Interview

Nightrage's Marios Iliopoulos Talks New Album "The Puritan"

Nightrage's latest album "The Puritan" just saw official release today, filled with heavy riffs, emotional melodies, and brutal vocal hooks.

Marios Iliopoulos checked in with us to discuss the ins and outs of the album, from writing to recording at Dug Out Productions and on to shooting a series of music videos for the album.

Summing the theme of the new disc succinctly, Marios comments, "No matter what happens, always following your heart in life, in ups and downs, never stop fighting, believing in yourself and on your ideals. Even if the whole world is against you, you need to be able to stand up and fight for yourself."

Read on for the full interview with the Greek guitarist, along with music taken from the freshly released full-length.

xFiruath: When did writing for this new album take place and what does that process typically look like for Nightrage?

Marios: Well we have started writing the songs for ”The Puritan” way before we have entered the studio. The composing process also took longer time than expected since we wanted to make sure that we have the right songs and also we are ready with the material before entering the studio. Everything begins at my home recording studio where I'm doing all those home made demos with rough guitars and digital drums. Then Ronnie coming into the picture where we sit down discussing and writing together all texts and lyrics. Ronnie takes care of all his vocal melodies and then we are finishing everything in the actual recording studio where we are performing and recording, guitars, drums bass, vocals and all the parts down.

xFiruath: Have you seen many reviews yet and what has the reaction been? Have you seen any interesting takes on the music you didn't anticipate?

Marios: Yeah we have seen a lot of cool feedback so far from the press and also the fans seem to like the new album a lot. We are very pleased with all the positive reactions and we cant wait to see more of that when the album is released this Friday at the 24th of April worldwide. Something that draws our attention was the fact that almost all the reviews talk about the fact that we still maintain the heritage of the vintage melodic death metal and we are true followers of that particular style, putting all our efforts to write good songs. Also another fact that has surprised us is that a lot of those reviews give us respect for the fact that we continue to play the music no matter what. They are talking about the longevity of the band and that also we have stood the test of time, that we didn’t let down ourselves and our fans, and that means a lot to us.

xFiruath: You recorded at Dugout Studios – how did the recording process go and what sort of input did Daniel Bergstrand and George Nerantzis have on the album?

Marios: Yeah it was an awesome experience for us to get to work with such an amazing producer like Daniel Bergstrand, and I can tell you that I feel honored that we got to work with him and also his great co-producer George Nerantzis. The collaboration that we had with Daniel Bergstrand and George Nerantzis at Dugout Studios made all the difference in the world, and for me, felt that for the first time we have found finally some people that love our music. They are born to care, and they were willing to work their asses of to make the album as good as possible. So this mentality overall really helped us as songwriters and performers to do the best we could, and also really helped the album having that big sound. They helped us with all song arrangements to fine tune them and also they had some really great ideas for the songs.

xFiruath: Can you give me a run down of the lyrical themes and overall ideas on the album's tracks?

Marios: The lyrics and also the ideas of our new album “The Puritan” are very symbolic and we want to express our passion for our beloved music. To be able to be yourself, reaching your goals with humility, and also being honest and delivering the music that comes out from your heart. This time on the lyrical side, we tried to reach the essence of the human soul and dig a bit deeper. We are dealing with situations that are very personal and at the same can reach to anybody’s soul. We are trying to talk about those kinds of themes in a more poetic way. We love that the fans can find their own meanings in the lyrics and interpret them on their own life situations. We believe that lyrics are very important along with our music and we are paying extra attention to write some good lines. The lyrics on the new album wanna show and deliver the message that you never have to give up your own dreams. No matter what happens, always following your heart in life, in ups and downs, never stop fighting, believing in yourself and on your ideals. Even if the whole world is against you, you need to be able to stand up and fight for yourself.

xFiruath: Musically what's different this time around and what will remain more similar for long-time fans?

