About Doctor_P
Interviewing Emanon: The Official ILLUSORY Photographer
Interviewing the official ILLUSORY photographer: Emanon under Technical Utopia siege! Seirios is the brightest star yet our photographer, Emanon, seems to be even brighter! The awesome people of our official Fan Club, Technical Utopia caught up with the mighty Flash-Master and… well, there you go!
Did we say you should Shine On?
You should!
Click on the image below, visit the Official ILLUSORY Fan Club and read the entire interview!
Please, welcome Emanon, the Illusory photographer!
It’s true! There is a camera Master inside The Ivory Tower, warming up for the Polysyllabic moments to come. Emanon is officially our photographer and we are very proud to present him. We wanted somebody to capture the ILLUSORY madness/passion on stage and Emanon proved he can do it pound for pound.
Feel free to check Emanon‘s work and Shine On as he does when he’s taking pictures of us. A beautiful cooperation has just began! By the way, there is a rumor that our official Fan Club, Technical Utopia, is already over him and there’s more and more to come. Stay Ivoried!
Illusory @ RockOverdose / An Interview With Dee
There’s another interview up and running! Read all about our latest news, the recording process for our sophomore album, plus much more! Many thanks to rockoverdose.gr and Mr. Theodor Martinis for the support. Shine On The Ivories!
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What is the band doing as we speak? Do you have any new material in progress as we have already listen to a couple of new songs during your most recent live appearances?
Dee: We are wrapping up recordings; guitars and drums are over, we’ve got a few songs for bass recording as well as keyboards and vocals naturally. I do believe that our sophomore album will be ready by the early 2016 and it will be entitled “Polysyllabic”. After our latest Live at AN Club for the After The Wave Festival we focused on the recordings in order to finish up the soonest possible. Basically, we were scheduling to complete the album last winter, however a series of good concerts in Athens, Trikala, Ioannina, Thessaloniki and back in Athens again kept us away from concluding the recordings. Yet, this whole delay was totally worth it. Those concerts went extremely well and we managed to gain even more new fans via them.
When did the whole ILLUSORY story begin? Tell us about it.
Dee: The band started in 1992 under the name Ivory Tower. Numerous rehearsals, rough times and conditions… Members coming and leaving, some live shows, army obligations, studies, a long hiatus and around 2000 we gathered up again and decided to restart the engines. Love and devotion were never lost, friendship and the term “Ivories”, our music family has always been here! In 2006 we tested our strength by releasing our promo album, which was presented as “Demo of the month” by the Greek edition of Metal Hammer, featuring an amazingly positive review. Same happened with Greek edition of Rock Hard and many web magazines. We sold about 300 pieces of that album, face to face and we used that money for our next investment. Building our own studio, the iCave! In 2008, through a contest, we were chosen to open for the legendary Blue Oyster Cult. In fact, three bands were chosen for the finals, material was sent to BOC themselves and they listened to it and made the final decision! In 2010 we started looking for a label, in order to make a step forward, we wanted the best production for our album and a label to support the way they should. In 2013 we signed with The Leaders Records; album production took place in Germany, at the Prophecy & Music Factory Studios by R. D. Liapakis and Christian Schmid. The only painful thing in all that bliss was the necessity to change our band name. We were the ones using the name “Ivory Tower” four whole years ahead of that German band, but we hadn’t trademarked it. Due to legal issues as well commercial ones (even for our own sake), we were forced to change it. After that huge emotional burst and further to countless ideas for a new name, we ended up choosing ILLUSORY, which is very close to “Ivory Tower”, terminology-wise…
“The Ivory Tower”, your debut album has left the best impression to us all, along with grand expectations for the future. Do you believe that your sophomore album will be even better?
