BURST Issue #22, November 2014 by BURST Magazine

November 2014 Issue #22 | $1.99

10 reasons we love

Jack Black

The most ambitious Greek filmmaker

Yannis Economides The resurrected

Bare Infinity

A beginnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s guide

Person Of Interest ISSN 2241-5386

9 772241 538000

Inside BURST

Face to face with

Sharon Den Adel

Photography is a miracle. Do you believe?

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3 BURST MAGAZINE

pages 6-15 Articles

pages 16-26 Interviews

pages 28-31 Albums Reviews

page 38 Director’s Cut

S haron D en A del There is almost no fan of symphonic rock or metal that doesn’t know Within Temptation. Founded almost 20 years ago by Robert Westerholt and Sharon Den Adel, they rapidly shot to the top of their genre where they have ruled ever since. Read the whole story and interview on page 16

page 40 Film Reviews

Cover photo by Tim Tronckoe. page 42 TV Series Beginner’s Guide

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publisher

Raphael Aretakis

editor in chief

Spiros Smyrnis

senior editors

Sissy Fanouraki Jo Gogou Angie Rouska Panagiotis Tsoutsis

editors

contributing editors

proofreading / translations photographers

Alexis Seitanidis Eleni Lampraki Gabrielle Koch Helen Marie Joyce Joe Prostredny Kostas Krasonis Kostas Tsotsanis Mike Ritchie Barbara Pavone Dialekti Angeli Giorgos Kotrozinis Paschalis Koutsogiannis Alexia Lampropoulou B|S|Orestis

B|S|O Jo Gogou Raphael Aretakis Joe Prostredny

special guest

Karolina Pacan

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Trent Reznor Getting Closer to God By Mike Ritchie

Trent Reznor, a man often shrouded in a dark industrial shadow of beautifully bleak landscapes of sound and self-loathing anthems of torture, addiction and behind closed doors sexuality. Creator and innovator of some of the greatest live visuals, leaving audience’s around the world enslaved to the screens behind the hypnotic heavy weaving harem of musicians led by Reznor’s whip- like a cry. Many leather-clad fans would be willing to do anything for the dark poet of the modern day, the musical Poe. A man who’s taken his innermost private darkness, personal fantasies and morbid physical visions, channeled them into instruments and turned his demons into audio decadence. He’s made a multimedia career of making the bleak and desolate look glamourous and articulate. In the early years, taking songs like Head Like A Hole, Wish, Reptile and Closer, adding incredibly addictive beats and sounds to his macabre minstrels that put many into a leather boots, high heels and black shoes, put them on the dance floor and concert venues. From humble, isolated beginnings in Mercer Pennsylvania with movies, books and TV as his only stimulus, it was where much of his initial alienation and brilliance sprouted. With an early aptitude towards music, the man who Spin magazine in 1997 would call ‘the most vital artist in music’ started humbly with the piano (though only he knows when the final notes of Closer were conceived), later playing the saxophone and tuba in high school. Also showing a flair for acting he played the roles of Judas and Harold Hill in the School Theater. BURST www.afternoiz.com

His first band was early-eighties a new wave band Option 30. After a year, Reznor left college, moving to Cleveland to pursue music. He spent three months playing keyboards with The Innocent in 1985, then moved on to the synth pop Exotic Birds in 1986, appearing as the fictional band The Problems in 1987’s movie Light of Day, with Michael J Fox and Joan Jett. The story of Nine Inch Nails began at Cleveland’s Right Track Studio where he got a job as an assistant engineer. There he recorded demos of his own music during unused studio time, playing all the instruments himself, minus drums. Shortly after sending out demo’s he signed with TVT records and nine cuts were unofficially released in 1988, the Purist Feeling. Revised versions would appear later on Pretty Hate Machine. 1992’s Broken was a result of a media war when TVT wanted another PHM and Reznor wanting to go a different direction. Recorded under pseudonyms to avoid detection, Broken, released by Interscope, was heavier and darker with a collection of widely censored videos for songs including Wish, which won the Grammy Award in 1993 and Happiness in Slavery in 1995. Debuting at number two on Billboard, The Downward Spiral came in 1994. Recorded in the Tate House on Cielo Drive in LA, scenery of the Manson Murders. Reznor’s motivation for renting was his interest in folklore and his departure, after a random meeting with Tate’s sister, made him rethink of the situation and the places dark, well known

history. Being the last resident before its demolition, he took the door Susan Atkins wrote Pig on, installing it in his personal studio. He toured extensively, playing with lots of mud at 1994’s Woodstock. The double length album, The Fragile was released in 1999 after years of writer’s block and personal struggles/addictions. Though debuting at number one, it was not as commercially successful and Reznor himself funded the following tour. Six years passed during which he went into rehab, emerging With Teeth and The Hand That Feeds. Landing at number one, With Teeth was a success with three singles and according to Reznor, a group of songs that were friends with each other, but yet didn’t need the conceptual link to be good on their own. 2007 was Year Zero for Reznor. He predicted a future militarist dystopia state for 2022, criticizing current government policy. A concept album with a story told in numerous media forms, a video game, phone messages, murals and websites. This would also be the end of Interscope. Year Zero was written during the Live: With Teeth Tour and a massive media campaign commenced with unique tactics used arousing fan curiosity; like leaving USB drives at shows to be found with new music and clues on them. After splitting with Interscope he released the 36 track instrumental Ghosts I-IV independently on the Null Corporation Label. Reznor

then gave everyone The Slip, quickly recorded (in three weeks) and first released as free with no fanfare in different variations. After the subsequent Lights in the Sky: Over North America Tour he joined forces with his wife Mariqueen Maandig, forming How to Destroy Angels, from 2010-13 and releasing two EP’s and a full length one. NIN returned to major label prominence on Columbia in 2013 with Hesitation Marks. Though NIN has been his main project and career vision he’s had no shortage of side projects and collaborations to feed and fill his seemingly endless musical void of multi-tasking talent. In 1990 Reznor contributed to Al Jourgensen’s 1000 Homo DJ’s adding vocals to Black Sabbath’s Supernaut, a subject of long debated urban legend, since TVT wouldn’t allow Reznor’s vocals on the track. Jourgensen distorted them and it was never known for sure who was singing, depending on which version was being played. Also in ’90 Reznor played with Jourgensen in the Revolting Cocks. He got Pigface(d) singing on their first album Gub on the track Suck then went in a ‘slightly’ different direction, singing backing vocals on Past the Mission on Tori Amos’s 1994 album Under the Pink. He helped discover and unleash Marilyn Manson to the world on Portrait of an American Family and produced tracks on Smells Like Children and ground breaker Antichrist Superstar. He produced soundtracks for Natural Born Killers and Lost Highway in the midnineties, recording The Perfect Drug and it’s Poe like video for the latter. He collaborated under the name Tapeworm with Tools Maynard James Keenan and others for a decade, only officially releasing two tracks on A Perfect Circles 2004 album and Puscifers in 2009. In 2010 and 2011 he wrote film scores for The Social Network and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. With a return to Interscope at this year for a greatest hits collection, including new material; what’s next for a man who’s done so much, never sold out or gone with trends and creatively, seemingly, has no bounds. What started in Cleveland long ago has reached ears worldwide and Reznor continues to record and present the art and atrocities of his inner sanctum. The world waits for the next sonnet of dark electronic poetry the orchestrator weaves.

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reasons we love

Jack Black By Alexis Seitanidis

Most of the people I know whenever I mention the name Jack Black always have something positive or funny to say. Whether it is a quote from one of his movies or an awesome video clip he’s in, I’m thinking this can’t just be coincidental because at the end of the day everyone has haters, especially people who are in the movie or music business. In order to go against this argument I’ll give you 10 good reasons why this guy is not your typical entertainer and why so many people including myself love him. 1. He is half the force behind Tenacious D. For those who don’t know what that stands for, which I’m sure there aren’t many of you who don’t, Tenacious D is a band Black formed back in 1994 with a guy he was part of an acting group together, called Kyle Gass. Although the band always had kind of a funny edge to them, their course up to this day has been pretty serious as they have not only managed to release 3 albums, but also create a very much dedicated fan base. While Black was BURST www.afternoiz.com

earning roles in Hollywood movies and more and more people started to recognize him, the band’s popularity started to rise increasingly as they went on and eventually they ended up playing gigs in all kinds of venues from small clubs in front of 100 people, to 3 day long festivals in front of 100.000. 2. In one of his countless interviews up to date, he decided to take one of his oldest habits ,which is none other than weed smoking, to the next level. The show of course he was invited wasn’t your typical Q&A sit down thing, but Doug Benson’s Internet show “Getting Dough with High” where actually blazing it up is more of the norm. He and Benson ended up smoking and bong hitting for more than 40 minutes leading to a bunch of funny and random acts resulting from the excessive consumption of weed. 3. He is the main protagonist behind one of my favorite comedies called Nacho Libre, in which he of plays the role of a monk who in order to

make some money to support the orphanage which he is in charge of, he decides to go after his dream and enter into lucha libre fights. 4. He is a member of the famous Frat Pack. Inspired by a group of legendary actors of the 60’s named the Rat Pack, people who are into movies like Old School, Anchorman etc, usually view this group of actors as the A-Team of comedy. Other members of the group include Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn, Luke and Owen Wilson, Steve Carell and Ben Stiller. 5. He was one of the people who starred on the video parody of Pharrell Williams’ song “Happy” by none other than the master of mocking Weird Al Yankovic. 6. Although he has stated that he is not much of religious person and he considers himself more of an atheist, he claims that music is what brings spiritual balance in his life. 7. He has showed quite a few

times that he is always up for a good laugh no matter what, and that was proven a couple of years ago when he recorded some prank calls he made to a bunch of McDonald’s and Domino’s stores and uploaded them on the Internet for everyone to listen to. 8. He has claimed that if Mozart and Beethoven could team up to make a band they would still be not as good as Tenacious D. 9. He once tried to sneak into a comic con convention unnoticed by wearing a suit and a Storm Trooper mask on his head. That didn’t work out quite well of course but what’s even funnier is that when people started asking him to reveal himself he still tried to trick them and acted like no one had noticed. 10. I kept my personal favorite for last, being a fan of such sports myself, I was happily surprised when I found out that he is a fan of body boarding where you actually try to catch a wave while sitting on a board flat in your stomach.

