The Hypogeum has been trawling through Cyprian soil lately in search of anything sufficiently nasty to suit our perverted tastes. Here are the spoils that made the grade.
Both the sheer remoteness of the country and artistic conservatism have been two of the main reasons that the growth rate of bands falling within the most extreme end of the musical spectrum has been well… slow. The usual pattern of initial adolescent excitement and subsequent decline was - and still is to a certain extent - what mostly characterised any creative endeavour into the nether-regions of the underground that dared to break the status quo. Be that as it may, that’s not going to
prevent monsieur Dictator of Necrosadist from putting out a vicious piece of musicianship. Abstract Satan (co-released between Blood Harvest /Daemon Worship / Temple of Flesh, 2011) successfully fuses the intensity of revelation with a hideous atmosphere of gloom'n'doom which is sufficient to place it well above your standard kvlt fare. This alone most probably makes the band the island's sole blip on the European black metal radar. Antaeus’ own MkM even contributes his screams and sickly poetry on one of the tracks. Watch out for the mainman’s self-named side-project whose imposing monolith of a funeral doom album, Dysangelist, has just been put out on wax by Aesthetic Death recs. And from Satanic audial discourses onwards to mind-swirling explorations of the subconscious courtesy of Adon 
on Accurst’s debut album Fragments of a Nightmare released back in 2004 by Red Stream. One would think that the spectrum of emotion one could convey through the medium of ambient music (given its structural minimalism) is prohibitively limited. And yet Accurst set themselves (or himself rather) apart from the Lustmords and the Aphex Twins not by pure originality per se but by their sheer degree of introversion. There’s a harrowing sense of desolation and fear gnawing at you all the way through. It’s an offering whose penetrating discordance will push away most but a selected few. Quite befittingly two of their pieces even featured on horror flick Sinister. Next up, the self-released demo CDr from En Psychro (In Cold Blood). 
Politics and punk have always been inseparable bedfellows so it’s not surprising that the lyrical content revolves around the blatant corruption of politicians and religious authorities as well as the militaristic tensions along the Green line. The main ingredient of any good HC punk release worth its salt is anger - unadulterated paroxysmic release - and this humble little CDr has it in spades drawing influences from bands such as DRI, early Sepultura, Discharge as well as Greek legends, Olethrio Rigma. Good stuff. Musician cross-breeding is something to be expected so quite unsurprisingly we find a couple of their members making some noise with fellow punksters Downwards Spiral (ex-Entos Twn Teixwn) who’ve just released their debut album freely available for digital download (http://downwardspiralcy.bandcamp.com/). 
Finally, it‘s Sabbah Navahthani with their tar-encrusted self-titled album released by Cyprus‘ very own Necroterror Recs. back in 2007. These heavily inked gents have pretty much nailed the foul marriage of doom/sludge and crusty grittiness to a T. If you need some name-dropping to get you off think of the cannabinoid viscosity of Electric Wizard conflating with the indignant abrasiveness of some ill-forgotten Amebix / Doom split B-side. Though largely eschewing the rabid politically motivated anti-establishment lyricism of the latter, signature song "Melting Lead Inside Your Throat" is about as strong a statement against the mainstream as you can get this side of The Exploited. Unfortunately the band is now officially defunct with former member Tas having a stint playing bass for the sludgemeisters themselves, Electric Wizard, before moving on to forming his own band, Satan's Wrath.
--
Addendum: The Hypogeum interrogates Xenios of Cyprus-based Rusted Lock productions.
Greetings Xenios, first of all tell us a bit about Rusted Lock and what’s it all about.
Rusted Lock is an Art & Design Studio, based in Nicosia, Cyprus. It was established back in 2000 after my return from my studies in the UK. Among other services, I produce works for record/CD covers and layout design for bands and labels mainly within the punk/hardcore scene. My personal artwork deals mainly with socio-political issues, personal fears and concerns. I attempt to send messages, raise awareness, thoughts and actions.
