holidays and it's a really beautiful and great country. I have always liked the weather and people there. It's a really nice country, but … I don't know why …, we have a German booking agency, which takes care of our tours, Greek promoters have to get in touch with our agency … So we could come back to Greece to play shows. I hope that it will happen in the near future.

Yes, I also hope that! Pasi, send your message to the fans in Greece!

I definitely hope to come and play there, I hope that you all have checked out our latest albums. I wish everyone good fall, happy Christmas and having lots of fun with metal and everything!

Thank you so much!

Thank you, bye, bye!

Spektrvm arise as a new force of the Greek rock/metal scene. “Blood For Heaven”, their debut, is a fantastic album, full of modern, dynamic, furious and storming metal bangers. As the band is reaping the fruits of its endeavors, Myth Of Rock contacted Thanos Zabetakis (vocals) for a nice interview. And we spoke about various topics, including the upcoming live show of the band on the 9^th of December, 2022, at Temple Athens!

by Dimitris Zacharopoulos

Describe the formation of Spektrvm.

Mike (bass) and George (guitar) met in high school, and bonded over their shared love for music. They formed a cover band initially, but after a couple of years, they decided that it was time for original material.

Spektrvm had a lot of line-up changes until now. Why is that? Do you think that your current line-up is the strongest ever and why?

The initial vocalist did not enjoy the idea of writing new material and was the first to leave the band. The second singer, started writing some songs with the band, but had to leave for work overseas. Metal music wasn’t really his calling anyway, but he was good friends with the band members, still is really, and has a great voice. One of the 2 guitarists of the band also had to leave the country for work related purposes. After finalizing the recording form of all of the songs that would end up in the debut album, the guitarist that had left for England, returned, and the newer guitar player left, of his own volition, to be  part of another project and another band, so the former band member rejoined the ranks to fill in that spot. So there are now 4 of the original band members, with the vocalist that reshaped the first songs, created the rest, and recorded all of them in the studio. So it is safe to say that this is the strongest line-up yet and ideal to continue the work of Spektrvm.

You released your debut album (“Blood For Heaven”) some months ago. How do you see this first album now? Are there any things you would like to change now in this first album?

We are really happy with the outcome of the album. We had finished recording it a while back, but the whole pandemic situation was not helpful towards a responsible release of the material. The recordings were great, and the mixing was truly masterful. I don’t think that anyone would like to change the songs of the album, but rather keep an open mind about tempos, melodies and solos, depending on the energy at any given day. So given the time that we have had from the day the tracks were mastered to the day they were released, if we wanted to change something, we could and would have done so before releasing it.

“Blood For Heaven” was released by Sliptrick Records. Why did you decide to cooperate with this label? How did the contract with this label happen?

So this being our first album, we were receiving a fair amount of, let’s just say less than ideal offers for a deal, and after a few months, we were considering going for an independent release. At that point a much better deal came along, and we seized the opportunity the grab it.

Who writes music and lyrics in Spektrvm? How were the songs of “Blood For Heaven” composed?

The music is written by all members. Someone comes up with an idea, someone is adding something else, or making a note for something to slightly change, and building on top of one another, the song composition is revealed, which will then be tweaked a number of times before reaching its final stage. The lyrics are written mainly by the singer, following a theme, that is decided depending on the feeling that we, as individuals receive from the vibe of the music, but the bassist has been a really big help on that front as well. There were also a couple of songs were the lyrics were there first, and a specific instance were the vocal line with the lyrics were there and then the music had to follow. It’s a fun and unpredictable process.

Describe the recording process of the album. Who did the mixing and the mastering?

Dionisis Christodoulatos did the recording and the mixing, at CFN Recording Studios, and the mastering was done by Vu Productions Mastering Studios. Each one of us recorded their instruments, rhythm guitars were mostly written by one guitarist, while melodies by the other, even if they redistributed the parts after the recordings. Drummer and bassist of course recorded their own parts. Finally Vocal lines were added - fun times - and many of the background vocal lines, were ideas that were actually pitched by Dionisis, with a fresh pair of ears and a lot of years in the music industry, this experienced specialist was a huge help on the vocal harmonies that are hidden in lower frequencies and volumes within each song.

How would you describe the music style of Spektrvm? Which are your music influences?

Our music style can’t really be very specifically labeled. The most generic title would be heavy metal, but sometimes we are more doom, sometimes more progressive, more folk, more nu, alternative and so on. It really depends on who is listening to it, and what comparisons their minds make while doing so. Some of our influences are Tool, Disturbed, Avenged Sevenfold, Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Iron Maiden, Pearl Jam and a dozen other great artists, even outside of the rock/metal scene, that have left their small mark, translated in this album. As for the next one, who knows?