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XStorieS Ray Amy Winehouse The X Ray life of a love abused by Jo Gogou

It has already been three years since Amy Winehouse’s passing, a singer that will be remembered and her voice will be reminisced for many years to come. She belongs in the, let’s call it, “cursed generation” of talented people that could not finish their life’s work and that have passed before the age of thirty. She was one of those artists that the years of glory were mingled with alcohol, drugs and love affairs, an oneway route to destruction. When she started she dreamt of becoming a performer, not just another famous person, so her talent took its time to shine to the world. People from that industry confirm that she was low profile. BURST www.afternoiz.com

Her first album came out when she was twenty years old and enden seven years later with the amazing one, “Back to black”. She was an inspiration for the fashion world, for music, even her way of thinking was inspirational. Many great artists respected her and her work. Apart from her self-destructive tendencies, her thoughts, her lyrics, her stage performance showed a person that put love in everything she did; she was loving to all, even to the ones that betrayed her heart. Unfortunately she was mourned even before she died. In June, 18, 2011 at Belgrade she gave a concert that made obvious of her bad state. People yelled at her, others

cried and the diva was about to collapse on stage. Now if you notice other people’s lives that ended before the age of 30, you will definitely spot common ground. 1) “Life is to short”, is something they all used to say 2) Most of them have a last live performance where they could not finish it due to alcohol/drug abuse 3) They all have been idols for their era and beyond. “Life is short, do it, you know because life is short.” “If you don’t throw yourself into something, you’ll never know what you could have had.” She once has said that she sang to

get away from her problems. Problems that may have started when her parents divorced. Problems that came after the success and fame and that continued and ended with Blake. Amy Jade Winehouse, a girl that wanted to impress with her singing since the age of twelve and still was shy and kept low tones. What is it that drove that charismatic girl towards alcohol and drugs? Could it be fame that affected her so much? Don’t forget that she won five Grammy Awards, the Mercury Prize, the general field “Big Four” awards: Best New Artist, Record of the Year and Song Milton H. Greene

11 of the Year, three Ivor Novello Awards and of course many Brit Awards. She was recognized as the best artist still living and she had the essence of the 50’s and Billie Holiday. Her look, thanks to Alex Foden, was a special one. Hair and makeup inspired by Cleopatra and The Ronettes. The image she created was so convincing that even a Ronettes’ member, stated in an interview about this: “I don’t know her, I never met her, and when I saw that pic, I thought, ‘That’s me!’ But then I found out, no, it’s Amy! I didn’t have on my glasses.” The quiet and full of dreams girl was transformed to a girl that got many piercings, tattoos and a bad habit of substance abuse. Drug, Drinks and Blake. In 2008 the long journey of abuse and bad choices in her love life begins, leaving her life and career behind. Till this day people blame her lover, Blake Fielder-Civil for what happened. A young man, adopted, from a small village in England. He decided to follow his dream and become independent. He was a boy that would meet a girl and lure her into a rough game, a rough world. A boy that would go to prison, take pills, drugs and embrace alcoholism. His parents had tried to help him -financially or otherwise- several times. More times than that they plead for them through the radio station 5.Live (2007). They got to him for just a bit… a week in a rehab center that took out the worse of the couple. . Their appearance, a few days later, was disappointing and depressing. Thier families got more and more worried, all knew that artists take drugs, but as they stated: “Rich rock stars take drugs, but rich rock stars dies”. Thing continued to the worse. Five days before she died she would listen to the audience booing her as she was wasted on stage. That seemed to crush her, so what did she do? She took a good cocktail of substances. In her blood alcohol was found, enough to poison a person.

was working on the album “Back to Black” and the death of her grandmother, the one person that kept her balanced. It all came to a downfall and in 2007 she cancelled shows in Britain and Europe. Serious health issues draw her away fro the music business and many foresaw that the star was about to fade away. She had been in and out of hospitals due to her addictions (heroin, ecstasy, ketamine) as well as a heart murmur she had at her heart. She never tried to hide it, nor she couldn’t, nor she wanted to; she had been very honest. In one of her interviews she had confessed that she had struggled with issues of self confidence, depression, weight loss and self-harm. “I really thought that it was over for me then.” Sadly, in all this, her ex husband (to whom she was still in love) Blake Civil had a part. In December, 2007, a Winehouse’s spokesman stated that she was being watched and that she was very active artistically. Her problems made her write. A few days later the newspaper, The Sun released a video in which a woman like Amy smoked crack cocaine and mentioned ecstasy and valium. Her father, in desperation, went to her record company, Island Records, and told them that she would not travel because of those accusations. January, 2008. She was admitted in a rehab center for two weeks. At the same time, Blake was in too, having the same treatments. Some days later paparazzi found them in their lowest and hardest time of their relationship. Both had signs of violence and abuse. The newspapers held titles as: “Please can somebody save her?” In 2010 she would state: “I literally woke up one day and was like, ‘I don’t want to do this any more’”.

for her family and her audience in October, 23, 2011. “The unintended consequences of such potentially fatal levels was her sudden death.” “We are deeply saddened at the sudden loss of such a gifted musician, artist and performer.” Several artists would gather up to create the “Amy”. Among them: U2, M.I.A., Lady Gaga, Mutya Buena, Marianne Faithfull, Bruno Mars, Nicki Minaj, Keisha Buchanan, Rihanna, George Michael, Adele, Kelly Clarkson, Courtney Love, and Green Day. After the death, conspiracy theories arose, she had enter the 27 Club, seventeen years after Cobain’s death. Oddly enough she had stated three years before, her concern of passing at the same age. At the day of her funeral, friends and family had gathered in a special party, a party to celebrate her life. “Goodnight, my angel, sleep tight. Mummy and Daddy love you ever so much.”

Foundation The Winehouse family created an organization to her memory. http://www.amywinehousefoundation.org/ “It is some relief to finally find out what happened to Amy. We understand there was alcohol in her system when she passed away; it is likely a build-up of alcohol in her system over a number of days,”. “The court heard that Amy was battling hard to conquer her problems with alcohol, and it is a source of great pain to us that she could not win in time. She had started drinking again that week after a period of abstinence. “It underlines how important our work with the Amy Winehouse Foundation is to us, to help as many young people and children as we can in her name. It means a lot to us, and from the overwhelming messages of support we have had since Amy died, we know she meant a great deal to people all over the world. We want to thank everyone for that and for their continuing enthusiasm for the foundation.”

After all these hardships, Winehouse would die due to alcohol poisoning in 2011. Her second album, Back to Black, did the best sales in the 21st century (2012). She was awarded the title: “the pre-eminent vocal talent of her generation” and she entered te list of the best 100 woman performances. Death

When problems have a name

“If I died tomorrow, I would be a happy girl.”

Her struggle and her downfall started in 2005. Amy faced drinking, drug experimenting, weight loss and evidently zero self-confidence. It was the time that she

15:54, noon and two ambulances came to her house in Camden. Amy Winehouse was found dead in her bed. The blood tests gave the answers BURST www.afternoiz.com

Knockin’ On

Heaven’s BY helen Door marie joyce

Fact File Days on Earth: December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993 (aged 52)

Associated Act: The Mothers of Invention (1964-1969, 1970-1971, 19731975; died 1993), also Captain Beefheart and numerous collaborations, and, of course Zappa, solo artist (Genres: Progressive Rock// Experimental Jazz // Jazz Classical Fusion // Electronic // Musique Concrète)

Biggest Influence: So all over the place, I can’t name specifics apart from Edgard Varèse. General influences from Avant-garde, modern Classical, modern Jazz, R&B.

Quoted: “Drop out of school before your mind rots from exposure to our mediocre educational system. Forget about the Senior Prom and go to the library and educate yourself if you’ve got any guts. Some of you like Pep rallies and plastic robots who tell you what to read. Forget I mentioned it. This song has no message. Rise for the flag salute…”

All photos are property of their rightful owners. BURST is using them to accompany this article. We have no right on the photos.

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The term ‘creative persona’ is the only one I could decide on in order to most succinctly characterize Frank Vincent Zappa. His career spanned 30 years with 62 albums to show for during his life plus another 37 posthumously. The total is a mind blowing 99 albums which is an insanely prolific generation of material. However, Zappa was an eccentric individual whose genius border-lined madness for many, something that he was proud to recognise: “It has never mattered to me that thirty million people might think I’m wrong. The number of people who thought Hitler was right did not make him right... Why do you necessarily have to be wrong just because a few million people think you are?” He was not ashamed of his success, he had no qualms about doing what he felt compelled to be doing and

making money out of it; in fact this was his precise definition of being an artist. He had strong opinions that he voiced against institutionalized education, the modern economy, the concept and practice of freedom, ethics, politics, drugs, society, philosophy and many more. This guy was not just your average multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, performer and band leader. This guy was also an artist, conductor, a director, recording engineer and record producer. What a skill set! He also had a lot of insight, a lot of spunk, attitude, an inherent anti-conformist and had a way of ‘sticking it to the man’ like no other artist in history. His music covers so many categories, representing the vastness of his creativeness, and although he is an acclaimed artist in all the senses before and after his death, described as “satirical

rocker”, “guitar virtuoso” and an “electronics wizard”, he did not end up having as wide an appeal as more mainstream bands of the time, or the ones that came a bit later, e.g. Led Zeppelin. The reason is probably because Zappa never wanted to be as widely accepted. Franky starts Zapping Frank had a multicultural ancestry: French, Italian, Greek, Arabic and 3 siblings living in an Italian American family environment based in Maryland Baltimore, although the father’s profession as a mathematician and chemist in the defense industry made them move a couple of times. He was a sickly child, frequently experiencing sinusitis, asthma and earaches; he has blamed the location of Maryland for his health issues as they lived in close proximity to a military arsenal that stored mustard gas. These early

13 painful days left their mark in Zappa’s work no doubt. In 1952, at 12 years of age, the Zappas relocate to California and Franky starts to figure out how music will soon change his previously miserable life! He joined the school band as a drummer as he was intrigued with the basics of rhythm while a new phonograph for the Zappa family meant Franky could start a record collection, and R&B contemporary singles were his first purchases, while developing his percussional appraisal on a snare drum that came into his possession. At the same time he begins to be enthused by modern classical music, especially Edgard Varèse, which opened the world of Classical music to Zappa. He enjoyed the artisan flavour that Varèse’s music had and it was this strange combination along the lines of an audacious Salvador Dali meets the disciplined Mozart that was consolidated in his inner psyche that would affect his compositions and flair later on. After moving for a second time within California, Frank’s mother encouraged

his musical inclination, and as a gift on his fifteenth birthday she arranged a call to Varèse’s home! Although he was not there, Varèse heard news of the boy fan and wrote to him inviting him to his home when in New York; unfortunately for Franky Varèse died in 1965 and he never managed to get to New York until 1966! The letter was framed and kept by Zappa on admirable display. In high school he meets Don Vliet (Captain Beefheart) whom he keeps closely collaborating with him throughout his years. They started off as school friends sharing similar musical interests, exchanging R&B records and constantly discussing musical opinions and ideas. At that time, Zappa had joined The Blackouts as the drummer, which also included Euclid James “Motorhead” Sherwood who later became a member of the Mothers of Invention. These were the years during which Zappa experimented with his skills on the guitar owning one in 1957; influenced by Johnny “Guitar” Watson, Howlin’ Wolf and

Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown he casually developed his aptitude quickly and imaginatively. By the end of highschool Zappa had composed and arranged a piece for the school orchestra before graduating in 1958. He fled home a year later to pursue his musical dream of earning as a musician. Rise of Frank Zappa and the Mother(fucker)s of Invention Zappa’s multi-cultural background and diverse social mix went hand in hand with his musical style. Although his influences were so vast and varied, he managed to create his own personal eclectic and original style manifesting itself through use of varied outputs. Here’s to say success was just around the corner as some of his earlier recordings scored in two soundtracks for films The World’s Greatest Sinner (1962) and Run Home Slow (1965). During this period he played live shows with The Blackouts and wrote songs for other artists of the time Ray

Collins and producer Paul Buff. With these small sources of income, Zappa managed to save enough in order to fund his own concert showcasing his orchestra music in 1963, with the genius idea of recording and also broadcasting it. He later appeared on a night TV show making all sorts of comical and what not sounds with a bicycle, but it was so controversial that Dot Records declined signing citing that their style had no “commercial potential”. Info Alert! There is a quote reference on the sleeve of Freak Out! In Latin (side four). His marriage break up coincided (because reality matters did not affect his creative propagation) with his spending hours on end in Pal studio which he later renamed to Studio Z, experimenting on overdubbing and audio tape manipulation. He kept his studio in seclusion, only open to eclectic guest musicians for jamming sessions and co-operations, rarely accepting booking for recordings from other musicians outside Zappa’s refined group of piers which led peo-