Other than an Art & Design Studio, Rusted Lock functions also as a record label/distro, established also in 2000. On an attempt to keep in touch with the broader international punk scene and individuals and due to my passion/involvement to music I felt the need to set up a DIY punk label (punk in it's broader meaning). The label has not been really active and that's mainly due to financial demands for a vinyl release, but also due to the lack of local punk scene and support. Up until now, I’ve only managed to co-release (with another Cypriot label) a 7" vinyl, by Japanese grinders Bathtub Shitter called "Angels Save Us". Coming soon, 10 years later, the second release will finally see the light of the day. This time it'll be a MLP by Greek metallic death/crust band Nuclear Winter. Originally released in 1997 as a MCD, now for the first time it'll be released in vinyl. It'll feature a completely new artwork and layout, designed by Rusted Lock. It'll be a one-sided 12", with an etching on B side, an embossed cover and poster. That's the plan up until now. I have many ideas for it, but ideas=money, so we shall see... It'll again be a co-release with local label Necroterror.
You’ve been involved heavily in the Cypriot underground. Could you please give us a brief chronicle of the crust/HC/punk scene in Cyprus?
Yes, I guess I have been involved quite heavily in the music scene, considering I started listening to metal since I was 12 and now I'm 37! Before getting involved with the punk scene I was a metalhead. Thrash, death, doom, a bit of black. That was my passion in the early years and I must say I still love those genres, even newer bands that bring back that old spirit. The first contact I had and triggered my interest into punk, was after listening to a record introduced by a friend, by Antidrasi, a Greek hardcore punk band. That record was also the reason of the creation of the very first punk band formed in Cyprus, Aposynthesis, of which I was the vocalist. Aposynthesis was
active from 1992-1996. There wasn't such a thing as a Punk/Hardcore scene in Cyprus, back in
the 90's. Just a few individuals, some just in it for the music. After
Aposynthesis' split up, another short-lived band was formed by
Aposynthesis' bassist, the ‘Nuclear Mutants’. They released a demo
called "Welcome To Reality". After that, silence, for many years. With
my return from England I managed to get Aposynthesis back in action, but
that didn't last for too long. Aposynthesis’ guitarist formed hardcore punk band ‘Entos Ton Tichon’
(Within The Walls). The band released a full album CD in 2009. After the
release of the CD, they changed their name into ‘Downward 
Spiral’, and
they moved into more crust territories. They have recently recorded a
full album that is available online for free. ‘En Psychro’ (In cold blood) was formed in the summer of 2011, again by
Aposynthesis’ guitarist. Their influences vary from Hardcore Punk and
D-beat, to Crust and Thrash. They have released a demo CD in February and
are planning to release a full album in 2013. They also set to release a
split 7" with Kyffpack from Germany (featuring a Cypriot member). The last few years and with the forming of the pre mentioned bands,
there is some sort of a scene being created, consisted of a few oldies
and more youngsters. Things seems more promising than the 90's.
Incidentally, is there any Aposynthesis material available anywhere? The only thing I can find is a single-song appearance on Doom tribute release where they covered Thanatophobia!
As I have already mentioned above, Aposynthesis existed from 1992-1996. Due to the young age and not having previous experience or access to recording studios, we haven't managed to record any of our songs. Feeling the need to "reform" Aposynthesis, in order to record those songs and release them on a CD/LP, we started practicing again in 2006. Things seemed rather promising. We’ve also grabbed the opportunity to cover a song by DOOM, that’s included in a compilation CD/LP entitled «V/A- Slave to Convention, A Tribute to Doom» , released on Helvetet Records from Peru. For a number of reasons, at some point we stopped practicing. Two of the members called it quits and since then the band is in a state of idleness. I wish that at some point we’ll manage to close that unfinished chapter of Cypriot punk history. "Thanatophobia" is the only decent recorded (could have been better) song that exists. There are a few live and rehearsal songs, but nothing great. There are a few songs on YouTube if you want to check them out.
Greece has produced a long array of quality bands such as Antidrasi, Nautia, Xehasmeni Profiteia et al. Given the common language and similar frustration with the political landscape is there a bond between the two scenes? Are there any noteworthy collaborations, be it split 7“ EPs, gigs etc?
Yes, Greece has produced and still does some great bands. Language definitely has a great influence in the perception of
the song and
played a major role in our decision of the creation of Aposynthesis back
in the days. There is a relation between people/bands from the two countries for
years now. I can't really say that there is a bond between the two
scenes, quite simply because there's no Cypriot scene. The only band
that managed to play in Greece twice is En Psychro. A few Greek bands
made it to Cyprus for gigs. Noteworthy are Hasma, Kill the Cat and
recently Antidrasi. 
