Sunburst is a new and exciting band from Greece that includes the core duo of Black Fate’s guitarist and vocalist (Gus Drax and Vassilis Georgiou) along with a couple of other respected musicians like drummer Kostas Mylonas (Outloud, Foray Between Ocean, Mario Frangoulis) and bassist Nick Grey. Their style is a very modern and very musical prog/power metal that feels like the perfect hybrid between Kamelot, with a riffing that owes a lot to more technical bands. Their excellent debut comes out of Inner Wound Recordings and given the opportunity we got in touch with Gus who was glad to answer our questions.
Firstly tell us what prompted you in coming together, I know Gus and Vasillis are together in another band and share a common locality, but how did you come together with Kostas and Nick? Were they friends of yours did they come with a recommendation?
G: Yes, Vasilis and I live in the same city as Kostas did when we formed the band. Kostas was introduced to me by Vasilis Liakos the bassist of Black Fate, who helped us in our first steps. Nick on the other hand is a completely different story. He lives in a different city and when we announced that we are searching for a bassist he send us an email, he played some of our songs and when we met him we knew he is the guy. Apart from a great bassist he is also a great person and one of my best friends. We all get along great.
“Fragments of Creation” is your debut as Sunburst and here I’m going to ask a simple question with the (writing) core of the band being together in another band (Black Fate) what was the reason to start another band? (Contractual maybe?)
G: No, that’s a misunderstanding. The writing core of the two bands is not the same. In Black Fate Nick is bringing the ideas and Vasilis & I are working on them. Sometimes the song turns into something different but the idea is still Nick’s. In Sunburst I come up with the riffs and we all work on them until we are happy with it. Vasilis & I wanted to create a band together before I joined Black Fate. When Nikos approached me for Black Fate he asked me to do one show with them for Deliverance Of Soul but the chemistry was so good that we decided to continue. That didn’t affect the creation of Sunburst which was something that I wanted to do and I would do.
Also you‘ve been together since 2010 or so? Why didn’t you do something earlier? Were you too tied up in the other bands you’re in?
G: No, it doesn’t have to do with the other bands. We had a few obstacles during the whole procedure. First of all we had a hard time finding a permanent Bass player and when we found Nick we immediately entered the studio to record the album. Another reason was that I had to do my military service within this period which also killed a lot of my time.
What are the lyrical themes you like to delve in? Also I think that Vasillis is responsible for the artwork as well, is he like professionally involved in artwork production and other graphics arts?
G: We are writing about personal struggles that every human being goes through. We have some social some political and some religion themes but all of them in an artistic way and form. Yes, Vasilis is responsible for the artwork of the band and he does that for a living. He works as a graphic designer, he hasn’t done this for another band though.
You are in a number of bands; is it easy to schedule and work with all of them or do you need to prioritize things and keep some of the bands inactive, until there’s sufficient time?
G: Well, from the bands that I am in Suicidal Angels is the most active live one and Sunburst is going to play as many shows as possible. Biomechanical don’t play anymore and Black Fate and Paradox are not really active live. So I have to make my schedule between Suicidal and Sunburst and my guitar lessons.
There’s an obvious Kamelot/Ark/Conception “air” in everything Vasillis is involved with but here you have a lot of modern day Kamelot and on a number of songs even sort of Nevermore influences… how do you make it work, do the lyrics come first or the music or do you work on them at the same time, building from the ground up?
G: We write the music first and then Vassilis writes the lyrics and his melodic lines for the songs.
Vasillis was at some point touted to join Kamelot or at least to have auditioned? Is this correct? And is that Vasillis real voice or is it EQ’d and “verbed” into that “sound”?
G: Yes, he auditioned and he reached the “Top 3”, if I am not mistaken. It was actually quite possible to happen, but they chose another guy. Roy Khan is Vassilis’ biggest influence. What you hear is Vassilis natural voice, which is very influenced by Khan’s and you can hear some similarities.
Sunburst’s debut is another in the line of several Greek bands and albums that both have gotten a foreign company to be interested and seem to also be really good/getting great reviews! What do you think sets Sunburst apart from other bands and do you think that finally the Greek scene is starting to excel in more sub-genres (other than the extreme one that is)?
