MISTY ROUTE is an Alternative Metal band that was formed in 2019 and made an impression with their first full-length album, “Without A Trace,” released in late 2021. Now, four years later, it’s time to close this chapter and start a new one. To celebrate this transition, MISTY ROUTE is inviting everybody to a live show at An Club together with HIDDEN IN THE BASEMENT and SEVENGILL on November 22. On this occasion, we talked to the guys about their journey so far, the future, and music in general.
Metalwar: Although you have been in the business for quite a few years now, I would like to start by asking you to introduce yourselves to those who don’t know you and tell me how you decided to start MISTY ROUTE.
Lefteris Saatsakis: Hi Kostas, thank you very much for the interview. We are MISTY ROUTE, an alternative metal power trio from Athens. I play guitar and sing, Giorgos Konomis plays bass and Konstantinos Kaloudis plays drums. Music has always been a way for each one of us to release and express our inner world. In 2018, we met through mutual friends with Giorgos and started jamming together. That’s when we slowly realized that the inspiration we drew from each other’s ideas could lay the foundation for creating a band with original material. After a few minor changes in the band’s lineup, until we found stability and common ambitions, we ended up in 2019 with the addition of Kostas Bakopoulos on drums to create MISTY ROUTE. With this lineup, we created our debut album “Without A Trace” in 2021. In September 2023, with new material in hand for a second album, we made a change to the band’s roster on drums with the arrival of Konstantinos Kaloudis, with whom we bonded closely as friends and completed the second album, which will be released soon.
Metalwar: Your music can be classified under the umbrella of Alternative sound, but to get a better picture, I would like you to tell me what your musical influences are, both individually and as a band.
Lefteris Saatsakis: Indeed, if we wanted to label our music, we would say that it falls under the umbrella of Alternative Metal but with many influences from different genres. What we believe characterizes our music is the escalating groove, combined with psychedelic and often dark atmospheric elements as well as metal outbursts. My own influences come from bands such as METALLICA, GODSMACK, OPETH, TOOL, DEFTONES, LINKIN PARK, PINK FLOYD, SYSTEM OF A DOWN, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, AUDIOSLAVE, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, LAMB OF GOD, RAMMSTEIN, IN FLAMES, EARTHSIDE, RUSSIAN CIRCLES.
George Konomi: My influences come from bands such as MUDVAYNE, LINKIN PARK, SOAD, DEFTONES, TOOL, MAXIMUM THE HORMONE, MASTODON, AFI, ALICE IN CHAINS, RED HOT CHILLI PEPPERS, PINK FLOYD, MOGWAI, RADIOHEAD.
Konstantinos Kaloudis: Some of my main influences are LAMB OF GOD, KATATONIA, PORCUPINE TREE, DREAM THEATER, and GOJIRA.
Metalwar: This interview is mainly about your upcoming live show on November 22, so please give us some useful information about the event.
Lefteris Saatsakis: Since we never did an official presentation of “Without A Trace,” we thought it would be nice to officially close the circle with a very powerful live show in which we will present it from beginning to end. This live show will take place on November 22 at An Club and we will have the great honor of sharing the stage with HIDDEN IN THE BASEMENT and their authentic heavy rock groove, as well as SEVENGILL with their dark, atmospheric post metal. These are two particularly beloved bands with a long history in the underground scene and enviable musical work, so expect an epic show. It is worth noting that both bands, like us, are one step away from releasing their new albums, which makes the timing of the live show ideal.
Metalwar: Apart from “Without a Trace,” can we expect anything else from you on stage?
George Konomi: Although our debut album “Without A Trace” will be the focus of our setlist, we have carefully saved a couple of surprises related to our new work that will follow in the coming months.
Metalwar: Tell me a few words about this album and whether you are satisfied with its progress over the years as your first recording step. In a few words, give me an overview.
Lefteris Saatsakis: “Without A Trace” has great sentimental value for us as our first recording. Its progress over the years shows that it was the right way to introduce ourselves musically to the public and identify our strengths and weaknesses for improvement. The only thing that is certain is that the fans’ response gave us the confidence to continue serving what we love with consistency and a lot of love. The 11 tracks on the album form an experimental journey into the world of sound, inspired by loved ones and intense emotions, in a human-centered approach.
Metalwar: The album was released at a time when COVID was still present in our lives. How much did this abnormal condition affect its progress?
Lefteris Saatsakis: It’s difficult to make an objective assessment of the extent to which COVID affected us. What is certain is that the uncertainty of the times, combined with our lack of experience and connections at the time, limited our ability to promote the material through live performances and tours outside our home base, as is customary. In general, we remember that during that period, even those around us were afraid to visit crowded places, just as we were afraid to organize a live show. I don’t know if these factors ultimately played a role in our progress, but they were additional mental and physical obstacles that we had to overcome.
Metalwar: You are generally quite active in terms of live shows, so I would like you to tell me about a favorite moment on stage, or a collaboration that you value a lot.
George Konomi: There have been many such moments and collaborations over the years, and if you had asked us at the beginning of our journey, we would have found it difficult to imagine that they would happen. One such collaboration was with M3ΜΦ1Σ, when we shared the stage at Kyttaro with COUNTOWN. They were a band we followed and admired musically and the fact that we got on stage at Kyttaro for the first time alongside them at their 10-year anniversary live show was really special for us. That same live show also featured one of our favorite moments as a band. As the opening act, the crowd was relatively small at the beginning. As the show progressed, due to the lights and adrenaline, I remember losing track of how many people were in the audience. At the end of our performance, when the intensity of the live show subsided a little and the lights died down, I remember seeing a packed Kyttaro and immediately feeling a sense of awe.
