Macabre Operetta

MACABRE OPERETTA (most probably named after the classic SAMAEL demo) was a Black Metal band/side-project created by members of the Lamia-based Thrash Metal act DEMISE. The original lineup for their early releases included Tasos Karopoulos (vocals – SHROUD OF FERTILITY), Loukas Stivaktas (guitars, backing vocals – DEMISE, TELIS E.M.W.) and Telis Kafkas (bass, keyboards, drum programming – DEMISE, AURORA’S CANCER, TELIS E.M.W., IMAGINERY, etc.). Although their early material featured a drum machine, it appears as if DEMISE drummer Efthimis Tsakonitis joined in at a later stage as well.

In the late winter of 1994, the above-mentioned trio entered Themis home studio to record their first opus, simply referred to as “Demo ‘95” (1995). An all-around interesting release, “Demo ‘95” offered up three interconnected tracks of Horror-soaked Black Metal in an original style which could be described as a Symphonic/Progressive take on Hellenic Black Metal with lots of keyboards and flamboyant solo excursions. Although genre purists may voice their complaints, the no-holds-barred approach of MACABRE OPERETTA is quite invigorating, much in the way of Japanese Black Metal psychedelic warriors SIGH – how often to you get to hear such lush and far-out bass playing on a Black Metal demo? A second demo, entitled “…in Full Regalia…” (1996) followed the year after, with the band going even further into progressive territories. Interestingly, the tape was allegedly released through the Italian label Northern Darkness Records (perhaps not so surprising given the Italians inclinations towards Horror-ific atmospheres in Metal music!)

After a longer period of silence, the band returned in 2003 with “Misanthropic Overtures”, a five-track demo/EP which we unfortunately enough haven’t been able to locate in its entirety yet. Except for their inclusion in Cryptia Productions’ retrospective demo compilation series in 2015, no further works are known to have been released by the band and with the tragic passing of Loukas Stivaktas in April 2020, it seems highly unlikely that the band will resurface. Themis, on the other hand, has stayed active in the musical field, not least as a session musician – performing on a respectable amount of Greek popular music albums. In addition to his Metallic activities and studio work, he also has a history within the Greek Punk scene with Lamia-based acts such as Εξακρίβωση Στοιχείων and Κραυγή.

To sum it all up, those into the more experimental and/or Horror-themed aspects of 1990s Black Metal will most probably take an interest in MACABRE OPERETTA.

Compilation appearances: