Chain Cult: Resisting the Dystopia We Already Live in Today

Chain Cult is a post-punk trio from Athens, Greece, that has been touring extensively for the last five years. The band made a huge impact on the scene with their self-released 2018 demo and have been releasing their full-length and subsequent EPs through La Vida Es Un Mus label ever since. 

This interview (an abridged version) was conducted during the band’s German tour in October 2022 and originally appeared in the fourth issue of Bulgarian fanzine Svetlo Budeshte. The band played their 100th show at a special event in December 2022 and are ready for more exciting shows in 2023!

So, let’s start with the usual question, who are Chain Cult and what was the impetus to form the band? Did you have any sort of a blueprint for how you wanted things to run? Is it easier to keep things going when you’re only three-piece?

Dino: Sure! Chain Cult is a group of three friends from Athens, Greece, who share the same love for punk music, a very similar mindset, and like to keep it simple, honest and humble. It’s Jason [Iasonas] on bass and vocals, Vangelis on the drums and Dino on guitars. The main reason we formed the band was the need to play something different, other than hardcore stuff that we had already played a lot for years, and the thirst to tour and travel worldwide with music as our main driving force. There wasn’t any kind of blueprint when we first started, only a meeting of minds about how active we wanted to be with the band. 

The rest, the whole shape of our music, came naturally. I can’t think of a more ideal number of people involved in a punk band than the three. It’s so hard to keep a good communication with many people on a daily basis, agree, and share the same desires, commitment and availability, especially while growing up. It’s getting harder day by day. And of course, it’s more flexible, easier to travel and cheaper for people to book a show for you and bring you to their place.

Unlike the majority of Greek bands, you sing in English. Is this decision based on your motivation to tour in as many countries as possible? What are your lyrics about and did they change in scope and writing style since your first demo?

Iasonas: Well, I felt uncomfortable while singing and listening to my voice in Greek and I felt that Greek lyrics gave a totally different atmosphere of what we wanted to do in Chain Cult, so the choice was easy. Plus singing in English is a way to reach more people and possibly connect with our music. 

The lyrics deal with many aspects of our everyday life from depressing modern living to personal torments, decisions, changes we have to make or take. We always have a political view in all these as we are political beings and that can’t be separated from everyday life and our music. We talk about the dystopia we already live in today, the oppression, about migrants and all the tragedies they have to face trying to save themselves and at the same time how ignorant people are today. 

Are you all transplants to Athens from other cities? In what ways has the capital city and the Greek political reality shaped the world to you as a band? What’s the situation with Exarcheia and the everyday struggles you face as citizens of Athens right now?

Dino: Nope, we all grew up in Athens, in the center of the city or very close to it, and some just studied in other cities for a while. Growing up in such a big city, a metropolis like Athens, first of all shaped us as individuals. We got used to the general paranoia that exists in such places and some really tough images of ordinary urban experience from a very early age, but we were also fortunate enough to live in first person some really great events that marked the recent history of the city, the underground culture, the local punk scene and the anarchist, radical-left and counterculture movement. We always liked the accessibility that it has to offer. 

As a result, it’s impossible to avoid passing this experience in your music, as it is a part of you, and you are a part of it, with all aspects coexisting in the whole. Aspects of bleakness, despair and dismay, but also this explosive creativity, the energy, the feeling of companionship and uprising. Unfortunately, the city has changed a lot through the years, and sometimes we can’t even recognize it. It’s a hostile place for all the kind souls, the fighting people, the refugees, queers, punks, anarchists, poorer families, working class people, and it is crystal clear that they want us all outside of the center, keeping it only for the real estate, the high society, and tourism which nowadays is notable even in winter. Almost all the occupied places have been evicted, it is impossible to find a big indoor place able to host a DIY or solidarity event for 800 or 1000 people, and all possible spaces where we could create something beautiful are guarded by thousands of cops all day.

All three of you played in various hardcore, punk and crust bands throughout the years (Lifewreck, Dirty Wombs, Lethe, Conspiracy Of Denial, etc.) How does Chain Cult differ from your other projects? Is the band a homage to the amazing post-punk, synth and new wave scene that has spawned in Greece since the ‘80s?

Dino: The sound is completely different and mainly influenced by the international punk rock, post-punk and new-wave scene, both the ‘80s and the revival one of the previous two decades. I wouldn’t say it is a homage but of course there are influences from the ‘80s Greek scene too, like punk classics as Γενιά Του Χάους, or Metro Decay and Χωρίς Περιδέραιο.

The Greek scene has seemingly exploded as of late. On the other hand, it has lost amazing spaces like Villa Amalias in Athens or Biologica in Thessaloniki. How’s the current state of DIY punk and political activism in Greece at the time of answering this interview? What are your favorite current bands and things happening?

