Demon Prayers come from Lamia and are a proud part of the ever-moving Greek Thrash metal scene, giving as many shows as possible to support their material so far. Their latest great album “Evoke The Pain” came out earlier this year and Metalpaths caught up with the bands’ frontman Alex Bonias (vocals, bass)
– John Savvidis
1) Hello there Alex. First thing first give us some information concerning the history of Demon Prayers
– Alex: Hello there John and thank you very much for this opportunity to say a few words about my band! We were formed back in 2009 and when started as a band we had a different line-up. George Dimitrakakis (ex-member) was the lead guitarist and vocalist, i was playing the bass and did the back vocals, Bill was playing the guitar and Stelios was behind the drumset. After a couple of years the line-up changed and now i sing and play the bass,Panos is the lead guitarist and the other two guys remained at their posts! After that change we had three releases a demo, an EP and an album!
2) How would you describe your style of Thrash to a person who hasn’t heard of your band before? Which bands influenced you to start a band?
– Alex: Our style is influenced by the European Thrash scene mostly and i would say our music and style is kinda inspired by the new wave of thrash metal scene with always the old school spirit in our songs. The bands that we were and are influnced are Kreator,Sepultura,Destruction,Exodus,Sodom,Warbringer,Violator etc.
3) Your debut album “Evoke The Pain” came out early January 2014. What do you think now that it’s done? What kind of feedback do you get from that?
– Alex: The album was to be released in January but due to some difficulties it came out on April! I have to tell you that we are extremely happy ’cause one of our dreams came true. We worked really hard,we could also be better on some technical parts in our songs but the most important thing is that we are happy to have done a decent album and we would like to thank our good friend and producer David Prutend from Made In Hell Studio for that who also hepled us with our EP two years ago. Also our feedback is really good at the moment and we would like to thank our friends and fans for that.
4) Where do you draw influences from when writing lyrics? Since I’ve seen a lot of them addressing the issues of freedom, police brutality as well as tyranny.
– Alex: Besides the bands that i listen to i’m moved and inspired by the problems of our society, the behaviour of the citizens and how they manage to deal with all these circumstances. It is true that the situations are intense and and we all must hold this world in a balance in order to avoid destruction. Also the song “Tyranny” was inspired by the police brutality in Turkey last year which moved me to write this song.
5) You started on a not-so-big city of Greece, Lamia. How hard is it for a band from such areas of Greece to start a metal band in general and find the right people for the job?
– Alex: Well it’s difficult from the audience side and the support. The people in small towns are not so open with this kind of music so as a result the support is quite small .But there are also people who really enjoy this music,support it selflessly and they orginize concerts in order to support the few bands who want to show their work and of course without any profit.Also finding the right bandmates to fit the band is difficult sometimes but we as a band we are close friends and we hang out most of the time so there is a different bond between us.
6) How does it work when you sit down and write a new Demon Prayers song? Is it a result of team work?
– Alex: When we prepare our songs we work mostly individually. One of us comes up with a complete song and the other guys sit down and analyze it,fix it or sometimes enrich it with more parts. That is the fun part of the job and the songs always come up as a team result because we all put our own ingredients inside when it takes its final form.
7) Alex, what do you think of the Greek Thrash metal scene today as one of its active members? Which bands set themselves apart from the rest in your opinion?
– Alex: This scene is one of the most interesting and talented scenes in my opinion. There are so many bands to show so many different works and only that gives you hope that something good is coming out. There are also bands who already made huge steps in the greek and european scene such as Exarsis,Bio-Cancer and Chronosphere and many respect to those guys for the huge effort they are putting in. But there is always the powerful underground scene with bands such as Endless Recovery, Acid-Fury, Vios Olethrios, Rapture, Exordial, Carnal Dread etc. who prove that they are strong and ready to destroy your neck when they’re given the chance.
8) Speaking of the Greek Thrash scene, Athens Thrash Attack was shut down some days ago, and you had “Evoke The Pain” released via that label. The man behind the label Dimitris, was one of those people that gave us the definition of unconditional love and passion for the scene. What are your thoughts on that?
– Alex: We were very sad when we heard that Athens Thrash Attack was shut down. An amazing label and an amazing man, Dimitris, who supported endlessly many new thrash metal bands and their dreams to release an album. We are very thankful that we were part of his label and family and we hope all the best for Dimitris and his future!
9) Future plans for Demon Prayers?
– Alex: Right now we are working on new material after a long time and we hope for a second release in the near future,play as many live shows as we can and promote our latest work “Evoke The Pain”.
10) That was about it Alex. See you @ A Thrashing Holocaust 28th of June. You may end this interview however you want.
– Alex: Thank you very much John and i’d be really happy to see you in the show! Support the underground scene,the bands that work hard,buy their CD’s and of course attend as many concerts as you can!
Cheerz!