When it comes to traditional heavy metal, Greece is almost equal to Scandinavia: With Firewind the country brought forth one of the most successful power metal bands in all of Europe. Furthermore the country is home to the infamous „Up The Hammers“ festival, one of the world’s most important breeding grounds of underground metal. With CRIMSON FIRE, another band fully commited to carrying the torch of old school metal emerged from the land of myths and gods. The group got signed to No Remorse Records recently and now is set to release its third album called „Another Dimension“. We seized the opportunity to talk to guitarist Stelios Koutelis.
Hi Stelios and thanks a lot for taking time for this interview! We are living in weird times. How are you doing?
Thank you for having me! Indeed times are strange and we can only hope for the better in the future. Things in Greece have been hectic with the fires and the COVID pandemic. However, the band is doing fine for now and we can’t wait for the album release on the 27th August!
Five years have passed since the release of your last album „Fireborn“. What has been happeing for CRIMSON FIRE since then?
It seems like a long time, but, trust me, it really wasn’t. We spent a couple of years promoting „Fireborn“ by playing live shows, ending in an amazing roadtrip to Munich and Trveheim festival in 2018 and a good spot supporting Cloven Hoof in Athens. After that, we had about two years prepairing the material for „Another Dimension“. COVID restrictions didn’t help and I think that’s why we took our time with this album. However, the end result was worth it.
With „Another Dimension“ your new album is about to be released. What can you tell us about the record?
You can expect a different atmosphere alltogether. When we were composing the material for the record we sat down and decided we would love to do a record that sounds like us but with a different touch. So, we experimented with synthesizers and keyboards adding layers to the songs, lots of guitar parts (!) and vocal harmonies. In a way, we wanted to bring the 80s to the present.
How did the songwriting and recording for „Another Dimension“ go down?
We had three main composers who braught their ideas in for discussion: me, John and Dinos. John writes on his own, so when he brings a song in, it is usually finished. We just had some additions to two of his songs. Dinos had some songs which we worked on and changed them as much as we could to fit the band’s style. Myself and Dinos work well together and like to refine the songs, adding and removing parts to our taste. For example, we wrote a new song together from scratch. I had some older ideas I was working on that fit the album perfectly. That’s pretty much it. I own a home studio in Athens and that helped a lot with the recordings. It was there we recorded the bass, guitars and vocals for the album. We also worked closely with Terry Nikas (Scar of the Sun, Suicidal Angels etc.) who was in charge of tracking the drums and mixing „Another Dimension“.
The artwork for your new album was created by renowned German artist Andreas Marschall who has worked for some of the most legendary power metal bands. What was it like working with him?
It was something we couldn’t believe and we were extremely honored to be able to work with a legend of the industry. Our co-operation was easy and swift. We had an idea of the kind of cover we wanted to do and when we described it to Andreas he immediately came up with a rough scetch. We felt it was exactly what we had in mind and decided to go for it! The final result was more than we could ask for. Exquisite detail, colors and overall atmosphere.
With Nikos Efetzis you recently recruited a new guitar player. How did that come to pass?
In early 2021 George Prattos told me that he was busy with his personal life and he lacked the time to be involved in the band’s commitments. He also had a different idea of the direction the new material was moving towards. We had a short talk and decided we would no longer work together. It was all in a friendly mood and we would really like to thank him for his help and input in Crimson Fire. Nick soon covered the position and we are more than excited to have him aboard as he is an excelent person and a trully gifted musician.
What do you talk about in the lyrics of the new album?
Many things, some tracks like ‚Judas‘ have a more „religious“ vibe to them. For example, ‚Walking Into The Light‘ is about the eternal battle between god and the devil (or good and evil if you like). Other songs have an 80s nostalgia theme. Some are about being on the road and giving every ounce of your soul to achieve your goals in music. We usually like to have a comment on society today in a couple songs in our albums. That’s more or less it.
What other bands and genres influence your sound the most?
That’s a tough one. I would say bands like Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe have had a huge impact on our sound, and it is exactly that mix of USA and European Metal that gives our sound a nostalgic, yet „edgy“ feeling. As far as other influences go, I can say for sure we love Riot, Queensryche, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and many many more.
The COVID-19 pandemic affects all areas of life but it seems that touring bands and venues are hit especially hard. How do you feel about this almost one and a half year into the situation?
I agree. To me it seems like live music, venues and people involved in live music production have taken the brunt of the pandemic. Of course labels and sales faced many adversities as well, but, in the end, commerce has ways and channels to survive such a decline in activity. For CRIMSON FIRE I would say that COVID restrictions in the long term is troubling news because we are really adamant about a European tour in 2022.
Once touring is possible again: Is there a chance we’re going to see CRIMSON FIRE in Germany?
Definitely! As I said we are really interested in booking a European tour in 2022. The plan is to open for a well-known band we love and play medium venues. Of course, we are mindful of the COVID situation, but for us the end justifies the means, so we are really optimistic about our plans. Germany is one of our top goals for sure and we can’t wait to see you all on the road!
Thank you for the interview! Please let us do a short brainstorming in the end of this interview. What comes in your mind first reading the following terms:
Lockdown:Scheiße (hahahaha)
Underground: our birthplace and a hope for the future of Metal
Up The Hammers: don’t miss it!
Firewind: talent and hard work pay off
CRIMSON FIRE in 10 years: top of the world!
Once again thanks for your time. The last words are yours – is there anything left you want to tell our readers?
Thank you for the interview and thanks to our fans and friends in Germany! „Another Dimension“ will be out on the 27th August via No Remorse Records and in the meantime you can get a taste of the opening track ‚Judas‘ on YouTube.
31. August 2021 Thomas Meyns
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