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ple to suspect him of illicit activity (pornography was a popular one) prompted by an article in a local newspaper, resulting in an arrest. After accepting a paid offer to produce a steamy audio recording for a stag do Zappa and a female friend staged an erotic scene, and Zappa was arrested at the tape for buck rendezvous point. He ended up only serving 10 days in jail but this experience scarred him after he lost work confiscated by the police, and the press had had a field day with his reputation. After a period of reorganizing his thoughts, Zappa was approached by producer Ray Collins asking him to join R&B band Soul Giants that was left without a guitarist after Collins and the previous guitarist fell out. Zappa not only accepted, but re branded himself as bandleader, making a case to the other members to play his music for better chances of scoring a record deal. They renamed to The Mothers of Invention, in 1965 and one year later they gained popularity in the underground music scene and caught the eye of MGM producer Tom Wilson who was associated with big BURST www.afternoiz.com

names of the time such as Simon and Garfunkel. They signed with MGM subdivision Verve in 1966, debuting with “Freak Out!” which was innovative and presented itself as the new radical, anticonformist sound out there. It fused R&B, musique concrète and doo-wop with jazz and rock sound, but the album was more than just a new style of music. “Freak Out!” was a musical expression of the underground society of Los Angeles at the time. It is fascinating mixture of rawness of rock but with the intricacy in the musical arrangements and poignant lyrics, with often strange theatrical vocal performances and satirical elements, with a plethora of sounds that was overall entirely pleasantly enthralling. The Mothers continue under Zappa’s creative direction and musical production and release “Absolutely Free” (1967). This was a more anti-conformist album than the previous one as Zappa played with the boundaries of sound vs music, experimenting with abrupt changes in his songs. The Mothers relocated to New York as Zappa was offered a contract to perform

in his favourite conducting ways for audiences, also incorporating impromptu and avant-garde interaction acts with members of the audience. Towards the end of the 1960’s, continuing his exploration into the realms of the sound vs music Zappa invented a sound process “xenochrony” (strange synchronizations) and also evolved a compositional approach which he called “conceptual continuity”. While Zappa’s talent cannot be contained to just the Mothers of Invention, we must mention that he goes from success, to economic crises in 1970s, but all in all flushes out 21 albums (including the posthumous releases) under this moniker. The Mothers were in fact disbanded and then reinvented, changing memberships, with Zappa also being involved in filmmaking and orchestral projects in between. He was restless as he recognized the need of a solo identity. By 1970 he had already released 3 solo albums “Lump Gravy” (1967), “Hot Rats” (1969) and “Chunga’s Revenge” (1970), and he continued in this frequency. Zappa reinventing Zappa While presenting his work in the forefront of the reinvented Mothers Zappa was unfortunate enough to be struck by two instances of bad luck – a flare from the audience burns down his equipment during a show in Switzerland. After recovering from that, in the next show he played he was pushed off the stage and ended up in hospital, having to wear a leg brace and walk with a limp for a long time. It was like these events fueled him! During this time he made two jazz records. By 1973 he was collaborated with various artists, performing and producing, becoming a strong player in the music industry too. He becomes involved in a suit against his former manager, but this did not curb his fervor to create. He prepared pieces for his album Läther but the long process of suing that lasted up to the end of the 70’s meant his record rights were frozen and his income would only come from

touring. Eventually the album was released posthumously in 1996. In 1979, after almost a decade of suit strife, during which Zappa still generated 14 albums, he releases his bestselling album, which was a double one at that, “Sheik Yerbouti” under Zappa records, which featured the song ‘Bobby Brown’ that openly spoke about the taboos of sexuality in America at the time. Zappa wanted to go even further with after releasing double live “Tinsel Town Rebellion” (1981) featuring Steve Vai’s first appearances which was a challenging album to make full of complicated instrumentations and executions and the explicit lyrics drew even more attention to what Zappa was trying to accomplish. Zappa achieved a hit single ‘Valley Girl’ which he dismissed from playing live due being considered too ‘novelty’ and overshadowing the rest of his work. This was how eccentric he was. He pursued classical performances and adopted a synclavier from that point on as his basic composing and performing instrument. This gave him endless possibilities and reinforced the digital medium of his music. He went so far as to want to re-release old material replacing it with digital production. How ahead of his time was he! He continued to release a mixture of solo and live albums, others having a more rock feel to them while others crossing the musical spectrum into classical orchestral projects. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1990. Zappa had fully embraced classical music at this point and was offered to compose for the Frankfurt Festival in 1992. He enjoyed this period of his life as he felt a sort of equal among his other composer piers, and was satisfied by the level of orchestral execution, something which he had been very picky about in the past. Following his death in 1993 he has left a legacy behind him, and achieved immortality by puzzling musicologists throughout the world, who are still trying to decipher what Frank Zappa’s sound was really about.

WordsOf Wisdom by Karolina Pacan

Steve Lousvet asked Karolina: When are you coming back to the UK? Answer: Hello Steve, With the band we hope to come back as soon as possible. We loved the gig we had in Birmingham! So kind and lovely people are there!

CEnsored

But I hope that Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be able to get myself there for a few days too, to discover more about the country of Faery legends. England is very rich in such things.

www.argophotography.com

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Face to face with

Sharon Den Adel By Joe Prostredny

There is almost no fan of symphonic rock or metal that doesn’t know Within Temptation. Founded almost 20 years ago by Robert Westerholt and Sharon Den Adel, they rapidly shot to the top of their genre where they have ruled ever since. They are still riding high on a wave of popularity, with no end in sight. Their new album, “Hydra” has been achieving record sales and the venues they play are getting larger and larger. Although a common fixture on the BURST www.afternoiz.com

European tour circuit, they rarely come to North America. Therefore, it was big news that they were doing an extensive headlining tour of the US and Canada this fall and fans were excited. I was fortunate enough to get an interview with the band’s vocalist, Sharon, before their concert in Baltimore, Maryland. When I arrived early, I was told Sharon was out for a stroll, so I settled down to wait in the backstage break room at the Ram’s

Head Live venue. I had met Sharon several times in the past and she has always been very friendly and humble. When she finally breezed in (on time), she walked past me, heading to another room to set some stuff down. She did a double take, turned around and yelled to me with a huge smile: “Hey! I know you!”. To which I yelled back with an even bigger smile: “Hey! I know you, too!” Yep!, it was going to be a good interview! Here is how it went:

Photo: Tim Tronckoe BURST www.afternoiz.com

18 This is Joe Prostredny from Burst Magazine and I’m sitting here with Sharon Den Adel from Within Temptation! Hello Sharon how are you this afternoon? I am fine. Just walked around Baltimore and I’m just ready for anything!

Are you cousins with the king? Or...??

you’ve done to date. How’s it going so far?

most of the places we’ve played so far have sold out.

(laughing) Well, I don’t think so… But I think someone in the family was walking around when Napoleon came in and they all had to choose a [last] name, and he probably said like “I’m from nobility of course!” (laughs)

It’s going very well… You know… We got a good response on our shows and people are really into the songs, they were singing along to the songs. Of course “Hydra” came out earlier this year, but it’s cool to see the first reaction in America also..how people react to the album and I think…this album has been very well received. It’s a combination of getting people to notice that we had a new record out… And that’s on account of Nuclear Blast of course, and also that people are really liking it and spreading the word by mouth.. That’s why

Yeah. It’s a very, very good album… a great album...

Thank you so much for talking with us today. So, your last name, Den Adel, it means “from nobility”?

Well, you’re very noble to us...

Yes, exactly!

So you’re in your final week of your North American tour... I believe the biggest North American tour

Are you descended from ancient Dutch nobility?

Well, Thank you!

Thank you! You wrapped up your European tour this spring and now you’re here…. How do American audiences compare to European audiences? Are there any differences, or are we all the same variety of crazy… (Laughs) Well, I compare Americans to.. more like …the southern European crowd that we had… Like Spain or Italy? Yeah, Spain, Italy… they are more…. (laughs) expressive. They are a more expressive crowd… They’re people who are really … I don’t know… express their intensity, for their love for the music in general, in a far more expressive way than the northern Europeans do… and that’s something we really like. So, people are more reserved in northern Europe? Yeah.. they are more like “give me what you got and I’ll decide if I like it”. (laughs) I’ve noticed that myself, as I’m sure you remember I’ve seen you over there a lot… Yeah.. The first few rows in Europe are pretty wild, then you turn around and look toward the back and its more quiet...

Photo: Joe Prostredny BURST www.afternoiz.com

It’s more quiet, yeah. People are more into listening.. or sometimes the audience is a bit older. It depends on where you’re playing… what kind of country. In Germany the audience is a bit older than in England or in Belgium, for instance, and in France… So it’s different in every country. But mostly, with the southern European shows that we’ve done, they are always more expres-

19 sive… not that the people enjoy it more… they just enjoy in a more expressive way… and that how I see America as well… It seems like every year you guys are playing larger and larger venues. You played in Wembley, in London… do you enjoy the grandeur of the larger venues? Do you miss the intimacy of the smaller ones.. Yeah…. well the thing is, when you’re doing Wembley.. you’ve reached a new milestone in your career… and it’s beautiful… and the crowd was also amazing, even for a big venue like that. The people were really into it and responding, you know like one mass… you know… like a wave…(laughs) and it was really cool! But when you are coming here… When you play smaller venues like here in America, it also reminds you of how we all started and it’s more energetic in a way, because you really have [less space], compared to what you’re used to in Europe… like this post stamp, sometimes, then it’s like really… you’re really rocking it you

know, because everyone is so close to each other. There’s no way to turn, everybody’s moving so (laughs) it comes like … one rock of energy to the crowd I think.

of music we make and try to conquer hearts. That’s what we do. But I also like the underdog position too, it’s also good, it reminds you of where you came from.

Yeah, totally.

So they’re both good?

So Within Temptation has been around for 17 years, maybe 18…

Yeah…I think we kept our eyes and ears open for developments in music in general and we’re also still, renewing ourselves without standing still and doing the same kind of thing over and over again. Although some bands do that really well…. but looking at ourselves, that really doesn’t inspire us. What inspires us are bands around us that are doing new things and you pick certain pieces from everything around you. Then you make it your own and you integrate it in your own style of music and get a new kind of concept for Within Temptation again.

Yeah they’re both good… But in a different way, yeah and it’s also like, in Europe you get more of a chance to show your whole, full thing that you normally do, you know, the whole shebang. The pyrotechnics… and the lighting is more elaborate.. Yeah… and also the video and the stage decor is way bigger… and that’s something that we also admired from bands that we grew up with and admired so much… like Iron Maiden for instance. But it’s nice that we have both of them… and I don’t mind working hard and to still try to … to convince people about our music in America, because it’s still like we are working hard to convince everybody “hey (laughs)” … about who we are and you know… what kind

Nooooo!..way longer! (laughs) Well, since your first album, it’s been 17 years… Yeah, exactly, yeah.. …and many bands at that point in their career have become more of a nostalgia act. You know, you go to a show and people want to hear more of your old stuff and don’t have a lot of interest in hearing you do anything new. But as we’ve previously stated, your recent album “Hydra” is doing really well. In fact it opened at number one on the Billboard rock charts and at 16 on the Billboard 200… which is your best showing yet.

What do you think has contributed to your continued success and rising popularity after all these years?

