Rock Fit For The Gods With 1000MODS

Better known for being the home of the ancient gods, Greece has delivered another addition to that legacy in the form of rock/metal outfit 1000Mods.

1000Mods put Greece on the map musically with a blend of ferocious and energetic live performances coupled with a hypnotic rock-centric sound that cuts deep into the soul of your musical psyche. .

1000Mods are set to return to Australia for the first time since 2019 when they hit the country for a series of shows starting February 15th in Wollongong. This time the band is expanding the lineup to include New Zealand for the first time and recently sat down with HEAVY to share their excitement.

“We’re really excited to be back Down Under,” enthused drummer Labros. “We had a great time in 2019 and to be honest we were supposed to be back earlier but you know Covid happened. We are very excited to visit NZ for the first time too!”

All of the 1000Mods play eleven shows in almost as many days, a feat that might seem excessive to people out here, but as Labros explains, it’s pretty much the standard schedule for international bands.

“It’s actually become our regular tour mode,” he confirmed, “because we prefer to have fewer days off and more consecutive gigs to stay on tour mode and in the zone. Days off are great, but usually, instead to use it to rest a bit, we prefer to go sightseeing and have some local drinks which don’t help to rest so much. (laughs). Before the tour, we train a lot and also train individually to get ready to be for all the physical and mental challenges we can face during a tour.”

As mentioned, this will be 1000Mods first visit to New Zealand, with Labros giving them a small taste of what to expect.

“We are very excited to visit New Zealand,” he smiled. “We know from socials/Spotify etc that we
have a solid fan base there and can’t wait to play for them. Furthermore, we would very much like to visit it
fantastic place and travel through the wonderful nature. Expect volume, energy, sweat, more volume, headbanging, moshpits, more volume (laughs).

It’s been four years since 1000Mods last toured this side of the world, with Labros admitting that there have been some significant developments in that time.

“After our Australian tour we actually started pre-production for our latest album Youth of Dissent,” he began, “and we traveled to Seattle to record it. Of course, no one expected the pandemic, and we booked hundreds of shows to promote it. The pandemic came, and we found ourselves – after many years of being constantly on the road – sitting at home and not being able to play music and tour the world like we used to. It obviously messed with our psychology, but also helped us to reflect on what we like most in our lives.”

Youth Of Dissent came out in 2020 and despite early hardships due to the current state of the world at the time, it finally had a chance to digest with fans.

“YoD was released during the first quarantine and really didn’t have its chance to be communicated to the world the way it should be – live on stage,” Labros said of the initial response. “So for us the real reactions came last year when we started touring again and saw our fans having the time of their lives with the new songs on stage, singing, crowd surfing and welcoming to the setlists.

Youth Of Dissent also saw 1000Mods explore fresh musical territory in parts, most notably on the track Lucid which was presented as an acoustic version, complete with strings.

“During the quarantine we broke the law to have some rehearsals and play some music after many months,” Labros smiled cheekily. “We were chilling at the studio while George played his acoustic guitar and jammed the riff from Lucid. Everyone really enjoyed this interpretation of the song, and we discussed recording it in the future. We reached out to Nikos Veliotis who is a legend in the Greek underground scene to add some cello to the song and of course our friend Akis from Villagers of Ioannina City who played the double bass.”

Although the experiment has been warmly greeted by fans, Labros shakes his head when asked if it’s something 1000Mods will explore further on future releases.

“We never say never to these ideas,” he smiled, “but right now there’s nothing planned.”

It’s been more than two years since the release of Youth Of Dissent, so we quiz Labros on how far along the next album is.

“We have a lot of ideas, songs, etc,” he measured. “We’ll maybe release some as an individual release or EP or something. And some will be saved for the upcoming album. But we still cannot say with certainty about the exact time of the recording of the new album.”

What he could commit to was the next album will again see 1000Mods push their part of the musical envelope.

“Like with YoD, every time we record a new album, the direction comes spontaneously and immediately,” he offered. “So every other record is influenced by the exact mood and momentum of the band. We always try to add some elements that we like to jam the given period and of course we always try to be better players with our instruments.”

So does that mean we might hear a new track or two on the upcoming tour?

“We do have a few new songs ready to play,” he smiled thoughtfully, “but each time it depends on available stage time, set list, etc.

1000Mods have a distinctly recognizable sound, which allows them to stand out proudly among the current rising wave of rock outfits. Part of that sonic adaptation, Labros admits, is courtesy of where the band put down their roots in the small town of Chiliomodi in Greece.

“Of course it helped a lot to bring different influences,” he nodded, “as back then and before the internet age we would listen to music from older siblings, cousins ​​etc. So, at the same time we could listen to Black Sabbath’s listen. first album, Nirvana’s Bleach but also Offspring’s Smash. The possibility of being close to nature and being inspired by it also opened our minds and maybe gave us different perspectives.”