G: What sets us apart is our identity! We have our influences but I think we have a sound and style of our own. Greece always had great bands and artists. Our problem was always how to make it be heard. Now with the internet and the social media it’s easier to reach a wider audience and get heard both from people and labels that might be interested to work with them.
Since you’re post millennial musicians (at least with a presence that is post-millennial), how do you find the modern music scene? Is it a hostile place? Was it always an uneasy road to take? Do you thing that the internet is more of a boon or the end of the music industry?
G: For every important thing in life, you must work hard to achieve. Music is one of them. Every generation had/has/will have its own pros and cons. Internet specifically in my opinion is a great tool for artists.
What’s your take on several very talented people, not wanting to do something original and trying out either going the “traditional music”/boozouki route, or doing tribute bands/concerts? While it’s true that everyone gets inspired from somewhere do you condone the practice?
G: Everyone does their choices in their life and career and he/she will live with these. There’s absolutely nothing wrong in being in a tribute/cover band or playing traditional music, especially when someone needs to provide for his family.
Having said that, who were your inspirations to get into music and when did you decide to take things to the next (more professional level)?
G: I got into music and playing guitar from Dream Theater and John Petrucci. He’s my biggest influence. As a teenager I wanted to play like him and started practicing Dream Theater songs and Petrucci’s exercises. I turned into a professional when I joined Biomechanical in 2007. Never looked back since.
Where do you see the band in 5-6 years from now?
G: On a stage.
Are there any tour dates you’ve planned for Greece? What about abroad?
G: We have announced a tour in Belgium and Netherlands and there are more to be announced soon.
Weird/funny questions!!! If you were a god for a week – what would you do?
G: Hmm, tough one. Probably a lot of things. I would create some divine music for sure and something from the other side… I would probably kill every politician responsible for the deaths and suffering of millions. One act... perfect world!
If you could travel to the future or the past, what choice would you make and why?
G: I would go to the future to see where I am going to be. If it would be something good I would try to make it come faster. If it would be something bad I would do whatever I could to avoid it.
If you could be anybody else (man/woman/fictional or historical character), who would you want to be and why?
G: I would like to be Batman and I don’t think I need to explain more. Do I? (haha)…
Which one of the seven deadly sins do you identify with?
G: I have no idea. That’s something probably someone else who knows me could answer…
If your g/f-wife smashed your favorite guitar or sold all your records (hypothetical/silliness) how would you react?!
G: I would break up with her after putting her to take everything back.
G: Yes, Vasilis and I live in the same city as Kostas did when we formed the band. Kostas was introduced to me by Vasilis Liakos the bassist of Black Fate, who helped us in our first steps. Nick on the other hand is a completely different story. He lives in a different city and when we announced that we are searching for a bassist he send us an email, he played some of our songs and when we met him we knew he is the guy. Apart from a great bassist he is also a great person and one of my best friends. We all get along great.
“Fragments of Creation” is your debut as Sunburst and here I’m going to ask a simple question with the (writing) core of the band being together in another band (Black Fate) what was the reason to start another band? (Contractual maybe?)
G: No, that’s a misunderstanding. The writing core of the two bands is not the same. In Black Fate Nick is bringing the ideas and Vasilis & I are working on them. Sometimes the song turns into something different but the idea is still Nick’s. In Sunburst I come up with the riffs and we all work on them until we are happy with it. Vasilis & I wanted to create a band together before I joined Black Fate. When Nikos approached me for Black Fate he asked me to do one show with them for Deliverance Of Soul but the chemistry was so good that we decided to continue. That didn’t affect the creation of Sunburst which was something that I wanted to do and I would do.
Also you‘ve been together since 2010 or so? Why didn’t you do something earlier? Were you too tied up in the other bands you’re in?
G: No, it doesn’t have to do with the other bands. We had a few obstacles during the whole procedure. First of all we had a hard time finding a permanent Bass player and when we found Nick we immediately entered the studio to record the album. Another reason was that I had to do my military service within this period which also killed a lot of my time.
What are the lyrical themes you like to delve in? Also I think that Vasillis is responsible for the artwork as well, is he like professionally involved in artwork production and other graphics arts?
