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Damien

Atalanti (Central Greece)

Heavy Metal

Active:
1992-unknown

DAMIEN was a Heavy Metal group from the small town of Atalanti in Central Greece - actually the only metal group we’ve heard of from this place. According to an interview done for “Power Metal ‘Zine” in 1997, DAMIEN started out as a trio in 1992, consisting of Hermes Soultanopoulos (vocals, guitars), Kostas Kollias (bass) and G. Soultanopoulos (drums). This lineup didn’t last long though, so Costas Aggelis took over the drumming position and a keyboardist was found in Nikos Niavis. A few gigs were made, but the band didn’t really get serious in live settings until George Tsouklidis and Slovakia-born Michael Prokop joined on keyboards and drums respectively.

Around this time, DAMIEN released their debut demo tape “Black Castle” (1997). While featuring a full lineup in the demo credits, “Black Castle” was in fact recorded/performed by Hermes Soultanopoulos by himself, employing digitally programmed bass and drums. This odd move was supposedly done strictly out of financial necessity, and should not be taken as the sign of the band becoming a one-man operation.

Following the release of “Black Castle”, Costas Aggelis once again joined as the band’s drummer and there was even talk of a second, three-track demo being in the makings. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to locate any further information on this recording nor of the band’s continued existence. Whether or not this proposed demo was actually released is something that needs to be clarified. If you know anything about this, please feel free to contact us.

Compilation appearances:

d i s c o g r a p h y :

Black Castle - Demo (cassette) 1997 - Private (-)

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Details: Single-sided regular cassette, coloured j-card w/ lyrics.

Reissues:

TRACKLIST:
Behind This Disguise
Cry for Freedom
Dark Eyes

LINE-UP:
Hermes Soultanopoulos (vocals, guitars, programmed bass and drums, keyboards)
Kostas Kollias (bass)
Michael Procop (drums)
George Tsouklidis (keyboards)

This three-track demo offers moderately slick (as in slightly synthetic-sounding) and staunchly 1980s-derived Heavy Metal. The singing style (though not the actual timbre of his voice) and fantasy-oriented lyrics of Hermes Soultanopoulos calls for comparisons to DIO, while the programmed percussion and soft keyboard-pads brings back memories of more commercial-oriented 1980s acts. Interestingly, one could argue for a likeliness with the mighty WARLORD when it comes to the melancholy-drenched lead guitars. However, “Black Castle” suffers from an acute lack of identity – most of the melodies sound more than vaguely familiar – and the overall sound is kind of weak (the latter a direct result of the band being forced to employ digitally programmed bass and percussion). Still, it would be interesting to hear the band develop on further recordings with a full lineup and more advantageable studio conditions.

Written by Johan Pettersson