THE SILENT WEDDING: "Music is a path to find our peace of mind and serenity of the soul"
Greek quintet THE SILENT WEDDING already crossed my musical path back in 2018, when I had the pleasure to see them opening for THRESHOLD, so the recent announcement of them releasing new music brought back great memories, and left me with anticipation. Meanwhile, their record "Ego Path" is out for a month, and offered the perfect opportunity to make another stop in Athens, where we meet with their keyboarder John for a chat.
Band-Links: WEBSITE / BANDCAMP / INSTAGRAM / FACEBOOK
Welcome to learn more about their name, background, and the amazing cover artwork here:
Hey John, thanks for making time to answer my questions today. Could you please introduce THE SILENT WEDDING to our readers?
Hello, and thank you for having us! We are a heavy metal band from Athens, Greece. Our sound can be described as melodic heavy metal with prog & power influences. So far, we have released a self-titled EP in 2008 and three full-length albums: “Livin’ Experiments” in 2013, “Enigma Eternal” in 2017, and most recently “Ego Path”.
Your new record "Ego Path" is out since February 11th. How do you feel about it, and how was the reception so far?
We feel extremely happy and somehow relieved that this album is finally out. You know that the pandemic has made all the things around music and art in general move slowly. This also happened to us. We were ready to release "Ego Path" a year ago, but we had to reschedule due to the conditions worldwide. That’s why we are very proud of this “child” of ours.
As for the reception, it is unbelievably amazing! We didn’t expect something like this. Thank you all!
That's awesome, and well deserved. What can you tell us about the origins of your eye-catching cover artwork, and how does it reflect the album thematically?
What can we say about “The” great Travis Smith? The artwork is once more his job. Like in the two previous ones, he's done his best. It is a magnificent work of art, and perfectly depicts the deeper meaning and the main idea around the album’s concept. By trying to find yourself, it is easy to bury your head in the ground and stay there, helpless and frightened. This album has the artwork that suits it better.
Could you dive a bit into the album’s topics with us, please?
The main theme is around the path of ego: The effort for each one of us trying to find out who we really are. This road has many obstacles ahead, and many demons that we must exorcise if we wish to find the light, the end of the tunnel, the completeness, and finally the salvation. The understanding passes through various antitheses: light and darkness - life and death - joy and sorrow. This is the path you must follow to find out your true self. Your true ego.
Not an easy path indeed... Let’s make a little time trip. When and how did you guys get together?
Marios (Vocals) and Jim (Guitars/Samples) have been playing together in various rock bands for over a decade before forming THE SILENT WEDDING. Soon after, Johnny (Keyboards) and Renos (Drums) joined the band in 2009 and 2010 respectively. George (Bass) is the newcomer who joined us in 2020, right before the pandemic.
How did you come up with your name, and is there a deeper meaning behind “The Silent Wedding” for you?
Back then, during the formation of the band, we had a conversation about which different genres and styles we were listening to. So we decided that this group would be a “wedding”, a “marriage” between several individuals with their unique style and their own musical personality - A secret contract let’s say. We still believe the same.
The deeper meaning behind is that you need to mix all the opinions, all the differences to take the best out of each member. Only then, you will get the best result.
Where do you see your main influences?
We are all listening to many different styles of heavy metal and rock music in general. But the fact is that we are swirling around a main core of bands that affect us. Kamelot, Evergrey, Nevermore, and of course the mighty Savatage are main influences for us. Now if you'd ask each band member, you'll hear names from Iron Maiden and Metallica to Nightwish, Evanescence and Slayer! We subconsciously might have taken something from them too.
That's an interesting mix indeed. Could you briefly describe your writing and recording process, please?
Our writing process is a bit unusual, as we can write in all kinds of combinations that might exist! First come the lyrics, then the main melody, and then the whole idea. Or music first, then the lyrics, and after that the main melody and the idea. Sometimes, the whole idea comes at once, and so on... This is something we enjoy very much cause the whole procedure keeps us alive, giving us inspiration to move on.
All our recordings have taken place in the Underground Music Studios of our guitarist and main composer Jim. It is our personal studio let’s say, so we feel comfortable and confident to record there. We follow the good old, traditional recipe: drums first, then the bass, guitars, keyboards, and vocals in the end.
Let’s talk about THE SILENT WEDDING live: You’ve toured Greece and Europe several times, played concerts and festivals sharing stage with bands like Saxon, Firewind and Threshold. What was your most memorable show so far?
It is very difficult for me to choose one out of so many wonderful shows we've played. Can I say two? :-) The first one was with Saxon in Thessaloniki, Greece back in 2014. The crowd was massive and we didn’t expect such feedback. The photo we took with all the members of Saxon and the “never surrender” advice that came out of Biff’s mouth are precious gifts we hold dear.
The other memorable one was during our second tour with Threshold in 2018. It happened in Mannheim, Germany, where we played for the first time, but it felt like we'd have been there for all our lives! We couldn’t believe the participation during the show and the love after. Unforgettable moments...
That's awesome! I’m really impressed by the number of great bands and new music coming from Greece at the moment. How would you describe your local rock / metal scene? And did you notice changes over the past years?
Over the past few years, the Greek scene developed to one of the most powerful in Europe, always giving amazing albums and bands that keep the fire burning and the hope alive. I'm very proud that THE SILENT WEDDING belong to this great family. The changes over the years have to do with professionalism and the greater knowledge around music technology. These two factors played a vital role for the blooming of the Greek heavy metal scene.
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What can you tell us about your future plans?
We are going to play our release live show for "Ego Path" on April 15th in Athens. The moment we will get back on stage has finally arrived! Then we will discuss the possibility of a European tour, and we hope that we can visit our favorite venues once more, as well as many new ones of course. It is a thrilling thought, and we are eager to make it real!
That's indeed something to look forward to, would be great to catch you live again. Do you have any further thoughts you’d like to share here?
I'd like to wish for peace, health and prosperity throughout the whole world. Music is a path to find our peace of mind and serenity of the soul. Thank you for your hospitality and we will see you out there soon! Stay heavy!!!
Band-Links: WEBSITE / BANDCAMP / INSTAGRAM / FACEBOOK
You're most welcome :-) Thanks again for your time, and all the best for you and your musical plans \m/
