Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jun 15
Greek Labels Press 32-Minute 'Paradise Metal' LP After 150 Cassettes Sell Out
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jun 15

Greek Labels Press 32-Minute 'Paradise Metal' LP After 150 Cassettes Sell Out

1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jun 15

Summary

  • Elhellhel and Heat Crimes plan a later-summer LP rerelease of Father Dionysios Tabakis’s debut “Paradise Metal” after demand outstripped its initial run.
  • The album first appeared this spring as just 150 cassettes, then spread quickly through music blogs and social media, helped by a glowing Pitchfork review.
  • Tabakis, a 53-year-old Orthodox priest who has served the same Nafplio congregation for nearly 30 years, has become an unlikely figure in the experimental music scene.
  • His 32-minute record blends Byzantine chant, electric guitar, electronic beats and folk instruments, landing between liturgical music, drone doom and ambient.

Insights

How does a Greek priest reconcile his faith with a genre rooted in anti-Christian history?
Is this priest's viral album proof that music can be a powerful therapy for alienation and depression?