Asfand: Hello, can you introduce yourself and the band for our readers who aren't well informed about you guys?

Kostas: Ok, Pantheist was formed as a one-man project around 2000. In the beginning it was a naive attempt to make some dark synth, more to try out my keyboard than anything else. However, the compositions I had in mind for this band where more of a metal nature and it wasn't until Nicolas, the main guitar player, joined the band that we started to rehearse and to develop the sound that is Pantheist.

Asfand: So basically, it was you and Nicolas who started the train?

Kostas: Yes, I am the main composer, but you can say that Nicolas is my 'right hand'. He helps me execute my idea's and adds of course he own typical melodic guitar playing.

Asfand: Can you tell us what is the meaning of the word Pantheist and why you've chosen it as the band name?

Kostas: A pantheist is an adherent of pantheism, the doctrine which states that the world is god. Which means that we, as part of this universe, are part of the deity as well. The problem is that although we are part of this amazing whole, we are trapped within our individualities, which creates a lot of frustration and pain as the isolation becomes unbearable...a pantheist is a doomed person.

Asfand: Ah. Doomy. Say you were to describe/categorize your music to a Neanderthal. How'd you do so?

Kostas: hehe...good question.

Asfand: haha, thank you.

Kostas: I would say that it is very emotional, sad music inspired partly by the masters of the past and partly by the rock/metal tradition ,but that would be a very vague description and I'm not sure if a neanderthaler would understand it.

Asfand: hahaha. You recently re-located to London from Belgium. Can you tell us why?

Kostas: It has not much to do with the band or music...more with personal reasons. I think it just felt natural to leave Belgium at that stage in my life.

Asfand: If I'm not mistaken, Nicolas has also shifted to London has he not?

Kostas: No, he hasn't...he still lives in Belgium.

Asfand: How will this affect the band? Will you search for a new guitarist and other members?

Kostas: Well we are currently working as a studio project, using session musicians...but we'll see what the future brings. For the moment being, it seems to work like this.

Asfand: When is the new album going to be released?

Kostas: we are going to record in October, so I would expect Firebox to release it around January 2005 if everything goes well...

Asfand: How is the sound on the next album going to vary from the sound on O Solitude; considering that there's been a significant change in the band as a line-up?

Kostas: Well, again the songs are mostly composed by me, so the line-up in itself is not necessarily the factor which will make the album sound completely different...having said that, the second album IS going to sound very different. It will be much darker, slower with less classical' influences...but the emotionality and atmosphere will still be there.

Asfand: On your site it says that you shall have one or two members of Esoteric guest on the album? In what manner do you think their input will help?

Kostas: We will have two Esoteric members helping out. I think they will definitely have a very big impact on the sound, people will be surprised! But their input shall be completely not related to what they do with Esoteric

Asfand: Did you ever think Pantheist would be as revered today as it is?

Kostas: I don't know if we are revered...but I always believed that our music has a lot of potential, so I guess I did expect some kind of recognition, no matter how small.

Asfand: Well, you have gotten plenty of rave reviews. Some people however are put off by the use of keyboards/synths and the somewhat "death metal" style rampages on the album. Do you have anything to say to that?

Kostas: Not really...I guess you can never satisfy all. The most important thing, I think, is that we have a personal sound and vision. That's what we offer, but whether people like it or not, is something that we don't have any control about.

Asfand: Agreed. O Solitude was a concept/thematic album. Will the next album be in the same vein?

Kostas: Yes, even more so! The music and lyrics will be very strongly interdependent

Asfand: What are your influences? Personally that is.

Kostas: Hmm...personally I draw inspiration from both non-musical (f.i. emotions, the nature, psychology books...) and musical influences. Those include doom metal (f.i. Thergothon, Skepticism...), classical music, Greek folk, church music...

Asfand: Do you like playing live? How does it feel, considering that you guys aren't Slayer or Sodom and thus you lose some of the "hyper-moments"?

Kostas: hehe...playing live is ok, but not what it is about with this style of music, I think. We mostly try to create a certain atmosphere, as the headbanging factor in our music is generally low. It's something like a catharctic ritual I guess...the funeral of the listener's sad emotions.

Asfand: Have you ever had any special moments while playing live that you'd like to share with our readers?

Kostas: mmm...not that many, if I can be perfectly honest. I'm more of a 'studio' person. perhaps I should mention here the incident where that stoned person started biting his glass and had to be carried away, or that woman that was spinning around for hours during the UDOM/Pantheist/Skepticism gig in Berlin!

Asfand: hahaha. What's on your playlist these days?

Kostas: hmm...nowadays I'm playing very varied things, like f.i. Nortt, Mausoleum, Neurosis, Mana Mana, Massive Attack, Bowery Electric etc

Asfand: Nortt. Gudsforladt. $37+. Unconsciousness. Are there any bands/albums you'd like to recommend our readers?

Kostas: I would like to recommend them the stuff that I just mentioned, since I'm listening to it, hehe.

Asfand: Predictable. Finally, any thank yous you'd like to send out?

Kostas: First of all I would like to thank you for the interview and your excellent review. To our fans a thanks as well and if they can be patient for a few months more, I promise them that they shall be rewarded!

Asfand: Thank you, and we can all only be patient awaiting the next Pantheist opus.