Yeah,you’ve changed your style over the years and you’ve taken some criticism for that.. Yeah.. …but obviously, and

I’m

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20 just repeating what you just said… that’s part of what has kept you fresh and new and what has stopped you from becoming a nostalgia act. Yeah, exactly… and I think we would not have been around if we could not have done that. I can’t do it any other way.. what we write we don’t write on recipe. It comes out how we feel it and we try to do it in a modern way also, you know, to stay [current] with the music scene nowadays instead of 20 years ago. Despite Within Temptation getting more and more popular, you still have a reputation for being very accessible to your fans… You graciously take time to meet with them after shows and such. Now, this is very common with newer bands, but older bands, once they “make it”, it gets to be too much and they kind of abandon the practice. What keeps you doing it? Do you still enjoy the one on one interaction after all this time? I do, I do… enjoy it a lot actually

because it’s more like… especially some people that I remember you know, coming by for more and more shows and you build a certain relationship and you talk with them every time you see them …. because they know how to find you, also…(Laughs) (laughing) But I can also understand the bigger acts… you know, like if they become bigger and they don’t have time because, you do so many big shows, and if people are waiting for you, it’s like massive…. (laughs), it’s not like “HI”. You get run over by people… if they grab a piece of your hair they are glad (laughs). Now, if I remember, New York City in 2011..you still had 200-300 people waiting for you and it was like 1:30m in the morning… Yeah!! …that was crazy also!... That was a lot! But, if people are so dedicated you know… you want to show appreciation. Like we did in Milan, last time we played there we did a club show, in the festival season actually, and there were so many people waiting outside, I said

“you know what? We’re gonna get groups in… we’re gonna make a group picture” and, (sound effect)… then another group .. and another… It’s really nice that you did that, rather than say “there’s too many we can’t do anything”, you know… Yeah, especially because the show was so great, but it was really …we had a good vibe from the fans, and we were not doing anything, and the show had a very early curfew so we were like “what else are we going do? (laughs)..yeah, and it was cool doing it!. Some of the people we’ve known for years already, so it’s still fun doing that! Getting back to “Hydra”, you have four duets on the new album… duets are not a surprise, because you do that a lot, but you’ve never done this many on one single album… why did you decide to do this on this album? Well, it was not really a decision that we made up front… It was more like we had a wish list and certain songs reminded us

of the people we asked like the “Dangerous” song with Howard Jones, for instance, really reminds us... was maybe inspired a bit by... umm… oh god… the band name. Howard Jones’ Killswitch Engage?

band?

Yeah… Killswitch Engage… the way the tempo is and you know, the way it sounded, we thought maybe he would like to sing it with us and you know… maybe we were inspired a bit by it , so why not ask him? He said “Yeah!”; he liked the song and he even knew us! He didn’t have to Google us like Xzibit (laughs) which was funny… and yeah… so he was a really nice guy and he did an amazing job… like a fish in the water… perfect! So, speaking of Xzibit, you made a very brave choice on this album by performing a duet with a hip hop artist. A lot of fans had a lot of trepidation when they heard about this, but the song and the video turned out fantastic… and many fans say it’s their favorite song on the album. But why did you decide to take

Photo: Malte Schmidt BURST www.afternoiz.com

21 that leap? Because that was a pretty big leap from what you’ve done. Yeah well… you don’t wanna know what we’re gonna do next, after this album. I was just discussing it with Robert. I’m not gonna tell you yet, it still could go every direction, but anyway, sometimes you feel that when you’re in a process, and your getting this nostalgic vibe…. I was just listening to the radio and I heard this Aerosmith song again, and we we’re all talking about how cool that was…

ing again.. and then we go to South America for a few weeks and then its holiday time. Then we have a lot of things happening back in Europe again. Actually I have something in Holland for, like, 19 shows and then there’s a theater tour with the band again. After that we have a lot of festivals planned already. So everything continues every time and we have Bloodstock of course, we have the Metal Hammer festival that we headline in November, I think. Yeah, so it’s

gonna be busy, busy times! You briefly mentioned that you have another acoustic theater tour planned in the spring or late winter… these tours are always really popular, but they always stay kind of local to the Netherlands. Yeah.. I know.. Have you ever considered taking the theater tour fur-

ther abroad? We would love to hear it over here. Yeah I know, but it is very difficult ...somehow in Holland, for the last 20 years, it’s a tradition for bands to go into the theater and do a different kind of show there. For us it’s completely different, it’s not like we’re just playing acoustics, like the unplugged version from MTV...but we have like a real theater setup… You see illusions happening, all kinds of stuff happen-

The one with Run DMC? Yeah, the Run DMC song and about how groundbreaking that was. Nobody did it as well as they did, in my opinion, because it was really…. like Run DMC… totally different from Aerosmith. In the video, in the song, it was really the best crossover ever and we felt like…. Well, we always said, we’ve come through a lot of changes, but we’ll never do rap… you know, it was one of my practical jokes. And now we’re like “Hmmm.. maybe we should…” (laughs) But then our kind of music combined with Xzibit, how he is , his kind of music, we integrated it into our music, and without becoming something… without either of us denying who we are or trying to do something that we’re not. it didn’t collide it just really fit like a glove. It meshed. It did turn out really, really well. Yeah, I must say, we did have like 5 songs where it didn’t work (laughs) not with him, but we tried to see how it would… we just ripped off some rap from the internet and integrated it into our music and said “Nah… this doesn’t work” and then the 5th song… it did work. So “Hydra”’s toured Europe and now touring North America, where do you plan to take the tour next? Asia, Australia…? We’re going to Japan next week, on Friday, to play in Loud Park, which is a very big metal festival over there… then we have a few weeks at home.. we’ll start writ-

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22 ing on stage which is very cool. But, it’s very difficult to bring that kind of show to England or to America, or other countries in Europe even, because they don’t have the same kind of… well, I don’t know, the bookers don’t seem to have [the desire to make that change] you know, to theaters. It’s a shame. I’ve never been to your theater tour, and unfortunately, I’m going to miss the next one too. I even have tickets waiting for me, but I can’t get away. I’m really sad that I can’t see it. Ohhh no… well, we’ll do another theater tour, don’t worry! (laughs) Well, I’ll definitely try to make the next one! Your tours have always been very popular with the fans and the fans have always love your live DVD’s. Next month you’re finally releasing a new DVD… The first one since “Black Symphony” in 2008! What took you so long? Yeah exactly. Well, we didn’t want to do it immediately after the “Elements” show [the 15th anniversary show] that we did in November of 2012. The thing was that we wanted to work on a new album. We were full of energy and full of ideas, and these DVDs always take a huge part of our time. We didn’t want to just release it, we wanted to do it good, we don’t want to do anything just half…

Yes I was!.. …and in the final hour before we had to deliver the final “Hydra” disks to the factory, we said “we can’t do this, we have to stop the presses… we’re not gonna do it this way”... We had a small part of “Elements” on it and we felt like, well, we were watching it over and over again, going through all the things we had to check for, and thought, this [“Elements”] show… it’s too good, you know. Too good to just release a club show like “Hydra”. “Hydra” was good, but you can’t compare it to an “Elements” show, so we felt like…. Ok… stop the presses, we’re gonna do it in a completely different way. We’re gonna make a double DVD, because “Hydra” is already there and people want to have it , and we promised that we were gonna do it, so now we’re gonna do a double one. It’s gonna be a double DVD… plus a [live] CD of the “Hydra” concert. OK, so the “Elements” concert is on it? Yeah, it’s the full show… It’s the show?

full

“Elements”

Yeah… maybe one or two or three songs that we felt like were not necessary to put on there because we had “Hydra” also, and there is only a certain length that you can have on a DVD, so..

That’s gonna make your fans very happy because people have been screaming for the “Elements” concert on DVD… Yeah, I know..(laughs) Did you see the fan made “Elements” video? They just gathered everyone’s crowd shot videos and put the whole show together because everyone wanted to see it.. Yeah, (laughing), that was amazing! that was so sweet! That was special.. It was incredible. I have it on my computer… I was there at the live “Elements” concert as well! Will there be any bonus material on the DVDs? Any travel footage or backstage antics…? Ahh.. I don’t know, actually... the tour footage is gonna be… I’m not sure if they’re gonna be on there or not. I’m not sure. Because it all has to do with the fact that, because we had two full length concerts on it, it took away a lot of space for other things. Yeah, so I’m not sure. (The tour manager walks in and holds up two fingers behind Sharon’s head. I assume he is telling me I have two minutes left, and not that he is just trying to make Sharon have cute bunny ears…)

Well, I’m getting the 2 minute sign from your manager, so we better wrap it up. Sharon, thank you again for talking with us today. Is there anything else you’d like to say to your fans before we leave you? Well, yes... it’s not decided yet if we’re going to do it, but we’re talking about it, so maybe….I don’t want to give people too much hope, but know that we’re talking about it. We got a lot of complaints from people from the southern parts of America, like “why aren’t you coming here, blah blah…” (Laughing) them, yes..

I’ve

heard

Sharon: They’re pretty loud (laughs). So I felt like, why don’t we just go back for 2 weeks or 2 ½ weeks, maybe… It depends on how much time we can take off from all the other things that are already planned, but… go to America again, but just to the southern [areas] where we’ve never been before… so that might happen. That would be great! I’ll be there if it does.. Ok! (Laughs) Dank je wel, Sharon! Alsjeblieft!

And that’s why you didn’t release “Elements”, because… Well yeah…two reasons… We weren’t sure if we felt it was good enough to be released after “Black Symphony”… Hard to live up to? Yeah… and in our heads it just grew worse and worse and then we had this other DVD.. actually from the “Hydra” tour in Europe, which we recorded in Amsterdam, at the Heineken Music Hall… You were there!... BURST www.afternoiz.com

Photo: Diana Bloemendal

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For those who don’t know, Bare Infinity were formed by Tomas and Christianna initially as a two member project and at the time it was the 2nd active metal female fronted metal act in Greece. Since then, numerous line-up

changes took place… I met Bare Infinity around 2009 when the band members were searching for the new front-woman. Despite its promising career, in March 2012, Bare Infinity sadly disbanded and after a two-year

hiatus Tomas decided to restart with Bare Infinity finding new members. Fortunately, two years later, Bare Infinity is more alive than ever and today Burst Magazine hosts Tomas and Ida. By Sissy Fanouraki

Welcome are you?

aboard!

How

I: Hey there!!! It’s alright, Captain! Thank you for inviting us on board! T: Hey !!thanks for having us You’re in the making of a brand new video clip for the song “Race of Destiny” which will be released in late 2014. Tell us about the new video, the whole concept etc. BURST www.afternoiz.com

I: Well, when the inspiration for “Race of destiny” came to me, it was like a slap on my face: the music came first while the lyrics made me wait for a whole week at least. The melody was so powerful in my mind that I was afraid of wasting everything with the wrong lyrics, then it suddenly came all at once and it was so simple: I just needed to talk about myself! In this song, I expressed the way I face problems in my life: if i find a wall in front of me, I get a hammer

and I smash it! Life is a race you run against your fears, the voices in your head that say “you won’t make it” and all you can do is keep on running and doing your best to reach your goals and prove to yourself that not only you can make it, but you’re gonna f... ng win the race! T: For the video-clip we knew we had to have a lot of storytelling and a lot of action and intensity in the scenes so we worked with Domenik Papae-

mmanouhl whose videos with other bands were full of top notch graphics. It was great fun and we were lucky to have great casting for our main gladiator Sotiris Sidieris, who is absolutely phenomenal. When you see the clip you will understand why ;) So you should look forward to seeing an action packed video-clip that is very unique. The result was amazing so we knew we had to keep the quality of the song as high as possi-

