Divorce

Many of you are probably familiar with a gentleman named George Osmak – the founder of Molon Lave Records and Molon Lave Studios, which must both be regarded as essential components in the development of Greek Metal during the early-to-mid 1990s. In addition to his work as label boss and producer of many legendary Hellenic Metal releases, the Yugoslavian-born Mr. Osmak also had his own band called DIVORCE. The band was formed in 1989 (according to the scarce information available– if this date is incorrect, please let us know) and centered around the core duo George Osmak (guitars) and the US-born singer Joanna Gian, whose vocals sounds a bit like a cross between Pat Benatar and Lee Aaron. George and Joanna were in turn joined by a host of musicians that probably worked on a sessional basis. These included Manos Mansell (lead guitars – JOKER, etc.), Kyprioanos “Kip Gregory” Georgiou (bass), Vangelis Papachristopoulos (drums) and Vangelis Petrakis (keyboards).

Unlike many of the bands that joined the Molon Lave roster, DIVORCE played much softer and commercial-sounding music that could be described as a blend of melodic Heavy Metal, Hard Rock and AOR, marinated in a rather synthethic sound more at home in the 1980s. Very melodic, but with a slightly off-kilter weirdness to it that makes it more charming than the description above suggests.

Before calling it quits in 1993 as both George and Joanna eventually left Greece for the United States on a permanent basis, DIVORCE released one 7”-single, one self-titled mini-LP and finally a full-length album entitled “Triangle”. The mini-LP is definitely the one that lies closest to real Metal, while “Triangle” ventures further into the Pop realm. However, if you listen carefully to selected tracks off “Triangle” (“Pain” in particular!), you can actually hear stuff - especially George’s staccato-based rhythm guitar work - that’s slightly reminiscent of contemporary Molon Lave bands.

Even though both George and Joanna have kept a very low public profile since moving overseas, they’ve apparently stayed active in the musical field according to an interview Joanna did with the site Southernrock.gr back in 2015. The prospects of seeing further DIVORCE material seems highly unlikely however. Those who wish to give the band a try might want to start with “Divorce” (1991) and then travel further down the road – if you dare!

Compilation appearances:
* Metal Gear [LP, Comp: Molon Lave, 1990]
* Rock Power – Made in Greece Vol. 1 [6CD Box, Compilation, Limited (3000): Iron Περιοδικο, Reptile Music, Unisound: 2003]