Why did you move from Greece to Sweden?

Marios Iliopoulos :   It was after my old band EXHUMATION broke up. I felt disappointed, I felt I didn't have a future playing metal in Greece anymore because the guys in the band weren't so professional to continue playing music. I understood there is no future for me in metal in Greece if I wanted to play music. I decided to move to Sweden after I formed the band with Gus G. in December of 2000 in Greece, so I wanted to find like-minded musicians and I moved permanently to Sweden. I've been in Sweden for four years right now and everything with NIGHTRAGE went really well, we've released two albums so far and the future looks bright for us.

  How hard is it to try and be NIGHTRAGE, to remain true to yourself, without being too Gothenburg, too influenced by the sound and scene around you?

Marios Iliopoulos :   We tried to keep this 80s metal thing going like bands like Maiden and Testament and old Metallica had in their albums. Of course, we're influenced from modern bands as well. I think that it is because Tomas Lindberg is singing in the band, and is a legend in the scene, playing with AT THE GATES. That gave the impression to people, but I really believe that the fact that my influences are coming from old metal, I think it adds some sort of an interesting sound to the stuff we do with NIGHTRAGE.

  What are your past influences - the stuff you grew up on - and what are some of your current influences?

Marios Iliopoulos :   I like newer bands like SOILWORK or STRAPPING YOUNG LADS, or SLIPKNOT, sometimes I like that type of music as well. I don't think I can see such influences on our sound. I like the energy and the brutality that these bands have, but with NIGHTRAGE, we try to keep things very simple and metal at the same time. We don't want to soften the sound of the band, that's the truth, and I think we try to keep that metal feeling all over the album. We want to sound very heavy but melodic at the same time. It is a struggle between brutality and melody. We put these two characteristics together in NIGHTRAGE.

  You weren't too happy with Tom S. Englund (EVERGREY) singing on your first album "Sweet Vengence". Was it the same with DARK TRANQUILITY’s Mikael Stanne on "Descent into Chaos"?

Marios Iliopoulos :   We told them at the time that I was the main vocalist, the clean vocalist, on the demos and the first album with NIGHTRAGE. I attempted to make the clean vocals better and our label and our producer at the time didn't like it too much, they said I'm sounding too romantic or something like that, so they had the idea to bring Tom Englund. To me, that sounded a little strange, the whole thing. But I never thought that he's going to play on our album, also I didn't think at the same time that he fitted with our music. At the end of the day, I think everybody was happy with his performance on the album, including me, and he's a good vocalist and an exceptional songwriter, but I don't think that kind of thing will happen in the future on NIGHTRAGE recordings. At the time, it was very tough for me, because we weren't signed on the Century Media and I felt a little pressure and everything was very tough. I stepped back for a little while and let that be done, that's all. With the new album, that was a mutual idea between me and our label. Since I know the guy well, it wasn't so hard to ask him and convince him to do the job. It was a kind of experiment, I guess, that worked out in end. We have only one song that needed some clean vocals, so I asked Mikael to help us.

  Your lyrics don't just seem to be idle words, they're more interesting. What inspires you? Do you write your lyrics for music you've written or the music for lyrics you've written - or both?

Marios Iliopoulos :   Mostly I'm writing music first, but sometimes it is the opposite. It is just a matter of inspiration. This time, the lyrics are more diverse and they have to do with the fact - the title track, especially - we as human beings are we so distracted sometimes and have bad feelings for each other, hate for our fellow humans. I'm trying to find ways why that's happening and why we became like that. I'm putting some questions out there that are sometimes for me very difficult even to answer to them. Also, there are some other songs that are inspired from some personal matters and I'm thinking how, at the end of the day, someone after a lot of hardship has the ability to fulfill his dreams of a lifetime, actually. Also the fact that we have to stay true to ourselves and stay human in such a cruel world we're living in.

  How has completely changing your rythm section changed NIGHTRAGE?

Marios Iliopoulos :   I thought after we released the first album, “Sweet Vengence”, that we had a problem with the section. We didn't have any drummer and our bass player was never interested to play in the band, so we began a search for a bass player and a drummer. I'm really happy to announce that we have a new drummer now and a new bass player finally in the band. The main core of the band remains the same: me, Gus, and Tomas. With the addition of these two guys we finalized the lineup. You can hear it on the album, there's a team spirit there, it has helped us a lot to make our sound tighter and heavier. Especially with our new drummer Fotis Benardo, he used to be an extreme drummer for the great band SEPTIC FLESH and I can tell you that he's an exceptional drummer and we worked a lot together until we finalized the drum arrangements. He's an awesome talent and I think that, soon, people will begin to realize his abilities. I'm very happy to have a drummer like him - it is like a dream come true, yanno.

  Sounds like you've finally found the right chemistry.

Marios Iliopoulos :   Exactly! It took me a while until I found the right guys, but finally it worked out! I'm so very, very happy to play with these guys because everybody is caring about the band and also the fact that we are three guys from Greece and two Swedish guys probably, to me, is almost like a perfect blend between Greece and Sweden.

  You permanently moved from Greece to Sweden. How difficult was it for you to do?

Marios Iliopoulos :   I can say that it was one of the hardest decisions in my life. Leaving everything behind me, in the name of metal. I really believed in my music and I have this dream to play with a band where we have a future, at least. In Greece, it is a dead end to play metal. There's no metal scene there, it is very difficult. After a lot of experience playing for a lot of years in Greece, I understand that I had to do something else. I can tell you that it was really difficult and that there was a lot of hardship here in Sweden, working shit jobs and changing apartments six times in a short period of time, stuff like that. I never let down the dream that I had to continue with the band's activities. I'm really happy to have the chance to release the second album and with the band's lineup stable. To me, that means a lot.

  So you're finally heading to where you set out to go, then?

Marios Iliopoulos :   Exactly! It took me a while, I faced a lot of difficulties. But it has started to pay off and I feel really good about that.

  How's your Swedish?

Marios Iliopoulos :   Pretty good, I can read and I can write quite well. I can speak as well, but I need a little more time. It is a difficult language, actually. But it isn't any problem at all here, because everyone speaks English fluently, so it is going ok.

  European feedback has been quite positive so far, how has the reaction been from North America?

Marios Iliopoulos :   From what I've seen and some of the reviews and emails I'm getting from the States, the feeling is very positive. Especially in Canada, we have a lot of fans. I really wish that we would make it in the States in the fall, playing some shows. That will be another dream come true for me! I want to promote our music in the States. I think especially now with bands like SHADOWS FALL and LAMB OF GOD, this style is getting more popular in America. I hope the fans will like our new album “Descent into Chaos” and give us a chance.

  How about the reaction from Australia?

Marios Iliopoulos :   I get some emails from some Australian fans, they like the song from our website. It would be very cool to play there! It all depends on sales and stuff like that. I wish that the fans there support us, so we have more chances to play in Australia.

  Will you be playing any festivals this summer?

Marios Iliopoulos :   We have some interest to play in some European festivals and we have a lot of offers to play an European tour, which will take place in September, I think, either as a headliner band or supporting a bigger band. We're going to make some dates in England in May, and should have time to play some dates in the States and Japan, after September/October, I think.

  Any comments?

Marios Iliopoulos :   I want to thank you for giving us the chance to have an interview with Bleeding for Metal. I wish that our German fans will like the new album and we're looking forward to play and meet all of them!