25 ble and for that reason we are working with Jacob Hansen renowned for his productions for Amaranthe, Evergrey and Epica and who is producing the song so it is going to be a blast !!! The clip will be released a bit later than originally planned, but it is gonna be worth it. So, why did you choose that particular song as a single and as a video clip? I: When I went to Athens to meet Tomas for the first time, I already had the melody of “Race of destiny” in my mind, but I was keeping it in a corner. When we went together to the studio in order to listen to the songs and orchestrations already composed by Tomas, while listening, I had some kind of an epiphany: one of the songs was sooooooo similar to the melody of Race of Destiny! So I took my mobile and said “You HAVE to listen to it” to Tomas.He was like OMG. May we call it Destiny? Oh, one further reason why we chose the song is that it kicks ass :) T: What better song to kick off Bare Infinity’s new era than one that by chance or “destiny” was so similar. And your new full length studio album will be released in 2015. Has the date been set yet? T: The composition and pretracks have been completed and we are in the process of sorting out details. The album will be released in 2015 .We have not set a date yet cause it is also up to when the studio will be available for the recordings to take place. However everything is set for Bare Infinity’s new album after 3 years, and I can tell you that the quality of the songs will be superb! Sorry Tomas but I have to ask about the girl of the band… Who is Ida Elena behind the scenes? I: On and off the stage I am a total wacko! I never take a va-

cation from myself (lol) so the way I am on stage is the way I am for real (people around me are probably Saints). Anyway, I love being surrounded by music, animals of all kinds (yeah, human beings are also welcome) and nature. I enjoy reading very much, especially adventure stories, walking in the sunshine and going to the beach or the woods (I hate rainy days), I love travelling and cooking (I am vegetarian for 5 years now and vegan for 2 months. I had to learn how to cook or I would have starved to death!) I absolutely love amusement parks even if I am terrified before every new ride (that’s why I send my friends first while I wait, so they can test it... it’s useless of course hahaha). I enjoy very much going to the theater, to the movies and art expo. The arts have to be in my life, always! And oh, I mimic Britney Spears (that’s my best quality). Apart from Bare Infinity you also have Cantus Lunaris, right? How’re things going with that project? I: Cantus Lunaris is an awesome Ensemble founded by my friend Gaby Koss (ex Haggard) composed of amazing musicians from all over the world and I’m deeply bound to it, especially because my great friend Albert Dannenmann (EX Blackmore’s NIght, ex Geyers) joined the project together with me, so we have a lot of fun together (he’s my Santa Claus!). Together with Cantus Lunaris, I performed in several festivals across Europe, including the awesome Wave Gotik Treffen (Leipzig) where we played in front of a huge audience from all over Europe: that was sooo emotional to me to play my song “The Ballad of the silver dressed lady” there! We released our first Celtic Album “Fabula Antiqua” last year and we are working on a Renaissance one “Formosus fons” and a Rock one with Original

songs written by yours truly :) Be prepared! Back to Bare Infinity now, after the release of the new album are there any plans for a tour? T: We are working on booking a few shows before the new album is released to showcase the new lineup and our new single Race of destiny both in Greece and Italy and maybe the UK. For sure as soon as the album is ready and to be released we are going to try and book as many shows as possible! We have loads of energy and we are just cant wait to get on stage. You Tomas live in Greece and the other members as well, but Ida lives in Italy. How do you cope with that distance? I: Thanks to Messenger, Facebook, Skype and whatever I can tease my favourite guitarist with whenever I want to! (lol). Seriously, with the Internet everything is so easy: exchanging ideas and songs, discussing about strategies and stuff, we do it almost everyday and it’s just like we’re in the same room. Then, Rome and Athens are not so distant, in one hour and a half I am there to terrify my homies with the Britney-me. T: The Internet has made the big difference. The ability to be able to chat and have fun online each day makes an enormous difference . It’s like we are in the same country just a bit busy to meet up hehe. Both of us are online most of the day one way or another so whenever we have something to share or work on , we literally just get to it online and work as if we were together. Speaking of the new album, what’s its concept? I:The main concept of the album is the Strength of never giving up, together with an idea of Rebirth. What’s important in life, after all? Courage, hope, trying to defend

and help the weakest ones (animals and human beings), preserving everything good and beautiful we have in the short yet awesome experience that life is. All these aspects may be found in our songs :) T: The album itself is gonna be very diverse. Different styles of songs ranging from symphonic to more power and alternative to more mainstream melodies. It’s gonna be a musical journey. Who’s behind the lyrics and how do you get inspired these days generally? I: Behind the lyrics there is an Italian wacko. (speaking with Britney’s voice) Do you know her? Seriously speaking, I get the inspiration from everyday life, but also from my dreams and nightmares, from what I would like to say but I don’t find the right words. Isn’t it ironic? Writing lyrics for a song is easier than speaking to someone. Anyway, our songs are the result of a great team-work: we trust each other so much, so we feel the freedom of experimenting and we exchange a lot of precious ideas. Some time ago, I found Bono’s statement where he said that he was a bad guitarist and pianist and that if he didn’t have the other U2 guys, his melodies would have probably remained “rootless” and he has to count on the others. Well, I totally agree! I am blessed ;) The last words are yours Tomas and Ida… I: the Perfect Symmetry is between dark and light, but if you have to decide... let it shine, baby! Believe in yourself, love and change the world ;) T: Thanks again for having us and hope to see everyone real soon.

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By Jo Gogou So, let me start with your come back after two years. What was the push for you in this record? Was it the need maybe, for something new? For us it’s the need to make some more music. Over the past decade we’ve had a pretty steady rhythm of making an album almost every two years and touring in between for about a year, year and a half. This time was really no different. We had so much material waiting to be finalized, songs and ideas written over the past tour and some even long before that, and some last minute inspirations too, which seem to end up on the new album. Did you have any unused material from previous works? Yes, that happens. Our albums all have a loose theme to them and sometimes certain songs don’t seem to fit that particular theme. Or we just aren’t happy with how some song is turning out when we’re working on it. We put it aside for a while and come back to it on the next album, hoping that by then will we’ve grown as musicians and will have the wherewithal to actually get the job done. The name of this album is “Jealous Gods”. What does it mean for you and what were your influences? For us “Jealous Gods” is about BURST www.afternoiz.com

framing of an opposite to point out what we want to underline or think is important. Okay, that maybe putting it a bit vaguely, but it’s like a classic “memento mori” tattoo, which people sometimes take to keep them rooted to life and humanity. We would encourage people to take some time and notice what’s good about their lives, appreciate what they already have. This one has different music genres in it, that’s new for you. It is a good thing since it meets more people’s “needs”, but, how did that came out? That’s true, we’ve never allowed musical genres to influence our work, so genre hopping, if you will, actually isn’t a new phenomenon in our music. While we understand that it’s important sometimes to categorize music to tell about it in words, we think that would only put a limitation on what were supposed to be as musicians, so we don’t do it. That’s why there’s many different styles on Jealous Gods. What are the feelings conveyed in this album and what images does it bring for you? The feelings evoked range far and wide. They are also very individual and personal, so there’s no way we can say what they are or should be. You will feel what you will feel and that’s how it’s meant to be. It’s very personal

for everyone and therefore a real keepsake. Are there any tour plans? If yes, for when?

What are your album’s secrets?

Oh, most definitely, we are starting the Jealous Gods tour on the 3/10. from Helsinki, Finland, and we’ll be touring mostly in Europe. As always we try to include as many places as we can. So long as enough people will have us, we’ll go play.

This album contains 11 songs, which one do you love the most?

Is Greece in your tour plans?

I noticed there were less ballads in it, Does that mean a better mood or fewer losses?

For now, we don’t have Greece in our schedule, I’m sad to say, but anytime it becomes possible to us, we would love to come to Greece. I’ve been to the Greek isles for a holiday some years ago, and I’m really hoping to make it back there one day. One of the first songs released was Daze. Why is that?; For us “Daze” was a great way to open up and present the new material. It’s a song that touches the soul and makes you wanna dance, it entwines the light with the dark and is very much what we’re all about, so we figured it would be a perfect first single. For which Tv show would you write music? The Killing, True Detective, House of Cards… to name just a few. There are so many really good Tv Shows we like.

I’ll never tell, ha ha!

I really love Love will come to you, Rogue, Choice millionaire, Daze and Rebirth, those are my personal favourites.

I dunno, our way of writing music is very intuitive, so it’s entirely possible that subconsciously we wanted to have more upbeat songs on this album. What we actually did was listen to the songs we’d written for the album and pick the ones which we liked and which fit together for this album. I think we had more than twenty songs all competing to get on the album. Choosing the ones you want is not always easy. If no 13 was a wish, what would you wish for? A puppy. We wish you the best and we await for you in Greece. I wish you and everyone in Greece all the best. Thank you so much for the interview.

Giving life to your instincts... www.argophotography.com

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MUSIC REVIEWS

Amaranthe Massive Addictive

Amaranthe, the kings (and queen) of melodic pop/death metal are back with their third album and the title says it all: “Massive Addictive”. Amaranthe bursted on the scene several years ago with the most unique twist on the metal genre that the world has seen in a long time: metal music effectively fused with catchy pop style vocals, death metal growls, blistering drum cadences, and awesome melodic guitar solos. Although they are criticized by some for taking metal in a “pop” direction, their evolution of style has draw massive numbers of fans to their fold with their first two very addictive albums. Failing to bend to the grumbling few, Amaranthe has continued to evolve their musical style, taking us further on the journey that the first two albums began. “Massive Addictive” cranks it up another notch with wider vocal ranges, heavier keyboard influences, and even more catchy lyrics. This is not an album that will please their detractors, but it will definitely delight their current fans and bring many more of the open minded into the fold. There are twelve songs on the album and each one is a gem. Most of the songs are heavy and highly energetic, that seem to dare you to try not to jump and sing along (I personally couldn’t resist!). At least two of the songs fall into the power ballad category. One of these, “Over and Done” may be their most emotionally powerful song to date. The music, the harmonies and the lyrics themselves convey emotional pain more effectively than any song I’ve heard in a long, long time. It takes a lot of guts and a lot of confidence to call your album “Massive Addictive”. But this album delivers on its promise and more! It is a beautiful, ingenious, addictive masterpiece! Joe Prostredny

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Photo by Joe Prostredny

Photo by Danny Clinch

Sorrows Path

Doom Philosophy Doom rules eternally… That’s the best way to start this review. I didn’t expect less from the doom-est band of Greece, than to release another epic doom album. “Doom Philosophy” is as dark as it should be and combines the darkest elements of doom with splendid clean guitar riffs and melodic soloing. “A Dance With The Dead” featuring Edgar Rivera (ex-Solitude Aeturnus) is an awesome example of Sorrows Path excellent work, and believe me it’s not the only one. Maintaining its doom identity, “Doom Philosophy” amalgamates various heavy and epic metal elements thus creating an ‘untiring’ sound. I’m borrowing the following lyrics “Today I see a new horizon for your majesty, I understood that everything can change” to add that even though Sorrows Path sound has changed a lot – in a more mature and passionate way – the core concept remains the same as “a tragedy is a lesson for the wise.” Wise choices guys! Well done! Sissy Fanouraki

trary, this album is by far the best release of SadDoLLs. It has a much darker mood and an absolute Goth attitude. The songs are catchy, without being boring. “Grave Party” sounds a bit nostalgic and melancholic, however the industrial elements in combination with the gloomy and harsh vocals enrich the overall atmosphere. George Downloved’s vocals are quite impressive, even though they remind me of Jyrki 69 of The 69 Eyes. However, his vocal performance has been remarkably improved. At that point it’s crucial to mention the awesome overall production and the apparent mature general sound. “Grave Party” is an album you should listen to over and over again… Maybe after 15 times it will start getting a bit repetitive, yet till then it’s highly recommended to industrial/goth fans. Sissy Fanouraki

Mechanimal Secret Science

This kind of music would fit in a mystery movie or even better at a nouvelle vague one, with steady or freezing shots. Electro post-punk, lost in the space/ time continuum as you can clearly spot industrial images of the 80’s in it. As you have understood we are talking about the new album of the Greeks, Mechanimal, the “Secret Science”.

The House United Made of Matches

Oh, this is a very fresh band -its members are so young- and will surely have a lot to offer in the future of music. The album has pop/punk elements, a little bit more tender and teenage like, an American habit of the past years like, Avril Lavigne to Paramore.

Grave Party

Its title is «Made of Matches» and contains 13 tracks. In every song you can spot many elements that combine well together, as feelings and rhythm; like the ballad «Come back home” or the “Out of time”, a really teenage- carefree song. It has been missed and it is being produced lately. For some reason No 7 stood out for me, the “Emergency”, as well as No 9, titled “Bullet”, which is repeating itself in my playlist.