G: We are writing about personal struggles that every human being goes through. We have some social some political and some religion themes but all of them in an artistic way and form. Yes, Vasilis is responsible for the artwork of the band and he does that for a living. He works as a graphic designer, he hasn’t done this for another band though.
You are in a number of bands; is it easy to schedule and work with all of them or do you need to prioritize things and keep some of the bands inactive, until there’s sufficient time?
G: Well, from the bands that I am in Suicidal Angels is the most active live one and Sunburst is going to play as many shows as possible. Biomechanical don’t play anymore and Black Fate and Paradox are not really active live. So I have to make my schedule between Suicidal and Sunburst and my guitar lessons.
There’s an obvious Kamelot/Ark/Conception “air” in everything Vasillis is involved with but here you have a lot of modern day Kamelot and on a number of songs even sort of Nevermore influences… how do you make it work, do the lyrics come first or the music or do you work on them at the same time, building from the ground up?
G: We write the music first and then Vassilis writes the lyrics and his melodic lines for the songs.
Vasillis was at some point touted to join Kamelot or at least to have auditioned? Is this correct? And is that Vasillis real voice or is it EQ’d and “verbed” into that “sound”?
G: Yes, he auditioned and he reached the “Top 3”, if I am not mistaken. It was actually quite possible to happen, but they chose another guy. Roy Khan is Vassilis’ biggest influence. What you hear is Vassilis natural voice, which is very influenced by Khan’s and you can hear some similarities.
Sunburst’s debut is another in the line of several Greek bands and albums that both have gotten a foreign company to be interested and seem to also be really good/getting great reviews! What do you think sets Sunburst apart from other bands and do you think that finally the Greek scene is starting to excel in more sub-genres (other than the extreme one that is)?
G: What sets us apart is our identity! We have our influences but I think we have a sound and style of our own. Greece always had great bands and artists. Our problem was always how to make it be heard. Now with the internet and the social media it’s easier to reach a wider audience and get heard both from people and labels that might be interested to work with them.
Since you’re post millennial musicians (at least with a presence that is post-millennial), how do you find the modern music scene? Is it a hostile place? Was it always an uneasy road to take? Do you thing that the internet is more of a boon or the end of the music industry?
G: For every important thing in life, you must work hard to achieve. Music is one of them. Every generation had/has/will have its own pros and cons. Internet specifically in my opinion is a great tool for artists.
What’s your take on several very talented people, not wanting to do something original and trying out either going the “traditional music”/boozouki route, or doing tribute bands/concerts? While it’s true that everyone gets inspired from somewhere do you condone the practice?
G: Everyone does their choices in their life and career and he/she will live with these. There’s absolutely nothing wrong in being in a tribute/cover band or playing traditional music, especially when someone needs to provide for his family.
Having said that, who were your inspirations to get into music and when did you decide to take things to the next (more professional level)?
G: I got into music and playing guitar from Dream Theater and John Petrucci. He’s my biggest influence. As a teenager I wanted to play like him and started practicing Dream Theater songs and Petrucci’s exercises. I turned into a professional when I joined Biomechanical in 2007. Never looked back since.
Where do you see the band in 5-6 years from now?
G: On a stage.
Are there any tour dates you’ve planned for Greece? What about abroad?
G: We have announced a tour in Belgium and Netherlands and there are more to be announced soon.
Weird/funny questions!!! If you were a god for a week – what would you do?
G: Hmm, tough one. Probably a lot of things. I would create some divine music for sure and something from the other side… I would probably kill every politician responsible for the deaths and suffering of millions. One act... perfect world!
If you could travel to the future or the past, what choice would you make and why?
G: I would go to the future to see where I am going to be. If it would be something good I would try to make it come faster. If it would be something bad I would do whatever I could to avoid it.
If you could be anybody else (man/woman/fictional or historical character), who would you want to be and why?
G: I would like to be Batman and I don’t think I need to explain more. Do I? (haha)…
Which one of the seven deadly sins do you identify with?
G: I have no idea. That’s something probably someone else who knows me could answer…
If your g/f-wife smashed your favorite guitar or sold all your records (hypothetical/silliness) how would you react?!
G: I would break up with her after putting her to take everything back.