Their debut has already been out for a year, but it's about time it got promoted here, for 81db has something to offer. So in this same issue you can read a review of 'Evaluation' and right here we give the mic to Kosta, the guitarist of the band, to tell us more about the crazy and charismatic band that he is part of. He tells you all that you'd wish to know about the band, all other things you'd want to know can only be discovered by listening!
Could you tell our readers about the background of the band, and what your musical aims and visions are with 81db? 81db were formed in April 2006 by the band guitarist Kostas Ladopoulos with the idea to form a band with a heavy and “technical” sound that also combines Greek folk elements. After some line-up changes, we arrived in the actual and solid group of today with William on voice, Vieri on bass and Filippo on the drums. After releasing two demos we ended up making our first full-length 'Evaluation', published in 2009 by the Italian 'Orion’s Belt' records. On the album one is able to hear this combination of new heavy rock together with folk instruments (like the Greek bouzouki) and many times a progressive and original sound is the final result. The band played around Italy and then after an opening for a Deep Purple concert at Torino went to the UK and Greece for two tours. Currently the band is making new tracks for a second album, but it’s a bit early to talk about this yet!
Your debut 'Evaluation' has officially been out for more than a year now. Are we just slow here in the Netherlands, or are you just now starting with new international promotion? And if so, is that maybe because of positive receptions last year? Haha, no you are not slow! You see, our album is currently physically available only in Italy and Greece for the time being, that is why the promotion was aimed mostly on these two territories (and the UK). It is available on all digital platforms though all-over the world, even if I know that metal fans prefer the “contact” with their music. We hope that the album will become available worldwide too in the near future so stay tuned!
Also, since the record has been out for some time, have you developed as a band perhaps new songs, perhaps even enough material for a new album? Certainly, we already composed four new songs that we played live in Greece on our latest tour (and they were very well received). Currently we are working on new material as I told you before, for the upcoming album.
Your music, and this is an understatement, is quite eclectic. Could you tell what inspired you to create this music, and which other musicians/bands possibly influenced you in this? What we want to show with our work is music that would make the ear, the sentiment and the brain work together. I believe that each time that somebody listens to our album, he or she discovers something new, regarding as sound and sentiment. It has happened to me a lot of times, to listen to somebody saying to me “Hey you know, this is the first time, I notice that!” in some songs, making him understand its meaning more and more. I consider the whole 'Evaluation' as an album that, the more you listen to it, so much more it becomes yours. That’s why we picked such a title. I would say that we are influenced by alternative groups like Faith No More and Tool, classic ones like Metallica but also more progressive ones like Dream Theater, Rush, Watchtower etc. Many elements from the legendary scene of seventies: Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath etc. Adding also the traditional Mediterranean sound, that’s what you take as a result! As you see it’s a progressive melting pot!
On the internet we can find out you already toured Greece and the UK, as well as being support act for Deep Purple. Will a tour throughout Europe also follow, including the Netherlands? Or is it hard to get booked when you're not really fitting into one specific scene? Currently there are no actual plans to pass to the Netherlands but it's not because we don’t want to! So if there are any promoters out there interested to contact us we would be more than glad to come! The fact that our music is so controversial is a plus most of the times, because we could fit into a metal or an alternative gig as it has happened before. We’ve played with bands that don’t fit so much with metal but also with hardcore bands!
These were actually already my questions for you for now. Thank you for answering them, and for whatever you feel should have been asked: you can answer those questions below these words! Hopefully we'll see you around! Thank you for giving us the chance of presenting our album in the Netherlands (I think for the first time)! I hope we will be able to play live there soon. We love playing live and people really enjoy coming to our gigs so let’s hope we’ll meet in one of those! Stay rock!
Your music, and this is an understatement, is quite eclectic. Could you tell what inspired you to create this music, and which other musicians/bands possibly influenced you in this?
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