One thing’s for sure, SadDoLLs has definitely raised the bar and its music is not SAD at all. On the con-

It is a pleasant record and it does feel like you have heard it before. Something familiar, maybe some-

SadDoLLs

thing that bonds with something else - not a bad thing though. It made me stuck with it, despite hearing them for the first time. Well - worked, the guitars were correct and the drumming full of potential. Jo Gogou

Each time they leave us with a more optimistic view about the course they are planning to follow. If you are listening about them for the first time, you will definitely trace elements form a past decade made by Giannis Papaioannou. It will ring the bells of Nick Cave and Till Lindemann of Rammstein and at the same time you will dance a bizarre and dark dance. It is hard to describe it precisely, as it reminds me of opium, heavy burgundy curtains and souls lost in time. Special picks? The No2 Sehnsucht , its loop made you feel like running towards nowhere and No 4, the Secret Science. It is one of those songs you can never be sure on whether they will be hits or not. A dynamic one, No 5 We come Alive and Νο6 The Den. Clearly a reminder of Nick Cave’s youth, trying to reach serenity in his head. A very good choice for an album if you feel dark and disconnected from time. Jo Gogou

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OT It’sNall G reek to m e by Spiros Smyrnis

The Big Nose Attack Paint it Blue

Do you dare?

It’s Not Greek to Me started as a way to express my admiration to Greek musicians and bands that covered the rock/metal community! I have already written 35 articles and I am happy that I have material for hundreds more. This is the exact same introduction I used for “It’s Not Greek to Me” published on March 2014 trying to write about the new masterpiece of Need titled “Orvam, A song for home”. So I decided to keep this as an introduction to the upcoming “It’s Not Greek to Me” tributes. I think it’s time to paint’em all blue! Don’t you think? It’s about time to sit comfortably and enjoy the Big Nose Attack! All of you who think this is a kind of joke, you’d better think again! Just few words about em! The Big Nose Attack is an alternative blues / rock duo formed in Athens in spring 2011. In its two years of life, the band has managed to make many appearances all over Greece and Europe having 2 full length albums in their trunk! Brothers ‘Boogieman’ (guitar / vocals) and ‘Little Tonnie’ (drums) were for years the core of the blues trio ‘Down & Out’, with whom they’ve learned the blues from the best as they have been the opening act for the likes of Gary Moore, Johnny Winter, the Sonics, ZZ Top, and had played in prestigious festivals in Greece and abroad. The Big Nose Attack nevertheless escapes from the classic stereotypes of blues and marries again with newer sounds. Inspired by the old (RL Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, Tom Waits, Captain Beefheart) and more contemporary music (the Black Keys, the White Stripes, CW Stoneking, Seasick Steve) the band rocks out the most nasty and fuzzy alternative blues! Their new ,sea inspired, album titled “Paint It Blue” just came out,so the band from Brahami, Greece is sailing all over for a unique live. Ahoy! I won’t lie! The first thing that came to my mind when I heard of a blues rock Athenian duet was another Black Keys or White Stripes tribute band! Thank God, The Big Nose Attack proved me wrong! Despite the obvious Black Keys influences and their love to Jack White, The Big Nose Attack have personality and songs that are about to be sung! I truly believe that their biggest achievement is that they can produce so much noise and goddamn rock n roll feeling, even though they are a duet. Boogieman and Little Toni know how to rock, by staring at the American blues at the same time. “Yeah That Girl” feat the Amazing Elena Pitoulis is already a hit in the local bars and I think it is meant to be even bigger in the future! If you’re a man falling in love sometime then you will “appreciate” it! Raw riffs, garage attitude, blessed by the Great Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and blues mentality above all! It’s time to paint them all blue! And if I’m going down, you’re going down with me! BURST www.afternoiz.com

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In the next pages... Bitchin’ with Barbara By Barbara Pavone

Confessions of a Blockbuster Addict By Angie Rouska

TV Series Beginner’s Guide by P. Tsoutsis

Worst Movies Ever By Kostas Krasonis

Also... Articles Movie reviews Director’s Cut Interviews

Photo by Christian Wagner

For the BIG screen... and for smaller ones! BURST www.afternoiz.com

itchin’ arbara with

I’m going to come right out and say it and if you disagree with me, I’ll have to assume that you’ve never actually watched the show (at least not with an open mind): Gotham is the best superhero series on TV right now. Scratch that, it’s THE best series on TV right now, hands down.

by Barbara Pavone

With the never-ending list of movies bringing various comic book worlds to life on the big screen and experiencing ridiculously great success (most of this year’s highestgrossing films have had something to do with superheroes), it was only a matter of time before the trend crossed over to the small screen. However, the transition has been anything but easy, as many have tried and failed to create a winning formula that would work in a weekly hour-long format just as well as it would in a three-hour feature-length flick.

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Photo by Katherine Dydyk

Gotham

Take ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., for example. Sure, the show has been renewed for a second season, but let’s be totally honest: It has absolutely nothing going for it in the character and plot departments. In fact, I have yet to get through an entire episode in one shot and believe me, I’ve tried more than once. Then there’s Arrow, based on DC Comics’ Green Arrow, which has built itself a solid following and inspired the network to launch The Flash this season,

following a similar formula, but I’m still not sure how to feel about these two. I think the main problem is that none of these shows have managed to solidify a memorable look, feel and tone. There’s nothing truly special about any of them and they’re fine to watch if there’s excess time to kill, but I wouldn’t exactly feel bummed about missing them. Enter Gotham. Straight out of the gate, the highly anticipated series, which premiered on Fox on September 22, captivated me with its bold look, wide array of characters from the DC Comics universe and decision to stay completely clear of cheesy shots and the clichés everyone expected to see. First, there’s the city. It’s gritty and intriguing and jumps off the screen. Basically, Gotham is its own character with its own pulse and without it, everything would fall apart. Then there’s the fact that there are no Michael Bay-esque explosions, no traditional superhero costumes and no overdone special effects to be found, which make the show unpredictable. Take Bruce Wayne, for example: He’s always around and is certainly a major character, but there’s absolutely no sign of Batman and (thankfully) there won’t be. At least not until the

very end of the series. Bruno Heller, the show’s creator and writer, even told Entertainment Weekly, “If they said ‘Do Batman,’ I would have said ‘No.’ I would have not been interested at all. I don’t think Batman works very well on TV — to have people behind masks. Frankly, all those superhero stories I’ve seen, I always love them until they get into the costume. And then it’s, “Oh, okay, they’ve ascended, they’ve stopped becoming humans.” It’s their apotheosis. They go to heaven and they’re Superman. There have been so many great versions of it. This is a version of something else entirely.” Amen! What’s more, there are plenty of villains, including Penguin, Riddler, Catwoman, Joker and Poison Ivy – hooray! – and the writing is (surprisingly) smart. The plot veers and turns at a quick pace that’s meant to keep viewers guessing and always wanting more and it certainly succeeds. Yup, Gotham is just the right blend of investigative crime drama, thriller and comic book and although I was originally skeptical about Ben McKenzie playing Detective James Gordon (I kept envisioning him in his breakout role playing a troubled teen on The O.C.), it has since become apparent that, like everyone and everything else on the show, he’s the perfect fit.

To Venus and Back Fall - Winter 2014

#nikolaostsironis

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36 It was only a few days ago when the teaser trailer for the Avengers, Age of Ultron was released; pretty awesome and promising. I think it was the first time I noticed a teaser trailer to last 2 min and 16 secs. A few seconds less than a feature trailer! But it was that moment that I thought, how on earth could a trailer show so much and at the same time reveal so little (please consider that I haven’t read any of the comics and I don’t have a clue regarding the story or the villain).

Confessions Of a blockbuster t c i d d A

by angie rouska

“5th Blood” BURST www.afternoiz.com

Trailers were always my favorite part of my cinematic experience. I remember one time when I had gone with my friend at the movies to watch The Road to Perdition and there was it; the trailer for Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers! I had probably watched it already like a trillion times before, but I couldn’t stop enjoying it. I was devouring these fifteen minutes of film promotion; a full of life experience, tripping to a magical world with the agony of what trailers I was going to see. Nowadays, I cannot stand these fifteen minutes; it has become unbearable and I usually try to avoid looking at the big screen and hearing any of the dialogues. This attitude though is so disappointing and makes me feel somehow like a traitor, a backstabber to something that I used to love. Unfortunately, trailers have stopped being trailers. They tend to become (or they have become) a summary of the movie, revealing most of the plot and erasing any excitement and anticipation. The worst thing is that most of the trailers are well-made - but I cannot say the same for the film itself. Good trailer-bad

movie used to be an exemption in the old days; however it has now become the rule. The thing is that the movie is neither bad, nor good; it is what it is meant to be. The thing is that the trailers, by revealing so much, create expectations to the viewer. You‘ve seen the whole movie in the trailer, but you don’t know it; “it cannot be just that” you may think, but it is and so all your hopes for something more go down the drain. But how is it possible to avoid revealing the whole story if the duration of a trailer is 2,5 minutes long? According to THR, the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) in the US released “voluntary” guidelines (with effect October 1st) calling for trailers to not exceed the two minutes time limit. Apart from this, they have requested for the trailers to be previewed five months before the film’s release. If these guidelines are indeed adopted, it will create a small havoc on the marketing strategies of the studios, starting with the teaser trailers that are early previewed and continuing to a specific selection of trailers by the theaters’ owners. You see, trailers are usually previewed free of charge for the studios, but some theater chains charge the studios to run their trailers. However, I think the damage is done for us the viewers. The last trailer I watched before the Avengers, was Ratner’s Hercules. It was so epic that it overthrew the movie. I do not know whether it is for the better or for the worse, but the times I have enjoyed (as well as disliked) a movie so much, were the times when I hadn’t watched any of the trailers.

37 Ladies and Gentlemen Illusory are: (bio and members) all we need to know!!! Dee Theodorou – Vocals George Papantonis – Guitars Jon Moodrix – Guitars George Konstantakelos – Keys & Guitars Niki Danos – Bass Costas Koulis - Drums Biography ILLUSORY come from Athens, Greece. The band was originally founded in 1992 by two friends who used to jam on top of their building. Dee Theodorou and Costas Charalambidis decided to pursue what every teenager was dreaming of at the time, so they formed a band to play their beloved Heavy Metal sounds. First name that popped in was “Blessed Death”, which was dropped a bit later. “Ivory Tower”… that was more like it. Maybe way more like it! They started recruiting members and then the band began rehearsing and then found “shelter” in various studios in the area. The band’s hometown, Moschato Greece, is utterly well-known for the fine wine, basically produced ages ago but still haunting the name of the city. Thus, like good wine “in the process”, “Ivory Tower” was maturing nicely, obtaining a better taste by the day, the month, the year. Numerous line-up changes happened through the years. The band was rehearsing, composing and playing at various Rock clubs and bars in the Athenian area. Mostly covers and a couple of their own songs. Things were getting tougher and tougher as those believing in the band had to leave to serve their country (obligatory in Greece) and hiatus become a fact. However, since “What does not kill me makes me stronger”, when those people came back, it was back on the table with the band. Constant rehearsing, composing and live gigs again. Enthusiasm, tension, a lot of sweat in the middle and the first song bouquet is ready to be served. The band handled the whole issue as a collective, creating the album cover, arranging the sleeve, printing and packaging the promo-album. It was the year 2006 and “The Ivory Tower” saga was about to begin! They started selling their newborn in gigs, via mail and thru their website to those who had listened and wanted to listen some

more. Soon the band became an underground attraction and a fan-base shadow had appeared in the background. Line-up was an issue until then but luckily, with the addition of a few people believing in the band, the “Ivories” (members’ beloved nickname) became stronger and dared challenged their own fate. Comes June 2008, the sextet is opening for the legendary Blue Oyster Cult, at a fantastic open air venue in Athens. Gig was an absolute bliss, headliners did actually pay attention to the Greek youngsters and history began writing itself in a whole new chapter. A few months later the band was finding a place of their own… Their own studio, the “iCave”, their lil’ creation and implementation place/ refuge. The idea was to have a place to go to, be free of schedules and other peeps interfering and things not relative to them. The basic concept was to recreate a truly phenomenal story. To re-record their promo-album, to turn it into a fresh sounding, ultra-complete professional feature. They began recording, adding new ideas, painting a totally different landscape. Then, when the songs were recorded, the best possible way and their concept was ready for some serious mixing and mastering, the boys decided to send it to one of the most experienced teams in doing so. The valuable package was shipped to Germany, Mystic Studios and R.D. Liapakis & Christian Schmid. These two gents forged the songs and boosted them up, creating an album sound that was ready for the big market, attracting the labels and mostly the fans. The only problem was the name of the band. Some years ago the “Ivories” discovered there was a German band called “Ivory Tower”, thus it was going to be extra hard to continue with their name, should they wanted to pursue a professional edge to their musical way. Brainstorming led to the name “Illusory” which sounded the best solution at the time and still does. The band decided to name their debut “The Ivory Tower”, completely logical and consequential to their lives and works so far. Which is the biggest obstacle in the way of a newcomer band in order to release an album?

