In the River Of Hate flows not only the waters from the "Stygian swamp" but also some excellent Heavy & Epic Metal, the one that - just - offer the Athenians Stygian Path, who are here to tell us about their debut album...
Hello to all! Sergio here, it’s a pleasure talking to you. How have things been going since the album release?
Ciao Sergio! Many thanks for the invitation to conduct this interview! It’s our pleasure as well! Honestly, it is going really well! We had the opportunity to play two times live in Athens and present our music in front of an audience. Additionally, the receipt of the album has been great so far. We have received great reviews from magazines, fanzines, blogs etc., as well as many supportive comments and opinions from different people. Also, we have already booked three more gigs for 2025, including one in Thessaloniki and another in Cyprus, which will be the first time for us playing there. So, we enjoy the moment and look forward to great experiences which are about to come!
Not all of our readers might know you guys, so maybe you could start off and tell us a bit about yourselves and the band background, right?
Of course! We are Stygian Path, an epic/heavy metal band from Athens, Greece. The band was formed in 2022, by five friends, who have collaborated in the past in different bands, and share the same passion for creating music and performing on stage. The band members are Panos (Vocals), Manos (Bass), Alex (Drums), Dimitris (Guitars) and George (Guitars). We have known each other for many years, going back to our school and college days. After various attempts to create music in musical projects/bands, it was finally in April of 2022, when the stars aligned and the correct pieces fell into the right place. The band was originally created by Panos, Alex, Dimitris and George, and conducted the first live appearance in September of 2022. In the following month, Manos joined the band covering the position of Bass player. And thus, the Stygian Path was born. From 2022 until 2024, we prepared our first album and performed multiple live performances and finally on the 3rd of March 2025, we released our debut album titled ‘The Lorekeeper’.
Well, you have released your debut album, “The Lorekeeper” just a few times ago, so what is the feedback from your audience as well as from the media 'till now?
The feedback has been amazing! All the reviews we have received from the media are very positive and the same goes for the audience as well. Apart from our friends, we have received great comments from many metal fans, who enjoyed our album and supported our effort.
Clearly, you chose your monicker inspired by mythology... but more by the River of the Underworld or the divinity of the same name?
You are correct. We draw inspiration for our lyrics and concepts by mythology, and the same applies to our name. The main influence was the river Styx, the river that leads all the souls to the Underworld. We are fascinated by this part of the Greek mythology and we feel that it fits with the aesthetic of our music, so we decided to name the band Stygian Path.
And what are the key moments during the making of “The Lorekeeper” that shaped the album?
The first milestone was to choose the genre that we wanted to play. As soon as the band was created, the vision to compose original music was clear. Based on the member’s musical influences, the preferred style was the epic/heavy metal, and the creating process started immediately. The chemistry was obvious from the first moment, and new ideas kept rising, so slowly, the second milestone was reached and eight (8) songs were created to form the first full length album titled ‘The Lorekeeper’. Crushing riffs, melodic patterns, epic choruses and storytelling lyrics are some of the elements that can be found in the album, inspired by the realms of mythology, fantasy and reality. The final milestone was the recording of the album which was performed at Pentagram Studios in Athens by George Emmanuel. George is an accomplished musician and producer, with a huge knowledge and experience in the metal scene, so his guidance and contribution in the production of the album was crucial. He helped us improve the songs, unleash their true potential and shape the final version of “The Lorekeeper”.
Who are the main songwriters of the band? Do you follow a particular procedure during the songwriting? Which are, in your opinion, the album highlights?
Contradictory with the approach of many other bands, where the songs are composed by 1 or 2 members, we are all songwriters in the band. Each song was written by another member, everyone added their own ideas in the songs, and this is the reason why such diversity can be heard in the album. Regarding the songwriting process, the way that we work is that someone brings a core idea, which could be a full song or just a melody or a riff, we play it together, and then everyone is contributing ideas until a full song is written. There are similarities and differences in our musical influences, so we try to combine all ideas together to form a homogenous song with interesting elements. When the music is ready, then Panos or Alex work on the vocal melodies and concept of the song, and finally the lyrics are written. We don’t put boundaries and rules about which direction the song should go, like specific formula, song length etc. We just follow our instincts and let the music and ideas flow freely until we feel that the song is ready. Finally, during the production process, additional elements like sound effects, orchestrations are added, based on the atmosphere and the concept of each song. Finally, regarding the highlights, it’s difficult to pick some, because we truly love every second of the album! We enjoy the intense moments like the epic choruses, in “Prometheus” and “Unholy Land”, as well as the melodic parts that can be found in “Tides of Time” and “The Wanderer”!
For my side in the review, just to give some points of comparison for the songs, I have suggested some different bands... well, how many times I got it right?
We are happy to inform you that you were 100% right! You were able to detect our main influences of the epic power metal scene like Blind Guardian and Rhapsody, Manowar, Warlord,
Slough Feg and you are the only one who identified the Primordial influence in the “Rhapsody XXII” track.
