Orpheus Spiliotopoulos
Encyclopedia
Orpheus Spiliotopoulos (b. July 27, 1980, Greek island of Rhodes
), son of Greek singer Iris Mavraki, is an independent band manager, a music journalist, a radio show host, a club DJ and a lyricist
. He is also the former TV host / VJ
of MTV Greece
's "Headbangers Ball
" and a former promoter for major record labels. Orpheus currently resides in Athens
, Greece
.
in 2006, which he got signed to the German record label AFM Records
and therefore helped release its debut album, "Reversing Time
" in February 2008. In the meantime, in November 2007, Spiliotopoulos signed his second metal act, SIC (band)
from the Faroe Islands
. Whilst in late 2008 he parted ways with Dreamtone & Iris Mavraki's Neverland, he ventured off in February 2009, on his first major European Tour together with SIC. In August and September of the same year two more bands were added to his management's roster. Greek atmospheric metal act Scar Of The Sun and Greek melodic death metal
band Kinetic (band)
. In 2010 Spiliotopoulos parted ways with the latter and signed Greek rockers Maplerun, progsters Persona Non Grata and heavy/prog metal act Disharmony. In early 2011 Spiliotopoulos got Scar of The Sun signed to Italian record label
Scarlet Records through which the band released its debut album, "A Series of Unfortunate Concurrencies", worldwide in late May 2011. SIC also released its sophomore studio album, "Fighters They Bleed" a month earlier through the Danish
label Mighty Music. Spiliotopoulos currently still manages Scar of The Sun, Disharmony and SIC up to this day.
department but also did promotion on behalf of Nuclear Blast Records and Roadrunner Records
, both companies distributed in Greece by Warner Music. In December 2008 and because Spiliotopoulos was moving to the Faroe Islands in order to work closely with his band, SIC, he subsequently left Warner Music. Nowadays he does not work for any record labels.
, Megadeth
, Annihilator (band)
, Rammstein
, Helloween
and Rotting Christ
, among others.
In early 2006, Spiliotopoulos started writing for the Greek edition of Rock Hard (magazine)
and subsequently, due to too many obligations at the time, left Metal Temple. As a writer for the magazine he has kept on interviewing major recording artists to this day with one of the highlights being his interview with Ronnie James Dio
(Dio
, Black Sabbath
, Heaven & Hell) in June 2007, during Greece's Rockwave Festival
.
As a club DJ, Spiliotopoulos has played at some of Athens' most known night clubs (as far as metal music goes) like the Texas Club where he was a resident DJ during 2006. In the summer of 2007 he had the opportunity to keep 30,000 people entertained at Rockwave Festival, on July 3, 2007, during intermissions between bands and with Metallica
headlining the day.
's debut album, "Reversing Time
" (2008). These songs are "Shooting Star", "Everlasting Tranquillity" and "Mountain of Judgement". Two of these songs (second and third) were sung by his mother and female singer of the band, Iris Mavraki.
Rhodes
Rhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within...
), son of Greek singer Iris Mavraki, is an independent band manager, a music journalist, a radio show host, a club DJ and a lyricist
Lyricist
A lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:...
. He is also the former TV host / VJ
VJ
A video jockey is an announcer who introduces and plays videos on commercial music television such as the United States' MTV, VH1, Fuse TV, non-commercial TVU, Canada's MuchMusic, and Asia's Channel V...
of MTV Greece
MTV Greece
MTV Greece is the Greek version of MTV, launched on September 1, 2008.MTV Greece broadcasts mainly English, American and Greek music, MTV's shows like Date My Mom, Made, Nitro Circus, RoomRaiders, America's Most Smartest Model, etc. subtitled in Greek, as well as three Greek shows...
's "Headbangers Ball
Headbangers Ball
Headbangers Ball is a music television program consisting of heavy metal music videos airing on MTV2, MTV Australia, MTV Two , MTV Adria , MTV Brand New, MTV Portugal, MTV Finland, MTV Arabia, MTV Norway, MTV Sweden, MTV Denmark, MTV Greece, MTV Türkiye, MTV...
" and a former promoter for major record labels. Orpheus currently resides in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
.
