Good morning, thank you so much for answering these questions. How's everything going in Athens?
Greetings!!! Thank you for the invitation. Athens is as it is the latest years, great for tourism and depressive for locals.
1. W.E.B. was formed around 2002. However, there's a strong connection with Eternity, the band you were a part of. How did the creation of a new band parallel to Eternity come about? What were you looking for in creating W.E.B. that Eternity didn't offer? Why the name W.E.B., and what does it refer to?
This question takes me way back and thank you for making me remember those days. The actual story is as follows. As a teenager I wanted to form my own band and called it W.E.B. and I was trying to find members from anybody around the neighborhood, school etc. It was cool at the time but not exactly what I was looking for through music. Then came the years I was in Eternity, which was absolutely awesome and I felt we could go somewhere with this band. I did not stop with W.E.B. though but back then, my main priority was Eternity. When came a point I could not be in Eternity anymore and parted ways, I decided to make W.E.B. my main priority and chase my dreams. So, Eternity offered me what I wanted but obviously when I stopped being in that band, I had to find another way. The name W.E.B. is just something I came up with in my teen years. To me “Where Everything Begun” represents the source of our actions which is somewhere in our complex brain wiring.
2. Up until the release of "Darkness Alive," you've released five albums, three demos, and a couple of EPs. How would you describe the band's trajectory in its almost twenty-five years of existence? What are the best and worst moments you remember from this time?
It has been a rolercoaster with highs and lows. Too many difficult moments, sacrifices, backstabbings, endless work and at the same time amazing times with fans, successes and dreams coming true. I would say the worst period was back in 2010-2011 that the whole line up collapsed in a very bad way. There was no band, not anyone, all plans that were already posponed for no reason went way back and basicaly what I had to do was to regroup myself and start building everything again. This is why we basically started again in 2012 with the first EP and third álbum came out in 2014. Second álbum was in 2008, so you can tell there was so much going on that I had to control just by myself. Since 2012 the band changed line ups again but fortunately no change was able to stop W.E.B. anymore. The Good times are now and in the future!
3. In recent years, the band has seen a couple of new additions, Vasilis and Alexandros, and suddenly decided to release a live album. How did you arrive at the decision that it was the right time to release a live album? Does “Darkness Alive” serve as a turning point in your career, a closing chapter with your past, a way to introduce the new band members live, or simply because it was what you felt like doing at that moment?
It was mostly the simple answer you just said. We just felt like it and we did it. In the live álbum it is only Vasilis playing. Alexandros joined the band a couple of months after the live álbum recording. In the live álbum we have a sessión guitarist playing.
4. Listening to “Darkness Alive,” it seems as if everything was captured in a single concert recording. How did the recording process unfold, and how did you select the setlist? What was the most difficult aspect of recording the live album?
Exactly, it is a single concert. No second chances there. A random W.E.B. concert that anything could go wrong – many did - and the band just giving it all on stage as we always do. The setlist was basically the setlist of our most recent tours, very Little things changed. Now the recording was not difficult in particular, we cooporated with a guy that knows how to do it and we made the whole engineering together for this. The actual difficult aspecto was the mixing because a live recording has mic bleeding almost everywhere and was quite had to handle.
5. Psychon Production once again appears as the company responsible for the recording and mastering process. How would you describe the relationship between W.E.B. and Psychon Production?
We actually go way back together. Psychon was the other guitarist of Eternity actually (now guitarist of Septic Flesh) and imagine we know each other years before Eternity so, naturaly our chemistry is amazing and since we have worked together in “Tartarus” , “Colosseum” and “Into Hell Fire We Burn”, why not work together in “Darkness Alive” as well? He did a briliant job in the mix and I loved it since the first draft he sent me.
6. The sound of “Darkness Alive” lends itself to different interpretations. It's true that you've never abandoned a certain gothic element in your music, but the fact is that once you delve into the album, there are defining components like melodic death metal and symphonic black metal. How would you describe the band's current sound, and what might the future hold for W.E.B.?
I just go with the Flow of my inspiration with no limits. I never think of descriptions ect. Maybe your description is the most accurate. Back when we started the band, since I already figured that we would have such questions a lot, i said ok, let’s call this “dark metal” and incorpórate all that.