Konstantinos Kaloudis: A favorite moment with the band, which was not purely a live moment, but could be described as a collection of memorable moments, was the tour we did in France in 2024, culminating in Metal Fest 09, which was proposed to us by the French record label we work with, Bitume Prods. It happened relatively soon after I joined the band and there was a lot of uncertainty surrounding the project in terms of the organization and the people behind it, as the tour was a new experience for us and communication with the people involved, until we met in person, was formal, through messages and e-mails. So, when we landed in France, where we were met by the record label, which, I should note, is an independent label, we realized that the people running it are a couple, Germain and Zoe, who run the label purely out of love for music. We toured for three days for the shows and became emotionally attached to these people. The highlight of all this was the day of the festival, where, beyond the awe we felt playing at such a well-organized event, in front of a huge crowd, alongside talented bands, I remember Germain, who until then had been relatively introverted and laconic due to his difficulty communicating in English, being as moved as we were that all this effort had finally come to fruition and telling us that he was proud of us. That moment sealed our friendship and is something I will never forget.
Metalwar: Has the way people have fun changed, especially for metalheads, after COVID?
Lefteris Saatsakis: Our presence on stage was minimal in the pre-COVID era, so we don’t have a clear picture of how things worked before. I believe that due to the lockdown, people, like us as listeners, had a great need to go out and make up for lost time and in combination with the financial burden due to the situation, priority was given in terms of time and money to larger musical events. Over time, after the audience satisfied this need, I believe that the situation has balanced out and the average listener’s interest has shifted to less popular musical events related to our scene, and we are slowly seeing venues are filling up more easily with people.
Metalwar: You already mentioned new material, so what can we expect from MISTY ROUTE next?
George Konomi: Even before the official release of “Without A Trace”, we had already started composing new songs for the second album. So, for the past four years, we have been working on this project, carefully selecting our collaborators (Recording: Antonis Kontoglou – 9800 Studios, Mixing: George Prokopiou, Mastering: Ektoras Tsolakis, Artwork: Manthos Stergiou) and we can now say with certainty that we are in the final stages of all aspects of releasing an album. From the final samples of the material we have heard, we believe that our new material will reward our friends for every minute of their long wait.
Metalwar: What do you have in mind regarding the promotion of the next album?
Konstantinos Kaloudis: Our goal is to release our new album in early 2026, both digitally and on CD and vinyl through our record label Bitume. We really want the release to be followed by a tour in Greece. Beyond that, we will definitely prepare an additional big live show in Athens for the official presentation of the album.
Metalwar: I imagine that part of the promotion and, above all, the effort to reach as many listeners as possible, involves streaming platforms such as Spotify. How do you view this trend and, ultimately, is it good for music and musicians or not?
Konstantinos Kaloudis: For better or worse, streaming platforms have become perhaps the primary way listeners choose to listen to new music in recent years. At first glance, this seems like a great opportunity for bands, but at the same time, it creates an “arena” with incredibly fierce artistic competition, at a time when the average listener’s attention span is really minimal. Spotify, and by extension all streaming platforms, with the capabilities it offers as a tool and as the most widespread means of streaming music, makes it very easy for artists to connect with listeners. Combined with the evolution of music technology in the music production stage, the costs required for an artist to create and present their work are drastically reduced, which can only be a positive thing. Nevertheless, we are seeing the creation of a monopoly in the music industry around streaming, which currently makes Spotify the platform that pays artists the least, with a significant difference compared to other media. One could say that this is the price of accessibility, which as artists we may be willing to pay for the time being and is not so detrimental. It is uncertain, however, how the Spotify-artist relationship will evolve and whether this dependence of artists on the platform will ultimately backfire, to the point where it will become impossible for younger, less popular artists to use it and reach their audience.
Metalwar: You have a programmer in your band, George, but I imagine all of you have an opinion on this as well, so I would like to ask how you view the trend toward increasing use of artificial intelligence in music. From artwork to the composition of entire songs.
George Konomi: In the music industry, there is a clear downgrading of professions related to the visuals that accompany a musical work, such as artwork and video clips, where we see artists with greater potential using it. At present, I do not believe that, from an artistic point of view, it has replaced the quality of the work of a real artist, so the choice to use artificial intelligence does not give the musician an extra dimension to their work, which is essentially what the accompanying visuals aim to do. As for the production of music by AI, in my mind it is not a cause for concern, as the “consumption” of a musical work, in my opinion, does not consist simply of listening to a song, but also includes additional “human” elements, such as the connection with the artist and the presence at a live performance, and the fermentation that occurs in these. In other words, there are additional social elements that, in my opinion, cannot be replaced.
Metalwar: How do you see the metal music scene in Athens? In a conversation I had with your colleagues from Thessaloniki, they told me that most of the live music venues have closed and the situation has become difficult. Is the same true in Athens?
Lefteris Saatsakis: The truth is that in Athens, we get the opposite impression. There are smaller venues that have closed, but we also see new ones popping up, which even host large live shows. We see a small but growing trend in music events. At least for bands of our caliber, we notice a slight increase in attendance, which may be coincidental, but it is noticeable compared to 2-3 years ago.
Metalwar: Thank you very much for the conversation, and I sincerely wish you all the best in your live performances and future endeavors.
Lefteris Saatsakis: We appreciate the opportunity and your support for our efforts.
Find MISTY ROUTE:
https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/mistyroute/without-a-trace
Interview – Text: Kostas Boudoukos
