Ελληνικά
Being offered the chance to exchange a few words with one of your long–time idols has always been a pleasure. Agent Steel were one the bands that took me by the hand and made me take a deep dive into that US speed / thrash metal, making the genre my most favorite “guilty pleasure”. The band is about to set foot in Greece in a few days, so what’s a better way to get warmed up than indulging in some heartfelt words?
Being offered the chance to exchange a few words with one of your long–time idols has always been a pleasure. Agent Steel were one the bands that took me by the hand and made me take a deep dive into that US speed / thrash metal, making the genre my most favorite “guilty pleasure”. The band is about to set foot in Greece in a few days, so what’s a better way to get warmed up than indulging in some heartfelt words?
JOHN CYRIIS: From the day we were privileged to play a respectable festival in Athens, and we where sideswiped by a canadian band called Riot City. I was very discouraged for performing in Greece, despite my love for the country and my greek fans. So you can blame them for our taking so long to finally perform in Greece.
JOHNNY MORAES: Hello my greek friends! It’s always a pleasure talking to you, and, it’ll be great to set foot there again, now in april.
It’s a beautiful country which I love, and had the honor to play an entire tour there, back in 2015, when I was playing with Warrel Dane, we did a 12 dates tour of Greece, even with a few acoustic shows. Great memories, indeed.
I’m honored to be able to play Greece again, this time, with my fellow partners in Agent Steel. I think that the greek fans, which I know that love speed metal, will really enjoy the show that we’re taking there, the setlist has a few surprises! And it’s great to be there for the first time that Agent Steel will set foot in Greece. I’m sure there’s a lot of fans which have been waiting a long time for these upcoming shows.
Good evening, welcome to Metal Invader! It’s an honor to have you with us! Hope everyone is doing well! Are you getting ready for you upcoming shows in Greece? Hopefully you’re as hyped as we are!
- CYRIIS: I feel that it’s a great privilege to finally be able to perform to my greek fans that have been waiting for this rally since 1985.
J.MORAES: Yes! Right now we’re taking care of the final details for this tour. Totally hyped for finally being able to take Agent Steel to Greece. I think that you’re going to love the show that we’re preparing for you guys.
Agent Steel have been on and off a lot throughout the years; it seems that your recent “re-activation” feels different and dare I say more personal. What led you into reforming the band this last time? I feel like you had to say something different.
J.CYRIIS: I believe that I am spiraling out into the paths of a new horizon as far as my idea of what art truly is. It is high time that i submit to the ultra-velocity of changes that are leading me onto a path of finally realizing the time is right for an evolutionary “musical metamorphosis”.
The most difficult thing for any human being on this earth to accept is “we are all born alone and we shall therefore depart alone…” ;
BELIEVING ANYTHING OTHER THAN THIS… IS… TOTAL MADNESS!
Even though I cannot fathom the fact that it’s been 40 years since Skeptics Apocalypse, it is a fact that it shook the metal world. Comparing the band and the status quo of those (glorious to some) years, what do you believe has changed and what has weirdly remained the same?
J.CYRIIS: The origins of thrash metal still remain on their thrones; Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, Exodus, Overkill and Agent Steel in an original yet other guise.. The test of time has proven that the origins are not a coincidence, but instead, a renaissance that has catalyzed into all the other genres that are popular in metal today.
When I firstly became involved with Agent Steel, I listened to the first two albums and felt like I was experiencing a true Apocalypse. Both albums opened up a brand new music world to me, so be honest… Did you ever imagine in 1985 that people would still be headbanging to Skeptics Apocalypse almost 40 years later? This rush of raw power was absolutely thrilling back then.
J.CYRIIS: I feel blessed that my original rally in 1985 would last this long amongst the varied factions that would follow through the years to be what it has come to now. The original message was one of mercilessness in as far as the evolution usurping Out from the punk movement as an anti-social revolution against the status quo.
I Believe all art is an expression of beauty, and therefore an act of care for the evolution of one’s race of men, women, and beasts. Therefore, AS was created in the form of a polemic. It is both meant to be a revolution against the revolutionary, and yet, a campaign against idiocy that circumvents toward superficiality and mass thought. And that is why I believe the interest in AS has endured to this very day.
J.MORAES: I think that all bands that broke in the scene back in the 80’s and brought up new ideas and gave birth to new styles of heavy metal planted a seed that only grew and grew. If you look to all classic bands like Maiden, Priest, Dio, Motorhead, Accept, Manowar, Anthrax, Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Testament… everyone who was a innovator and released classic albums back then, these albums mystiques only continued to grow overtime, and with Agent Steel it’s not different anyway. I could feel, back then, that the classic albums from all of these bands would remain relevant decades later.
