Greece’s Likno recently released its self-titled album via WolfKult Religion on cassette tape, and while this undoubtedly looks somewhat like shameless self-promotion, I think Likno’s music stands on its own. With their strong sense of melody, the duo mercilessly weaves their Greek roots throughout their otherwise fairly Scandinavian-sounding Black Metal. Those roots come in the form of Folk music from northern Greece as well as classic Greek Black Metal. As the Q&A below shows, they feel the most akin to a band like Kawir, which, of all Greek bands, has perhaps incorporated traditional Greek music into their sound the most. I spoke to the duo about this musical and cultural background, as well as their take on the creative process surrounding ‘Likno’ and future plans…
Hi there guys, as an early supporter of Likno, it was a logical step to invite you to these pages too. So: welcome! Let’s first talk about the origin of the music. To me your self-titled debut album is a vibrant mix of different familiar elements. Obviously it is Black Metal, but a rather classic and mostly Scandinavian in character. How would you yourself describe your own music?
Hello and many thanks for the invitation. We are really glad to be here. Well, we started the band thinking that we just want to play black metal from the depths of our hearts and souls. Each one of us has many different musical influences, so, during the composition of the tracks one element appeared after another in a natural way. We don’t think that we belong in a special black metal subgenre. Each track in our debut album is inspired by different hearings and music styles.
The careful listener might hear bits and pieces of Borknagar, Satyricon, Kampfar, Varathron, Vintersorg, Kawir, Enslaved, Ulver, Falkenbach are shining through. But at the same time your music is built following Rock structures. If you would have to pick a few of your main musical inspirations, what would you mention?
We are fond of old school Hellenic Black Metal and we grew up with it so it was totally expected to incorporate some of its aspects in our sound. Falkenbach is one big love. We find his melodies really powerful and moving and we wanted to transmit similar emotions through our music. The Scandinavian and the Polish sound also inspired us, mostly in the harmonies we use. Rock music in its wider spectrum also had a great presence in our lives all these years, so, subconciously, the tracks ended up to have this kind of structures.
Folk music is an integral part of ‘Likno’, in many tracks it even plays a prominent role, especially the ones with the flute. It reminds me a bit of the way how Kawir incorporates Folk into their Black Metal. Can you see where that comparison is coming from?
Kawir was one of our main influences in the first place. We feel really honored when someone says that we sound even a little like them. We think the first reason of the comparison lies in the fact that they have connected their enormous name with the sound of the flute since they used it in almost every track (especially in their first albums) creating a magical, mystical ancient atmosphere. It is really like travelling back in ancient times when you hear their music. Secondly, the harmonies and the structures we used with the flute are similar. Finally, in the track ‘Birth’, the flute (kaval) leads to the climax of the song, which is another common element with Kawir’s sound. Generally, we didn’t want the flute to have the first role, but to act as a surprise or as the thing that makes the difference. That’s why its appearance is totally unexpected in both tracks we used it (‘Birth’, ‘Still’).
Largely picking up on the previous question: how important is Folk music in your lives and does it reflect a wider meaning for you? Lots of Pagan/Heathen bands do draw inspiration out of their homeland’s cultural background…
That is what happens with us too. We grew up and live in a region of Northern Greece were the folk element is really strong. Besides, we are worshipers of folk music from every corner of the world. We believe that keeping the tradition alive, is what leads to the cultural evolution generally. As far as our music is concerned, we cannot imagine a composition with at least a small folk element and we continuously come up with new ideas for combination of Black Metal with a pinch of folk music.
Continuing a bit on the previous question, I’d like to go into your Greek origin. Greece has been a country that significantly contributed to the development of Black Metal. Although Likno doesn’t necessarily sound overly Greek, do you feel part of your country’s musical legacy? And what does Greek Black Metal mean to you as a person and what did it mean to the development of the band?
As mentioned in the previous question, Greek Black Metal defined and influenced in a great way our sound and generally the way of thinking when we write a song. It is a unique style which, thanks to many great people and artists managed to stay pure through the years but at the same time to be relevant and popular in the circles of Metal music generally. Concerning our appearance in the Greek scene, it is a great pleasure to have a tiny contribution in our country’s musical legacy.
