INERTIA WITH TERRY NIKAS
The new record was created quite different from our first two. While the first two resulted from a more collective process, the new was composed mainly by our guitarist Greg, who composed 10 out of 11 songs. He was on fire, so we decided to go with the flow and work like that this time. We are a completely open-minded band, and we are open to experimentation. So he brought the music, and I (Terry) always worked on all vocal lines and lyrics. It’s important to me to create the vocal lines and the lyrics because I have to get connected to perform and convey all the emotions I carry. We tried a few things regarding the arrangements in the studio where all members contributed ideas, but this time Greg took responsibility like a maestro, and he did most of the work in music.
I am a very sensitive person regarding ethics, justice and ecology. I am not into politics from an idealistic point of view. I care about the social point of view of our everyday life simply because things are directly and severely affecting our lives, and to me, it’s impossible to stay indifferent. As I said in the previous question, Greece (and not only Greece) was subjected to a financial experiment by big financial interests that used their executive arm, the governments of countries to impose things without caring about the fact that people got destroyed, strangled financially and psychologically, families got separated when kids or fathers migrated to support their family and many others died. We had many people who committed suicide because of severe financial problems. But no one cares, really, not even the EU. Our last two albums talk about that issue that brought disaster and pain to our country at a level that most people of the so-called west can never imagine! Our first album talked about a story of personal loss, so it’s completely different. In our albums, I am talking about things that infuriate me or make me seriously sad, and there are a lot of them around, unfortunately.
We have been a bit slow so far, but this is changing now that we have signed our new deal with Napalm Records. Our scope is to create music and albums, so whenever an album is done and released, the next thing that we have to do is tour and compose the next one. We have had many difficulties so far, but all of them are part of the past. There are no specific rituals or habits; I guess it’s quite natural for us to compose music. I always come up with melodies and orchestration ideas, so do our two guitarists. Whenever we have enough material, we sort out what we can use and start putting the pieces together. It’s a hard period, but it’s also very rewarding because you get to see an idea that came to your mind at some point becoming a complete song. It’s like giving birth and growing a child in my eyes.
We are all related to science, but we are not Scientologists. I guess we are all realists with a touch of romanticism. We are sensitive, so we get hurt and angry. Music is a way to take bad things out of our system, break out and then feel better. We cannot change the world, of course, but at least we see all the decay around us, and at least we want to make sure we are as less involved as possible in all this. Other than that, it’s great to release new albums, travel, play your music live and make new friends worldwide.
It was back in the mid-80s when while I was a fan of Euro Disco and pop, I realised that these albums had one or two good songs, and the rest was fillers. That was something I didn’t like. Then I got to listen to Back In Black from AC/DC from a cousin, and I was impressed! I listened to Accept and bought my first album, The Blitz, from the mighty Krokus. That was it; I got hooked for life. Especially when I got to listen to Powerslave from Iron Maiden, I think that it was obvious that there was no turning back! All these albums are still part of my favourite ones; though the list was populated and updated many times through the years, it’s a constant process. I am listening to other kinds of music, of course, but for sure, heavy metal is the most significant part of my life.
I don’t see music as entertainment. At least not our music. Maybe Glam Metal was just entertainment, but it’s a way to express my feelings and mainly remove the negativity and toxicity from myself. It’s a way to maintain sanity and say something that the system would muzzle if I would go public in any other way. When people pay attention to our lyrics and connect them with our dramatic or aggressive melodies, our shows have spiritual unity. Without music, I don’t know what I would do. Melodies always created an amazing feeling inside me, a feeling that I get almost from nothing else. That, along with the river of emotions that flow inside of me when I listen to music I love, makes impossible to imagine a world without music.
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