An Interview with ELYSION (Part 1 of 2)

Automatic translation. Improvements are constantly being worked on.

Elysion was founded in Greece in 2006. They are celebrating their 20th anniversary with their new studio album, “Identity.” In our two-part interview, we speak with singer Christianna about two decades of the band’s history, their musical evolution, the significance of identity, and the personal stories behind some of the new songs.

Orkus: First of all, congratulations on your 20th anniversary! Does it really feel like that much time has passed?
Christianna: On behalf of the whole band, thank you so much for the opportunity to talk with you! It actually feels crazy when you realize it’s already been 20 years—time really flies… When I look back, it feels like it was just yesterday that we released “Silent Scr3am”!!

O: How would you say you’ve evolved as a band over the years? What’s “different” compared to your first album?
C: Well, the transition from Elysion 2006 to Elysion 2026 went, I’d say, pretty smoothly. It just felt natural for us to evolve in this way. No album was marked by deliberately planned changes. We simply listened to our gut and stayed true to our goal—which has been to write beautiful songs from day one. Yes, the sound is harder today and the production is different, but we feel that we’ve managed to never lose our identity. And that’s exactly what leads us to the title and concept of our fourth album.

O: Referring to the album title “Identity”: Has your understanding of Elysion’s identity changed over the past two decades?
C: If you only look at the surface and focus on the new experiments or the harshness of the sound, you might think that Elysion is now taking a slightly different approach. But when you look at the big picture, everything is still there: the influences, the focus on melodies, the intensity of the emotions, the atmosphere. We’ve never strayed from that, and that was precisely the big challenge: to grow without losing ourselves.

O: The album kicks off with a very powerful track, “Do Or Die.” Is there a story behind the song?
C: There’s a story behind every Elysion song in one way or another. “Do Or Die” is meant to be a slap in the face and symbolizes all the dependencies we have to fight against in order to survive. And by dependencies, I don’t just mean substances—I mean everything that holds us back psychologically, feeds us poison, and has led us to believe in the first place that we even need it. Everyone can relate to it in their own way—I certainly do. Hopefully, it’s a truly powerful opener for the album and sets the tone for what’s to come. It’s going to be really intense.

O: You were able to bring on Saki Tolis for “Harvest” and Konstantinos Togas for “The Last Ride.” How did these collaborations come about?
C: First of all, I’d like to say that this is the very first time we’ve ever had guest vocalists on an album—so that’s one of the big surprises on “Identity.” However, we really felt that the songs were leading us in this direction and that it was necessary for them to fulfill their purpose. So it was a very deliberate decision. Now, every guest really deserves their own paragraph, but I have to keep this brief, which is very difficult for me. What can one say about Sakis Tolis, the man who practically built the entire Greek metal scene from the ground up and earned worldwide respect through sweat, blood, and hard work when there was nothing to fall back on… And yet, even after so many decades, he’s still just as humble and approachable as ever. We feel indescribably honored. Konstantinos Togas, my other duet partner on “Ride,” is a true force of nature. He sets both Nightrage and his own band, Herta, on fire. And once again, we’re so grateful for the incredible energy he brought to the song. We had the best time ever while recording. I could talk for hours about the significance of both songs, but for now I’ll just say that these two valuable additions show that there’s really no such thing as “female-fronted metal” anymore. There are no boundaries between genres—in the end, it’s all about good music and collaborations born out of love.

O: “Declaration of Darkness” is particularly intense. How did this song come about?
C: “Declaration of Darkness” is certainly one of the most important songs on “Identity” because it embodies the entire concept behind the album. It’s also one of my personal favorite Elysion songs of all time. It’s our tribute to everyone who’s like us—to “our people.” And by that, I don’t just mean Elysion fans. I mean everyone who loves rock music, everyone who finds a deeper meaning in it. Everyone who felt a little different or even a little left out while growing up. A little melancholic, perhaps with the feeling of having to swim against the current. I sing these words for everyone who felt like they didn’t belong anywhere—and I sing them from the bottom of my heart.

Claudia Zinn-Zinnenburg

Lineup:
Christianna – Vocals
Johnny Zero – Guitars
Nid – Guitars
J-Kon – Drums