SOURCE – At Night We Prey is the newest Nightfall album. Where do you see the major differences in terms of the songwriting and approach to this record compared to 2013’s Cassiopeia?
Efthimis Karadimas (Bass, Vocals) – Different line up. This is something I am used to. Unlike recent trend with “bands” being one or two persons left from the original lineup, surrounded by hired guns who play without questioning, we at Nightfall always share and contribute equally. That gives a dynamic only a real team of people can produce. Back to your question, I think if At Night We Prey was recorded with Cassiopeia’s line up, it would have sounded different.
SOURCE – Can you discuss the lineup changes that occurred in between the releases – and how the age range you believe can be an asset and benefit to the approach Nightfall has to your brand of music?
Efthimis Karadimas (Bass, Vocals) – Age in our case is the capacity to achieve what we want best in less time. We work hard in that field. I never liked repetition and with line up changes we are eliminating that. You know, the “surprise factor” is very important in art. We embrace that to the maximum. This is the 4th time Nightfall change line up. The funny thing is that it comes exactly on a decade basis. Accidentally. Never aimed it to be like that. And the same goes with labels, which is another coincidence. I mean, we have season 1 in the 90s with Holy records, then season 2 in the 00s with Black Lotus, season 3 in the 10s with Metal Blade, and now we are in season 4 in the 20s with Season of Mist. Like a Netflix series, our story goes on in chapters. I love that.
SOURCE – Tell us about the cover art for At Night We Prey – do you believe that listeners and collectors still care about striking covers in the current musical landscape, especially to make a strong first impression before someone has heard a note of music?
Efthimis Karadimas (Bass, Vocals) – Good question. Lets first clear the reason why we are doing all these things. It is not about money. Money is good if and when it comes, but the entire Underground movement of the 90s was primarily about communicating through art and making our selves feeling better, as we were isolated in our conservative societies. So, everything, including covers, are first made to serve our artistic needs. As band and individuals. At Night We Prey was made by Travis Smith based on a concept of Depression’s personification into female form I presented to him. Why woman? Because depression is a female noun in Greek language, and as I am fond of using allegories and metaphors in my lyrics, I did that in the cover too. The cover is an ugly one. A nasty one. Like depression. It should depict the real shit and not to look nice to attract people. Sorry, but depression is a serious issue and needs to be addressed as such. Now, back to your question, I believe most people nowadays buy music because of the looks. This is not bad. I mean, you are free to chose what you wanna do and what stuff to buy. But it is a fact. If you asked me, I am more concerned about the limited time people have for all those, hundreds of new releases every year. It’s practically impossible to listen to every one of them properly.
SOURCE – What can you say about the video for Martyrs of the Cult of the Dead (Agita)?
Efthimis Karadimas (Bass, Vocals) – I wrote the lyrics right after my mother’s death. Somehow, the 30 years I am singing about death, were justified in the very moment I had to choose her coffin. The song is about depression and how difficult it is to fight with it inside you. The video displays two female personas, but actually it is one person versus her own depression. It is a strong play that Youtube forced us to partly censor. They do it for the “community” they say, but as far as I know in communities, we vote about what is ok and what is not. In theirs, we don’t. Season of Mist launched an OnlyFans account to carry the uncensored version. Some mistook it for porn for that reason. It is not. It is the aggressive parts that caused the problem.
SOURCE – What do you see as some of the biggest challenges for Nightfall in terms of establishing yourselves beyond Greece into the international landscape?
Efthimis Karadimas (Bass, Vocals) – We are of the old school, and we need to adopt to modern ways of promoting music, if we want to stay around. Back in our days, it was the music and the message that made the difference. Nowadays, it is the ceaseless exposure to the social media, posting all the time about things that back in the days would have been nonsense, as they are irrelevant to the music.
SOURCE – How do you view the metal landscape currently? What excites you about the movement, and what changes (if any) would you like to see happen if possible?
Efthimis Karadimas (Bass, Vocals) – I reckon there is an identity crisis compared to when the scene was young, in the 90s. The Underground raised from people who gave no shit about popularity and what mainstream was about. Nowadays, I see more and more metal bands adopting the pop culture, trying to be liked by as many as possible and be successful in numbers. That’s weird. I don’t say it is bad, but definitely weird. Sometimes it makes me think that if marketing as it is today applied back in the 90s, most of the bands we know now they would not exist. It practically would be impossible for most to make it past the second album.
SOURCE – What would surprise people to learn about you in your downtime when you are away from your metal and music activities?
Efthimis Karadimas (Bass, Vocals) – I am a Captain but I don’t practice it anymore.
SOURCE – What else is going on with Nightfall?
Efthimis Karadimas (Bass, Vocals) – We are keen to hit the road. With this line up, the big difference is exactly that. We have decided to play live more often. Can’t wait to do it.
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