Dino: The Greek scene met an explosive growth ten years ago or so, a few years after the events of December 2008, the murder of Alexis Grigoropoulos and the huge uprising that followed. There were hundreds of squats and occupied places popping out all over the country, many political and countercultural collectives were created back then, and every city was very active with new local bands, new venues, and many touring bands coming over. We could say that a big punk network was created back in those days, with relationships and friendships that lasted over the years. And that’s the most beautiful. Actually, that’s the way we also became friends, by booking concerts for each other’s bands in our towns, with the collectives and the squats that we were involved in. These were great days. 

Nowadays, things are very different. All these places are lost, we have lost many points of reference both for the punk scene and the anarchist movement, people are very tired after all these years of economic crisis, disappointments and defeats, and sometimes it looks like we just follow all this big torrent of events, always being slightly behind them. At the same time it is very evident that punk has lost a big part of its message to the youth, with hip-hop taking its place. Hip-hop is really big in the Greek underground, with local antifa artists making shows with 25,000 people in small stadiums. That’s insane. Personally, I can’t find anything interesting musically in these artists, but their popularity and influence is remarkable! Favorite current stuff? Probably the return of concerts in our beloved DIY basements, and a few bands such as Downwinder, Rampage!, Dramachine, Blakaut etc.

Can you talk a bit about your recent tours? I’m especially interested to hear about your shows in the Basque region, which is famous for its self-organized spaces and political activism. Do you find a lot of similarities with Greece?

Dino: We toured a lot in 2022 and in fact we are on tour right now, in the middle of Germany, heading towards Bremen for a Wednesday show. Our recent tour in Spain took place in June 2022 and it was an incredible experience. It was amidst a huge wave of heat all over the country, with everything melting everyday under 43 Celsius, but the feedback of people was unbelievable. Every show was packed and full of energy, people were crowd surfing all the time, singing all of our songs, and we got to play in some really great self-organized places. 

The thing with Basque country is that punk is still very political there, like it was in Greece, let’s say, ten years ago. People are very active in political collectives and endeavors, and all their day is arranged around that, with sometimes music being of a more secondary significance. They are passionate people and really dedicated. However, that tour was a surprise because we also got to discover the south of Spain, super sweet people in all those places, and some very beautiful cities in the whole region. Generally, there are many similarities with all these people out there, and generally people from the Mediterranean area.

How was it playing the K-Town Hardcore Fest? What do you think about the comeback of hardcore punk festivals after the pandemic-induced hiatus?

Dino: This festival is such a good one. You never get to see a band that is not at least very good, the level of artists participating is really high, and people are really going nuts there, giving the place some really special vibes. We enjoyed playing a lot in the fest, and what almost everyone told us is that our set was a nice break among all the hardcore stuff that is played almost non stop from the beginning until the end of the fest! Festivals like that are mostly a meeting, a gathering of punks from all around the globe, a chance to see some good friends again and create new ones.

It seems like the Balkan scene has made a huge leap forward in being more connected with each other and engaged in radical politics in recent years. Do you have the time and financial means to follow up and buy music from Balkan bands outside of Greece?

Iasonas: We toured the BaIkans some years before and I also realized what you’re talking about and this is very encouraging. The thing that troubled me though is that Greece is so isolated from our fellow neighbors. We (people who grew up and living in Greece) never get to learn the history of Balkans in school or the news, the language to connect and all that because Greece was always acting like a Western country which, at least culturally, we are not. We met awesome people and learned so many things from our travels there and I feel I want to connect more and do more stuff together.

Concerning the financial means, I’m always looking out for good music and nice bands wherever they’re from so if I like it I will find a way to get it.

Do you see any changes in the way the Greek crowd responds to touring bands now compared to the past? How do you manage to keep things going while being true to anticonsumerist values like donation-based entry, etc.?

Iasonas: I believe touring bands were always important for the growth and evolution of smaller local scenes, and people are always interested in going to shows of bands from abroad. Before the pandemic there were American bands coming over to play a midweek gig in our basements, with the places being completely filled with 350 people. That was wild. Situation has not yet been restored completely after the Covid period, but slowly bands have started reaching us in order to book some shows here or organize a tour. 

The most important thing is to always think where, in what places, and under what terms you feel the better to be involved in, think of what would be the most natural for you and your state of mind. We always like to know as much info as possible for the venues we play, the bands that will share the stage with us, and the cause behind each event. Of course, there are times that you might not play in the best possible place for you or the best possible event, but it’s how each scene works out there, how it changes through the time and we should be open to that.

Follow Chain Cult on Bandcamp, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.