Metal Madness

By Maria Gregoriou

Nothing says Tuesday like a trip to see a metal band, well, that is when the Tuesday happens to be the last of the year.

The band is Sonik Death Moneky – a Cypriot band formed in 2009 – the place is at Kingston Town in Limassol and the time is 9pm. You might think this is a little early for metal but if you are a true fan any time is time for some good old head-banging.

The members, Constantinos Maxairiotis on vocals, Angelos Sofokleous on the drums, Nikos Phylactou and Alexis Melas on guitars and Roy Grigoriadis on the bass, are very much influenced by the great metal bands of the 90’s.

It didn’t take long for the boys to release their first self-produced three piece promo and receive some very positive reviews from the Greek Metal Hammer magazine and others. This gave them access to a number of stages throughout the island, and the gate-way to bring a new dynamic to the local music scene.

Things got even bigger in 2011 when the band was the supporting act to a number of big names, such as Arch Enemy from Sweden. This was also the year when they performed abroad for the first time.

Sonik Death Monkey then traveled to Denmark to participate in the Aalborg Metal Festival among great names, like Mnemic and Vader.

Success upon success lead to the band’s solid fan base and to them performing in front of more than 2000 people, while opening for Iced Earth from America, during their very first appearance in Cyprus.

Sonik Death Monkey
Live performance by the local metal band . December 29. Kingston Town, 7 Themidos Street, Limassol. 9pm. €6. Tel: 99-484238

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.