While ΛΔΛΜ may not be a band you’re familiar with, they definitely are one you should be if you consider yourself a fan of 90’s grunge, post-metal, psych and or progressive metal. There’s so much packed into their third release, Sun, that it can be dizzying trying to dissect but whether dissecting or just listening for enjoyment, these seven tracks hit like a ton of bricks with brooding aggression and epic songwriting. Plus, mountains of catchy riffs and melodies. Just on the heels of Sun’s release, we posed our set of Profile questions to vocalist and guitarist Panagiotis “Takis” Chaloulakos as well as backing vocalist and guitarist Giannis Fourikis for an insider’s look behind the scenes. Read up, get acquainted, and grab the album from the links contained within.

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How did you first get into playing music, and have you achieved the level of success that you hoped for?

“Takis”: My earliest memories involve music. I think I started singing when I was 14 months old or something, and that had a lot to do with my father being an audiophile. He would play all sorts of crazy psych rock records for me and that’s how I got the music bug. I picked up the guitar at 13 and formed my first band back in junior high. As far as success is concerned, we really believed in our music and we knew that SUN would make a lotta heads turn but in all honesty we couldn’t have predicted this crazy success. I still can’t believe that half a million people have listened to my songs. Nevertheless, this has only made us hungrier and more determined to surpass these milestones and we have been working twice as hard to accomplish that ever since. To quote Biggie Smalls “Sky’s the Limit”.

What’s the most you have ever debased yourself to get your band onto a show, into a magazine or otherwise promoted, covered, and praised? (If you don’t have a story, please tell us any funny/embarrassing story.)

Giannis: Damn, we’re too proud to do that. Perhaps to our detriment, but still. I guess we’ve played a lot of bad gigs, in bad venues, with bad sound etc. Just because we wanted our music to get out there.

What do you see as some of the great things happening in metal and what are some of the worst things happening inside the scene right now?

Takis: For starters, I think that the fans have a lot to do with metal losing its relevance. Metalheads for the most part are some of the most loyal, diehard fans in the world but at the same time they can be very myopic and elitist, especially towards new bands and sounds. It’s a scene that’s very stuck to the past and if history has taught as anything is that you have to adapt or die out. Still, the underground metal scene is as strong as it’s ever been and there’s a lot of great new bands doing very interesting things with their music and their presentation.

It seems that now everyone has a passion for some cause and that those people are very open about displaying their passions. This is probably a very, very good (and progressive) thing socially. What are some of the most important issues (social/political/humorous/etc.) for you and how do you insert those issues into your music?

Takis: Mental health for sure. And I guess it resonates more than ever nowadays as most people struggle with mental issues one way or another. It’s still a very taboo, no-no subject in Greece and I wanna shed more light on that.

Giannis: Urban anxiety and lonerism. How people try to figure out this bizarro world we live in.

What, or who, got you into metal and how old were you? How did your family take the news?

Takis: I was about 10 years old when I came across Ozzy’s music video for “Miracle Man.” It was the craziest thing I’d ever seen and despite not knowing exactly what I was watching, I knew that this is what I wanted to do.

Giannis: Radio X on GTA: San Andreas! Or wrestling soundtracks. I remember WWE used “St. Anger” for SummerSlam ‘03. I know that this record gets a lot of hate, but I got my rose-tinted nostalgia glasses on and I can’t give a damn. My parents were kinda shocked at first I guess, but they learned to accept it.

What advice do you have for aspiring music critics and outlets out there? How can we all better serve the genre in the eyes of a hard-working musician?

Dig in to as much music as you can.  Try to figure out the “whys” and the “hows” of what you’re listening to. Be more strict. Constructive criticism is more important than blind praise.

What’s your goal? You guys thinking world domination? Maybe saving a continent? Maybe invading one?

Takis: Wolf World Order. That’s our motto.

Giannis: How about being the first band to play on Mars. Shoutout to Elon Musk. We’re bringing the monoliths, you bring the monkeys.

Any interest in starting a cult? Do you guys have day jobs or hobbies you want to share? Whatever it is, please let us know.

Giannis: We already have one. It’s called the Wolfpack. Wanna join?

Takis: Do you have a minute to talk about our Lord and Savior double pepperoni pizza?

Giannis: We’re huge cinephiles, gym rats and pretty good ballers. If you got a problem with us, we can settle our differences on the court.

When you’re not obsessing over your own material, what are some of your favorite albums to listen to currently? (Feel free to include non-metal)

Giannis: I’ve been spamming “Unemployment Line Disco” by MODERN RUIN and “Key Markets” by the Sleaford Mods.

Takis: I really dig the new Black Country, New Road record. I’ve also been revisiting the entire Killing Joke discography for the millionth time. And I also listen to Tragedy on a daily basis when I’m doing my cardio.

What is the 12-month outlook for you or your band? Any specific events on the horizon that the masses should be aware of?

Giannis: We have filmed a live session which we are looking forward to releasing as soon as possible. It’s the closest we can get to our audience at the moment.

Takis: Hopefully lots of live shows and a tour. We are also working on our sophomore album at the moment and we can’t wait to share some new tunes.

Summarize your band in exactly one word. (Disclosure: If you include additional words, we will select our favorite for the final publication.)

GLOOM

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Many thanks to Takis and Giannis for their time!

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Sun is available now on Venerate Industries. For more information on ΛΔΛΜ, visit their Facebook page.