Crimson Moon: How did you get started?
Bill: Cover bands, mostly. I’m also a Byzantine chanter, from a young age. Music was always a part of my life. My grandfather played guitar and sang. My older brother, unintentionally, got me into the music I love. He was a 70s hippie and I would listen to the music he played at home and in the car.
Crimson Moon: What kind of music do you play?
Bill: Right now, Progressive metal. I also have a long history in 70’s-80’s rock, & epic/power metal.
Crimson Moon: How many albums/CD’s have you released?
Bill: My band, Terra 1ncognita, has released 2 L.P.’s.(“Barren Land”, “Fragments of a Ruined Mind”, & 1E.P.(“Sign with Blood”).
This is the debut album from this project, Vass/Katsionis, “Ethical Dilemma”.
Crimson Moon: Tell me about some of the songs on the latest CD?
Bill: It’s a concept album, so, all the songs have a “constant”. The album title, says it all.
Crimson Moon: You write the music? Lyrics?
Bill: I write the lyrics & melodies.
Crimson Moon: And where do the lyric ideas come from?
Bill: I read a lot. History topics, mostly. It’s a great source of influence, when I write lyrics.
My ideas come from life itself. Politics, religion, sex, love, inner conflict, etc…..
Crimson Moon: Has the Covid Pandemic impacted you at all?
Bill: Absolutely. This album was finalized & mastered, in 2019. So, my producer & I decided to wait on the release, till the whole pandemic scare calmed down a bit. We also cannot support this album with live performances, due to the Covid problem.
Crimson Moon: What is the music scene like where you are from?
Bill: Greece has a very lively, strong & serious metal scene. Very high level of productions & live performances.
Crimson Moon: Who are some of your musical influences?
Bill: I’m influenced by good, soulful music. Anything from the 70s classic rock genre, to the game changing bands like Fates Warning, and Queensryche.
Crimson Moon: Have you ever played in another country?
Bill: Yes. My band has played in the States, and in Europe.
Crimson Moon: Do you do anything special as a warm-up, before you play live?
Bill: Yes. I’m vocally trained, so I do a half hour scale warm-up, for my voice, before any live or studio performance.
Crimson Moon: As a musician what advice can you give to fellow musicians just starting out?
Bill: Don’t do it for any other reason, than the pure satisfaction of creating music. What ever else comes, work hard to earn it. A band is a relationship. With its compromises, etc.
Crimson Moon: What does the future hold for you?
Bill: I’m hoping this joint project with Bob Katsionis goes well enough, so that we can release more music like what we wrote on this album. I would love to perform these tunes live someday, also.
Contact them at:
https://vass-katsionis.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/symmetricrecords/