Those gigs were rather successful and more bands
from Greece showed interest in playing over here. Thats good, I suppose.
So I guess, maybe there is some sort of bond being created, after all!
On that note are there any live events on the island that were quite memorable over the ages including both local and foreign bands?
I guess I have partly answered to this question, on your previous question. Antidrasi was the band that made me enter the punk territories and always wanted to see them live. The truth is the new Antidrasi is much different from the original roster, but nevertheless their appearance has woken up many memories. Another memorable gig (not exclusively a punk one) worth mentioning was a rock/metal charity festival against leukemia, in 1993, which was also video recorded. Maybe it's more of a personal thing, since Aposynthesis played, but it was a huge event, for Cyprus's standards. For the record the bands that appeared were, Armageddon, Zenith, Accidentals, Aposynthesis and Regicide.
Cyprus is very much a conservative country fervently adhering to age-old traditions. In this inherently stringent environment what role do you think reactionary music like punk or metal has to play?
Hmm... You open a big chapter over here that needs hours of endless discussions to be covered. Back in the days when I got involved with metal, listening to heavy metal, having long hair and wearing tight jeans and metal patch jacket, considered extreme, unholy, satanic. The metalhead was an outcast in a way. I had friends that despite listening to metal, didn't hang out to 'metal' places, afraid of parents', or people's in general, reactions. In that sort of approach I guess being a metalhead was some sort of a revolution. But metal as a whole never had a certain political direction. I'm not saying there are no metal bands that have something to say, but I hate the macho, sexist, sometimes fascist attitude that many times is accompanied with metal music. That's were punk has filled the gap for me. I'm not saying that punk as a whole is 'pure'. Assholes can be found everywhere. Music can't change things by it's own. But it can trigger people's minds, raise awareness and actions. Metal is, or better was, reactionary, punk was and is (in most cases) revolutionary.
What does the future hold for Rusted Lock? Any planned releases? Any gigs happening soon on Cypriot soil?
For the art part, I'm currently finishing the design for the upcoming release of Japanese thrash/hardcore crossover long running band Beyond Description's 4th full length album. For the label part, as I have already mentioned I'm excited for the Nuclear Winter MLP coming out soon, maybe in a month, or so!
That about wraps it up Xenios, cheers for the intie!
Thanks a lot as well for getting in touch for this interview. Take care!
w: http://rusted-lock.blogspot.co.uk/
e: rusted.lock@gmail.com
--
'till next time folks
prevent monsieur Dictator of Necrosadist from putting out a vicious piece of musicianship. Abstract Satan (co-released between Blood Harvest /Daemon Worship / Temple of Flesh, 2011) successfully fuses the intensity of revelation with a hideous atmosphere of gloom'n'doom which is sufficient to place it well above your standard kvlt fare. This alone most probably makes the band the island's sole blip on the European black metal radar. Antaeus’ own MkM even contributes his screams and sickly poetry on one of the tracks. Watch out for the mainman’s self-named side-project whose imposing monolith of a funeral doom album, Dysangelist, has just been put out on wax by Aesthetic Death recs. And from Satanic audial discourses onwards to mind-swirling explorations of the subconscious courtesy of Adon 
on Accurst’s debut album Fragments of a Nightmare released back in 2004 by Red Stream. One would think that the spectrum of emotion one could convey through the medium of ambient music (given its structural minimalism) is prohibitively limited. And yet Accurst set themselves (or himself rather) apart from the Lustmords and the Aphex Twins not by pure originality per se but by their sheer degree of introversion. There’s a harrowing sense of desolation and fear gnawing at you all the way through. It’s an offering whose penetrating discordance will push away most but a selected few. Quite befittingly two of their pieces even featured on horror flick Sinister. Next up, the self-released demo CDr from En Psychro (In Cold Blood). 
Politics and punk have always been inseparable bedfellows so it’s not surprising that the lyrical content revolves around the blatant corruption of politicians and religious authorities as well as the militaristic tensions along the Green line. The main ingredient of any good HC punk release worth its salt is anger - unadulterated paroxysmic release - and this humble little CDr has it in spades drawing influences from bands such as DRI, early Sepultura, Discharge as well as Greek legends, Olethrio Rigma. Good stuff. Musician cross-breeding is something to be expected so quite unsurprisingly we find a couple of their members making some noise with fellow punksters Downwards Spiral (ex-Entos Twn Teixwn) who’ve just released their debut album freely available for digital download (http://downwardspiralcy.bandcamp.com/). 
