VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY

— First review of this album —

Stoner rock and metal have drifted far and wide over the last 20 years like a cloud of cannabis infused smoke makings its way across the European continent from a warehouse fire near the Red Light District of Amsterdam which managed to reach the far flung enclave of Northwestern Greece up where Albania slinks down from the Balkan nations above and jets down into the long lasting Greek traditions that still thrive outside of the hustle and bustle of Athens.

VILLAGERS OF IONNINA CITY hail from the city represented in the band moniker and have been sending smoke signals to the rest of the world that the stoner rock and metal are hardly limited to the confines of urban areas where cannabis clubs are all the rage. IOANNINA is an ancient city located in the Epirus region and dates back to antiquity with the city flourishing in the late Byzantine period roughly from the 13th to 15th centuries. Naturally regions of the planet that have had such continuous history have crafted some unique musical sounds over the centuries and in today's world of visionary fusion this city of roughly 112,000 inhabitantats has gestated its very own musical success story.

VIC has been around since 2007 and has crafted a distinct mix of post-rock, stoner rock and neo-psychedelia enshrouded with the folky mystique of traditional Greek instrumentation through the heavy use of the clarinet (called the clarino in Greece), kaval (another reed instrument) and the bagpipe. This unique combo effect has proven quite successful as the past meets the present and allowed VIC to become one of Greece's most famous exports of recent years after the release of the band's debut album RIZA (root in English) in 2014.

This quintet that consists of Alex Karametis (guitar, vocals), Akis Zois (bass guitar), Aris Giannopoulos (drums), Konstantis Pistiolis (clarinet, caval, backing vocals) and Achilleas Radis(keyboards) took the inspirational space rock influences of various classic artists ranging from Pink Floyd and Kyuss to Monster Magnet as the canvas to paint upon and then used broad strokes to enhance the rhythmic grooves with heavy clarinet use which provides the improvisational soloing augmented by the kaval and bagpipe. The result is a creative and addictive mix of cross-cultural pollination unlike any other.

Alex Karmetis alternates between his native Greek language and English and heavily mined the local Epirus based traditional songs for inspiration which provides the melodies derived from the swinging musical scales associated with the Balkan region. The specific style of Greek traditional folk used is called dimotika which simply means "people's songs" and has been a traditional sound used in traditional dance music as well as special events such as weddings and other celebratory festivities. The 12 tracks that stretch out to over 73 minutes of playing time are indeed the perfect marriage of California styled stoner rock in perfect unison with the Balkan harmonies and intricately designed time signatures of the Eprius region.

Having created some utterly infectious hybrids that immediately prove to be infectious to the soul, VIC has been a huge live act and has been playing in the biggest rock festivals and quite popular in its native Greece. The band has played many European tours and continues to entice the psychedelic and stoner rock to add a little spicy Greek traditional flavors to the party. While this sounds like an idea doomed from the very start as the idea of nonchalant stoner rock getting all jiggy with feisty festive Balkan dance music, VIC pull it off with amazing grace as they easily walk the tightrope and maintain a balance that never sounds like an eminent crash is about to occur. If you're looking for some interesting stoner rock with strong ethnic influences then VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY's debut RIZA is highly recommended.