7. How did the possibility of releasing the live album as Metal Blade come about?
As you already mentioned, we were inbetween changes in the band. Very necessary changes to be honest. We were very excited about it and we had already started composing the new material for the upcoming full length. We booked some concerts for 2024 and just decided to make the live álbum and informed Metal Blade about it and all our plans. They came back with a “go for it” answer and here we are again!!
8. Often, live albums only serve to showcase the band's skills and feature a setlist that's recognizable from the start. However, they forget the connection and the importance that the audience deserves, an aspect that “Darkness Alive” manages to convey. How important is this connection with the audience for you, and what does it bring to you once you're on stage?
It is the most important element. My dream when I wanted to form a band was to make i ton stage and make people have a Good time and offer them amazing moments. You cannot have a live álbum without the people that come there to see you. All our existence and motivation comes from the audience!! We respect them and owe them so much for the honor they give us by paying for tickets, merch, their time, their words. This is without question.
9. Who designed the album cover, and how does it relate to the content?
The álbum cover is designed by Jon Toussas. He has also done the cover artwork for our latest full lenght álbum “Colosseum” and we have had him also design some of our tshirts. He is one of the greatest out there for sure and he delivers amazing Works. The theme of the cover artwork of “Darkness Alive” is quite simple. We call our fans “Demons” and as such, Jon has demons in the cover ready to devour a human and make him a Demon too, hence new fan. I like the symbolism of this artwork and how chaotic it looks.
10. You're not newcomers, and you come from Greece, a country with a long history in extreme metal. How do you think the Greek extreme metal scene has evolved in recent years? What do you think has been lost within the underground scene due to globalization and the internet? How would you describe the scene in a city like Athens?
This question can be a whole 2 hour podcast conversation you know. There are bands in Greece that many of them are of monumental historic level in global metal, not just extreme metal. I think that what keeps the local scene so strong is that there are bands with strong connection to the niche roots and tradition. So the core is there and is hot as hell.
11. Where can your fans enjoy a concert from you this year? Are you already working on new material for an upcoming album?
We have booked some summer festivals for 2026 and we already discuss for tours in 2027. As of now we are focused on the promo of “Darkness Alive” but at the same time, we are currently mixing the new full lenght álbum. Basicaly 2026 is going to be a behind the curtain working year and from 2027 onwards we aim to tour and play everywhere!
12. What were your beginnings in music like? What were the first concerts you attended, the first albums you bought? What event in your lives pushed you to want to become musicians?
I started music lessons very Young, at the age of 5. Didnt really have an interest in music back then, even when I discovere heavy metal, I just liked it as a fan. But one day a friend called me and said, you know we are going to a rehearsal studio to jam, wanna come with and maybe sing and play some guitar? I said yes, and this changed my life forever. I wanted to be with Good people and play music and then play it in public. That gave meaning to my life and still to this day is my oxygen. I had already bought some Iron Maiden, Scorpions, Manowar albums, very quickly also Mercyful Fate and Cradle of Filth also came about in my life and then the list goes on. My first concert also was Mercyful Fate in 1997 and I cannot believe that last summer I followed the King Diamond tour for a week, because as you know Hel Pyre is doing the backing vocals and playing keyboards in KD band.
13. Which album represents the essence of black metal for you? What are the most recent albums you've bought?
My personal favorite is “Cruelty and the Beast” by Cradle of Filth but I would not agree with it having the essence of black metal. I think this must be a bunch of albums by Mercyful Fate, Mayhem, Darkthrone, Emperor, Venom, Bathory, Immortal to have a Good representation of the genre. Most recent álbum I got, is “Archees Legeones” by Lloth.
15. Thank you very much for taking the time to answer these questions for Black Metal Spirit. If you'd like to add anything for W.E.B.'s followers, this is the place. I hope you enjoy the questions.
Thank you again for supporting W.E.B.
“Darkness Alive” is out there by Metal Blade in digital format and on physical digipack format by Sleaszy Rider!
Don’t forget to order “Darkness Alive” on digipack format here https://sleaszyrider.com/product/w-e-b-darkness-alive-sr-0378-digipack-pre-order/
STAY DARK
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