Finally, it‘s Sabbah Navahthani with their tar-encrusted self-titled album released by Cyprus‘ very own Necroterror Recs. back in 2007. These heavily inked gents have pretty much nailed the foul marriage of doom/sludge and crusty grittiness to a T. If you need some name-dropping to get you off think of the cannabinoid viscosity of Electric Wizard conflating with the indignant abrasiveness of some ill-forgotten Amebix / Doom split B-side. Though largely eschewing the rabid politically motivated anti-establishment lyricism of the latter, signature song "Melting Lead Inside Your Throat" is about as strong a statement against the mainstream as you can get this side of The Exploited. Unfortunately the band is now officially defunct with former member Tas having a stint playing bass for the sludgemeisters themselves, Electric Wizard, before moving on to forming his own band, Satan's Wrath. --
Addendum: The Hypogeum interrogates Xenios of Cyprus-based Rusted Lock productions.
Greetings Xenios, first of all tell us a bit about Rusted Lock and what’s it all about.
Rusted Lock is an Art & Design Studio, based in Nicosia, Cyprus. It was established back in 2000 after my return from my studies in the UK. Among other services, I produce works for record/CD covers and layout design for bands and labels mainly within the punk/hardcore scene. My personal artwork deals mainly with socio-political issues, personal fears and concerns. I attempt to send messages, raise awareness, thoughts and actions.
Other than an Art & Design Studio, Rusted Lock functions also as a record label/distro, established also in 2000. On an attempt to keep in touch with the broader international punk scene and individuals and due to my passion/involvement to music I felt the need to set up a DIY punk label (punk in it's broader meaning). The label has not been really active and that's mainly due to financial demands for a vinyl release, but also due to the lack of local punk scene and support. Up until now, I’ve only managed to co-release (with another Cypriot label) a 7" vinyl, by Japanese grinders Bathtub Shitter called "Angels Save Us". Coming soon, 10 years later, the second release will finally see the light of the day. This time it'll be a MLP by Greek metallic death/crust band Nuclear Winter. Originally released in 1997 as a MCD, now for the first time it'll be released in vinyl. It'll feature a completely new artwork and layout, designed by Rusted Lock. It'll be a one-sided 12", with an etching on B side, an embossed cover and poster. That's the plan up until now. I have many ideas for it, but ideas=money, so we shall see... It'll again be a co-release with local label Necroterror.
You’ve been involved heavily in the Cypriot underground. Could you please give us a brief chronicle of the crust/HC/punk scene in Cyprus?
Yes, I guess I have been involved quite heavily in the music scene, considering I started listening to metal since I was 12 and now I'm 37! Before getting involved with the punk scene I was a metalhead. Thrash, death, doom, a bit of black. That was my passion in the early years and I must say I still love those genres, even newer bands that bring back that old spirit. The first contact I had and triggered my interest into punk, was after listening to a record introduced by a friend, by Antidrasi, a Greek hardcore punk band. That record was also the reason of the creation of the very first punk band formed in Cyprus, Aposynthesis, of which I was the vocalist. Aposynthesis was
active from 1992-1996. There wasn't such a thing as a Punk/Hardcore scene in Cyprus, back in
the 90's. Just a few individuals, some just in it for the music. After
Aposynthesis' split up, another short-lived band was formed by
Aposynthesis' bassist, the ‘Nuclear Mutants’. They released a demo
called "Welcome To Reality". After that, silence, for many years. With
my return from England I managed to get Aposynthesis back in action, but
that didn't last for too long. Aposynthesis’ guitarist formed hardcore punk band ‘Entos Ton Tichon’
(Within The Walls). The band released a full album CD in 2009. After the
release of the CD, they changed their name into ‘Downward 
Spiral’, and
they moved into more crust territories. They have recently recorded a
full album that is available online for free. ‘En Psychro’ (In cold blood) was formed in the summer of 2011, again by
Aposynthesis’ guitarist. Their influences vary from Hardcore Punk and
D-beat, to Crust and Thrash. They have released a demo CD in February and
are planning to release a full album in 2013. They also set to release a
split 7" with Kyffpack from Germany (featuring a Cypriot member). The last few years and with the forming of the pre mentioned bands,
there is some sort of a scene being created, consisted of a few oldies
and more youngsters. Things seems more promising than the 90's.Incidentally, is there any Aposynthesis material available anywhere? The only thing I can find is a single-song appearance on Doom tribute release where they covered Thanatophobia!