If you had a time machine and could go back to the ’80s thrash scene, when and where would you like to land? Is there any particular memory you cherish?
J.CYRIIS: My rehearsals with Megadeth.
If I had presented a more diversified lyrical concept it may have inspired the Daves into continuing with me as the band vocalist and perhaps working with them for much longer than I did. But such is life (!)
Every night at the rehearsals I would look to my side, both left and right, and witness the most phenomenal guitar and bass techniques in Metal— that I’ve yet to witness any other musician perform. And thus, I felt as if I was king of the world. Being the frontman of the greatest band in the world. And, as Dave always used to say, after rehearsals when we would go to eat at Ben Frank’s in Hollywood, a dinner: “We are going to crush the world”
Do you believe your life would have taken another turn if you had actually stayed with Megadeth? I know that back then you were more interested with Agent Steel, but have there been any moments in your life where you thought “should have persisted with Dave and Dave (Mustaine and Ellefson)
Do you ever feel any regrets about the path the band followed? What would you have done differently should you’d been given the chance?
J.CYRIIS: I only have one thing to say about this question, and the answer is; if I had stayed in Megadeth, Dave wouldn’t have been so used by so many opportunist musician in the scene. We would still be together, and we would rule!
How difficult is for a band with such history stay relevant and still release diverse records or singles etc? What’s that one thing that makes you keep going? What keeps you motivated?
J.CYRIIS: My motivation comes from a desire to continue the rally that was an evolution from the punk-era which metamorphosed into bands that took music to another level.
J.MORAES: I think that it’s always a challenge for a classic band to step up and write songs and albums that can stand the test of time and that can stand well in the band’s discography, when compared to other albums that the band has done previously. To me, it’s a fact that the fanbase will always compare the new records with the classics from the 80’s, I could even say that I expect that to happen.
At the same time that’s what motivates me to put 130% of my songwriting skills into this band. Is to create songs that will capture the imagination and hype our fanbase and new listeners, as much as the 80’s albums did; and write tunes which will sound coherent, that comes from the same band, and an evolution from what Agent Steel has done in past albums.
Does the legacy you’ve created ever made you feel a certain kind of burden or anxious about the band’s next steps?
J.CYRIIS: always working very hard, and, I’ll be too busy looking good to worry about much else.
Finally, what’s next for Agent Steel—new music, world domination, or just waiting for the mothership to beam you up?
J.CRYRIIS: All art is eternal. Even after this world ceases to exist the magnetic fields of manifestation in rebellion and provocative of a dissatisfaction with the powers that be, and the world as it is seen will continue as an eternal memorandum as the rebellion of those who were dissatisfied with the systems failure.
J.MORAES: Definitely the new album is the main focus right now, is to Finnish it and release it. Can’t wait to share these new amazing songs with the fans!!
Besides the album, the goal is to take the current tour of the band to the most countries we can, in Europe, Asia and America; celebrating the legacy and the 40th anniversary of Agent Steel’s debut “Skeptics Apocalypse”, as well as bringing the new songs for the live show.
What have Agent Steel prepared for the Greek crowd? What should we expect? Any surprises waiting for us?
J.CYRIIS: The live show will have highlights from the No Other Gods Before Me album and we’ll be playing for the first time prior to it’s release a new song, one track for the forthcoming album. )but, there is a fork in the Road about to Ascend its Craft!)
J.MORAES: You’re gonna have to wait and see it live, but i can tell you that we have a few surprises on the setlist.
As I usually do, I leave the final words to the bands; is there any message you’d like to send to your fans in Greece?
J.CYRIIS: A few people have claimed their identity as Agent Steel, and they’re completely wrong. The band was founded by John Cyriis alone, a Cosmic Contributor living in Los Angeles who registered the name Agent Steel for the first time on july 23rd 1983 who never claimed the band’s origins to be from Los Angeles/CA, USA, due to the fact John’s South American nativity—technically renders the bands origin as being not even Brazilian, but instead—from Outer Space, hahaha
So now, that all the members of this lineup are in fact brazilians, the band can finally solidify it’s origins as being just a bridge, or pathway to an alternate universe hardly known, as of yet, but soon to be “encountered” by the masses.
J.MORAES: Finally, Agent Steel is coming to Greece to deliver you a set of formidable and amazing music that some of you have been waiting decades to see live. See you all at the shows, and don’t miss this opportunity, get your tickets now to the first ever shows of the true Agent Steel, in Greece!
