Band Interview: Marios Iliopoulos of Nightrage

Games, Brrraaains & A Head-Banging Life are very proud to being you an interview with founder & guitarist of legendary Greek/Swedish heavy metal band, Nightrage!

We are huge fans of the band & have reviewed several of their albums & singles to date. Check them all out below:

Album Review: Insidious
Album Review: The Puritan

Single Review: The Venomous (The Venomous)
Single Review: Affliction (The Venomous)

Album Review: The Venomous

Single Review: In Abhorrence (The Venomous)
Single Review: Bemoan (The Venomous)

1. Tell us a little about Nightrage’s history. You’ve been going for quite a long time!

Yeah we started (me and my buddy Gus G), back in the day in Thessaloniki Greece, 17 years and we have done a lot of stuff so far. 7 full length albums and several tours and shows around the world. We have gotten a lot of experience all these years of playing and the band also established a signature sound that we are very proud of. Through our history things have gotten a bit tough at times and we had to cross between peaks and valleys, but our passion and love for pure metal delivery is what kept us alive all these years on this metal marathon. I´m happy also for the fact that now we have a nice line up in the band with passionate people that are all on the same page.

2. How would you describe the band’s sound to a brand new listener?

It’s a mix of styles I think and we are trying to incorporate our influences in such a way that will sound like Nightrage in the end. So I would say to a listener that is pure metal with a dose of modern and old school influences. With Nightrage we are first and foremost fans of what we are playing and everything is coming from our hearts. We don’t like to follow shitty trends that every band is trying to jump on to make it. We want to create an experience for the listener that will stay with them, and we are always trying to improve as songwriters and musicians.

3. The Venomous has pushed Nightrage to even higher levels then previously. What is it about the record that has grabbed so many people’s attention?

I think the fact that the songs are simpler and straight forward, we are not doing tricks to impress anybody. It is just honest songwriting with a great metal attitude. I don’t want to sound like a preacher here & I don’t like to force anything in people’s faces. The fact is that we are loving to death the stuff we are doing. We want to connect with our audience with the best of intentions. We are really happy that the stuff we do grabs people´s attention and they give us back all the love and support we definitely need, because without an audience you are nothing, so we owe them a lot.

4. What inspirations lie behind the sound of The Venomous?

It´s just all the ugliness and all the horrible things that we are experiencing nowadays, innocent killings in the name of a god, bad blood, wars, hatred, racism. We get affected by everything we see and we wanted to write something about it. We believe though that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Its up to us to make the change for the better. We are the cure for the poison we spit.

5. Has the rise of YouTube & music streaming helped or hindered you as a band?

Well YouTube is humongous and it´s actually the second largest search engine in the world after Google. I think it’s the natural thing to happen in the music industry and it’s called evolution. You can´t do nothing about it and you have to embrace it for what it is. If you ask me I think it’s a great thing and really push forward the industry and bands get connected way better with a new audience that would be almost impossible back in the day if you really think about it.

I mean all these kids that probably don’t give a crap about CD and Vinyl, they are listening to your shit through YouTube and Spotify with their mobile phones. I like to follow the evolution so we don’t get left behind, and if that’s how people like to listen to music, I like that. Personally I don’t really care how they are listening, as long they listen to the music.

6. What do you enjoy doing when you’re not making music?

I like to hang out with my friends going for a walk, talking nonsense and having a great time. Also going to the cinema, and travelling as well.

7.What are your future plans musically? Tours? We’re desperate for a UK tour!

Working on new shows now and we really want to get out there and play the new songs for our fans. Thanks a lot for the support and the great interview, and we hope to see you all soon in UK and have the best of time.

Maximum respect.

We’d like to thank Marios for taking the time to speak with us. 

The Venomous is available now on all the usual streaming services including Apple Music below. You can and should also pick up a physical copy, along with some cool merch from Despotz Records. Check out the band on Facebook for more information on them and the new album. Why not give them a like or follow too to stay up to date, either there or on the band’s Twitter or even both.