HEAVY METAL COSMOS calls ETHEREAL BLUE to the stand. Whether they are guilty of mystagogue and creativity or not let the voice of your soul and the ears of your imagination decide.That sensitive, under the raw black metal influences, techinc, behind the elegant melodic "mask" of their musical skills, ETHEREAL BLUE, scream from the depths of their humility and give lessons of ... Rhyme, Passion And Ethics.
Hallo Eythimi! Thank you in advance for the time you take to answer to HEAVY METAL COSMOS questions! OK, here we go!

When I first heard your music while surfing on MYspace I said to myself  ”Hm, something very good is going on here!” Then I had the chance to see you perform live and my original opinion got even stronger. How “good” are you really and which do you think is the highest level that a band of your standards can reach? Are there strong ambitions or ETHEREAL BLUE continue to see things loose, as you did when you first started?

Honestly, I’m the most unsuitable person for judging how good we are. The whole matter is what people can receive from our music and with excess honesty I will tell you that we are far too complicated for the average fan of metal music, in a time where a repeated, well played refrain can nominate you as the new name in global music scene. On the other hand, maybe we just “suck” and we try in vain in the musical arena. As far as ambitions, every member in ETHERIAL BLUE has ambitions; but we believe that in nowadays it’s not up to us whether we become a huge name or not, so we live unconcernedly and do the basics in regard to our albums; meaning creating good music and a simple promotion to make it reach out to some of the people that our music should reach.

I 'am aware that you first started, as a group of college friends who tried to have a good and creative time… The secret recipe for accomplishment is technique and effort or is it just the pure energy spread in a room by a group of friends? To put it simple; do you think that the final outcome would be much too different if you have started with a more” professional” attitude?

I think you should ask STEVEN WILSON or ADAM JONES for the secret recipe. These are truly accomplished .My personal experience in music taught me that the beauty of creation begins with collective and wonderful cooperation of the members of a band. I could not know, had we have started more ”professionally” as you say if we could have done some things different. I guess not.  I think that the lack of pressure works just fine with us.

The name of the band is “ethereal blue”. Which “skies and seas“ mirror ETHEREAL BLUE? What does exactly mean to you this name and after all these years is its meaning the same?

This name once meant a lot to me and so did the person that together we came up with that name (ethereal blue). In time, its meaning diffused to the other members of ETHEREAL BLUE and so it begun to carry a different semantic lift for each and every one of us. For me personally it still means everything. I spent the best years of my life in this band and I still do. For the rest, I am sure they are proud for everything we do in this band and they love it as well. Now as far as the sea that reflects ETHEREAL BLUE is “A SEA TO SUFFER IN”, as the ultimate MY DYING BRIDE’s song says; so, as you can see, as the years go by the ethereal blue grows inside us;  we on the other hand try to service this name with dignity trying not to humiliate it. When the time comes and we won’t be able to serve it right, then we wil dissolve this, so that we can look back with nostalgia.

Influences from bands like OPETH or ANATHEMA, are obvious in your sound- I’m saying that in a good way! How would you call the music you play? It is certainly progressive, definitely melodic…

It is always hard to define this. This is always the worst question that I’m called to answer. I usually put a label on it in order for the listener to understand what he’s about to listen more or less, saying that it’s atmospheric progressive death black metal but… let me tell you what’s bothering me at this point. We try through our music to express stories taken out of human situations and emotions under a theatrical perspective, as one can detect in the vocal variety and the riddling orchestrations.  The basic layer is metallic but we flirt with post, jazz even pop music here and there. I wouldn’t like to imagine where all this experimentation would stop. It would kill all of the creative breath of ETHEREAL BLUE.

Inspiration is not always a group thing, no matter how nice that could work in a band. In what way do ETHEREAL BLUE create a song? Is the synthesis a one-man’s job and after that you all work with it together…?

What you’re saying is basically true. With ETHEREAL BLUE me and George (guitars) bring to the band a whole piece and then we work with all the instruments, on the basic ideas, all together, making additions and subtractions converting the original piece. We won’t finish unless the overall outcome pleases everyone. As I said, team work. As the years go by we urge the guys into bringing their own stuff, under the condition to be well formed up to a point, so that we can built upon. I believe that the day that we will start playing songs from the rest of the members is not very far.

