What are your names?
Marios – Kostas, Jon, Zois, Constantine

What is the band’s name?
Narcosis

How did you come up with the band’s name?
When you first hear of a band named Narcosis, the first think that crosses your mind is that we are a heavy metal band but, when you’re listening to our minimal rock groove with those hypnotized melodies you realize that you’re dealing with a band that is heavy enough for the boys and soft enough for the girls, so we wanted something that would represent that excitement.

What is your genre of music?
Riff-oriented heavy grunge rock with desert, alternative and sometimes post rock elements.

Give us a little bio about you as a band.
We kicked off in 2015 with the release of our debut full length album “Road to Infinity” – which got nominated by “2 Smoking Barrels” Radio show as the Best Greek Rock/Metal LP for 2015. Also we have been awarded with the second place of “Battle of the Bands” contest of 2015 and we’ve appeared live with the likes of Barb Wire Dolls (USA), Sinoptik (UKR) and important Greek acts such as Nightstalker. In 2016 we’ve made our first TV appearance for Metal Hammer’s TV War Live sessions and we’ve currently released our second album “Leap of Faith”.

What made you go in to music?
Love and passion for making and playing music

Are you a signed?
As a matter of fact, we are a part of “Made of Stone Recordings” label.

You have released your new album ‘Leap Of Faith’, tell us more about the single.
The LP’s first single “Emperor” is a powerful yet emotional song, combining lots of the elements we implemented in “Leap of Faith”, making it the perfect song to listen for someone interested in our music. Although we are a band that jams a lot in the studio we seldom make a song out of a jam session, but rather we work on prepared ideas and structures of songs visioned mainly by Marios – Kostas.
So, while we were jamming Marios – Kostas came out with this beautiful guitar intro that was a bit spooky too – at least to our ears – like a lone walker in a dark place searching for redemption, it came together effortlessly.

What is the meaning behind the album ‘Leap Of Faith’?
“Leap of Faith” is not a concept album but more of a collection of songs. However all the songs ,which made it to the album, share a common vision of redefining and improve our sound without renouncing our distinct musical influences. This came up to be our “concept” of the album, although the songs don’t refer to specific theme or story. This vision was solidified when the title track was almost finished and we realized that a little more risky approach to the writing process in terms of guitar sound, drum parts and production in general, was the way to go.
The title track was one of the first songs that were written at that time and set the stage for the other songs that were about to come eventually leading in what we believe is our best and most honest work to date.
So what a better name for this album than ‘Leap of Faith’?

Describe each track in two words.
Shifter: lust, psychedelic
Emperor: narcissism, powerful
Droids: social instability, post-rock
Restless: misfit, groove
Leap of Faith: intense, escalating
Creepers: madness, weird
Side Effect: evil, playful
Unknown Flavors: ambitious, uplifting
Poison Cup: love, catchy

What was the writing process like?
The writing process was held during difficult times for the band members whether it was family or economic issues. When we would meet up in the studio everyone would lash out in a musical way leaving behind negative thoughts. Rehearsing and writing the songs kept us together and liberated us from the constant stress and depressive thoughts. We had a way to express and share our thoughts and feelings. As a result most of the album’s lyrical content is quite dark and depressive but the music is still uplifting due to the liberating aspect of the process. As a band we didn’t plan beforehand most of the songs, but rather everyone was creating on the spot , based on an unprepared -or not- idea brought forth by our songwriter Marios – Kostas, or even creating a song from scratch in the studio as it happened with ‘Shifter’ for instance. This approach kept us more interested in the material ,as unusual musical choices were made constantly, due to the different musical tastes among us. ‘Leap of Faith’ from that point of view is definitely more diverse and subsequently better crafted than its predecessor ‘Road to Infinty’.

What was the recording process like?
The recording process was a delightful experience. We recorded for one month in the beautiful MD Recording Studio with Nikos Michalodimitrakis, a fun and wonderful guy, who made us feel like home in a matter of minutes. Our vision in sound was made possible by the relative small rooms of the studio giving this beefy and dry sound on the guitars while keeping a claustrophobic feeling. The drums were recorded on a relative small set in a slightly bigger room which made the whole mix self-consistent in sound. We are proud of the resulting product and it is a step-up for the band’s sound for sure. The most interesting part in the recording process was the production where we decided to put several electronic sounds and samples that weren’t intended in the first place, but now they seem essential.

Who did you work with on the single?
The whole album produced by Marios – Kostas and co-produced by Nick Michalodimitrakis. Recorded – mixed – mastered also by Nick Michalodimitrakis at MD Recording Studios.

Will we a music video for the tracks?
Soon yes we’ll release a music video.

Do you have any online shows coming up?
No we don’t, we are anticipating for the real thing, venues packed with crowd.

What else can we expect in 2020?
A release live show in Athens, a Greek tour and we are definitely hope for a European tour as well.

Do you have any collaborations coming up with any upcoming artists?
No we don’t.

Would you be up for collaborations if other musicians wanted one with you?and who would they have to contact?
We are always open to any musician who wants a collaboration. If anyone wants he should contact with Marios – Kostas.

Who are your influences?
Mainly 90’s grunge scene and stoner rock.

How do you get inspiration to write songs?
You never know, there are times when you just jamming around and a good riff appears and sometimes you want to be creative and express yourself. Everything and everyone we interact with daily is an inspiration.

Where do you see yourself now in 5 Years?
We hope being… alive !

When you’re not doing music, what do you do?
Marios – Kostas and Constantine working a day job outside of the music industry to make a living while Zois is studying physics in the university and in between playing the drums and solving equations, he drinks beers. Jon is the awesome graphics artist of Graphic no Jutsu, who designed our album artwork among others.

What was the song you listened to most that influenced you to go more in to the music scene?
Marios-Kostas: If I remember correct that song was Nirvana’s School from the album Bleach.

What’s the best advice you have ever been given?
Do what makes you feel happy.

What advice would you give to aspiring musicians not about the industry and just as an artist?
Be honest, be yourself, listen to tons of different music, learn constantly, support your local scene and most importantly have a good time playing and writing music.

What quote or saying do you always stick by?
Whatever

Where in your hometown is a must go to visit?
Definitely Monastiraki square is the centre of everything.

Your coming off tour; 1/ Where do you go first? 2/ Who do you see first? 3/What do you eat first?
Home – our family – and of course traditional Greek food.

When you are at a gig, what are 5 things you cannot forget?
Our gear , the set list, the schedule (soundcheck etc) , our merch and our sound engineer

Do you have social media accounts so your fans can follow you?
Yes we do, you just have to click on the link