Truly, the biggest obstacle for a newcomer’s release is the cost of recording, mixing engineering etc. Especially in Greece, where the economic situation lately is far more difficult than it used to be. The feedback of “ The Ivory Tower” release so far… A year back, when we released the debut album, we wouldn’t expect that kind of feedback, especially for a concept album. Every review is far better than expected and that is what gives us the urge to create more music and hopefully better music…

amazing groups that it would take us days, even months, to decide. We have been listening to all these fantastic bands for years, seen almost all of them live, even travelled abroad to watch some of them perform. As you can easily imagine, we are simple Metal dudes, living their dream via lyrics and melodies, via albums and live gigs…

Tell us about the new album …What are we going to listen to? The men behind your new album! Mixing, mastering, production, artwork... The new album is currently being recorded at iCave Studios and the production will be done by the band and Yiannis Petrogiannis at Matrix Studios – where mixing and mastering will take place. You will have to wait a bit in order to listen to our new material… we believe that the sophomore album is more matured musically and it seems to lead us to a slightly different “path” than the previous album. A small hint is that in the forthcoming album we will have a small continuation of the UTOPIAN STORY… There is a song that follows up the story of Steven Towers, described by the band in the debut album. The moment of Glory ….so far! There are many moments that we like to remember as “Moments of Glory”… the biggest two of them are the gig with the legendary BLUE OYSTER CULT back in June 2008 and of course the release of our debut album on May 14, 2013! On the road to hell! (Upcoming gigs and tour plans?) At the moment, we do not have any plans for gigs due to recording sessions. On the other hand there are some discussions about appearances in the not so distant future! Which band would you like to play at your funeral? We do not intend to die! (laughs) Seriously, we love so many bands, we are actually fans of so many BURST www.afternoiz.com

Director’s Cut

Yannis Economides BY SPIROS SMYRNIS | PHOTO SOURCE: FRANÇOIS BERTHIER/GETTY IMAGES EUROPE BURST www.afternoiz.com

39 After so many Director’s Cut tributes, I won’t lie! I felt like what am I supposed to write about is Yannis Economides, one of the most ambitious Greek filmmakers. No, Yannis is not on board with the Greek weird wave of Cinema that Yorgos Lanthimos introduced with Dogtooth to the rest of cinematic world. Yannis Economides is making a difficult, personal - yet so fucking interesting cinema. Yannis Economides was born in Limassol, Cyprus, in 1967 and studied film in Athens. He has directed several short films and documentaries. He directed his debut feature film “Matchbox” back in 2003. “Matchbox” was something totally new in the Greek cinema. When I first saw it my jaw broke. I’ve never believed that a man from our country could make such a strong cinema! I was at university that time, second year, so I decided to meet him and make an interview with him! My friend (Ody) who was also a fan was with me, so we managed to find him and have one of the most interesting interviews we’ve ever taken. We talked about his first feature film, “Matchbox” and his second one that was about to make its premiere at Cannes Film Festival (Semaine de la Critique) 2006, under the cool name of “Soul kicking”. “I made a film experiment if you’d like. I tried to make Greek language the main star in my movie. So as the time passes by and we watch the life of our heroes someone could understand that the language is our main character! The story in few lines, Dimitris, a grumpy middle-aged man, is having a hard time with his business partner on a particular decision as to opening a new business; and he’s also having a hell of a time with

his family members. He has a really short temper, and the unpleasant behavior of his nasty wife and his disrespectful children don’t contribute much to his health. Errikos Litsis gives an unmemorable performance as Dimitris in this harsh and violent film that Gaspar Noe would be proud of! So we move on to “Soul kicking” which is the next step in Economides’ filmography, in accordance with his debut film. Takis is trapped. Takis tries to escape. Takis wants money. He’s got a family, a baby, a home... “Takis is being cheated. He loves her and he suffers... Takis can’t take it at work. He’s besieged by savages. But his boss tops them all... Takis has one friend and relatives. Woe is him!... Takis has run out of time. Yet, in his mind, a heavy black cloud has settled, turning everything dark... Takis is silent. He lies down and fills with rage. He fills with rage and sinks deeper...” is the plot summary on imdb and it could give you a hint about what you are going to see on the Big Screen. Darker, harsher and more violent than Matchbox, Soul Kicking is a film that stays in your mind for a long time after its screening, probably because it underlines all the hatred we hide as humans beneath the mask of a good husband, employee, mother, brother… The film was selected for competitive screening at various film festivals throughout the world. Knifer is the third official film by Yannis Economides. For many fans and critics this is his best film. The awards the film received speak for it! At the Hellenic Film Academy Awards “Knifer” excelled and received seven awards (Best Film, Best Director, Best Screen-

play, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Production Design, Best Sound) and it was also awarded with the Greek Association of Film Critics Award as the Best Greek Film of the Year 2010. “Following his father’s death, Nikos leaves the provinces to work in Athens guarding his brutish uncle’s dogs. Nikos finds the dynamic of his relationship with his uncle changing when his uncle’s wife draws closer to him.” Economides moves to noir forms and sets amazing scenery to the suburbs of Athens. Stathis Stamoulakatos and Vangelis Mourikis are a brilliant duet. Especially Mourikis is one of the best European Actors of his age, as he has also proved himself in the latest film by Economides. Wonderful photography in black and white and for the first time in his filmography Economides let a slight dose of humor to come up in the surface, making the film even more interesting! Stratos is the latest film of Economides that made its premiere in the 64th Berlin Film Festival. “The movie tells the tale of Stratos, a weathered hit-man, who more -or- less wants to leave the past behind him. But as we know from other gangster-stories, once you get in it’s hard to get out.” The summary plot on imdb by spaceman88 gives you a hint about the film which follows the classic noir rules. Economides builds a very interesting film based on Vangelis Mourikis performance with well-written dialogues and excellent choices on supporting actors. I think it’s time to discover the mysterious dark and personal cinema of Yannis Economides starting now!

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IEWS FILM REVIEWS FILM REVIEWS FILM REVIEWS FILM REVIEWS FILM

Jack and the CuckooClock Heart (2013) By Eleni Lampraki

“Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart” is an animated feature film, written and directed by Mathias Malzieu and Stéphane Berla. The film is based on the same name concept album of the French rock group “Dionysos”, where Malzieu is the lead singer, as well as on the illustrated novel “La Mécanique du cœur”, also written by Malzieu. The film is produced by former director of “Nikita”, “Léon: The Professional”, the “Arthur” series and “Lucy”, Luc Besson, one of the most talented and imaginative French

directors and producers, and the whole soundtrack, which plays a major role in the film, is composed by Dionysos. In 1874, in Edinburgh, Scotland, on the coldest day of the year, a highly pregnant woman tries to reach the midwife’s house, but because of the heavy snow, faints in front of her door. A few hours later, Jack is born, but his heart is frozen as ice. In order to save him, midwife Acacia replaces his heart with a cuckooclock. Jack is now saved and adopted by madame Acacia, but in order for his heart to continue ticking, he has to obey to three rules: never touch the clock needles, always hold back his anger and most important, never fall in love, because a blast of sentiments could break his heart. Jack grows up, goes to the outside world, is fascinated by life and has to face how difficult it is to live with your feelings “frozen”. With a very Burton-ish aesthetic in animation, “Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart” balances between the fairy tale and the animated musical. It holds the basic structure of the fairy-tale, with the key of the plot and

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the journey of the hero to be revealed in the very first moments, while music and lyrics are indispensable from the plot-line. The creation of a fantasy-world of people with mechanical parts, unorthodox formed creatures, and an endless parade of moving mechanisms –from carriages to music-boxesforms an interesting opposition between vital and mechanical, concluding that even without a heart, feelings cannot be put on ice. While Jack is neither Edward Scissor-hands, nor Jack Skellington, you will probably enjoy the movie during a cold evening, inside your cozy living room. If you know French, it’s even better, because the original meaning of the song lyrics, cannot be translated easily and you lose plot details.

Peltz, Stanley Tucci, Kelsey Grammer and Jack Reynor. The movie takes place after the events of the second sequel, Dark of the Moon. The US Government is not collaborating any more with the Autobots and a special unit has been formed that tracks down and kills every

Dead Snow 2: Red vs Dead (2014)

Transformer left in order to protect humanity and maintain peace in the planet. However, this unit has different plans as they are trying to find out where Optimus Prime is hiding.

By Angie Rouska

Age of Extinction is the fourth installment in the Transformers saga and the longest one - 2 hours and 45 minutes! Directed by Michael Bay, the film stars Mark Wahlberg, Nicola

Michael Bay did again, a superb work with the special effects; he merged the robots so naturally with the

background that you could not distinguish what was real and what was digital. Moreover, he presented a different way of transformation for the Decepticons, which was really spectacular. Bay has a thing of extending each installment in duration, showing more of the special effects and the action scenes, but in view of this he sacrifices much of the story by inputting many unnecessary subplots. The same thing happens with Age of Extinction. There are too many characters and too many plots that inevitably have their closure in the final battle. Unfortunately, this delays the action and for a Michael Bay movie this is unforgivable. While the first Transformers movie is balanced with coherent action that is escalating, the last one is so scattered just like the transformium metal we are introduced. Despite this, the movie is entertaining, hilarious at some points with humans being the comic relief. However, the 165 minutes for someone who is not a fan may seem long enough.

ceiver of Memory. Since the Receiver of Memory is the only one in the community who has the memories from the past, he must advise the Chief Elder, and the other Elders, on the decisions for the community. Our basic character is Jonas who is chosen to be the new Memory Receiver and his trainer.

The Giver (2014)

By Sophie Dermati

I watched this movie two days ago. Ok maybe three. The point is that I simply remember that the movie (no silly, I haven’t read the books, I’m not 13) reminded me a lot of the basic plot of the “Equilibrium”. Well ok, the book was written back on 1993, but the aesthetics was much better and yes, ok, Christian Bale was in it! Anyway, in the year 2048, after a war, the community has decided to get rid of different races and feelings. All people have had their memories erased, but the Re-

Jeff Bridges is the Mentor of the young Brenton Thwaites and one of the reasons you could probably watch this film. Well if you are under 20, you should watch it for its sensible (well sort of) message, the new teen idols Brenton Thwaites (also starred in Maleficent as Prince Phillip) Cameron Riley Monaghan (Vampire Academy) and Odeya Rush. I found Meryl Strip a bit tired, but hey, she’s Meryl Strip. Surprisingly Katie Holmes was decent and there was a small role for Taylor Swift (that cute blond singer girl). The bottom line is that if you are under 18, you will love it. If you are over 18, you should watch something else. If you are the sweetheart or just curious, be patient and catch it on a summer (or winter) movie theater.