As An MTV VJ
On February 4, 2010, MTV Greece announced that Spiliotopoulos would be co-hosting the Greek version of the legendary MTV show, "Headbangers Ball" along with Vanessa Christodoulou. The TV network's collaboration with both hosts officially ended in September 2011 after a successful run of two seasons on Greek TV.As A Band Manager
Orpheus Spiliotopoulos' first official signing was Turkish/Greek progressive/power metal band Dreamtone & Iris Mavraki's NeverlandDreamtone & Iris Mavraki's Neverland
Dreamtone & Iris Mavraki's Neverland is a music group, a collaboration between Turkish progressive metal band Dreamtone and Greek singer Iris Mavraki...
in 2006, which he got signed to the German record label AFM Records
AFM Records
AFM-Records GmbH is a music label based in Schwalmstadt, Germany. They focus on the heavy metal musical genre, signing bands such as U.D.O., Doro, Kotipelto, Masterplan, Nostradameus, and Annihilator....
and therefore helped release its debut album, "Reversing Time
Reversing Time
Reversing Time is the first studio album of the Greek - Turkish band Dreamtone & Iris Mavraki's Neverland, released in February 2008. Many famous musicians from all over the world, such as Hansi Kürsch and Tom S...
" in February 2008. In the meantime, in November 2007, Spiliotopoulos signed his second metal act, SIC (band)
SIC (band)
SIC is a modern hardcore/thrash metal band from Torshavn, the capital of the Faroe Islands.- 2002 - 2006: The First Steps :The band was formed in 2002 by guitarist Eddie Jacobsen. In 2003 singer Mikkjal G. Hansen joined the band and in February 2005 the fold was joined by drummer Magnus Hansen,...
from the Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
. Whilst in late 2008 he parted ways with Dreamtone & Iris Mavraki's Neverland, he ventured off in February 2009, on his first major European Tour together with SIC. In August and September of the same year two more bands were added to his management's roster. Greek atmospheric metal act Scar Of The Sun and Greek melodic death metal
Melodic death metal
Melodic death metal is a heavy metal music style that combines elements from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal with elements of death metal. The style was developed during the early and mid-1990s, primarily in England and Scandinavia...
band Kinetic (band)
Kinetic (band)
Kinetic is a death/thrash metal band that started in 2002 in Greece. Its members have participated in other bands from the Greek underground scene such as Acid Death, Wisdom, and Brain Fade...
. In 2010 Spiliotopoulos parted ways with the latter and signed Greek rockers Maplerun, progsters Persona Non Grata and heavy/prog metal act Disharmony. In early 2011 Spiliotopoulos got Scar of The Sun signed to Italian record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
Scarlet Records through which the band released its debut album, "A Series of Unfortunate Concurrencies", worldwide in late May 2011. SIC also released its sophomore studio album, "Fighters They Bleed" a month earlier through the Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
label Mighty Music. Spiliotopoulos currently still manages Scar of The Sun, Disharmony and SIC up to this day.
As A Record Label Promoter
In 2005, Nuclear Blast Records hired Spiliotopoulos as the company's promoter in Greece. In the summer of 2007 he split ways with the company and for a short while that year he joined the ranks of AFM Records, again in order to assist the company in Greece. In December 2007, Spiliotopoulos dropped the German label in favor of Warner Music Greece S.A. where he worked for a year in the New MediaNew media
New media is a broad term in media studies that emerged in the latter part of the 20th century. For example, new media holds out a possibility of on-demand access to content any time, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, creative participation and community...
department but also did promotion on behalf of Nuclear Blast Records and Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records is an American record label that concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands. It is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.-History:...
, both companies distributed in Greece by Warner Music. In December 2008 and because Spiliotopoulos was moving to the Faroe Islands in order to work closely with his band, SIC, he subsequently left Warner Music. Nowadays he does not work for any record labels.
As A Journalist
Spiliotopoulos' journalistic career started in late 2000 when he was asked to write for the Greek based music webzine Metal Temple. In early 2001 he was promoted to editor of the webzine and during his seven years at the helm, he got to interview numerous famous rock/metal artists, such as Judas PriestJudas Priest
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1969. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band has gone through several drummers over the years,...