Dee: “The Ivory Tower” album was released (physical form – CD) in May 2013 in Europe and three months later in Japan. It’s a concept album, telling the story of one man’s life, Steven Towers. One interested in that story, wanting to know more and read the complete version, they can always visit our band’s official website, www.illusoryband.com. Our debut went really well, exceptionally outstanding I’d say; it sold out its first edition, it got great reviews by well-known magazines, i.e. German Legacy, where we got a whole page about our band and album, Japanese Burn and Young Guitar, Greek Metal Hammer and a lot of web magazines! For our next album we are planning to have a flawless and “different” production, far from the usual “recipes”. Album production as well as part of the recordings (vocals) will take place at the Matrix Studio. Their equipment is simply amazing and technical personnel is absolutely stunning. Our sound engineer is John Petrogiannis and we do hope this cooperation lasts for ever! The album will contain 13 songs and one of them will talk about our dear Steven, continuing the story. As for the album style and mode and if it’s better than our debut, you just have to wait and listen!
Your favorite bands and artists?
Dee: I’m a “classic” Metalhead, I grew up in the mid 80’s, therefore I adore the classic megabands of that period. Maiden, Sabbath, Dio, Priest, Helloween, Queensryche, Ozzy, Accept, Manowar, Saxon, some time later Savatage, Guardian and many more.
Do you have a surprise in stock or a special cooperation, regarding your second album?
Dee: We will feature a bunch of classical music organs, especially orchestrated for “Polysyllabic”, plus a traditional theme, performed by electric guitars, something we are trying for the very first time. Naturally we will have some special friends, Greek musicians and singers partaking.
I know how much you love Iron Maiden and Bruce Dickinson… Have you “borrowed” anything from Bruce, concerning the way you are singing?
Dee: I’ve never hidden my soft spot for Bruce Dickinson, it would be foolish to do so. Dio, Dickinson, Kiske, Tate, Snider… These are the voices I love the most and the way I’m singing surely reminds you certain elements these singers have. I don’t know which element comes from which singer, the audience can do that. Dickinson is basically a huge chapter in my life…
Would you like to share a funny moment with us? Something that happened during a live show and was not expected?
Dee: Darn, how much time do we have? (laughs) We’ve been a band for so many years, we’ve done so many Live shows… These moments are really countless and the fun… Unbelievable! Whenever you have some time, drop by the studio, to hear all the stories that you can hear!
Can you name the best moments you’ve had with ILLUSORY and the worst?
Dee: Good times, huh? Our very first rehearsals in my house terrace, hanging out with Kostas Charalambidis, the person I founded the band with, our very first live show at this establishment called “Kyklos” (Circle), the concert with Blue Oyster Cult, the iCave construction (we literally built it with our own hands), the promo release, our debut album release and the whole recording sessions experience… Bad times… The unfair leaving of two members and the bitterness it left in me…
Is there a future in the Greek Metal Scene? Do you think that this whole “Crisis thing” has affected the bands here?
Dee: Greek Metal Scene must have a brilliant future! It just has to! I don’t have a clue why I don’t see that, I don’t know why certain people that can help, they choose not to. It’s totally worth it! Amazing bands, complete musicians, pure talents! Total professionals, fantastic productions and huge efforts and love for what they do. The fans should support, that might awake those who can actually give Greek Scene a strong boost. The crisis is a setback for everything, music industry couldn’t possibly escape.
Would you like to send a message to RockOverdose readers, to wish something to them?
Dee: First of all, I would like to congratulate you for your efforts. You’ve been doing that for years and it really shows. I wish you keep on growing and having more and more readers. Our band loves what they do, we are here to stay! I wish you get to like our new album and we get to have more fans, based on our music and our music only!
Thank you very much for your time for this interview.
Dee: Thank you for having me, Shine On The Ivories!
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Click on the image to read the interview in Greek
La Illusoria Combriccola @ radioalchemy.net
Wot? Another interview? Totally welcome by all means! The boys are gonna be featured on Radio Alchemy, guesting the “La Combriccola” show, hosted by Alfonso. The date with the gang (la combriccola in Italian – now, did you know that?) is set for October 6 and all you have to do is plug your earphones or turn up the speakers volume and tune in. Music, news, surprises and more music are headed your way.