What do you think about the local musical scene at the moment? Greece is increasingly gaining a vital role in the Heavy Metal scene. Are there any new bands that are worth mentioning?
This is correct but also very promising! It is a fact that Greece has a tradition in the underground scene starting from Raw Silk, Spitfire, Northwind, with bands such as Starlight and Convixion on the 00’s until the time of Battleroar. All the bands that play after 2015 have gathered experience and inspiration from these bands and their courage at that point of time. Nowadays there are bands such as Sacred Outcry, Triumpher, Leatherhead, Dark Nightmare,Wrathblade, Dragon Skull, Idmon’s Aegis, Sacral Rage that support the existence of let’s say a greek metal (epic, heavy, power) scene. And imagine there are tens of others. All this material makes us believe that not only this is a very good period for our band too, but also we prepare music for next generations of metalheads and new bands.
Jon Toussas realized the artwork, what do you think of his work? Was he given free hands to create it?
Jon is one of the top artists at this time in Greece with lots of experience regarding bands and logos etc. We believe that a strong cover is the path for the first good time of the listener. It predetermines you that the band shows respect all the way. We believe that there are many people working for a bands album, so it is important to be the finest you can. Jon was given a 70% percent of freedom because each artist should have the liberty to show you the best he can, but on the same time to be close to the bands inspirations.
For those who haven’t heard your songs, what do you have to say to them? Moreover, could you give the readers three reasons why they should buy “The Lorekeeper”?
We know from our experience that there’s a lot of music nowadays in every platform. We believe that “The Lorekeeper” has some good points in order to be heard. First of all, we believe in the work of the artists and not the work of the “machines”, therefore whatever you see or hear, or hold in your hand perhaps sometime in the future, people have worked on it. Then, we would say that you will not hear the same song 6 or 7 times but with different lyrics. You will hear the deposit of our feelings in the words and in the music. Finally, we believe that a music album admired and released by EAT METAL RECORDS, is such a badge, because Greg and all the bands that we works with are people with taste and people with respect. A person that released Carmina Barbarica for Wotan, that has invited Manilla Road, Domine, Satan, Warlord, Brocas Helm and so many other bands, has experience and a good taste in music.
We love our music, he enjoy playing it, so just give it a try.
Which features, do you think, a new Heavy Metal Band should have in order to gain identity and be unique?
We want to use some of the examples above. Pay respect to the colleagues (mix, master, produce, artwork etc), be a team, love metal. You know social can make you famous in 2 hours, but in the same hours to be again none. A lot of people pay so much attention to all of these but in fact all you want is to play as many lives as you can. And with people that you respect.
So try to get that best you can from the bands you love, don’t copy, give your time to music and music will pay you back. Also! Speak a word about your work, because none will know about you until that time. Meet other bands and be honest with people.
Ehm... sorry for this incredibly challenging question, but looking your debut album you are more satisfied for:
a. The good music included.
b. The cover of the album.
c. The lot of money it will be brought back.
d. The pleasure it gave to the Power Metal fans.
e. How beautiful are the band members on the promotional photos.
Hahahaha, you find us beautiful? You know we are so much the same as peoples.
So, “c” is a joke, haahah. All the rest we suppose? Ok if we had to choose we believe that we deliver good music and nice ideas. We strongly believe that, a metalhead should hear “Lorekeeper”, because they will love at least one song and will admire, at least, the album and the production. Please give it a try!
All jokes aside... come on, have you just written new material? Tell us some curiosity about the next album…
To be honest there are some raw ideas in our mind, but we really want “The Lorekeeper” to be established correctly. It is nice to wander in your ideas and we will definitely do this, but we want to deliver the best we can and at the same time enjoy the future live shows.
What is coming next for Stygian Path? Is there a tour planned, festivals and such?
…And from the last question answered we continue here. Until now we have arranged 4 live shows and we are about to plan more. We will play at the “INTO BATTLE FEST” next September in Kyttaro alongside with bands such as Acero Letal, Satan, Spitfire. Then we will head north for a rainy show in our beloved Thessaloniki, in the historical bar, Eightball, where we will open the gig for Warlord. Finally, we will fly to Larnaca for the last “tour” show, again with Warlord. The other live show is for January 2026 but we cannot tell further for now.
We really want to participate in as many gigs as we can in the next months, not only in Greece, but also abroad!
In conclusion, do you have anything to say to those who have followed us to the end of this interview?
First of all, we want to thank you for the time and effort spent regarding our band. Then we want to thank the readers for their time and support. We really want to hear the feedback of the audience regarding “Lorekeeper” so feel free to contact as in Facebook, Instagram, Bandcamp to speak or tell us your feelings about our first album.
For those that didn’t hear our album until now, either feel free to do it, or for those that didn’t have plenty of time let’s play a game. Send us and tell us 5 of your favourite bands and then let us guide you to the world of “Lorekeeper”. We promise that you will enjoy your wandering!
Stay metal \m/