Hi Savva. Thanks a lot for taking the time to answer to my questions and most of all congratulations for your debut album "The Chains That Bind Us". No need to tell you that one day a member of the web crew from Bleeding told me about this fantastic Greek metal band that I definitely had to check out. So, you have sent the promo CD to countless webzines and radio stations. What was the initial reaction to that?

Savvas:   Thank you for your good words on our recording! We gave our 100% on it and I think the result justify us. Bleeding For Metal was one of the 1st magazines which gave us a strong hand of help and we never forget it!!! Well, as a new band we had to make the fans giving some attention to our music. Having a good demo one year ago we sent it to as many people as we could. The feedback was more than encouraging, so we took a lot of power to continue recording our 1st full-length. "The Chains That Bind Us" took more that 8 months in studio, a lot of patience and a enough passion. The result was what we wanted to give to the fans. I hope they will love it...

  How easy was to finally get a contract with Sleaszy Rider? Are you happy with this deal?

Savvas:   Being a new band seems everything has to be built from "0" point. The same happened to us. The "contract" part is the most difficult part of the whole story. You have to find, to convince, to check how things are going, to negotiate some good conditions... We got in touch with many labels in and out Greece. Sleaszy Rider had the best offer for us and a very good credit; they gave us the opportunity to do everything we want without restrictions. Things are going well till now, I hope this to be continued in the future...

  And since we have some weeks that "The Chains That Bind Us" is out what are the reactions to your debut album, especially from maybe the fans of your previous bands?

Savvas:   Everyone has a good word to say... and I think this is the most important! We never believe that there would be fans from Thrash, Death, Heavy, even Epic Metal or Industrial who believe that "The Chains That Bind Us" is a CD for them!!! We believe that the music-mix in the album is good enough for everyone, there are many thinks that every Hard Music fan can love in it...

  You mention on your website that KINETIC is a thrash, power, progressive and death metal band. By listening to the album I mostly found that it is a perfect marriage of the Bay Area thrash metal (bands like TESTAMENT, the old METALLICA etc) with the modern sound of melodic death metal (DARK TRANQUILITY to mention someone). Do you agree on that and if not how would you describe the music of KINETIC?

Savvas:   In fact you`re right. But there are also elements from Power and Progressive Metal in the songs, maybe not sovereign... I think the closest description for our music is Swedish/American Death Metal with enough Power/Thrash influences... Although we dislike to "label" our music.

  How long was the composition period for "The Chains That Bind Us"? How do actually KINETIC compose?

Savvas:   It took about 1 œ years. Manolis and Stavros, our guitarists had enough material from their Brain Fade season (Brain Fade was their previous band), which was harder and faster than everything they did with the band till then. I also had many ideas, enough themes, so we "married" all these and we created a respectable song-number. For a new song`s creation usually one of us brings his ideas and all together we "build" it in rehearsal, sometimes one of us brings a complete song. I dare not say we`re typical in song writing, we just work with passion and good temper...

  The album is characterized by an amazing sound and production. Do you think that nowadays the Greek Metal bands finally can achieve sound and productions that can be compared to foreign bands? (Something that 10 years ago would be impossible)

Savvas:   As you may know, we made the production on "The Chains...", in our own studio. Stavros, our guitarist was on the sound-engineer`s chair and the rest of us over his head making him angry with the head-ache we created to him in every session, hahaha!!! We feel proud every time when someone says that there is a clear and amazing sound over the songs! Its is true that nowadays if a band has a bad production the feedback will never be good, even if the songs are the better have been written ever. Here in Greece things are getting better day by day but there is a lot of work to be done especially on the way that a band works in studio... Usually the musicians have the idea of making a good production without having any plan on how the band will be heard in the CD, I mean they go to a studio for recording having no idea of what is the best for them. Of course this is Producer`s work but if there is no producer and the band has to work together with the sound-engineer there are many things which have not to be in Destiny`s hands... We made the same, there were e.x. more that 3 different mixes for each song just to find the better result for each song. Generally I believe that we have the opportunity to be as good as the foreign bands...but we have a lot of work to do till then...