To tune in, click on the following link:
http://www.radioalchemy.net
Chatroom (cuz we wanna hear you):
http://radioalchemy.net/index.php/chat
Thru the station’s app:
http://apps.appmakr.com/alchemywebradio
In case you are outside and you happen to have a cool phone:
http://tunein.com/radio/Alchemy-Web-Radio-s202995
After The Wave Festival Reviews Pt. III: e-stage.gr
It’s music to our ears when more and more magazines support our efforts. Sit back and relax, reading about our stage stories and be sure to come back for more. Huge thanks to e-stage.gr for being there, done that, got Shined On!
e-stage.gr
“Older” people, like me, used to know the band as Ivory Tower, however, for some reason, they had to change their band-name. I do like their new one and I think it does suit them. They are the same people, the same band, they haven’t changed anything. They’ve got the same energy, the same beautiful Old School Metal, which can never mess with your mood. OK, “The Ivory Tower” is the title of their debut album, which was released in 2013 and the band is on their way to their sophomore. One can hear their Maiden influences in their rhythms and guitar themes. Voice is “walking” the paths leading to Dickinson and Dio, a lil’ bit more towards Dickinson. I think it was the best way to end the festival, so the young can learn and the old can reminisce.”
Click on the image to read the entire review (GR)
After The Wave Festival Reviews Pt. II: rockway.gr
Yep, reviews keep on comin’ and we just keep on publishin’. Read about our ATWF adventure and Shine On some more! We would like to deeply thank rockway.gr for their time and support. More reviews to follow, stay Ivoried!
rockway.gr
“To bring the festival to an end, ILLUSORY, loyal to traditional Metal roots, came to remind that no matter how much we experiment with what we listen to and how much we indulge to various avant-garde styles, we all (80’s/90’s at least) made our first steps along the same base, regarding Heavy scene back then. The fact that they made a limited crowd to follow them in their own songs is indicative, concerning the energy the band is showing on stage. Off to their next album, they presented their new songs as well as songs off their debut album, The Ivory Tower. Due to the fact that they were the last to appear on stage (headliners) and without any time restrictions, they also played a few covers of classic and loved songs, concluding this year’s After The Wave a few minutes after midnight.”
Click on the image to read the entire review (GR)
After The Wave Festival Reviews Pt. I: hardmusic.gr
After The Wave Festival… After The Wave Reviews!
Some say it’s a cliche to write “It was a night to remember”, yet we feel it was such. ATWF has taken a very special place in our hearts and we would like to thank a bunch of peeps for that. Our most sincere thanks go to the amazing bands we shared the stage with. Wings in Motion, Symforia, Simplefast, System Decay and Rust ‘n’ Mud. Huge thanx to An Club and Mariza Koroniotaki as well as the sponsors, Open Mind Tattoo and Matrix Recording Studio.
By the way, the first live reviews came knocking on our door and… well… Here you go! To those who supported and mentioned, to the fans and spectators… Shine On! See you soon in a brand new live!
hardmusic.gr
“ILLUSORY or Headliners are on, if you will. ILLUSORY is a Heavy Metal band hailing from Athens, Greece. They had opened for Blue Oyster Cult in 2008 and released their very nice album “The Ivory Tower” in 2013. Having great self-confidence and their debut as their ally, they performed exquisitely. Besides, they are amazing musicians, one by one, with the exception of the bass guitarist. This guy is even more than “simply amazing”. Fearsome playing, bass lines that kick ass and a bass solo which could leave the guitars behind! Sometimes heavy and other times melodic. In a naive parallelism in my head, bass and drums are actually the team (bands) defense, keyboards are the midfield, the lead singer is the striker and the guitars are the wingmen. Well, with a defense like that, ILLUSORY won’t even lose a single game. They played two brand songs off their upcoming album, a “Crusader” cover (originally by Saxon) and they saved the best for last. Another cover, this time on “The Evil That Men Do”, originally by… You-know-who! The sickos as Mr. Dee Theodorou characterized the whole band (and yours truly I might add), were doing as they please and the mic (as well as Dee) came off stage many times. Brilliant “Pale Moonlight” followed, in which the band did a lil’ break to present themselves to us, the likes of “Sanctuary” break… Like You-know-who was doing in Iron Maiden! Wrap up with the best, according to the entire band, track of the album, “Ivory Tower” and Metallica‘s “Creeping Death”. What more could one possibly want?”
