Puta Volcano: A Gift From Kassandra
Throughout the annals of history Greece has contributed a many great things to humanity. From democracy to medicine, the Olympics to geometry, the European nation lies at the epicentre for modern mankind’s growth and development. Whilst their rock and heavy metal scene may not weigh in as heavy as their European brethren, the Greek scene boasts numerous bands whose quality speaks for themselves. FIREWIND, SEPTICFLESH and ROTTING CHRIST are just several that spring to mind but now, comes a new challenger; PUTA VOLCANO.
“We ourselves are strange fruits to begin with, so we are maturing together learning how to harmoniously coexist and co-create, other than that the future will tell but we are not going to be the judges of that progress,” vocalist Anna Papathanasiou tells us. “Insecurity is eminent when you are on the higher side of the stage so the only way we might sense some change would be by what we could see reflecting on our audience’s glowing faces whenever they feel that something is not right or wrong, but just “is”.”
Indeed, Amma reflects a band that is maturing at the right time. Capitalising on the promise show on their last outing, 2017’s Harmony of Spheres, their new effort reflects a band that not only knows their sound and what they want to sound like, but they execute it with a swagger that is up there amongst the biggest bands of our world. Partly, this helps that Harmony of Spheres unlocked the door for PUTA VOLCANO to hit the stage alongside some of the big players in our world; FU MANCHU and ALICE IN CHAINS to name just two heavy hitters. Given the opportunity, did performing alongside such established names help the band establish a solid foundation to craft Amma? “Yes and no. In a sense we felt that magic touch of the big ones next to us,” Anna says. “But at the same time we just tried to find within us what was bugging our minds for those three years and compressed those thoughts and emotions into tunes and lyrics.”
Whilst the live experience certainly helped PUTA VOLCANO establish a foothold in building their next studio outing, the biggest factor however, is that the band have been grafting away for eight years now. That’s an awfully long time when you think about it, and given the blood, sweat and tears the band have poured into their craft, and the individuals that stand here today are drastically different to the ones who first picked up their respective instruments and formed the band. “Inevitably time’s a force that grinds your bones so we feel the pressure even more present. The emotions are harder. Every aspect of our lives, separately and within the context of the band has changed dramatically,” Anna reflects as we probe her on how the band have grown since their last studio outing. “But at the same time it releases you. After the point of stressing out every possibility of ifs and whats you end up doing what you did before and what you are going to continue doing. Write and play music. So it is not ours anymore,it belongs to everyone else’s ears.”
Whilst the pressure was certainly cranked up for PUTA VOLCANO, Amma stands as the ‘tricky’ third album after all, one cursory listen to their new opus and it’s clear that the band are more refined, more polished and more brilliant. From the bonafide epic that is Kassandra’s Gift, the stunning riffage of Primitive Data or the swinging anthem that is First Light, Amma is PUTA VOLCANO at their very best. And the secret ingredient for the band’s winning formula you ask? An amalgamation of a wide host of sounds and influences, mashed together for one super slick soundscape. When asked of her and her bandmates sound, Anna says that the band have such a wide range of influences, inspiration can strike from anywhere. “Well there is a big range of styles and genres for each one of us. But we all have a common ground and that would be the iconic 90’s scene of Seattle, along with some of the now considered classics, like TOOL, GOJIRA and so on. Apart from the typical musical band-like influences though everything could actually be a valuable source of inspiration.”
As an album, Amma is stunning. It’s the complete package from a band who are ready to take on the world. They are ready to break out the underground, but as we close, Anna remains grounded in her ambitions for what comes next for PUTA VOLCANO. “I would say that we are and probably will remain underground…” Underground they may be, but with the quality at their disposal and with a little bit of luck, PUTA VOLCANO are only just getting started.
Amma is out now via The Orchard.
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