After 20 years in the Greek hardcore scene, Eden Demise has witnessed the scene's evolution and gained distinct experience. We present a little sociale politic talk and a brief overview of their journey up to today through this discussion led by the singer, Jon Demise.
1. How is the Greek Hardcore Scene alive compared to when you started few years ago?
The Hardcore scene in Greece is going strong. As far as the Athens scene, which I’m more familiar with, is definitely in a much better shape than it was in the past. Actually, I don’t think there’s a comparison here. Don’t get me wrong, we still have a very small Hardcore community in our country, but there are great bands, cool people, enough venues to host Hardcore gigs, from small clubs to self-organized DIY places and everything about it seems to be going in a really good direction.
2. Although this question is sometimes embarrassing for some bands, what is the meaning of your name, Eden Demise, since the translation can be broad?
When we started the Eden Demise journey back in the day, one of our favorite bands which inspired us both musically and lyrically, was Earth Crisis. Despite never being a straight edge band, their approach on sociopolitical issues and their sheer focus on presenting their message had a huge impact on us, so we took our name from their well-known song, with a small twist. In our minds, Eden is the modern society where apathy and greed lead to disintegration, oppressive governments, economic deprivation, injustice. The demise of this society reflects the failed state that drives us on the verge of destruction.
3. Having existed for 20 years, looking back, what is the greatest accomplishment that Eden Demise has achieved?
I’m not sure if it counts as an accomplishment, but the fact that we are still able to play and release the music we love after all these years, with the same energy and passion, is really important to us.
4. Conversely, what is the thing you dream of accomplishing as a band?
To have the strength to continue doing what we love and hopefully more people find our music worth listening to. At this point for us, this is all that matters.
5. How do you define your sound to stand out from other bands in your region?
Our main influence is the metallic Hardcore of late 90s-early 00s and we always thought of our sound like a mix of NYHC with the heavier, darker metallic European style. From the urban grooves and 2-step parts to heavy breakdowns and thrashing riffs. We always tried to play the music we’d like to listen and even though our approach may have differed over the years, from one release to another, the core of what we like to play stayed the same.
6. You have two other full-length albums before releasing "Acts Of Defiance," what is different with this album that you did not want to repeat from the previous two recordings?
I think “Acts of Defiance” is a more complete, more solid work than anything we have released in the past. I will not say “mature”, because I don’t believe this is the case here. It’s more like everything we have written in the previous releases somehow led to this album. It feels like the natural next step. “The Takeover” was aggressive and spontaneous, while “Triumph Over Adversity” felt more technical or “calculated”, but at times less in-your-face and energetic.
So, this time what we had in mind was to keep the nerve and straightforward approach of the first releases but with a more thoughtful process in the musicianship. It seems we managed to balance everything, without holding back and we are really happy of how it turned out. As a fan of the genre, I think “Acts of Defiance” is an album that I would tell a friend about it, I believe we created something personal within the metallic Hardcore sound and we really hope more people will give it a chance.
7. Your most recent album "Acts of Defiance" was released about three months ago, and without going into details, what are the overall themes on this new record?
We basically expand the themes we started exploring in last year’s EP, “The Great Injustice”. We try to focus on issues, we think that should be addressed and give our perspective and where we stand on these matters. But there is also a hopeful message included, that if we decide to come together and fight collectively, while respecting and listening one another, we still have time to change things for the better.
On “The Great Injustice” the main theme was about the strength we still keep inside, the flame that can turn into fire, the glimpse of hope we hide, that we are not yet a lost cause. This time it’s more about what we can do. The chorus of “Deviation” sums up the entire message of the album: “We must deviate from the stream to move forward.
Embracing change, is the way to thrive. We are up against a hateful rotten old world. We must make it change, or we’ll tear it down.”
8. "Fall Of Righteousness" suggests a critical look at the moral hypocrisy of elitism. Tell us about the inspiration behind this song and the images in the music video, especially the seemingly abandoned places?
As a band, we stand against all forms of elitism and any sense of superiority, so naturally the concept of “self-righteousness” was something we needed to address. There is no specific event or example behind the inspiration for this song, it’s a timeless issue and we wanted to approach it accordingly. We believe that in a sense, all people are flawed, we have fears and weaknesses, we make mistakes. What defines us is how we manage and overcome our issues and as a result, how we treat others and how we contribute to improve the societies we live in. It’s extremely hypocritical of someone to judge harshly everyone without being able to walk in their shoes, just so they can feel a sense of moral superiority, or to fit in a narrative that makes them think they are better than others.
There is constructive criticism and there’s pointless hating. About the seemingly abandoned spots in the video, we wanted to visualize the dystopic nature of the subject and emphasize an important phrase in the lyrics, “Empty words mean nothing at all”, pointing out that the self-righteous have no substance, they are just “empty”. Fun fact, the main building we shot the video is the place where we have our rehearsal studio.
9. "Den of Vultures" is a beautiful reflection on the harmful consequences of greed, overconsumption, and human vanity. Did you write it in this sense and can you elaborate on this subject?
There is a whole system in place that feeds people’s greed and drives them to apathy. A system that targets human vanity to create overconsuming masses who are so focused in their meticulously designed needs, that ignore any violation of civil rights, any injustice, any educational deprivation. And being this numb, makes us vulnerable, unable to act, react or even think clearly sometimes, becoming preys ourselves. So yes, we explore the consequences of greed as a result, but we also try to reach further, into that system that creates the environment for situations like this to thrive.
10. Our favorite from the same album is the song "Slingshot." For us, it expresses hope, the determination to be one's own agent of change rather than being victims of a failing system. Is this the message you intended to convey?
“Slingshot” is definitely a hopeful song. Slingshot is a humble weapon, far less lethal than a sword or a rifle, which, as I see it, symbolizes resistance, meaning that the few can bring change. Small acts of defiance can shape the future, every little act can have huge effects. So, it might seem like we have lost hope but there is still time to prevent the utter downfall and the only ones who can help us, are ourselves. We can and we should be this weapon, we can and we should fight for a better tomorrow without depending on messiahs.
11. Last July, you were supposed to open for Earth Crisis, who ultimately did not play, but you decided to convert the show with local bands, how did the crowd respond?
What happened is this: Earth Crisis never made it to Athens due to flight cancelation after numerous delays and despite the efforts of the organizer, nothing could be done. So, since we were already at the venue we agreed to do it a local show. The awesome part is that enough people chose to stay to watch the local acts (the other band was Malignant – you should check them out), so what seemed to be a total disaster turned into a lovely hardcore local party. We had tons of fun, to be honest, and we loved every second of it. The people who stayed, saved the night and made it a really awesome and memorable, at least for us, event. Because in Hardcore shows, the people off stage are equally responsible for a great live along with the band. The whole connection, the chemistry between the band and the crowd makes a Hardcore show what it is.
12. Do you have any other concert plans for the rest of the year?
We are in the planning stage at the moment, so nothing concrete to talk about officially. We’ll definitely announce some dates after summer. We are always looking forward to a new gig, we love being on stage, so we can’t wait to see when and where we’ll do a live show again.
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We appreciated Jon's realistic and down-to-earth responses about the band's future. We know they have the potential to achieve the legacy they want to leave for their fans. The challenges they have faced have undoubtedly helped shape their strong image of determination. It was interesting to discuss overconsumption and sociopolitical issues with him. We hope that Eden Demise continues with their admirable values and ideologies. We invite you to follow this band in the coming months and give their music a listen, especially their latest album "Acts of Defiance," available on all digital platforms.
