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The band Aftermath, formed in 1985 by Kyriakos “Charlie” Tsiolis, brings us a very technical thrash metal mixed with hardcore, with lyrics regarding the world and political problems.
Kyriakos gave us this interview, which he talked about the beginning of the career, the American metal scene, about mixing metal and politics, and the difficulties surrounding the band and Dr Dre.
Are you Greek, right? How do you come to US?
I am Greek. Born in Greece, but my parents moved to the States when I was 11 months old. So that makes me a Greek/American.
I think wistfully it is interesting to live in a city like Chicago. How important is this city to you and your music?
I love Chicago. It is the greatest American city and one of the best in the world. Maybe the best in the world. The city has great music. A great history when it comes to music in all genres. The metal scene in Chicago when we formed back in ‘85 was really strong. Great bands, venues and fans at that time. The metal scene is still really active today.
When did you start with music? What were your influences?
We formed Aftermath like I said in 1985. Ray and I jammed before that for a few months, but I would have to say that the real beginning was when the band formed on Halloween night 1985. I wanted to be in a band from the age of 10 when I discovered Kiss. Then, I hear Van Halen for the first time and was blown away. Hearing them made me realize this is what I wanted to do. I was still a really young kid then. I discovered Iron Maiden in 1980 and started to get into heavier music. In 1983, I heard Venom and everything changed. They were so underground. Even the early Metallica stuff was extreme back then. I knew I wanted to be in a band and now I wanted to be the singer not a guitar player. Back then, Slayer was a huge influence along with the hardcore bands. Those I can say were early influence for the Aftermath sound at that time. After that initial period, I wouldn’t say anyone has influenced our sound. There have been bands that we love like Voivod, but none have been direct influences more like bands we have total respect for.
And the American scene, how is it? Is there space for metal bands? Here in Brazil is a bit difficult, because people typically prefer bands from US, Europe, Japan (in some exceptional cases), but for Brazilians, except big names as Angra and Sepultura, is hard to find loyal audience.
The US still has a very active and big metal scene. The extreme metal scene is probably bigger commercially today than it was back in the 1980s. Metal will always be around in the US.
I have seen you, during a short time, changed Aftermath’s name and played a more industrial/alternative rock music. Why? I said it because Groundcast is a website with a big interest in this kind music and when I listened to Mother God Moviestar, for me, sounded a good mix of Marilyn Manson, Ministry and Nine Inch Nails, but with some gothic identity.
It is a very interesting story. Mother God Moviestar had all the Aftermath members plus a DJ and female vocalist (one on the record and different ones live). The band came about as a result of our lawsuit with Dr. Dre. Interscope Records signed Aftermath to a deal. Interscope owned the Dre label. We really experimented with that record. We could have released a thrash record by Aftermath, but didn’t on principle. We got a record deal that was perfect because we had all the control. We released the record without the label interfering. We decided to change the name of the band to Mother God Moviestar, a name no one would ever come up with besides me. The record was unconventional and uncommercial. Really it had no genre. We were listening to a lot of different bands and genres at that time. I wanted to incorporate different styles on that record. In the end, it was a mix of metal, industrial, and electronica (or EDM today). The album begins with the band and as it slowly goes along it becomes more electronic and it ends with remixes of the songs by a DJ. It transforms or morphs in a way that makes it totally unique. It was several years ahead of its time in my opinion.
Why didn’t you continue with this industrial approach?
We released the record did a tour in the US and decided it was time to breakup.
And the court case with Dr Dre, could you tell us something or it is secret?
We sued Dr. Dre for trademark infringement in 1996. We had a US trademark for the name Aftermath and Dre wanted to license the name for his new label. The problem is that they lied to us. His lawyer lied and said he represented a small R&B label that was just starting, and they wanted to license the name for like $5,000 at first. The truth was that his client was starting a multimillion dollar label owned by one of the biggest record labels in the world. They kept lying and we figured it out. We said no to their offer and they offered us like $50,000 for the rights. We sued them to stop them from using the name. They won the first round in court. Fucking bullshit, I think the judge was paid off. We could have kept the lawsuit going, but we didn’t have the money.
Could you tell us something about There is Something Wrong? For me it sounds like a good 80s thrash metal, but less-beer influenced (hehehe) and some industrial/prog influences and, probably, something that annoys you.
The record is a concept album. When we got back together and wrote the first song for fun, it came out sounding great and it felt fresh. We kept writing and it organically became the record. I wanted it to be a concept album because I believe the message of the record is important and only as a concept can the real message come out. It needed to have an intro, interludes and outro. We wanted the record to represent both styles of Aftermath – the early crossover days and our later technical/progressive era. We are unique that the band has two very distinct sounds and with the concept album it was perfect for the music to have the aggression and attitude of the crossover style and the progressive parts also needed to be part of it. I don’t hear the industrial part you mention. Our music especially my lyrics have always been about things that annoy me.
I have read in an interview you said your lyrics are based in reality, and some of them include politics. What themes do you like to explore / show?
Glad to hear that someone has read one of the interviews hahaha. I have always written about real life issues. I never got into the typical metal lyrics. I like the punk lyrics. They wrote about life in a real way from being young and angry to hating the government that suppresses and enslaves you. Those lyrics have a real meaning for me. I always wanted the listener of our songs to get the feeling I got from the lyrics. A feeling of fuck the system. The new record is all about the ones that rule the world and their plans for us. The elected officials are mere puppets or actors taking their orders and reading their scripts. It’s not about just politics it is about the entire corrupt system. From banks to schools to government to religion. All of it.
With a very punk-rooted origin, I note you try to maintain some political attitude – something rare nowadays in metal bands. What do you think about “apolitical” metal guys or guys that say “metal and politics can’t be put together”?
I think metal bands should be political. I don’t get that argument that you can’t mix metal and politics. Its aggressive music and what a better way to deliver a message than with metal. The punk bands have the attitude but often miss the aggression and heaviness that metal has so it would be great to hear more metal bands sing about politics and real topics.
What bands are you listening to and recommend to our readers?
I haven’t been listening to many new bands recently. I listen to old thrash. The new Voivod is great. The new Death Angel I have heard sounds killer. Believe it or not I have been listening to our new record a lot.
About Brazilian bands (because we are a Brazilian webzine.): do you know any Brazilian band?
Of course I know Sepultura and Angra. I know of Chakal and Sarcofago as well. Do you count Soulfly even though Max lives in the States lol?
Well, I would like to thank you for this interview. This is your space to let a message to our readers. Let’s go.
I want to thank you for the interview. I hope we can one day play Brazil. The women are beautiful and the metal scene for bands has always been great. Pick up the new record and listen to it from start to finish with headphones if possible. The people of this planet need to be united and wake up to what is really going on. The people in control are not there to help us. They are here to keep us divided and enslaved through their institutions, laws and monetary systems. We aren’t free as long as they control everything. TIME TO WAKE UP. The record is also available on CD now and vinyl soon. Also check out the videos on our YouTube channel.
Related Links
https://www.facebook.com/AftermathChicago
https://www.aftermathchicago.com/
https://www.instagram.com/aftermath_band_official
https://play.spotify.com/artist/2HlaZ7yPsLrQA5zmDU1lch
https://www.youtube.com/user/zoident