Arrayan Path

One of the more – if not the most – successful acts from the island of Cyprus is ARRAYAN PATH, who’ve spent over two decades treating listeners with emotionally-charged and epic Heavy/Power Metal. The band was originally formed as ARRYAN PATH in the United States in 1997 as the brainchild of native Cypriot Nicholas Leptos (vocals – DIPHTHERIA, GANGLAND, PRODIGAL EARTH, WARLORD, etc.) – who was studying overseas at the time – together with his friend Clement Fung (guitars).

Nicholas and Clement began composing material that would eventually end up on the first ARRYAN PATH demo, “Return to Troy” (1999), self-released on CDr a couple of years later. This appears to have taken place before the band was an actual band (with a complete lineup). When the demo eventually arrived, featuring a complete lineup also including Nicholas Demetriou (bass – DIPHTHERIA), Nicholas Philippou (drums – GANGLAND, PRODIGAL EARTH) and George Kallis (keyboards), the prerecording activities of Nicholas and Clement would indeed pay off. Hence, “Return to Troy” is a product featuring a pretty uncommon combination of originality, variety and quality for being a debut demo, especially in terms of songwriting and includes several classic tunes such as “Mystic Moon”, “Arryan Path” and of course the epic title track. Overall, the demo was reviewed favorably by the domestic metal press.

However, with Nicholas’ return to his homeland after finishing studying and Clement residing in Hong Kong (he had to travel to Cyprus for the recording of “Return to Troy”!), problems in terms of logistics must have been difficult to handle. Thus, for the recording the second demo CDr “Osiris” (2000), some adjustments in the membership seemed inevitable. With Clement leaving, Nicholas’ brother Socratis Leptos (guitars – DIPHTHERIA, GANGLAND, PRODIGAL EARTH), who’ve played an integral role in the band ever since, joined the ranks along with bassist Paris Lambrou (bass – DIPHTHERIA, PRODIGAL EARTH, ASTRONOMIKON, etc.), replacing Nicholas Demetriou on the bassist position. Whereas the majority of songs featured on the primarily guitar-centered “Return to Troy” had been written by guitarist Clement Fung, “Osiris” could be described as a more vocal-oriented work – explained by Nicholas now handling the song writing. However, the music is obviously still easily identifiable as belonging to ARRYAN PATH. Another strong effort, “Osiris” brings even more variation to the song material and a slightly more polished sound. “Osiris” also brought encouraging response to the band and by now many eagerly awaited a proper ARRYAN PATH full-length album.

Now, considering the diversity of styles present on the two previous demos – ranging over epic metal, Euro-Heavy/Power, Hard Rock, Folk-ish numbers, Pop-sentimental ballads and 1950s Rock’N’Roll pastiche – ARRYAN PATH were faced with the challenge of channeling their work into a coherent whole. When the album, entitled “Road to Macedonia” (2004), eventually arrived four years after initial work had begun, it was indeed a monumental proposition – spanning over 60+ minutes in playing time and including many of the key songs off both demos. As for the style, it would seem that the band had chosen to emphasize the epic side of their past, with many of the compositions hitting the 7-minute mark. At the time, ARRYAN PATH was in practical terms reduced to a core trio consisting of Nicholas and Socratis Leptos (vocals and guitars respectively) and Paris Lambrou (bass), while George Georgiades (guitars), Chris Ioannides (drums) and George Kallis (keyboards) were credited as session musicians along with guest musicians Lenia Kalli (vocals) and Demetra Philippou (piano).

(to be continued!)

Compilation appearances:
* Pitch Black Records MP3 Sampler 2010 [CDr, Comp, Promo: Pitch Blac, 2010]
* Cyprus Metal Scene United [CDr, Comp, Limited: Cy-Metal.com, 2011]
* Feel the Heat! [CD, Comp: Fireworks Magazine, 2012]
* Bloodbrothers II – A Compilation of Recordings by Rock/Metal Bands from Cyprus [CD, Comp: Pitch Black, 2013]
* Pitch Black Records – 5 Years of Metal – 2008-2013 [CD, Comp: Pitch Black, 2013]
* A Tribute to 1984 – 30 Years Anniversary [CD, Comp: Metal Hammer & Heavy Metal, 2014]
* A Tribute to Iron Maiden’s ”Somewhere in Time” [CD, Comp: Metal Hammer & Heavy Metal, 2016]
* Floating Against the Waves [CD, Comp: Metal Hammer & Heavy Metal, 2018]
* Symphonic & Opera Metal Vol. 4 [2CD, Comp: Golden Core, 2018]
* Symphonic & Opera Metal Vol. 5 [2CD, Comp: Golden Core, 2019]