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Person Of Interest A Beginner’s Guide By P. Tsoutsis

Person Of Interest is a TV show first aired in 2011 and consists of four seasons. It revolves around a group of people trying to stop violent crimes using the data provided by a mass surveillance program, also known as the Machine. The Machine was built by the computer expert Harold Finch after the events of 9/11. It’s purpose is to use data like traffic cameras or surveillance systems, in order to create correlations between events, that a human is unable to make, and predict terrorists attacks. It can also predict common violent crimes, but the government is only interested in acts of terrorism and considers these events as irrelevant. Part of the original programming is a backdoor, which provides Finch with the social security number BURST www.afternoiz.com

of a person who’s connected with a crime. Unfortunately the Machine doesn’t give more details about the nature of the crime, so it’s unknown if the person in question is the victim or the perpetrator. Unable to stop all these violent crimes on his own, Finch (portrayed by Michael Emerson, “Lost”) recruits John Reese (Jim Caviezel, “The Passion of the Christ”) an ex-CIA operative, in order to help him. Finch uses his computer skills to identify the nature of the crime as well as the people involved, while Reese provides his skills with guns and armed combat when needed. Reese’s activities attract the attention of the homicide detective Joss Carter (Taraji P. Henson) who starts investigating the man in suit. Other characters in the

show include, the corrupted cop Lionel Fusco (Kevin Chapman), who’s blackmailed by Reese in order to provide information from inside the police, the ex-government operative Sameen Shaw (Sarah Shahi), who used to work in many “relevant” cases provided by the Machine, and the mysterious hacker Root (Amy Acker), who creates a strange bond with the Machine. The first seasons show many flashbacks regarding the development of the Machine, as well as the lives of the main characters before joining Finch’s group. Although the episodes are self-enclosed, there is an ongoing story arc about a corrupted part of NY police department, also known as Human Resources, which runs illegal activities and controls the organized crime. Reese and Finch

cross paths many times with this organization, until they finally manage to destroy it and bring its members to justice. Apart from Human Resources, another organization was introduced in the second season, Decima Technologies, which searches for the location of the Machine in order to gain access for their own purposes. Unable to find the Machine, Decima Technologies manages to steal the plans of a Machine-analogue and create the Samaritan. The government keeps the existence of such machines a secret from the general public, and uses them for their own purposes, creating an environment full of conspiracy theories. Creator of the show is Jonathan Nolan, brother of Christopher Nolan who directed “The Dark Knight” trilogy.

Two And A Half Men The major changes over the years Two And A Half Men was initially focused on the lives of the bachelor giggle writer Charlie Harper, his freeloader brother Alan and his nephew Jake. Over the years many changes occurred in the show with the biggest being the death of Charlie’s character. This happened while the show was on its eighth season, and after Charlie Sheen made negative comments towards the show’s creator Chuck Lorre. As a result Sheen was fired, the show stopped production for the rest of the season, and his character was killed off-screen. Since ninth season, Sheen is replaced by Ashton Kutcher, who portrays Walden Schmidt, a billionaire who bought Charlie’s house. Walden’s character is the exact opposite of Charlie’s, as he’s not good with women, he doesn’t drink, and as his ex-wife described him, he has the emotional maturity of a

12-year-old. Another big change in the show was Jake’s character (Angus T. Jones) who was demoted from a series regu-

lar to a recurring character, and ultimately was written off the show. This occurred in November 2012 and while the show was in its tenth season, when Jones made negative comments towards the show, calling it filth and ask-

By P. Tsoutsis

ing people to stop watching it. In order to the fill the gap of the “half man”, Jenny (Amber Tamblyn) was introduced on the eleventh season, as Charlie’s long-lost daughter, who was seeking her father. Although she’s a woman, she’s her father’s daughter, sharing a lot of things with his character, like the love for women (she’s a lesbian) and alcohol. Other changes in the show include Judith’s (Marin Hinkle) and Evelyn’s (Holland Taylor) characters, who portrayed Alan’s ex-wife and mother respectively. Although both actresses were part of the initial main cast, after the previously mentioned changes, their characters didn’t fit in the new direction of the show and they both appeared in only but a few episodes in the last three seasons. Regarding the show’s future,

Charlie Harper was not a complex person, and he lived as a bachelor, enjoying his life until his death. His daily routine included partying every night, sleeping all day, drinking as if there was no tomorrow, and having only casual relationships with women.

Psychological Profile: Charlie Harper - Two and a Half Men

This way of living didn’t change much when his newly-divorced brother Alan needed a place to stay. Although he was constantly making comments about Alan leaving his house, he actually enjoyed having him around. He liked making fun of his brother’s job as a chiropractor, the huge alimony checks he had to pay to his ex-wife, and the lack of success with women. But most of all he liked showing off the royalty checks as a writer of commercial jiggles and kid songs. Apart from his brother he enjoyed having his nephew Jake around, as he found in him a young apprentice who could pass the knowledge he had acquired about women.

By P. Tsoutsis

the twelfth season (which aired on October 30th, 2014) will be its last. The producers have a story arc in which Walden undergoes changes in his life, and he’s planning to propose to Alan to do a fake gay wedding in order to adopt a child. Recently Charlie Sheen expressed his desire to return to the show in order to give his character a proper closure, but it’s still unclear if he’ll show up.

Regarding his relationships with women he tried to keep them as simple as possible, and he rarely called them af-

ter sex, as he didn’t want to complicate things. So he was constantly engaged in one night stands, paid sex and loveless casual relationships. He often blamed his mother Evelyn about his behaviour towards women, because he never had the attention and love from her as a child. He tried seeking professional help in order to deal with many of the problems in his life, but instead of opening up, he preferred a prescription of drugs. Gradually he became aware that his body couldn’t keep up with his way of living, so he started having thoughts for a permanent relationship with a woman. He got engaged a few times and came really close to get married once, but he always found ways to screw things up at the very last moment. Shortly before his death, he realized that his next-door neighbour Rose was the love of his life. He proposed to her in a romantic trip in Paris, but it didn’t last for long as she found him in the shower with another woman. Shortly afterwards he “accidentally” fell in front of a moving train. BURST www.afternoiz.com

Two and a Half Men: Best Quotes

By P. Tsoutsis

Three men, with different ages and personalities, living under the same roof, can create a lot of hilarious situations. The following are some of the most memorable quotes in the show. Charlie often recalled the good old days when he was younger:

talked about the pranks they did to each other, when they were young:

Charlie: It seems like yesterday I could party all night and eat and drink anything I wanted to.

Charlie: Remember how you were a bed wetter until you were 8? Alan: Yeah? Charlie: You actually stopped at 6. Alan: What, what? What did you do? Did you sneak into my room and... and, and, and, and... pour warm water on me while I was asleep? Charlie: Yeah, OK. Let’s... say it was water, and let’s say I poured it.

Now, a couple of Red Bulls and a waffle and I’m sitting in the emergency room, praying for a fart.

Charlie

and

Alan

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often

...But he didn’t always understand the meaning of the words he was using: to do? Rose: A lot of people masturbate, I hear. Really, I’ve heard them. Alan: Nevertheless, sometimes a man needs to feel something other than his own touch. Rose: Have you tried switching hands? It’s like being with a clumsy stranger. Jake used to have very interesting questions towards his father and uncle:

Charlie’s principles were three: Charlie: Alan, I have always conducted my sex life according to three simple principles. One: If at all possible, ladies first. Two: It’s easier to be forgiven than ask permission. And third and most important: the ten seconds it takes to put on a condom beats the hell out of the ten years you have to pretend to like soccer. Alan: Except when they don’t work. Charlie: Stupid tiny disclaimer on the side of the box. They should put it in big letters right on the reservoir tip. “Do you feel lucky, dumb-ass?”

Alan: Right. Jake: And they say one out of three guys gets it, and mine’s fine so it’s got to be one of you.

Rose used to give nice advices to her next-door neighbors:

Jake: Dad? Alan: Yeah? Jake: Do you suffer from erectile dysfunction? Charlie: Well, Alan, do you? Alan: Um... Jake... what do you know about erectile dysfunction?

Rose: You’re waiting for a prostitute? Alan: No. Rose: Oh, Alan, that’s not like you. Alan: Yeah, well, when you’ve had your heart broken enough times and you can’t even bear the thought of having an emotional connection with another human being, what else is there

Jake: Not much. It has something to do with your penis, right?

Jake: You may think I’m dumb, but you overestimate me. And finally, when Candy (a woman Alan was dating) showed up unannounced, Alan had to explain to his son Jake the meaning of “booty call”: Alan: You see Jake, in the old west, cowboys could be out on the dusty range for months at a time, and they get mighty dirty. So they’d mosey into town with nothing but the clothes on their backs, and they’d need to wash them. So what they’d do is, they’d go down to the creek, and strip down until they were wearing nothing but their boots. Charlie: Why’d they keep their boots on? Alan: Rattlesnakes. Anyways, in order to warn people that were swimming that a naked cowboy was on his way, he would yell, or, if you will, call, “Booty! Booty!” Ergo, the Booty Call. Candy: Wow Alan, you really make history fun. Alan: Well, thank you. Candy: So when did it start meaning casual sex?

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Masters of the Universe (1987)

By Kostas Krasonis

W OR ST MO V I E S EV ER

The year was 1987 when a feature film about He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was released -like a virus- to the public. Based on the popular animated series and toy line, the film starred Dolph Lundgren as HeMan and Frank Langella as his arch nemesis, Skeletor!

The movie begins by establishing its story: Skeletor is now the King of Eternia (the home planet of He-Man) and the latter belongs in a rebel alliance (much like in Star Wars) which aims to overthrow the evil lord. After a brief fighting scene in which the rebels led by He-Man try to free the kidnapped Sorceress (played by Christina Pickles, Ross and Monica’s mom from Friends) they instead save Gwildor, a Gremlin-looking locksmith who has a “cosmic key” that teleports our fun little gang (He-Man, Gwildor, Man-At-Arms and his daughter Teela) to Earth seemingly at random (but actually because staging a full movie on a distant planet would have required funds and visual effects that the production company certainly didn’t have.) The cosmic key is lost upon arrival so the team scatters to search for it. Meanwhile we get introduced to our earthly protagonist, Julie (played by Courteney Cox, aka Monica from Friends)! [Seriously, how awesome is that?! Cox and Pickles had met in film a full seven years before Friends’ first season! I don’t know about you guys but I really enjoy this kind of coincidental Hollywood trivia! Anyway, back to our crappy film;]

Julie and her boyfriend Kevin find the cosmic key, but they think it’s a new-age synthesizer (because they are morons) and Kevin tries to pawn it while Julie waits for him in a prom room. What they don’t know is that when they pushed a few buttons on the key it transmitted their location to Skeletor’s minions who arrived at the prom room and attacked Julie. He-Man arrives at the spot and saves Julie from the evil forces. Halfway through this mov-

ie and you have so many things to laugh at; Lundgren’s awful acting and accent that make him look and sound like a mentally challenged dude on steroids, grown men in furry monster costumes running around and wrestling each other and the fact that the only thing true to the HeMan universe are the names of the characters and nothing else. This could have easily been a typical action movie of the era starring Lundgren. That his character’s name in He-Man and seems merely coincidental. The second half of the movie is a constant battle (for characters and viewers) as Skeletor comes to Earth and retrieves the key along with He-Man as his prisoner before returning to Eternia. Gwildor manages to make another key (…) and the rebels also return to Eternia taking with them Kevin and Julie for some reason. There, there’s an epic battle with guns that go pew-pew and flashes of color flying left and right. He-Man is chained and whipped with a light-saber-like whip (and his reactions are once again one of the worst things that have happened to acting since William Shatner). He eventually gets free and swordfights Skeletor until he defeats him throwing him off a bridge. That frees the Sorceress and everyone is happy except the people who somehow ended up watching this eye-shore from beginning to end. A failed attempt to spike the sales of the toy line, Masters of the Universe is ugly, moronic and not even bad enough to be considered good! Trust me, you’d be better off watching grass grow.

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195 million children worldwide suffer from the effects of malnutrition. In 2011, MSF treated 408,000 children in more than 30 countries. Copyright: Francesco Zizola

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