, Megadeth
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...
, Annihilator (band)
Annihilator (band)
Annihilator is a Canadian heavy metal band hailing from Ottawa, Ontario, also from Vancouver, British Columbia between 1987-2002 by founding member, vocalist, guitarist and bassist Jeff Waters. The band has been around since 1984 and is the biggest selling heavy metal artist from Canada in history,...
, Rammstein
Rammstein
Rammstein is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band from Berlin, formed in 1994. The band consists of members Till Lindemann , Richard Z. Kruspe , Paul H. Landers , Oliver "Ollie" Riedel , Christoph "Doom" Schneider and Christian "Flake" Lorenz...
, Helloween
Helloween
Helloween is a German power metal band founded in the mid 1980s by members of Iron Fist and Powerfool. The band was a pioneering force in the European Power Metal movement and their second and third studio albums, Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt...
and Rotting Christ
Rotting Christ
Rotting Christ is a Greek black metal band formed in 1987. They are noted for being one of the first black metal bands within this region, as well as a premier act within the European underground metal scene.- Line-up :...
, among others.
In early 2006, Spiliotopoulos started writing for the Greek edition of Rock Hard (magazine)
Rock Hard (magazine)
Rock Hard is a heavy metal magazine originally released in Germany. It was founded in 1983 by Holger Stratmann and is dedicated to all styles of rock and heavy metal. The magazine has independent offspring with the same name in France, Greece, Italy and Spain....
and subsequently, due to too many obligations at the time, left Metal Temple. As a writer for the magazine he has kept on interviewing major recording artists to this day with one of the highlights being his interview with Ronnie James Dio
Ronnie James Dio
Ronald James Padavona , better known as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal vocalist and songwriter. He performed with, amongst others, Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell, and his own band Dio, which means God in Italian. Other musical projects include the collective fundraiser...
(Dio
Diö
Diö is a locality situated in Älmhult Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden with 891 inhabitants in 2005.Diö is situated 10 km north of the town Älmhult.Diö's largest employer is the wheelchair manufacturer Rea Stolen Invacare...
, Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
, Heaven & Hell) in June 2007, during Greece's Rockwave Festival
Rockwave Festival
Rockwave Festival is a rock festival held in Malakassa, Greece, a few miles outside of Athens, Greece. It is one of the most famous music festivals in Greece. The festival's history begins back in 1995, but it had its popularity spread since 2004...
.
As A DJ/Radio Show Host
Orpheus Spiliotopoulos has been a radio show host on the Greek radio station Atlantis 105.2 FM since 2006. Together we his colleague from Rock Hard magazine, Frank Samoilis, he's hosted the magazine's two hour radio show every Friday evening at 10 pm (local time). Recently and after 3,5 years of not willing to do so, Spiliotopoulos & Samoilis decided to start bringing special guests on their show. In the past, Spiliotopoulos has also had his own show on the online radio station Hard Rock Radio Live, under the nickname DJ Painkiller, where he'd every so often air interviews of his with major artists from his career as a journalist and has also featured guest musicians, live, on the show.As a club DJ, Spiliotopoulos has played at some of Athens' most known night clubs (as far as metal music goes) like the Texas Club where he was a resident DJ during 2006. In the summer of 2007 he had the opportunity to keep 30,000 people entertained at Rockwave Festival, on July 3, 2007, during intermissions between bands and with Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
headlining the day.
As A Lyricist
Spiliotopoulos has composed the lyrics for three songs on Dreamtone & Iris Mavraki's NeverlandDreamtone & Iris Mavraki's Neverland
Dreamtone & Iris Mavraki's Neverland is a music group, a collaboration between Turkish progressive metal band Dreamtone and Greek singer Iris Mavraki...
's debut album, "Reversing Time
Reversing Time
Reversing Time is the first studio album of the Greek - Turkish band Dreamtone & Iris Mavraki's Neverland, released in February 2008. Many famous musicians from all over the world, such as Hansi Kürsch and Tom S...
" (2008). These songs are "Shooting Star", "Everlasting Tranquillity" and "Mountain of Judgement". Two of these songs (second and third) were sung by his mother and female singer of the band, Iris Mavraki.