1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the solo project?
Askalaphos is a one man black metal band from Volos, Greece. The band was formed by Dark Invoker of Chaos in 2019 and has released one demo, 2 EPs, 1 compilation CD and a full length album since then. The initial purpose of the band was to play black metal in the vein of the early 90’s greek black metal bands like Rotting Christ, Varathron, Thou Art Lord etc
2.Recently you have released your first full length, musically how does it differ from your previous ep's and demos?
Well I think that the full length continues the progress that started with the first demo. I managed to capture in a much better way what I had in mind musically. Also, I think I’ve developed a little bit more my recording and mixing skills so the sound of “March of the Damned” is closer to what I wanted for these tracks. Not a clean,modern production but kinda raw and dirty. I did put a lot of effort to match the guitar sound of those early Greek bm recordings, especially the sound of Varathron’s “Walpurgisnacht”
3/Some of your lyrics cover Occultism, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in the dark arts?
Occultism,witchcraft etc and the people practicing it has been a fascinating theme for me since my teens, without actually believing in it or practicing it myself them since I think that I’m too rational to believe in any magic entities
4.What are some of the other lyrical topics and subjects you have explored so far with the music?
Besides the occult themes, my lyrics deal with death and philosophical themes about nihilism mostly influenced by Nietzsche and Stirner
5.I know that the band name comes from Greek Mythology, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this topic?
Askalaphos was a demon and Acheron’s son in the ancient Greek mythology. I do have some knowledge about Greek mythology since I was really interested in it since I was a kid as I was with the Nordic, Egyptian mythology but I don’t actually cover any themes of that kind in my lyrics. I always thought that this would be a great name for a Greek bm project and now was the right time as it fits with the whole concept of the band.
6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?
I made the cover art of the album and I’m really proud for it since I’ve tried a lot to train myself to use image editing software. It’s amazing that can you learn almost anything watching videos on YouTube or reading tutorials.
I’m pretty satisfied about the cover art and how it came out. The theme is loosely based on the lyrics of the self titled track of the album
7.You are also a part of 'Woundcult', how do both of the musical projects differ musically?
Woundcult is a different kind of a beast since musically it’s closer to the Norwegian and Finnish scene. I have released 1 EP, a split with Zigota and a compilation CD. Right now I’m working the tracks for a Woundcult full length in which I’ll probably collaborate with some people I trust from the local scene
8.With both of your projects you record everything by yourself, are you open to working with other musicians or do you prefer to work solo?
I’ve played in a fair amount of bands and worked with other musicians over the years, but nowadays I prefer to work solo since I don’t have a lot of time for rehearsals that are required when you collaborate with other people in a full time band. There are plans to work with other musicians in the future for both Askalaphos and Woundcult mainly for some drum recordings, but I won’t announce something yet
9.Since 2019 you also have released a great amount of material with both projects, do you spend a great amount of time writing and creating music?
There are some ups and downs in this process. There are some days that I write and create a lot of music and there are days that I don’t even pick up the guitar. It has helped that I had a lot of riffs and ideas piling up since I stopped playing with my last band in 2015, so there was already a lot of material waiting.
10.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black metal?
As a matter of fact the reaction has been pretty positive so far. Hopefully, I’ll manage to reach out to more people with future releases.
11.Where do you see yourself heading into as a musician during the future?
Honestly, there aren’t any major plans for the future. The next step is to release the Woundcult full length and then the second Askalaphos full, which I already have started working on. In this process I always to try to evolve as a musician plus I become better at capturing the sound I have in my head mixing-wise
12.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
As I said Askalaphos is more influenced from the 90s Greek underground black metal, while Woundcult is closer to the Norwegian/Finnish side of black metal. Generally speaking the bands that have influenced me were Darkthrone, Mayhem, Rotting Christ, Necromantia, Varathron, Beherit, Sargeist and many more. Lately I’ve been listening a lot to the latest Necromantia album, the new Deathspell Omega, Isolert’s and Sorgelig’s discography which are two amazing bands from Volos that you should definitely check out if you haven’t already
13.before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thanks a lot for this interview. Keep supporting the true underground! All Hails!
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