George Alexandrakis Photography
Metallica were the reason for his involvement in the metal scene.
Phil Dellas studied at the University of Sheffield and alongside his studies he creates the death metal band “Myth of a Life”. They have just released their first album entitled “She Who Invites” and we are already expecting their forthcoming album by the end of the following year.
He talked to City Code about his influences, the stereotypes that revolve around the metal scene and his upcoming plans, in his first interview in Greece.
What made you to want to start playing metal and more specifically death metal?
When I was growing up and around the age of twelve I discovered Metallica and it was through that band that I got a first taste of what metal is about. My exposure to Metallica affected my life artistically, socially and personally. They inspired me to play and more importantly to dream about pursuing my goals in music. Later in my teens, I found bands like Slipknot, In Flames, Cannibal Corpse, Behemoth and Lamb of God. It was through these bands that I decided that death metal and extreme metal was the type music that I wanted to create.
How did your academic music studies in Sheffield, UK influence your decision to play metal? Can you combine these two?
Coming to the UK and The University of Sheffield to study music I was already set on my dream to pursue a career in music and more specifically in metal. To be perfectly honest, the UK for me represented an ‘escape’ from Greece. It represented a place where I could find like-minded people and musicians in order to start a band. At first, it was hard because studying music in a University is very academically oriented e.g. writing assignments, research etc. and that was frustrating for me because all I wanted to do was to perform. However, looking back, the main element that I was able to learn from studying music was to look at things in a more all-round and broader way and not from a specific scope.
You released your debut album through Greek record label, Sleaszy Rider Records. The financial crisis has affected the CD sales even in more mainstream types of music. Is this any different in the metal scene?
What you are saying is very true! CD sales in the music industry have been at an all-time low with record labels constantly trying to find ways to make their products more appealing (bundles including DVD’s etc.) in a desperate attempt to increase sales. This is very much the case as well with record labels in the metal scene. However, the only thing that is different in the metal scene is that fans will make more of an effort to buy CD’s and merchandise and support bands in comparison to the mainstream and average music listeners.
Is there a death metal band that you would aspire to collaborate?
I would love and it would be an immense honour to collaborate with any of the aforementioned bands that I listed.
Some people who don’t listen to metal think that it’s just ‘noise’ and ‘screaming’ and that this type of music serves a more sinister purpose. Do you believe that this is a stereotype that is not true? How do you feel about that?
That is quite a stereotype! But, it makes sense as to why people label it like that, because society has a tendency to isolate and exclude anything that it doesn’t understand or ‘fit in’ with the ‘normal’ or mainstream standards that it sets. Personally, I think screaming is a form of art that is more about conveying images and emotions rather than melodies. It just so happens that most people consider vocals to always being about melodies. Well it’s not…
How do people from the UK and Greece react when you tell them that you are a vocalist for a metal band? Are there any similarities in both countries or any similar stereotypes?
It depends from person to person. People who have been exposed to metal music are of course not surprised and are interested to know more in-depth about what I do. Whereas, people who are not really familiar with metal find it a little bit harder to understand and relate to what I do. However, a lot of them are still interested to find out and learn more about it. That is the same in both the UK and Greece.
What are your next steps in music?
Well, my band released our debut album ‘She Who Invites’ in June so right now we are working towards playing live as much as we can in order to promote it across the UK. Also we do have plans in early 2017 to start doing some demos for new material for our upcoming album.
FACEBOOK PAGE: Myth of a Life