Where do your lyrics refer to? Which is your inspiration, as far as lyrics are concerned?

The lyrics of this album, refer to “things, situations and institutions” in society, that we deem, problematic to say the least, and in a sense “condemn” through our songs. Political and religious propaganda, greed, vanity, war -both as an action but also a state of mind-, rage, racism, the grief and depression that are products of those, as well as our part in empowering, at least some, if not all of the above. Those are some of the main issues that our lyrics tackle throughout this album.

Which feelings of yours do you try to express through your music and lyrics?

We are definitely expressing some disappointment, anger, despair, sadness, but also hope that we can all work together to change the world into a better place.

Give us all the important information about the cover artwork of “Blood For Heaven”.

The artwork was made specifically for the album, by Remedy Art Design, who did a brilliant job. We provided the album, the lyrics and the meaning, and while actively listening to the songs, the artist drew all of these wonderful pieces, really expressing visually, the received vibes, in a twisted, but also beautiful way.

How were you affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and the restrictions as individuals and as a band?

Covid-19 locked us all in, the album was just finished and we had nobody to play it to. It was fun for the first couple of months, not working, staying inside and everything, gave us some time to breathe, but it got old really quickly after that. We were unable to practice together, or perform, or even release the album, because firstly it would make no sense, and secondly, there was no active income for some of us to support this endeavor.

You have played live lots of times. How do Spektrvm sound on stage? How important are live concerts for Spektrvm? Which is your favourite concert until now?

We believe in musical integrity very much, and in the past we used to have that as our only focus. Played the songs 100% and were happy about it. But after a while, we started wilding out a bit, with the on-stage performance, and that’s how we grew more passionate as well. Each one of us probably has a different show as a favorite, depending on performance, conditions and audience, both in numbers and in energy levels, so it would be hard to narrow it down to less than 5.

You are going to play live in concert on the 9th of December at Temple Athens. How do you feel about this concert now, some days before it happens?

After the whole pandemic situation, we will be playing our second live show in 2,5 years as a band. Which is tragic, but also very exciting, and the energy is off the charts!

What should the fans expect from Spektrvm and this live concert?

Fans should expect musical integrity, truckloads of energy, special effects, two spectacular bands supporting us, a great venue, and last but not least, beautiful merchandise.

Send your message to the fans!

Thank you so much for supporting us, but also the music scene in general. We love you very much and can’t wait to see you on the 9^th of December! We’ll bring our A-Game and we expect you to do the same. Spektrvm, out!

Thank you very much and have a nice concert on 9^th December at Temple!

Thank you so much!

Geoff Tate, the legendary former singer of Queensrÿche, visited Greece for two live shows and we all had the honor and the pleasure to see him performing live in concert! What we experienced was incredible and cannot be erased from our memory. And Myth of Rock had the great chance to meet Mr. Tate, with whom we had a very interesting, serious chat. These were special moments, indeed!

by Dimitris Zacharopoulos and Iro Kalligeri

How is the tour going until now?

It is going great, yeah. I think that the shows tonight, in Athens, and tomorrow, in Thessaloniki, are the two last shows of the tour in Europe, until February. Then we will come back and do some shows in Scandinavia, at that time.

You have also announced a tour in the States.

Yes, in America. I think it starts at the end of November and goes up until Christmas. Just a short, little tour, yeah.

You underwent a surgery, everything went fine and now you are back on track, performing on stage like a teenager. Which are your feelings now about it?

I am happy to be well, haha! I feel very good, I am at 70% back. My doctor told me that I cannot lift any weights or anything until six months after the surgery. So … I tried to do a push-up the other day on the floor, but it didn’t work, haha!

Tonight you are going to play live two classic Queensrÿche albums, “Rage for Order” and “Empire”, in their entirety. How do you feel about that?

I love it! They are two of my favorite records. It feels really great to play all the songs on a record, because, when I was in Queensrÿche, we didn’t play all the songs. This is really a treat for me to finally play all the music.

Do you miss the days you were in Queensrÿche?

No, not at all.

Which is your relationship with the guys from Queensrÿche?

We don’t have a relationship. We haven’t spoken in ten years, I guess. I think we had a really good relationship, we were together in a band for 30 years, we wrote a lot of really interesting music together, we made a lot of really interesting albums, we did a lot of touring and played shows in many, many different countries. We had a very good experience, you know … All things must pass … I think we gave it a good run.

Have you listened to the latest Queensrÿche albums?

Oh, no.

Let’s talk now about your recent project you did, Sweet Oblivion. How did this project come up?

