by Jorge Patacas
Last year, Rotting Christ’s guitarist/vocalist Sakis Tolis released “Among the Fires of Hell”, the first album under his name. This year he was part of the Inferno Festival lineup in Oslo, Norway, and performed these songs live for the first time, so it was the right time to do an in-depth interview with him to discuss some details behind the album as well as his relationship with the Norwegian black metal scene back in the day, his family, his thoughts on AI and other interesting topics.
RISE!: – You’ve released your first solo album “Among the Fires of Hell” last year which is absolutely great, and I’m being very honest here. Not saying it just to say it. The melodies, the atmospheres, the songs are just amazing. It reminds me of the Rotting Christ albums from mid-late 90’s like “A Dead Poem” and “Sleep of the Angels”. Why did you feel this more gothic-oriented sound had to be released as a solo album this time instead of Rotting Christ?
Sakis Tolis: We had a very bad period for two years, a boring era, so I remember the first year I was writing songs all the time. I also write songs for Rotting Christ, but I had many songs and said to myself “why don’t you do something now during this period?”. I went to the studio, did everything by myself and recorded an album because I really wanted to express myself during that time. I didn’t have and still don’t have any purpose. People ask me why I’m doing this and I say it’s because I’m addicted to it. I’ve been writing music since I remember myself. So I recorded and released the album by myself and made it available for free, so people could listen to it. I’ve tried to catch the meaning of music, how I started, follow the same signs, the same steps, so I’m very glad I came up with an album that people like and it’s because it comes from the soul. That’s very important for me.
R!: – Yes, the listener can notice that.
ST: Yes, I just did it because I wanted to do it. No goals or anything like that.
R!: – You recorded everything by youself, but you had a couple of guests working with you on drums and narrations, right?
ST: I recorded the drums, but I brought a drummer just to play exactly the same because he has better hits, you know? But I’m very glad that I’ve created something that I had deep inside me and was able to put it out.
R!: – Was it challenging for you to record everything?
ST: Not that much. I do that very often, I like to play all the instruments sometimes. In my life I don’t give a shit about putting things in order, but I’m very strict when it comes to music. I want it to be like I want, so maybe sometimes I don’t agree with other members, so this time I wanted to enjoy and had plenty of time to do that.
R!: – Are you planning to do a solo tour to promote the album or is it going to be just this concert at Inferno?
ST: No, no, I didn’t have plans to play. Inferno asked me if I wanted to play and I was a little bit concerned about it, but in the end it was like “why not?”. So they came first and gave me the honour to play here. Maybe I will do a couple of shows during the year, but not a tour or anything like that because we’re extremely busy with Rotting Christ.
R!: – That makes sense. But tell us about the band members who are playing with you at Inferno.
ST: They’re friends of mine. This is my plan from now on. I want to do shows with friends when possible. Rotting Christ is getting better and better, but it’s also stressful. I like to come here and not having to prove something, you know?
R!: – Well, you don’t have to prove anything at this point…
ST: Yeah, but everytime you play with Rotting Christ, you have to prove that you’re good because someone left his house, paid the ticket and came to see you.
R!: – Yeah, I know what you mean. There’s always someone new seeing you live.
ST: Exactly.
R!: – Recently you released other songs which are not in the album like “The Origin” or “Here Comes The Sun”. Why were they not included in the album?
ST: Because I recorded them after the album came out and then uploaded them. As I said, there’s no plan for me, I did it because I enjoy doing it. I don’t hide that I’m stressed many times because with Rotting Christ we have strict deadlines and so on. So what I’m trying to do as a solo artist is to bring the old days, the meaning of music. I’m not bringing the old days with the extreme music I played when I started, but I bring the atmosphere and the way of thinking.
R!: – You are very interested in Ancient Greece and you even did a collaboration with Manowar translating texts from English to Ancient Greek which is definitely not easy. I guess you’ve been interested in this since you were a kid. Is there any person from Ancient Greece that you feel identified with or that you feel you have something in common in one way or another?
ST: I love Aristotle, but I like ancient cultures in general. I’m coming from Greece and that’s a very good gift for me, since I can be influenced by my own culture. But still I’m influenced by other cultures too. I cannot say that I’m like someone else, but I love Aristotle because he was the first person who said something. I always love the first people because it’s very difficult to go from zero to one. That’s the genesis. It’s the most difficult thing to do, you know? That’s why I’m fascinated with that era. Of course I like Egypt era, also the Incas, the Mayas… Anyway, I like history very much, the roots, where I come from. And I like to get to know people and that’s the reason why I travel so much, to learn about people and history.
R!: – Back in the day, you were involved in tape trading as many other metal fans at the time. You were friends with Euronymous and I guess other guys in the Norwegian black metal scene as well. Did you meet them personally at the time?
ST: No, but I was in touch a lot, and they were about to book a show in Athens. That was going to be the first international Mayhem show back in ’91 I think (Editor’s note: it was December 1990), but they took the wrong train and played in Turkey instead of Greece. I don’t know why it happened. We didn’t have any mobile phones or anything like that back then, you know? It was just a letter saying “ok, we’re waiting for you this date at the train station in Athens” and it never happened. I was very much in touch with all the scene here and I’m very glad that I’ve seen the genesis of black metal music. And I’m also very lucky and glad that I’m still here and trying to put a brick in the wall.
R!: – You and your brother started to play when you were really young. Was your family supportive at the time?
ST: They didn’t know anything.
R!: – They were not into music?
