Interview with SHINIGAMI

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly. Individually, we were all drawn to music since we were kids. A common starting point for all of us would be Greek music (both traditional and modern), as is the case with pretty much every Greek household. Other than that, we grew up listening to a wide range of musical genres such as rock, pop, punk, funk, soul, classical etc. And, of course, all of us were fervent listeners of all things heavy metal. At some point along the way, we decided that merely listening to music was not enough for us, we needed to create our own music!

If it weren’t for music, we wouldn’t be having this interview right now, would we? We would probably pursue some other endeavour where we would be able to channel our creativity (painting, acting, poetry etc). Honestly, though, we simply cannot think of anything else that could replace music in our lives.

What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

Well, like pretty much everyone else in the world, we all have our day jobs and our families, so that takes up a good chunk of our time, haha! So, being creative is our way of channeling our channeling our energy and escaping our everyday struggles and issues!

Also, in our free time, we all enjoy reading books, poetry and manga as well as watching movies, TV shows and anime etc, which greatly influence our creativity.

How long has your band been around? Also, please tell me about the dynamic of the band of what brought you all together.

The band was founded back in 2009 by our guitarist Dionysis and original bassist Hector. From the very beginning, our main goal has been to write and promote our own material rather than just perform cover songs. Since then, we have written many songs, have recorder two full length albums, played many gigs and, although we have had many lineup changes over the years, we have never lost our focus or our passion about what we do.

 Our current band lineup features Dionysis and Lefteris on guitars, Kostas on drums, Vassiliki on lead vocals, Konstantinos on keyboards and Christina on bass guitar. We can safely say that this is, by far, the strongest lineup the band has ever had.

Where are you based and how did that influence your music?

We hail from Athens, Greece. The Metal / Rock scene around these parts is extremely vibrant. In fact, Greece is among the top 10 countries featuring most metal bands per capita in the world! So, in such a climate, it is nearly impossible for one not to be inspired to start their own band.

How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?

Shinigami, which literally translates to “gods/spirits of death”, are spirits found in Japanese religion and culture that act as psychopomps. That is, they invite humans towards death. In modern times they have found their way into pop culture mainly through manga/anime, which all of us in the band enjoy. We felt it was a strong name for a metal band, so we adopted it.

Tell me about your most memorable shows.

Our most memorable show would be the one we played at Remedy Club, Athens, on December 2nd 2023. Not only was it the first gig we played featuring our current lineup, but it was also our first gig since the start of the Covid pandemic. We were a little stressed out at first, fearing we might have lost “the touch” after being off stage for so long. But it went great, we played better than ever and the audience was amazing. it felt like a true homecoming!

What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?

We do not have favorites. We have already played a good bunch of venues and we still need to play God knows how many more going forward. However, as long as we get to do a gig, almost any place is good for us!

If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?

Probably Wacken. In our minds, Wacken is currently the most prestigious heavy metal festival in Europe (if not the world). Most of our favourite bands have played there and some of them still play there on a regular basis, so being able to say we’ve played there would be a dream come true. The lineup would definitely include Judas Priest, Accept, Iron Maiden, Uriah Heep and Deep Purple.

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band and some advice that you would give to your younger self?

Believe in yourselves and your music and don’t let anyone talk you out of doing what you love. It’s not going to be an easy road but if you keep practicing, keep gigging and keep your eyes it will be worth it.

Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?

“Strike Me Down” is one of the heaviest songs we have written so far and represents where the band headed, musically, moving forwards. Lyrically, it is a song about perceverance, endurance and resiliene in the face of adversity. You could say it represents our attitude as a band. No matter what the world throws at us, we keep our heads high, weather the storm and emerge victorious stronger than before.

Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?

That would be “King of the Mountains”, it’s the song that reeeeealy gets the audience going every single time we play it.

What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?

Dionysis and Lefteris come up with most ideas for music and lyrics, respectively, however everyone in the band participates in the final arrangements/orchestrations of our songs. Our lyrics mostly deal with personal thoughts/strugles and everyday issues, although we do throw the occasional historical/fantasy element in the mix to keep things interesting.

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?

There really is no one particular thing/theme that defines our lyrics. We write what feels appropriate for the music and fits our mood.

Do you have any new singles, videos, or albums out that you would like to tell me and your fans about?

Our latest release would be our 2023 “Back From The Dead EP”. It features 4 songs originally included in our 2020 album entitled “Back From The Dead” rerecorded and rearranged by our current band lineup and produced by our good friend and heavy metal guru Bob Katsionis. The idea behind it was to introduce our new lineup to the world, close the “Back From The Dead” album cycle and pave the way for our next release

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?

We are currently gearing up for our first gig of the season, which will take place at Temple Athens club on September 21st, 2024.

We are also currently putting the finishing touches on our next studio album, which will once again be produced by Bob Katsionis. We are aiming for a late 2024 release.

How can your fans best keep up to date with you, any socials you want people to check out?

You can find us on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube at the following links

https://www.facebook.com/shinigamibandgr  

https://www.youtube.com/user/shinigamigrband  

https://www.instagram.com/shinigamibandgr