Mario (de Riso) is the president of my record label (Frontiers Records), and he and I were having a conversation one day. I said, “I am very interested in collaborating with different artists. If you know any artists on your label or if you get an idea, let me know, because I am open to things. So he called me about a year later, he said to me that he had this idea and he put me together with this guitar player, named Simone Mularoni. We started emailing back and forth, sending some of our ideas, and over a year we came up with an album. And then, couple of years later, maybe a year later, Mario spoke to Aldo Lonobile and we started working on a second album - I really enjoyed that one quite a bit. And now, we have a third one that we are going to begin around December, we will start working on it then and it should be fun, I am looking forward to it too.

Is there a chance that you will release a solo album?

I have a bunch of songs, I just haven’t … I have three different projects I am working on, right now, so … I am trying to find time for all of them, so, yes, I have some songs written for that, but I don’t know when I am going to finish it.

You participated in the latest Tobias Sammet’s Avantasia album.

It is always fun working with Tobias Sammet, trying to figure out what he is doing, he writes really interesting music. He always sends me all these messages, like … “OK, well, it should feel like the color blue, when you sing”! So, I have to figure out what he means by that, haha! It is funny! I think he does it just to infuriate me, haha!!

How did the covid-19 pandemic affect you as a personality?

I recognized that I definitely could be some sort of a functioning alcoholic, you know, haha! I spent all of my time drinking, yeah, sitting around …, but then I got again busy, I made some music, my wife and I went over to Ireland, rented a house and stayed there with my daughter. I saw friends and family, you know, visiting … we sold our house and bought a new one, I took care of some projects …

What do you think about the war against Ukraine?       

Oh, it’s a tragedy anytime there’s a war, it’s ridiculous. I think war is an outmoded, outdated concept. When you get to the point of actually having warfare, I think you have failed of being a human.

Do you think that musicians should send messages about peace, love etc.?

Well, I think bands will do what they are going to do, regardless of what they should do or they shouldn’t do, haha!

You released some of the best metal concept albums with Queensrÿche. Can you name some of your favorite concept albums?

Yes, I quite liked the concept album KISS did, it’s called “Music from the Elder” and it came out in 1981. I also liked “The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway” (1974) by Genesis, when that album first came out, I saw that tour, it was amazing … Pink Floyd has done a few concept albums I quite like, “Dark Side of The Moon” (1973) of course and “Wish You Were Here” (1975) are two of my favorites … I was a fan of bands that made concept albums, you know … I liked The Who that made “Quadrophenia” (1973) and “Tommy” (1969), … I grew up in that era, the ‘70s, when there were no limits on what you could and what you couldn’t do, like there are now, and the term “genre” wasn't even a term at that point, so that was refreshing, you know.

Queensrÿche was one of the greatest progressive metal bands. Do you listen to progressive music?

I hardly listen to music. Maybe, because I am around music all the time … I don’t listen to music so much. Like I said before, we didn’t have the term “genre”, until later in our existence. Even metal wasn’t a genre at the time that we started out, it became one, you know. I like music that has something to say, rather than the typical kind of three chord love songs, … I like some of those too, I am a music fan, I guess I like a lot of different kinds of music, … when I do listen to music, which is rare nowadays, haha!

Which were your vocal heroes, in the beginning of your career, your favorite singers back then?

Oh, yeah, … I quite liked what Peter Gabriel did, quite a bit, I think Roger Waters and David Gilmour were really inspirational to me. Mmmm, a guy like Tom Jones, the pop singer, the English pop singer, he was really, really influential for me, big powerful voice. He started, when I was really young. He used to have a TV show that was on, when I was young, my sister and my mother and I used to watch his show, and he did the singing part on the show, where he sang some songs and he always wore a really nice looking sharp tuxedo and he had like a bow tie, and at some point during the song, at the end of the songs, he would take that bow tie off and he would throw it in the crowd and all the women in the audience were diving, trying to kill each other, trying to get that, you know, that bow tie. And I thought to myself, that's what I wanna do.

Could you please send your message to the fans?

To the good fans? Only?

Are there good and bad fans?

Yes, there are some bad fans, yeah! Some very bad fans! They don’t mean to be bad, they are just drawn that way. So, to all the fans, thanks for listening to my music and I hope you will come out and see some shows, ahhh, they are always fun! I really enjoy playing live, I am very happy to be here in Athens, even on a rainy day, it is still an incredibly beautiful city.

What should we expect from Geoff Tate in the future?

 Oh gosh, I don't know, I guess. Um, expect the unexpected.

Thank you so much, Mr. Tate.

Thank you!