INTERVIEW: Wildfire

 

Genre: Melodic Heavy Metal/Hard Rock

 Country: Greece

Questions by: Nick Parastatidis

Answers by: Dimitris Megalios (Bass)

Site: Facebook

1.  Your debut full-length “Rise” has finally arrived. If this album were a cinematic soundtrack to a post-apocalyptic movie, what would be the very first scene the audience sees when "Leap of Faith" starts playing?

Bella Ciao, Professor & the Berlin scene.

2. You worked with David Prudent at “Made in Hell Studio”. Many bands say the studio name is literal—did he push you into any "hellish" territory to get those high notes or riffs just right for the record?

It was actually the opposite! We were the ones pushing David “hellishly”! And we thank him for his patience and for the amazing job he did! 

 

3. "Night with a Witch" has been with you since the 2021 EP and was re-recorded for the new album. How has your relationship with that "Witch" changed over the last four years? Is she still the same character she was back then?

The Witch on this album has dressed up in her finest in order to “seduce” even more souls!

4. In your track "Navigators," there’s a sense of epic journeying. If Wildfire had to set sail and leave Athens behind to "conquer" one specific city or country with your music, where would the compass be pointing?

Wherever there is kindling!

5. You’re playing Ghostlands & Ravenlands, which evolved from the Caravan of Shadows. Do you feel like "shadows" and "ghosts" are a fitting backdrop for Wildfire’s brand of melodic metal, or are you the "fire" that’s meant to burn those shadows away?

Wildfire has both its bright and its dark side! It burns everywhere with the same intensity!

 

6. Tolis, we heard there’s some clarinet hidden in the track "Rise." That’s a very "un-metal" instrument on paper—how do you make a woodwind instrument feel like it belongs in a heavy metal anthem?

Hello from me too (Tolis)! “Rise” doesn’t have a clarinet — it’s actually on “Navigators”!

Why a clarinet? Because it’s a traditional instrument from our country and our folklore, and the way it’s used is extremely “heavy metal” because it brings out epic emotions, just like traditional music does. It was a gamble that paid off, since we can see the impact it has at our live shows.

 

7. The Silent Rage members started this festival. Since you share the stage with them, if you had to "steal" one element from their live performance or sound and "Wildfire-ize" it, what would it be?

Their singer, hahaha!

 

8. You collaborated with William Joestar on lyrics for tracks like "Navigators" and "Inside the Box." Is there a specific line on the album that makes you think, "I wish I’d written that myself" every time you sing it?

Since our singer is currently absent for an indefinite period (in other words, we’re actively looking for a new voice at the moment), this question will be answered once the position has been filled.

 

9. The song "Inside the Box" suggests a struggle with boundaries. In a scene as specific as the Greek NWOTHM, do you ever feel "boxed in" by the expectations of traditional metal fans, or is that box exactly where you want to be?

In this particular song, I happened to have the original musical inspiration. Personally, I don’t feel boxed in by expectations. I always write “outside the box,” based on what I would like to hear myself, hoping of course that the listeners will like it too!

 

10. "Mirror’s Edge" is one of the longer, more complex tracks on the new album. When the band looks into the "mirror" today compared to 2019 when you started, what’s the biggest change you see in yourselves as musicians?

We see a few more gray hairs on our heads, hahaha! Of course there’s a difference compared to 2019. Each of us has grown on a personal level, and as a band we’ve evolved both musically and as people. I think that shows on Rise compared to our EP — and you’ll hear and see it even more in the releases we’re preparing!

 

11. The Ghostlands & Ravenlands Festival is becoming a staple in Athens. By the time the next edition of this festival rolls around, where do you want the "Wildfire" to have spread?

First of all, we’re very happy to be playing for the first time at the Ghostlands & Ravenlands Festival and to contribute to this growing institution! “Wildfire” aims to burn in as many hearts out there as possible, in Greece and beyond. Why not even at a major international festival?