Your lyrics are very “human”. Do you love man a lot? Or do you hold it against him living in this decadent humanity?

On the contrary, I would say that we are very acrid and sarcastic towards modern man, who despite the fact he is armed with all this science knowledge and having by his side all these technological achievements, he manages to destroy every day his existence. I can see that in my everyday life, comparing things with 15 years ago. Going down town in Athens in the morning, you used to see happy faces, people with plans and dreams. Now, everyone walks with his head down, bored with everything, ready for a fight with the first hitch. Everybody discuss about money and how to earn it, while in every four member family there are at least two unemployed. How much can you love human, when, while history shows to him the mistakes he’s making , he denies to accept it and fix it?

Having shared the stage with great bands (such as MOONSPELL, ROTTING CHRIST, ARCTURUS  e.t.c.) is it hard playing by their side and most of all addressing to their audience?

For me all this brings out a creative emotion of competition the type” let’s give it all, see what we got versus all the big of this genre”  and quite a few times I have seen myself  pursuing  such of interactions and challenges on stage. These bands however have nothing to fear. They win audience by the first notes, their albums are wildly acceptable, they are familiar with the stage and the only thing that they have to prove is that they can perform live, if not better, at least equal to their albums. On the other hand for us, during these lives, there’s for starters the need to feel comfortable on stage,to win over a difficult audience which paid a ticket to see its favorite band , while having the obligation to bear with all these musicians, with whom got drunk with the night before, and who don’t seem to “say much” (Because everybody in this land has a band that can outplay you!) So, I ‘m not sure if it’s easy opening for these bands …all I know is that only describing this situation got me nervous!

At your own shows, I’m sure there is quite less pressure!  What’s the first thing that you really want to do after a show?


Now that’s a weird question!  Usually after a show I’m pretty tired so, drinks, sleep or maybe new acquaintances? I don’t know, you got me confused, one cannot program these things, so whatever…

"Essays In Rhyme On Passion & Ethics" got great reviews. What are the next studio plans for ETHEREAL BLUE?

Synthetically, “Essays…” was a huge step for us, considering the fact that our drummer lives in Ioannina while our bass player lives in Patra. So it was composed and recorded with lots of sacrifices and we felt quite pleased with the acceptance by the press and public worldwide. We red some crazy reviews honestly. Now, as far as the next studio step, we have four tracks ready and after the end of our summer holidays we will be gathered and work on them. There’s a chancew to have some fantastic news concerning the label that will release the album. We talk for a lot of things with our management and when we are ready we will announce the news.

Summer in Greece is very hot. I see you decided to take a break from the band and enjoy your summer time? When can we expect to see ETHEREAL BLUE perform live again?

Yes, it’s true that we felt quite tired this year, not from ETHEREAL BLUE of course but from our other regular jobs. We had the chance this summer to take some long time-off and we grabbed it! Lives start from September in Patra, Ioannina, Thessaloniki, Larisa… Also, we have in mind a special anniversary live show in Athens for the ten years of ETHEREAL BLUE IN 2012. It needs to be done with proper program and system. Everything will be announced through the Internet.

And finally one last question, that has to do with my own curiosity. What exactly made you turn down the idea of female vocal parts? (Not that your vocals lack of anything, on the contrary!)

This THEATRE OF TRAGEDY style of the mid 2000 with the monster and the”see-through” fairy is overused and passé and has little to offer to metal music except for the marketing parts. So, we decided to follow the other path! There is also the subject that a beautiful woman, in a man-dominated band could create even without her intentions intrigue and problems, so with her leavimg everybody starts to focus again on the real subject and that is music;-) All these did not happen to us, I just happen to kanw some friends that work with women musicians and I am just the messanger;-)

Famous- hopefully not last- words?


Georgia thank you very much for this interview! What we would really like is to urge the readers of HEAVY METAL COSMOS to download “Essays In Rhyme On Passion And Ethics”, listen to it carefully, as the repeating auditions hold many surprises that are not perceivable by the first hearing. See you in our next show!

Thank you very much! Take care! Cheers!

Interview done by Georgia B.