Chain Of Command With NICK MELISSOURGOS From SUICIDAL ANGELS

Interview by Kris Peters
Greek metal masters of mayhem Suicidal Angels tomorrow release
their eighth studio album Profane Prayer, reaffirming their growing
stature as one of the leaders of the next phase of metal
evolution.
Since forming Suicidal Angels at just 16 years of age back in 2001,
Nick Melissourgos (vocals, guitars) has overseen a changing of the
guard of sorts, kicking things off with the band's debut album
Eternal Domination which set the musical landscape ablaze.
After being invited by Sakis Tolis of ROTTING CHRIST to do their
first European tour soon after, Suicidal Angels quickly found their
stride and set about laying a decimating sonic landscape in their
wake, forcing people to sit up and take notice.
Landing the support slot with KREATOR set about a fresh chain of
events that saw Melissourgos strike up an enduring friendship with
Mille Petrozza, and since then Suicidal Angels have made every post
a winner.
Four years in the making, Profane Prayer is already being lauded by
fans and critics alike, with HEAVY spending some time with
Melissourgos earlier this week to document the rise and rise of his
band.
"We're a thrash metal band from Athens, Greece," he declared
proudly before we begin talking about the album. "We are about to
release our eighth studio album and in a couple of days we hit the
road for the first European tour for this album. Afterwards we go
to the United Kingdom, Spain and Portugal. The whole booking
process for the concerts is taking place, so we hope we can get to
other markets as well. We had some plans for 2020 to come to
Australia, but due to the COVID situation we couldn't make
it."
We ask Nick how the nerves are kicking in just days out from
release.
"A bit, to be honest," he admitted. "Before this pandemic stopped
the whole planet… it actually hit us quite hard because we had just
released our previous album Years Of Aggression on August 2019, and
we were about to do a huge, extensive tour. As I said before, we
were even planning on going to Australia and the USA and Canada
markets, places we hadn't been before. Two and a half years we were
off the road, and then we tried to do some small tours mostly here
and in America to promote the Years Of Aggression album and
gradually and slowly came back to the reality of the after COVID
situation. It took longer than usual to release a new album, but it
was because of the situation, and now we're quite anxious and
nervous but also excited with this release. We really hope to get
back on the road and the life we used to have."
In the full interview, we ask Nick to go deeper into the musical
side of Profane Prayer, how much they experimented with their sound
on the album, how it differs to previous releases, how much growth
Suicidal Angels have left in them, the early days of the band and
how serious he was about it, what things he has learned about life
and music over the journey, upcoming shows and more.