ST: They were not into music and we always lied. We told our father that we were going to Northern Greece, but we were actually in Amsterdam. We were very young (laughs)
I don’t think I would let my kids do something like this. But yeah, I wanted to see how the world was, to learn, to meet people. So I took my life in my own hands and lived the dream, so to speak.
R!: – Last time I did an interview with you, you said that when you started a long time ago, Greece was very conservative, but now you don’t see religion as the big problem it used to be, so what do you think is the biggest problem humanity is facing right now?
ST: Definitely it’s not religions like back in the day, for me at least. Now it’s energy (laughs)
Anyway, in my opinion, the thing is that we must open our minds and learn about others, start sharing information and start seeing people in a different way. If we know each other better, we can make the world better. It takes time… but that’s why I’m here and still doing this, you know? I’ve travelled so much in my life and I know this is the way to make the world better. I can’t change the world, but I can change my life and the way of thinking. That’s why I always say to people: “travel, meet new people, have an open mind to new ideas”, so you are not scared about others.
R!: – Another topic I wanted to bring is technology. It has changed some things for the better and some things for the worse and now we have AI…
ST: Oh, that scares me. It’s the first time I’m scared of technology.
R!: – It could be a threat to humanity actually.
ST: Oh, easily. You know how I freaked out? The other day I was thinking something, opened my Instagram account and I saw an advertisement about what I was thinking. I’m not crazy, you know?
R!: – That happened to me as well.
ST: Maybe they have too much data they collected.
R!: – Yeah, from things we searched some time ago or something.
ST: Yeah, but this is the first time that we’re really going in the wrong direction with technology, you know?
R!: – It’s scary actually.
ST: It’s scary, yes.
R!: – That’s when it comes to humanity itself. When it comes to music for instance, some people think it would help them for photos, videos, recordings and so on. But in my opinion, there’s no passion or soul in it…
ST: This is what I always say. If it wasn’t for all the socials, 95% of the bands would disappear. I may sound like an old school person, but we’ve gained our name on the road. You can say whatever, but you have to prove it on the road. I always say that to the new generations. Of course you risk a lot of things, there are ups and downs, but that’s life in general. You want to have a band, you want to gain a name on the road.
R!: – Also just because they think it’s easier to use this AI generated stuff doesn’t mean they’re going to be successful.
ST: Welcome to the new world. I don’t even know what to say about this. It’s a brand new world. When I was born we didn’t even have telephone or TV. Now we have everything and it goes faster and faster. That’s freaking me out.
R!: – And I remember you said in another interview some years ago that humanity is always seeking for a new god, seeking for something to believe in. Do you think that for example AI can take that place and humanity will accept living in such a dystopia?
ST: Not me. But humanity maybe yes. I don’t know if the new generations can be rebel enough to do something about this and to change something. I see the younger kids always stuck on the phone. I don’t know, maybe that could help somehow in some things, but I don’t want to be imprisoned. That’s why I always fight with my band for freedom. There’s no better feeling than being free.
R!: – I saw you playing with Rotting Christ last year at Midgardsblot festival. The new lineup with Kostas and Kostis is great! Kostas has a strong presence on stage and I think they both brought new energy to the band. These guys used to play thrash metal in the past, but seems like it was very easy for them to adapt to Rotting Christ. Did you have auditions for the new members or how did they end up joining the band?
ST: No, no auditions. I follow the scene. I wanted new people. Metalheads that have already toured and know what tour is about. So I just followed that and asked them if they wanted to join us for the next tour to see if we can do it well. They fit very well and it feels very nice to be touring with these guys because, first of all, they don’t complain and they don’t have this rockstar attitude which is very important for me. I don’t like people who think they’re someone because they’re on tour. Nobody’s someone. We all have the same problems. So just do something, come here, play music, make people that pay the ticket happy and then we go to work the day after like everyone else. The guys are dedicated in what they’re doing and I’m very glad about this.
R!: – Are they going to join as permanent members?
ST: They’re permanent members.
R!: – Ok, I thought they were there just for the live shows.
ST: No, we have done like 300 shows together so far, so they’re permanent members now.
R!: – Do you do any warm up exercises before a show?
ST: I used to do push ups and some training, but not anymore because I feel tired many times. I’m 51 now. But still I always need to be alone one hour or half an hour before a show just to know where I am, why I’m here and do the best.
R!: – There’s a video on your YouTube channel where you are at a store talking about records. So I guess you have a record collection and you probably have some great albums, but is there any Greek traditional music or anything unexpected there?
ST: Yes, I like Northern Greece local music very much. Polyphonic music. I like it because it reminds me of rituals, so yes, I have things like this in my collection. Nobody can understand that music, but it’s emotional for me because I come from Macedonia actually, my parents were from there.
R!: – It has a meaning.
ST: Yes, I don’t know, it’s like it’s in our DNA. If I put this music, someone will say it’s BS, but for me it’s emotional. It makes me cry.
R!: – You get goosebumps.
ST: Yes, exactly.
R!: – Do you have any favorite record store in Greece that you would recommend to people when visiting the country?
ST: I cannot say my favorite one because I know all of them (laughs). But I worked at Metal Era for three years.
R!: – Thank you so much for the interview!
ST: Thank you!
SAKIS TOLIS SOLO DISCOGRAPHY
Among the Fires of Hell – 2022
SAKIS TOLIS VIDEOS
“Among the Fires of Hell” (2022):
“The Dawn of a New Age” (2022):
“We the Fallen Angels” (2022):