  What audience do you think that "The Chains That bind Us" is referred to? Do you think that Thrash Metal can still attract people they way it did on the 80s and a bit on the 90s?

Savvas:   "The Chains..." is a Cd for every fan likes Hard Music. The elements it includes referred to Heavy, Thrash, Death Power Metal. As about Thrash, I think many people today have the idea that this style is back, strong again and I agree. There are many new and good bands who really play a "today`s" Thrash Metal.

  Which are "The Chains That Bind Us"? By reading the lyrics I found that they are quite straightforward and a hit on the stomach sometimes. I got the sense that the lyrics talk mostly about fears that a human being has throughout his life. Are these fears these chains or you don't accept an interpretation like this?

Savvas:   Our lyrics have to do with "Human Emotions", but with the touch of Horror and Sadness. We just describe simple Human situations maybe with a straight way, as you mention... These Human situations can be described as "Chains". The chains that bind Humans...

  The band's name has to do with the fact that you try to mix all these different sub-genres of heavy metal or KINETIC has a different meaning?

Savvas:   Well, when we first created the band had the thought of ZERO as band name, having in mind that we were four persons beginning from "0" point. As this name wasn`t something perfect we have to find another one...The classic problem for a new band... The one exists, the other is ...ridiculous... so when one day Costas, our drummer had the idea of KINETIC and we found that no other metal band has it, we kept it. We liked the philosophy behind it "something that isn`t stagnant, something that is unfolded". I date say this philosophy is our life! We hate being stagnant, we like to be unfolded, so this name fits in our personality...

  You all have quite an experience on your hands. Especially you that you have been on one of the most successful underground metal bands of Greece, ACID DEATH. What would you say are the differences in starting KINETIC and ACID DEATH for example? Is it easier these days for a metal band than it was 10 years ago?

Savvas:   There are many differences between KINETIC and all our previous bands. First of all we have the same targets as band members, something that in ACID DEATH e.x. missed from one season till their end. Especially for ACID DEATH, there are differences in music style. This band was a progressive Death band with so many influences that finally everyone gets tired by hearing their songs. Now things are much better. As about how difficult are the things today...I think much more difficult. There are of course Internet, web-zines, more labels...but there are more bands than 10 years ago. So, a new band has to try hard to persuade the fans...

  How was the experience of shooting a video for 'NeverEnding Winter '? Is that something new to you or have you done that in the past as well?

Savvas:   Yes it was a new experience for every one of us. A very cool experience! You know, it`s "strange" to play the same song for 4 hours again and again seeing some cameras around you, we were laughing all the time, making director wanting to kill us... Anyway. We plan to make another one for "Heed These Words" in February.

  As for live gigs, I know you don't have anything announced on your website, but if you have any plans for the future can you share them with us? Any chance that you will tour in Europe?

Savvas:   We have many plans for lives, beginning from our country of course. We love to play live shows, we believe that a band is getting better and better by playing live shows. There is also a plan of making a tour in some countries as Germany, France, Spain and some other ones with a Austrian promoter in April or so. Things are difficult because KINETIC is a new band and everyone has the thought "Ok, just wait to see if these guys worth..." We hope to do it...

  What are the things that you would like to achieve with KINETIC that you haven't achieved with your previous bands?

Savvas:   First of all the strong friendship, which is the base. Second the real targets we have as a band and the feeling to fight for them. Especially this! And of course the way we play and create the music we like...

  Savva thanks a lot for your time. Congratulations again for the killer debut of "The Chains That Bind Us". If there is something I forgot to ask you and you want to say please do so here. Hope I will catch you more often on the boards of the band. All the best to your personal lives as well to KINETIC. Thanks

Savvas:   Thank you a lot for the interview, the enormous help from the very beginning and the friendship. Hoping to meet you sometime...