Anxiety
1986-unknown
If our sources are correct, Heavy/Power metallers ANXIETY boast a rather antique background. Except for a handful of obscure acts such as EVERFLOW (Power/Progressive metal) and FACELESS GOD (Black Metal), the town of Ptolemaida didn’t spawn many Metal bands even in the 1990s. ANXIETY on the other hand, were founded way back in 1986, which means they must count as one of the earliest metallic acts in the entire West Macedonia region. They were also honored a position on the legendary “Greece Attacks” double-LP compilation, released by FM Records in 1989. Maybe not their best performance, (“Crap moms-garage Hard Rock with out-of-tune guitars”, as a famous reviewer expressed it so eloquently), but at least evidential of the band’s existence in the 1980s.
Unfortunately, the early demo tapes put out in 1988, 1990 and 1994 respectively (some sources refer to a 1992 demo as well) are yet to be uncovered. According to Metal-Archives, the band has officially disowned these releases for some reason (maybe they sounded as bad as the the “Greece Attacks” track?). Anyway, for the moment we’ll have to settle with 2001’s “The Descent of the Myriads” EP. This five-tracker was allegedly created as a momentary reunion together with members of EVERFLOW and features rather typical Greek Power Metal in the sense that ANXIETY thankfully avoids the worst of the all-too-sugary and weak trappings of contemporary European bands. This EP proved to be the final offering from the ANXIETY camp. If anyone know what happened to the band after their apparent swansong release, then you’re of course free to get in touch.
Compilation appearances:
* Greece Attacks [2LP, Comp, Gatefold: FM, 1989]
* Hellenic Forces Compilation Vol. 2 [CDr, Comp: Self-released (Hellenic Forces Fanzine), 2006]
* Underground Όνειρα 3 - Greek Metal Scene [Digital, Comp: Rockap.gr, 2012]
Reissues:
Istanbul Falls
Lost
10 Million Times
Markos Valavanis (vocals)
Stavros Kermeniotis (guitars)
Takis Tairidis (guitars)
Doros Flamouridis (bass)
Sotiris Noukas (drums, backing vocals)
Reissues:
Excess of Duty
Join the Army
Prelude to Danger
Nightmare
Sotiris Noukas (vocals, drums)
Stavros Kermeniotis (guitars)
Christos Piperkos (guitars)
Doros Flamouridis (bass)
Reissues:
The Descent of the Myriads
Wings of Despair
Keadas
Lost
Istanbul Falls
Stavros Kermeniotis (guitars)
Doros Flamouridis (bass)
Sotiris Noukas (drums, vocals)
Markos Valavanis (session vocals)
Takis Tairidis (session guitars)
For anyone whose previous acquaintance with ANXIETY stems from the band’s underwhelming participation on the cult 2LP compilation “Greece Attacks”, this demo will come as quite a surprise. Over the years, ANXIETY had transformed into a habile, typically Hellenic-sounding Heavy/Power Metal unit, which arguably owes more to the muscular North American sound than its European counterpart. This is evident right from the start with the launching of the title-track’s heavy riffing and aggressive attack. However, as the demo progresses, the sonic panorama extends to include more Euro-melodious flourishes (“Keadas”) along with some semi-epic explorations (“Istanbul Falls”).
Taken as a whole, “Descent of the Myriads” is quite a pleasant, catchy and adequately varied listening experience, particularly for fans of Heavy/Power Metal. Unfortunately, an original copy of this demo is not easy to come by these days, but at least it can found in its entirety in digital format if you spend a few minutes of searching.
Written by Johan Pettersson
