Dead Rhetoric: Dimitris K. as a vocalist has upper range confidence and soaring abilities – as comparisons to Alan Tecchio, Warrel Dane, James Rivera, and Mark Antoni (Realm) came up often when taking in the record.
Marios P: Also Midnight, Jonathon Stewart, Carl Albert, Daniel John Miller, Ski, John Cyriis and many others are often being mentioned in comparison with Dimitri’s voice. All of them are great influences of Dimitris and the reason he started to sing the way he does. But he never tried to be a copy of any of them. He has taken some of their techniques, evolved or changed some others and he created his own unique way of singing. Mostly based on paranoia and aggressiveness. He has a lot of things to try for the years to come, as he doesn’t want to sound exactly the same in every record. So be patient for his madness has no end.
Dead Rhetoric: How would you describe Sacral Rage in a live setting – what do you hope to get across to the audience, and can you name some of your favorite shows to date with the band?
Marios P: I would describe it as a terrifying hell, the end of the world as we know it and a total calamity. We try to give our best to our shows as to put the paranoia, the aggressiveness and the spontaneous schizophrenia of the band on stage! We have given several important shows already. More specifically we have supported the mighty Jag Panzer, Manilla Road, Skyclad and of course our local heroes Convixion and Wrathblade!!
Dead Rhetoric: What do you think of the Greek metal scene in 2015? You’ve always had a strong international presence in a variety of sub-genres, would you say there’s big enough support between the promoters, bands, fans, venues, and media in general?
Marios P: The truth is that the Greek Metal scene is boiling up. We always had great bands that made it on a global scale like Rotting Christ, Septic Flesh, Necromantia etc. but this time the country is really in turmoil! In my opinion, this derives from the fact that there are many great bands coming from different metal genres such as old school thrash metal, traditional heavy metal, speed metal, death metal etc… If I had to come up with some advantages and disadvantages, on the one hand I would say that most of these bands give killing shows with relentless energy. Moreover, as to the promoters and fans, indeed there is a demand of good, fresh and quality metal. On the other hand there will always be those who don’t really care about the musical direction or even quality of their music. Such people take into consideration only the stir and the outer image not giving emphasis on the spiritual and honest part of their work, being victims of a potential favorable impression and nothing more. Another negative aspect of our scene is that many metalheads either have a band or not, face the whole endeavor competitively trying to create rivalries and races among the bands or the musicians. I think that these kinds of reactions don’t help the domestic scene because real and genuine success comes through unity and not through disintegration. Last but not least, the media will always help local bands to progress and they have managed to prove it through courageous and great feedback or total support in live shows etc. You know who you are!
Dead Rhetoric: What particular concerns do you have about the world we live in?
Marios P: I could have easily left the space blank but it is not moral. Unfortunately we face a world downfall, a total mess and a painful decay. Just look at the question from all the sides: The runaway destruction of the world by energy companies, radioactive fallout from Fukushima and other areas, the continued GMO contamination of our planet, the escalation of the counterfeiting of the money supply, the plummeting intelligence of the masses, the ongoing pharmaceutical pollution of the globe, the collapse of famous civilizations, the tendency people have to belittle the human values are only the tip of the iceberg. We have started thinking if the future is bright only in other dimensions in altered space…
Dead Rhetoric: How far would you like to take Sacral Rage as far as popularity? Do you think the quality of your following matters more than necessarily the quantity- especially considering the style of heavy metal you have developed?
Marios P: We haven’t ever thought of this to be honest. We just want to do what we want and the way we want, giving birth to our musical ideas. We have already fulfilled some of our dreams such as the release of our works, the honor to be members of significant live shows and both the negative and positive feedback we have gained so far but the journey hasn’t finished yet, that is for sure. We will still sail on unknown seas until Father Time quells as physically because what ultimately remains indomitable is the spirit. Quality and quantity constitutes a point of reference for every band on earth in their hunt of the ultimate success but not for us having our roots in different space dimensions. Such matters have to be defined by the gods of fate, so whatever comes is welcomed.
Dead Rhetoric: Does the band have to maintain a balance between working day jobs to support yourselves and keeping things going in band activities? Do you believe you end up channeling a lot of your stress and daily frustrations into Sacral Rage material?
Marios P: This is a controversial and crucial issue. So many people have been forced so far to leave their bands and give up their efforts due to the lack of time. I can’t blame those people especially in our days where nothing is easy and you have to work hard to carry it off. We, at least, will do our best for the band, to keep ourselves energetic and restless. Nobody knows what lies tomorrow but we are very confident and sanguine about our dreams which are to be fulfilled in the next years. Whatever a man can do outside the place of work and really fills his day can diminish the scurry and scramble of town life. In brief, being members of Sacral Rage in such odd days where we all live in constant strain under the racket of modern life, the band helps us to get away from it all and make our own journey through the sands of time!
Dead Rhetoric: If you had the chance to put together the ultimate festival lineup of 8-10 bands from any era past or present, who would you want on the bill (if the band if defunct, make sure to specify the particular year or lineup)?
Marios P: Although 10 bands are way too few, here is a try:
Judas Priest (when Metal God was still blond!!!)
Rush (A Farewell to Kings era)
Running Wild (early pirate era)
Annihilator (early 90’s era)
Watchtower (All eras)
Jag Panzer
Dream Theater (When Dream and Day Unite era)
Vicious Rumors (Digital Dictator era)
Armored Saint (Symbol of Salvation era)
Sacral Rage