Introducing: Threads

International musical collective Threads sees musicians from Australia, Chile, Greece and New Zealand combine in Berlin. The result is a delicious groove-laden yet melodic post-rock meets metal sound that they describe as “atmospheric, progressive and groovy.”

The band began as the project of guitarist Aggelos Lamtzis, who moved to Berlin to realise his dream. He soon brought in Tim Crawford (guitar and backing vocals) and Felipe Melo Villaroel (drums). But almost immediately, Covid hit and they found themselves in lockdown and unable to jam again until restrictions lifted. However, they wasted no time in finding a home studio in a “crazy historic building in Berlin” and brought in Tallon Smith (vocals) and Vangelis Sazanides (bass) to complete the lineup.

The result of that was Threads’ debut EP Akasha, which was released a few months ago and they’ve finally been able to start playing live.

Our first taste of the Threads sound was their epic eight-minute-long single Tessera. It begins with floaty guitars joined by a cool laid-back riff that continue under light vocals. Heavier guitars kick in alongside a cool meandering lick then more intense vocals “We shook the world out of balance; and I don’t know if it’s coming back” then huge screams of “Oh fuck, the world’s on fire.”

That drops into another laid-back verse that ends on the line “This world is getting tired, Of these sick motherfucking games” that feeds into another engaging, heavy chorus. The chorus ends on a prolonged scream and gives way to heavy guitar chords then a mellow guitar solo, which develops into big screeching high notes. A cool effects-ridden guitar supports repeats of the chorus opening line as the track draws to a melodic conclusion.

On the track, the band told us: “It has been really well received! Tessera is a message from another world and another time; a warning, and a lament. I think people have picked up on the vibe and the message in the song – they’re intrigued. Sonically it moves from a quiet lake to a tidal wave, and back again.”

Tessera is the opening track from Threads’ debut EP Akasha, on which the band said: “Akasha’s sound varies track to track. Each has its own flavour and we are super happy with how the record turned out, both in terms of the songcraft and the tones and soundscapes we were able to create. We really enjoyed the recording process and to have the finished product out there now is a great feeling. Shout-out to Frankie at Kaos Studios, we loved working with that dude.”

Akasha is packed with post-rock goodness, including the excellent Electric Waves that opens with a cool stabbing riff under engaging vocals. Intense instrumentals drop into spoken vocals then light guitars and delicious high-pitched vocals build the intensity up with stabbing guitars. A cool riff takes over alongside big screamed vocals. And the song comes to a huge conclusion as a cry of “So come on and tell me, Are you really gonna live like this?” ushers in big stabbing guitars.

There’s a more stoner rock feeling to third track Libraries of Time, which also comes to a heavy conclusion of a fun driving riff and powerful vocals. And the EP concludes with Colorless, which starts with light guitars and vocals, which give way to a cool laid-back guitar solo. The laid-back vocals return then intensify with support from an effects-ridden guitar and driving guitar chords to bring the EP to a delicious conclusion. You can check out the EP in full on Threads’ YouTube channel here:

The Threads sound has been influenced by a wide range of progressive rock and metal bands from Porcupine Tree, The Ocean and Thrice to Deftones, Tool, Alcest, Cult of Luna, Gojira and Opeth.

And on what inspires them to write music, they tell us: “There is a lot to write about at the moment… We are at a very strange point in our history. It feels a bit like the fabric of reality is tearing open and its guts are spilling out. We believe there’s a lot to say, and a lot of people who need to hear it. Heavy music is our platform to communicate that in a meaningful way. So we have songs dealing with some environmental, geopolitical, psycho-social and existential issues from various perspectives.”

We also got the band’s very new insight on the German music scene, as they told us: “From our limited experience, we would say that Berlin doesn’t seem like such a rock/metal kinda town; techno is definitely king here, and punk has more of a following. With that said, I think there are still a lot of people who like heavy music here, so there is an opportunity to carve ourselves a niche. It kinda depends on the available venues and it’s not really clear yet how they will recover from the pandemic. We’ve also heard word that there’s a lot of government support available to artists in Germany, if you know where to look and meet the right criteria.”

There’s much more to come from the band, including a new album for which they already have plenty of new material already in demo form and lots more ideas “in various states of existence.” They’re also looking to create more video content and more gigging opportunities.

As the band says: “We’re just at the start of our musical journey but we’re really excited about where it’s gonna take us. Watch this space!”

You can follow Threads on Facebook and Instagram, and check out their music on Spotify, Bandcamp and YouTube.