Interview with SABOTER

by Vpower

The Band: Saboter

Country: Greece

Answers by: Antonis Vailas (vocals)

https://www.facebook.com/saboterGR

Usually, when you get to listen to a Greek band you know you will get feeling and passion, moreover if they have good technich and quality you know that you will enjoy as hell. And this is what happened in Metalbrothers when we listened to that fist of an album that is their first full length “Mankind is Damned”. Greek Heavy Metal all the way. We talked to the vocalist and learnt more about Saboter and other things, enjoy it.

Hello guys, the band was formed in 2014, tell us a little more about it

The band was formed in 2014 by me(Antonis Vailas) and Nick Markoutsakis based on Nick’s idea to make a heavy metal band,we were both members of the speed/thrash band overkast. Then the other members and friends Christophere Tsakiropoulos and Vangelis Felonis agree with this move and join Saboter.

Searching for info about Saboter I couldn’t avoid to see that drummer Vagelis Felonis has been in many projects before, is he the “capo” (boss) in the band?

No Vangelis isn’t the "boss", we have no "boss" but if you want an answer the responsible of the managment is me and Nick. Vangelis is a great talented musician also a totally restless person with many projects on his back. All members we are friends from our childhood so we played music together from our first steps, so as you understand we have learned what  team work means at first hand.

In 2015 you released the EP “Saboter”, it sounded right but we couldn’t expect what was coming with his successor, the excellent “Mankind is Damned”

The EP was just an experimet, then we built our sound and started working all areas that lacked. After a year of really hard work you got in your hands "Mankind is damned".

How long did you work on “Mankind is Damned”?

 A full year.

In my opinion “Mankind is Damned” is a perfect collective work, from the production, to the cover art till the heavy metal approach, all breathes classic heavy metal

It's exactly what we wanted to create, the fact that it begins to have your acceptance is something that makes us very happy.

We never say anything except what we think at Metalbrothers.es, so it’s all your merit. If I had to define your album I would say it is a fist, with tracks that get under your skin from the very first listening

We tried highly to have a consistency throughout the album, it is something which I believe that we succeeded.

Yes, indeed. In “Mankind is Damned” we are gonna find some classical elements with a perfect execution and feeling, like the twin guitars ala Judas Priest, right?

Yes you got totally right, the twin guitars, the thetrical vocals, the magic soundscape and many more.

Not everything is speed in your work, Assassins is a mid tempo with awesome atmosphere and brilliant guitar solos

We are not a speed band, we play in all tempo depends on what it fits and expesses us.Usually we build a song upon lyrics.

And the important is that you build it right. We also see the influence of the Iron Maiden sound in compositions like Marching Death?

Especially to me the influence of Maiden is large and this appears in all tracks I have compose but as band we are trying very hard to build our own sound and not just to stay on influences.Yes Marching Death is a slow epic style song that approaches the Maiden feeling.

I would like to talk also about Antonis Vailas (this is you) on vocals, in songs like Impaler you deliver darker tunes that make me dream with bands like Mercyful Fate

We all love Mercyfull Fate in the band, so it's not surprissing us that it reminds you that feeling.

The end with Sands of Time brings some epic sound, true metal in vein

 Sands of time is a completely epic style song with lyrics based on the existential quest of man and his fear of death.

Let’s talk more about it, now that you pick up the subject, what are the lyrics about in “Mankind is Damned”?

The album is based on a concept and every song is a part of it.We analyze the modern type of dictatorships with a fantastic futuristic story. Mankind is damned shows the levels of corrupted authorities, religion, politics, army, mass media, police and reveals the cruel face of this suppresive political estructures that can be true some day or maybe is already true in some way.

Also, it speaks about the power that makes the history repeated again and again with different faces, about the good give a way to evil and towards.

Another reason to get the cd and follow the story. Your proposal fits perfectly with the Greek metal community that lives Metal with pure intensity but it is also an international product that should put Saboter in the world map

 It is true that in Greece there is a new wave of metal, which is getting stronger and stronger. We hope that our work will find its response and will put us on the world heavy metal map.

By the way, how do you see the Metal scene in your country?

As i said before there is a huge wave with lot of bands in all kinds of metal with really great works and we are proud of this. Check out bands as Rapture, endless recovery, fyrecross, mentally defiled, releahed anger, dead congregation, necrochakal, sacral rage, exarsis, innerwish, nightbreed, convixion, the temple and many many more witch worth a listen.

Thanks for the recommendations! I thought you have signed by Witches Brew, at least it said so in the Metal Archives, but I have read in your Facebook that apparently there is no agreement. That means you have no contract right now?

Yes we never have an official contract with witches brew, all our aggreements are in words and now we are free and open to any purposal.

 In that case, how can the fan get your album “Mankind is Damned”?

They can still get the album from witches brew or contact us.

Spain and Greece share their love for Metal but it is not usual to see Greek bands in Spain or Spanish bands in Greece, instead we usually meet in the international fests. Do you have some dates already scheduled for the months to come?

We are extremelly interested to play in Spain but there is no offer yet,we hope soon play some live shows in your country. We have two already live dates in Athens, 9th of september and 17th december.

Thank you for your attention Antonis and we hope to continue enjoying your heavy metal in the future with new chapters!

Thank you for your kind words and we wish you the best for your work.

Antonis Vailas