Marios: Musically the differences from the previous albums I think is that this time we have focused more on the music and the songs, rather putting many guests on the album. We wanted to keep the focus on the Nightrage name and on us as songwriters and musicians, because I think that line up we have now feels for me the strongest that we have ever had. And also you can hear this on the album that we are feeling free and happy to be back doing what we love to do. So “The Puritan” is the outcome of another great struggle. The songs are even simpler and the sound we have this time, it´s the best and most raw sound that we have ever had. Also the change of the recording studio, getting away from Studio Fredman after many albums recording there, felt like a new challenge for us, as we decided to record at Dugout Productions studio. They gave us the most brutal and raw and melodic sound that we always wanted. This is the album for us that really defines who we are, and why we still loving to play this sort of music. The new album speaks for itself. On one hand we are still the same band and we are doing what we have done all those years, so the longtime fans understand that it’s us and we are back stronger than ever before. On the other hand, we have evolved and finally found ourselves musically. We are writing way more mature songs and the best is yet to come.

xFiruath: You've released a music video for “Stare Into Infinity” already - what's going on in the story of the video?

Marios: We shot that video at Uppsala with Magnus Ewald; it was an awesome experience to work with him. He is a friend of our producer Daniel Bergstrand from whom I got introduced to. He is a new guy in the business but he has great ideas and a great team of people that he is working with. We shot 2 music videos in 2 days and we started with “Kiss Of A Sycophant” and the next day we shot “Stare Into Infinity.” It was many hours of hard work but it was worth it in the end, and we are very happy with the outcome. I mean we didn’t have unlimited budget for the 2 videos, but still Magnus has done a really great job under the time and money circumstances. We had the most fun on the shootings, and the “Stare” video we had to shoot outside running in the cold. Also, that is the first time that we have a story in any of our videos, and I want to thank Daniel Mohlen for acting and doing a great job on it. On the story, there is this guy Daniel that is wandering and roaming the streets like he is absolutely numb to the world. We wanted to show that desperation and fear of what this guy is going through. We wanted to portray how he feels wandering alone on the streets, feeling much pain and loneliness. He is haunted by his past and he can’t forget all the pain that his friends caused to him. He is under great stress and he is “staring into infinity” trying to find a meaning for his life.

xFiruath: What does the band have lined up as far as shows and festival appearances to support the album?

Marios: Yeah we are working on this right now and we have several ideas for touring in Asia/Australia, Europe and North/South America, but no confirmed shows so far. Our aim is to play as many shows as possible and spread the word for our new album “The Puritan.”

xFiruath: On a similar note, what shows have you been to in recent memory and are there any bands you've seen that are really killing it live lately?

Marios: I'm always going to live shows and I´m still a music fan and love to hear and check out new bands. I like Always War a lot, our singer Ronnie Nyman’s other band. Also recently have seen Gus G. solo band and that was a great show. The last show that was really memorable was Ozzy at Stockholm...really cool show and a great performance from madman himself.

xFiruath: Is Anders still active with Dragonland at this point?

Marios: Yeah he is still into Dragonland as he loves that power metal style. Ronnie also has another project band, Tria, and Always War.

xFiruath: What music have you been digging lately outside the Nightrage album?

Marios: I listen to every kind of music that my ears like. I like to explore and listen to other types of music like movie soundtracks that I find really inspiring. I mean, you have to be open minded when it comes to music and search for new cool stuff that makes you feel good. I´m listening to all the new metal releases and checking out whats going on. I like Omnium Gatherum a lot, such a great band. Also of course all the great big bands like Iron Maiden Testament, Metallica etc. Mainly old school metal will always make it for me.

xFiruath: Anything else you'd like to add?

Marios: Thanks a lot for the interview and the interest in the band and our new album ”The Puritan.” Hope all your readers will like it, go and buy ”The Puritan” and support Nightrage. Can’t wait to see you all out there on our forthcoming shows. Be well and keep the metal flag alive and well.