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ACID DEATH is a very experimental Death Metal band from Greece. Their first full-length CD, namely "Pieces Of Mankind", was out in 1997 on METAL MAD MUSIC. ACID DEATH consists of the following members: Savvas-Jake Betinis on bass and vocals, Dennis Kostopoulos on lead/rhythm guitars & keyboards, Themis Catsimihas on lead and rhythm guitars (recently he quitted the band) and Costas Tsombanos on drums. The quartet have put aside the pure Death/Thrash sound of the band's early days, giving their music a more technical direction, resulting to sound aggressive in a sophisticated and mysterious way. Dark melodies, aggression and technical abilities are the qualities giving ACID DEATH the chance for making the big step... Take a journey to the dimension of technical and mysterious solutions together with ACID DEATH. Savvas-Jake will your travelling companion on this trip.
Tell us about the beginning. Had you played in any bands before ACID DEATH?
- Well, most of us didn't have any previous experience in a band. We created this band back in 1990 because we loved to play music, the music we like. Our drummer, Costas, only had a small experience before he come to us by playing in a Speed Metal band called APARENTLY DEAD, a band which has splited some years before.
You have very unusual music for Greece. What's your musical influences?
- Sometime we played pure THRASH/DEATH, like SODOM, POSSESSED and stuff like this. Our influences became more open-minded since the years passed. Today we like to give mention to more parts of ROCK generally. We like bands like DREAM THEATER, FATES WARNING or CANSAS and also bands like NAPALM DEATH, CARCASS or DEATH. This is clear in our music which doesn't sound like typical DEATH METAL or something. We like this feeling...
Explain us the lyrical conception of every song (very interesting names).
- Generally we like to talk about many and different things in our songs, things who annoy us, or things who make us feel like beast, or even some fantastic stories. All these with a touch of psychedelism. E.x. in "In The Frost", a man got crazy because of his loneliness, or in "Reappearing Freedom" you can see a different idea about Jesus Christ...
It seems to me that majority of Greek bands have ties with Magus Wampyr Daoloth from NECROMANTIA and with such band like ROTTING CHRIST. Have you any connection with these bands?
- Magus is a very good friend of mine... sometime we had very good relationship, but because of our personal works we can't see each other as often we want. The same happens with Sakis from ROTTING CHRIST. Especially with him. We may have to see each other for months but when I meet him in a club or everywhere we can talk for hours drinking beers or any other stuff... I love both these guys and I believe they love what they do!
Tell us more about the Greek underground.
- Some years before we had many and good bands. The unforgetable SEPTICEMIA, MORTAL PAIN, HORRIFIED, MEDIEVAL DEATH and more don't exist anymore. Today only few bands worth to do something. It's strange but I feel like an old man who see his children taking the wrong way in life....
Your music is very professional and technical. Have you studied in some musical colleges and from what age you start to play on musical instruments?
- We try to do our best in music. Fans say that we are playing really technical or we're very good musicians. We don't believe that. Of course we have spend enough time studying music but we could do it better if we had enough time. We started playing on our instruments 8-10 years before, without any help from any music-college, just some help from some older musicians. Anyway...
Your land has a very ancient history and interesting mythology. Do you like to read about this? And what do you like to read in general?
- Everyone has to know his country's history. We like to read about this. Generally we like to read when there is some free time. We prefer titles coming from horror and mystery, like Stefen King.
Your opinion about:
a.) Band AVULSED that was in split with you - A typical DEATH METAL band from Spain.
b.) Cronos from VENOM - BLACK-FATHER-METAL!!!
c.) Solo albums of Tom Angelripper - I can't help laughing!!!
d.) CELTIC FROST's album "Cold Lake" - !!!!!!!!!!!!
e.) ROTTING CHRIST's "Dead Poem" - Fucking great!!!
f.) Unidentified Flying Objects - Maybe we're something like these.
g.) Occultism (It seems to me that majority of Greek bands are crazy about it) - Something interesting for some people...
h.) J.R.R. Tolkien's "Silmarilion" - A dead Poem....!!!!
What was your first bass guitar and what kind of bass guitar you use now?
- I begun playing bass in a WESTSOUND four-string bass-guitar. It was terrible!!! Some months ago I throw it away and I bought one of the first ARIA PRO models came in Greece. This bass exists somewhere in my house. Now I'm playing with a custom 5-string bass made by IOANNIDIS the most popular Greek bass manufacturer in Greece. And of course I won't throw it away!!!!
Would you like to make gig in Ukraine in the future?
- Why not!!!!
Final chapter...
- Thank you a lot for this interview. Get in touch with us. Wait for our new material released in 1999, or look for our "Pieces Of Mankind" CD.
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