Click on the image to read the entire review (GR)
Dee’s Radio Podcast – Interview @ Kanali 1 / X Rock & Metal Radio Show
Due to the boys participation at the After The Wave Festival 2015, Dee was recently interviewed by George Karides and Eirini Dedepsidou for Kanali 1, “X Rock & Metal” radio show.
Kanali 1 “90,4” Radio / X Rock & Metal / An interview with Dee
Due to the boys participation at the After The Wave Festival, Dee Theodorou will be guesting the X Rock & Metal show this Friday, September 4 from 24:00 till 02:00. George Karides and Eirini Dedepsidou will be the hosts. All latest news, and details plus things you wanna know about the band. Get inside “The Ivory Tower” and reach every room there is to reach! Make sure you tune in to Kanali 1 “90,4” FM Radio.
After The Wave Festival / Pre-Festival Interview
Our “After The Wave Festival / Pre-Festival Interview” (now, try to say that really fast!) is up and running. Read about the new album and the story of success via Metal! Sincere thanks to Rockpages.gr for the support. Shine On!
Rockpages.gr: It’s been a while since “The Ivory Tower” release. How are proceedings going in reference to composing new material? Should we presume you are preparing a new release within 2016?
We began recording our parts for the sophomore album only a few days after our debut’s release! We decided that we wouldn’t and shouldn’t waste any time in terms of fulfilling our recording obligations. Creating an album is a serious story. Anyone who might believe that there is no need to deal with it daily should be preparing for a huge shock! We are wrapping things up as we speak, recording-wise. Our second album will be titled “Polysyllabic” and will be released by the end of 2015/beginning of 2016. It’s not a concept album this time, our songs talk about a bunch of issues, however, we’re gonna have one song based on the Steven Towers saga.
Rockpages.gr: How much tricky (or should we say illusory) is it to pursue success in Greece by playing traditional heavy metal?
Oh, the word “Illusory” can mean a number of things… “Delusional” and “Not real”, even “Utopian”. One can easily comprehend that the definition of this specific word is including a negative meaning, in terms of targets pursuing. Success in Greece via playing METAL… To us, success is the story of a band that manages to make ends meet via their music. There are a few groups in our country that have achieved that, throughout a lot of sacrifices and “fighting”. They made it abroad, they have built a strong name outside the border and thus they managed to become well-known. METAL fans in Greece are truly supportive to Greek bands; they buy the albums, they spend a lot of money, despite the crisis and all that… Yet, they can not seriously spend a fortune in buying, right? The Greek market is rather small and album sales are facing a financial downfall for quite some time now. It’s neither tricky nor illusory to go after success… Regardless the means. You don’t play music just for the sake of it or a few peeps who will come by the studio. You don’t compose so you and your bandmates can only listen to what you do. Many Greek bands have toured Europe and even further, many of them succeeded in making a difference. All you need is luck and the right timing, provided you will never stop trying. Things are by far not the way they used to be. Labels and promotion companies do not invest all that money any more. The most important thing is that we embrace music (which is a rather expensive “sport” unfortunately) and we put effort into something that’s totally satisfying for us. And that something might appeal to more people “out there”. That’s what makes us happy and in the loop for more effort and more music.
