Guinea Pig

One more talented Greek band comes to add its brick to the ever growing Greek Metal scene. After a more than good demo CD, I thought an interview would be a pretty good way for Metal Temple's readers to get to know GUINEA PIG.

By Yiannis Dafopoulos

• January 18, 2009

Hello there. You hit us out of the blue with your demo CD. Tell us a few things about the band.

GUINEA PIG as an idea started to take form during the spring of 2007. We got together in order to jam some filthy sludge and heavy music in general. The philosophy behind the band is to play as much gigs as possible, drink lots of booze and simply have fun. If others enjoy what we do, that will be great but not an absolute necessity!

Which bands have influenced your sound? I noticed some ACID BATH and BONGZILLA elements.

We all love bands such as BLACK SABBATH, EYEHATEGOD, IRON MONKEY and ELECTRIC WIZARD so they obviously influenced our sound. Although, each of us has different musical tastes from the others. For instance, ACID BATH is one of my favourite bands, on the other hand, BONGZILLA's music, in my opinion, lacks inspiration.

Can you please explain something I didn't really understand? You say that you used stuff for your cover artwork without the creator's permission. Why is that?

We wanted to combine two paintings for the artwork but Socar Myles does not allow any digital processing (e.g. resizing, rescaling) on her paintings. Alas, we decided to use them and give full credit to Socar Myles since our demo CD is not a commercial release and is distributed freely.

How hard was it to find a vocalist for the band? I know that good throats are not to be found easily these days...

That's true; it's rather difficult to find a good vocalist combining basic music knowledge, similar musical taste with the others and a matching personality. We were lucky though, because Christos was a friend of ours and we were aware of his work with other bands, so he fitted right in. Apart from that, we also have a back-up as our drummer Andreas is a great singer as well! Seriously now, we have thought that we could use some backing vocals and it is really possible to happen in the near future.

What is the feedback you have from the press until now?

We have received mostly positive feedback from the press so far and some of them have contacted us for interviews (like your webzine). We'd like to thank all of you for your interest in GUINEA PIG.

Have you started working on stuff for a possible upcoming full-length release or is it too early to talk about such things?

As a matter of fact, yes, we have four new songs and working on some more. A full-length release, a split release and taking part in some compilations are included in our future plans during next year but we will give you more info as soon as something is finalised for sure.

I would like you to tell us a few things about your lyrics like who writes them and what do they talk about...

Christos and Andreas write the lyrics until now. They mostly describe the horror of our every day lives in a metaphorical way. Some are products of suppressed and repressed feelings, while others express violence and hate.

I guess you are now trying to schedule shows to promote your demo and have people see you. How many shows have you given until now?

We have performed four live shows so far and we're looking forward to playing more of course. The only problem is that most of our members have regular jobs and is quite difficult to have a tour or an out of town live in weekdays.

The last years there has been a great production of talented bands in the Greek Metal scene. Are there any new bands that have attracted your attention? Except for REVOLTING BREED of course, hehehe, which by the way kick major ass!

Unfortunately, there is no production at all of Sludge bands in Greece, apart from 2-3 exceptions. I like and I listen to many Greek bands, as for new ones, some of those who I really admire and waiting for even more to come are BROTHERHOOD OF SLEEP, BAD TRIP, SARABANTE, HEAVENSORE, LUCKY FUNERAL, 1000MODS and more.

Why do you think a Greek Metal band can't easily reach the premier league of the Metal scene?

In order to reach the premier league you are referring to, in my opinion, two conditions are required: First of all, you must write great and inspiring music which should be performed live as well. Additionally, you should make your band a top priority in your life and have the publicity in your veins which requires lots of things, such as time and money (especially if you don't have a major label in your back). Most Greek bands don't combine these requirements and as a matter of fact most of them try to reach the 'premier league' lacking the first condition; which is rather funny and sad. However, I disagree with the whole 'premier league' thing and I believe that if a band is any good, it will find its way to the right listeners who will appreciate its work.

Thanks a lot for your time and I hope that you keep on kicking our asses for a long time to come. Is there anything last you would like to add?

We would like to thank you for your interest in GUINEA PIG and giving us the chance to do this interview! We also need to thank everyone who has supported us in any way so far. Stay tuned for there are more to come!

www.myspace.com/revengeoftheguineapig

www.revengeoftheguineapig.com/

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