Crimson Sunsets

Formed in Athens in 1994, CRIMSON SUNSETS plays Heavy Metal-ized Death/Doom Metal. The band was originally founded by Giorgos Stefanopoulos (vocals/bass) and Tolis Polychroniadis (guitars – DEUS EX MACHINA, SLAVEBREED), later joined by Sotiris Petridis (drums, backing vocals), Carlos E. Perez (guitars) and Fotis Germanos (keyboards).

With this lineup, the band entered Feedback Studios to record their debut demo tape “A Furore Normannorum Libera Nos Domine” (1997), which musically recalls the early works of German Death/Doom act PYOGENESIS (before they went shit, mind you). Parallels can be drawn especially to the latter’s’ “Ignis Creatio” (1992) EP (in terms of riffing approach, arrangements, pacing, etc.) although with a more epic vibe compared to PYOGENESIS’ Gothic inclinations. An impressive first effort with equally strong presentation (excellent pro-printed cover and tape), the demo received affirmative response from the underground back in the day.

What happened next remains a bit cloudy, but a second, three-track demo appears to have been released in 1999. Judging by the contrast in songs titles (“True Crime”, “The Ugliest Man on Earth”) compared to the debut (“Hords of Hell”, A Warrior’s Song”, etc.) one is tempted to assume that there was also some kind of shift in the band’s style at this point, but now where’re moving into speculative territory. Either way, this was the final release by the band for a very long time, as the band went into hibernation around 2002.

Fast forward to 2017: original founding members Giorgos, Tolis and Sotiris apparently meet up again and decide to resurrect the band with the intention of staying true to their Death/Doom roots. Joining them for the quest is Tolis’ bandmate in his current band SLAVEBREED, Pavlos Houliaras (guitars – CELESTIAL SCREAM, MOURNBLADE, STELLAR DARKNESS), bringing with him some modern influences as well. The first result of this reunion saw the light in autumn 2020 in the form of CRIMSON SUNSET’s debut full-length album “Sic Semper Tyrannis” (another classic Latin quote). While the band held true to their intention of retaining their earlier style (they even went back to the same studio!), there are – quite naturally – signs of development in the quartet’s sound, which can be described as a more modern and slightly rock-ified take on classic Doom tropes.

Compilation appearances:
* Warzone III [CD, Comp: Metal Invader, 1998]