As I have already mentioned above, Aposynthesis existed from 1992-1996. Due to the young age and not having previous experience or access to recording studios, we haven't managed to record any of our songs. Feeling the need to "reform" Aposynthesis, in order to record those songs and release them on a CD/LP, we started practicing again in 2006. Things seemed rather promising. We’ve also grabbed the opportunity to cover a song by DOOM, that’s included in a compilation CD/LP entitled «V/A- Slave to Convention, A Tribute to Doom» , released on Helvetet Records from Peru. For a number of reasons, at some point we stopped practicing. Two of the members called it quits and since then the band is in a state of idleness. I wish that at some point we’ll manage to close that unfinished chapter of Cypriot punk history. "Thanatophobia" is the only decent recorded (could have been better) song that exists. There are a few live and rehearsal songs, but nothing great. There are a few songs on YouTube if you want to check them out.
Greece has produced a long array of quality bands such as Antidrasi, Nautia, Xehasmeni Profiteia et al. Given the common language and similar frustration with the political landscape is there a bond between the two scenes? Are there any noteworthy collaborations, be it split 7“ EPs, gigs etc?
Yes, Greece has produced and still does some great bands. Language definitely has a great influence in the perception of
the song and
played a major role in our decision of the creation of Aposynthesis back
in the days. There is a relation between people/bands from the two countries for
years now. I can't really say that there is a bond between the two
scenes, quite simply because there's no Cypriot scene. The only band
that managed to play in Greece twice is En Psychro. A few Greek bands
made it to Cyprus for gigs. Noteworthy are Hasma, Kill the Cat and
recently Antidrasi. 
Those gigs were rather successful and more bands
from Greece showed interest in playing over here. Thats good, I suppose.
So I guess, maybe there is some sort of bond being created, after all!On that note are there any live events on the island that were quite memorable over the ages including both local and foreign bands?
I guess I have partly answered to this question, on your previous question. Antidrasi was the band that made me enter the punk territories and always wanted to see them live. The truth is the new Antidrasi is much different from the original roster, but nevertheless their appearance has woken up many memories. Another memorable gig (not exclusively a punk one) worth mentioning was a rock/metal charity festival against leukemia, in 1993, which was also video recorded. Maybe it's more of a personal thing, since Aposynthesis played, but it was a huge event, for Cyprus's standards. For the record the bands that appeared were, Armageddon, Zenith, Accidentals, Aposynthesis and Regicide.
Cyprus is very much a conservative country fervently adhering to age-old traditions. In this inherently stringent environment what role do you think reactionary music like punk or metal has to play?
Hmm... You open a big chapter over here that needs hours of endless discussions to be covered. Back in the days when I got involved with metal, listening to heavy metal, having long hair and wearing tight jeans and metal patch jacket, considered extreme, unholy, satanic. The metalhead was an outcast in a way. I had friends that despite listening to metal, didn't hang out to 'metal' places, afraid of parents', or people's in general, reactions. In that sort of approach I guess being a metalhead was some sort of a revolution. But metal as a whole never had a certain political direction. I'm not saying there are no metal bands that have something to say, but I hate the macho, sexist, sometimes fascist attitude that many times is accompanied with metal music. That's were punk has filled the gap for me. I'm not saying that punk as a whole is 'pure'. Assholes can be found everywhere. Music can't change things by it's own. But it can trigger people's minds, raise awareness and actions. Metal is, or better was, reactionary, punk was and is (in most cases) revolutionary.
What does the future hold for Rusted Lock? Any planned releases? Any gigs happening soon on Cypriot soil?
For the art part, I'm currently finishing the design for the upcoming release of Japanese thrash/hardcore crossover long running band Beyond Description's 4th full length album. For the label part, as I have already mentioned I'm excited for the Nuclear Winter MLP coming out soon, maybe in a month, or so!
That about wraps it up Xenios, cheers for the intie!
Thanks a lot as well for getting in touch for this interview. Take care!
w: http://rusted-lock.blogspot.co.uk/
e: rusted.lock@gmail.com
--
'till next time folks
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