The review of the album, written by my colleague, mentioned an echo of two specific classic tracks by Megadeth and Metallica. Of course I’d like to know if we were on the right track here, or completely missed the point…
Honestly, we didn’t have in mind these tracks at all. However, we are big fans of Metallica and Megadeth so we consider this as an honour.
If I am well-informed, “Likno” means something like “cradle”. I could tie that to your tendency towards Folk music… Can you tell something on the conceptual idea behind the band? What inspires you on a non-musical level?
Besides “cradle”, the meaning of “Likno” is “The very starting point of everything”. So we thought that this name totally represents our primary goal as a band, which was to pay an homage to our musical and cultural roots that influenced us and defined us since the day we were born. Our roots represent who we are, our mindset and our emotions and give us the power to continue enriching our musical legacy and knowledge day by day.
It is noteworthy that you went straight for a full-length record, so no demoing prior. Any specific reason for that? Were you so sure and confident in what direction you wanted to take Likno?
Since we had a lot of material that we strongly believed was really good and unique, we didn’t hesitate at all to go for a full album. The inspiration came massively, so it was the best way to spread it. Generally, we wanted to take substancial steps as a band and we had the knowledge and the experience to do it.
I know that you prefer to keep your true identity veiled in mystery, so nothing is known about your personal and musical background. Of course that is to be respected, but given the offered quality it is hard to believe that Likno is your first band. Is there anything you can say about your musical journey that led you to the position you two are in now?
Actually, “Likno” is our First Black Metal band. It was something each one of us wanted to do for many years but we couldn’t find the time, the conditions and most importantly, the right people. Happily, this happened when we met. As about our musical past, Neurosplinter was in Metal and Punk bands and has also done classical music studies. Flaegra prefers working “solo” with two projects right now: one Minimal Synth/Darkwave and one Dungeon Synth and also is a graduate of the Greek conservatoire.
I particularly love the production of your album. It is rather light-footed, also much based on Rock standards, which offers a refreshing contrast to the majority of your musical peers. What can you tell about the process of the recording of the album?
Our good friend Zisis Sapnaras is responsible for this result. He has many knowledges within the framework of Black Metal sound and production and he was always helping us clear our mind about what we exactly wanted. The whole experience of the recording, mix and mastering was really constructive and creative since we were trying many different and extraordinary things, we were experimenting with styles of sound and we learn a lot of new and useful stuff.
Now, let’s start wrapping things up a bit and look back together at the entire running up to the release of ‘Likno’, including writing, rehearsing, perfecting, recording and the final product. How would you describe this ride? Are you satisfied with how this all turned out?
We have a feeling that all happened really fast. Of course there were doubts and fears but day by day, we felt more and more sure and confident about our work. However, we didn’t expect this kind of reaction by the audience. We have heard a lot of good words from sources that interest us. That makes us really happy and proud and gives us extra motivation to keep creating and make plans for the future.
I guess that in this whole process you also have learned a lot. If we’d start with the positive aspects, what lessons do you mostly value? And what is it that you will definitely do differently next time?
Definitely the most important lesson was that you must believe in your own work. If you love it, it will succeed. It may sound as a “cliche” but it is really important for an artist especially in the first steps. Among other things, we learned to be more patient and more cooperative. What we will avoid in the next level is losing time paying attention to the opinions of others about the sound, the music, the release management etc etc. Of course their intentions are usually positive but now we prefer doing the whole thing as WE want.
Speaking of “next time”: although ‘Likno’ has only been released recently I can imagine that you kept composing and trying new ideas, so what will be the next step for the band? What is there to expect?
We started working on new ideas the day after the release of “Likno”. This leaded to the recording of our second album (we finished it about a month ago) and now we are in the procedure of mixing and mastering. Fortunately inspiration hasn’t left us yet, so we keep creating and trying new things in a daily basis.
In good tradition, I would also like to offer you the opportunity to end this interview in your own words, but of course not after thanking you for your time and effort: cheers!
Thank you very much for the hosting in your pages and generally for supporting us and believing in us since the first days. We hope that soon enough we will be talking about other things we plan to do! Cheers!
