I’ve decided to in the next couple weeks make it a point to revisit some of 2020’s many releases that, due largely to the chaos surrounding general existence at the time, I didn’t get to cover as much as I wanted. File Villagers of Ioannina City‘s Age of Aquarius in that category. Released first by the band in 2019 and then by Napalm Records in 2020, I’ve never really had that nagging feeling in my head stop about the need to give it a proper review, so now — or at least some time in the next couple weeks — seems to be as good a time as any for that and assorted others in that particular reach of my skull.

As regards Villagers of Ioannina City‘s upcoming tour, you’ll no doubt note both the quantity and the quality of the dates. A slew of festivals including Desertfest Berlin and a return to Freak Valley, Hellfest and a stretch alongside DVNE, when any single one of them would be enough to base a stint of gigs around. For a band who’ve been twiddling their collective thumbs not getting to support the best album of their career as they should, I’d be willing to speculate they’re relieved to finally announce these shows.

Sound of Liberation posted the following:

VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY – TOUR ANNOUNCEMENT

Friends, we’re extremely happy to share that Greek psychedelic-folk-rockers Villagers of Ioannina City will hit the road in less than a month.

And pay close attention, in some cities no other than Edinburgh’s hottest progressive rock/metal act DVNE will open the night for you.

Sound of Liberation proudly presents:

Villagers Of Ioannina City + special guests DVNE
European Tour 2022

14.05.22 (GR) Thessaloniki, Principal Club Theater
20.05.22 (BG) Sofia, “Mixtape 5”
21.05.22 (HR) Zagreb, Vintage Industrial Bar
22.05.22 (AT) Salzburg, Rockhouse Salzburg
25.05.22 (DE) Wiesbaden, Schlachthof Wiesbaden
27.05.22 (DE) Berlin, Desertfest Berlin
28.05.22 (DE) Jena, KuBa Open Air*
29.05.22 (PL) Krakow, Klub Zaścianek*
30.05.22 (AT) Vienna, ARENA WIEN *
02.06.22 (DE) Bielefeld, Forum Bielefeld*
03.06.22 (DE) Rotterdam, Podium Grounds*
04.06.22 (DE) Gelsenkirchen, Rock Hard Festival
06.06.22 (NL) Amsterdam, Melkweg Amsterdam*
08.06.22 (DE) Hamburg, Knust Hamburg*
09.06.22 (DE) Dresden, Beatpol*
10.06.22 (DE) Munich, 17 years Sound of Liberation • Backstage Munich*
11.06.22 (DE) Kassel, Goldgrube Kassel*
13.06.22 (GR) Athens, AthensRocks
15.06.22 (DE) Nephten, FREAK VALLEY FESTIVAL
16.06.22 (DE) Zurich, Rote Fabrik
21.06.22 (FR) Paris, GLAZART
23.06.22 (UK) London, 229
25.06.22 (FR) Clisson, Hellfest Open Air Festival
+ more to be announced

*with DVNE

Better grab your tickets fast!

VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY are:
Alex (guitar/vox)
Akis (bass)
Aris (drums)
Kostantis (clarinet, winds)
Kostas (bagpipe)

https://www.facebook.com/villagersofioanninacity/
https://www.instagram.com/villagersofioanninacity
https://vicband.bandcamp.com/

www.napalmrecords.com
www.facebook.com/napalmrecords

Villagers of Ioannina City, Age of Aquarius (2019)

Greek heavy psych rockers Villagers of Ioannina City had a pretty busy 2019 and it’s looking like they’re going to have a busy 2020 as well. Having put out their latest album, Age of Aquarius, on their own last Fall, the band subsequently inked deals with Sound of Liberation for booking and Napalm Records for label-ing (?) and has already begun showing signs of next-levelry to match the progressive intentions of the record itself. As the Greek scene gains long-since-deserved broader recognition across Europe’s underground, the folk-laden style of Villagers of Ioannina City seems to put a positive face on what’s happening in a sonically diverse and still-booming sphere.

And as the faces of the “innocents” featured in the band’s new video for “For the Innocent” from Age of Aquarius begin to flash and meld and come together and all the eyes seem to become one, the message is not lost, even as the camera speeds through a tunnel amid silhouettes of the group themselves, didgeridoo and all. The song itself gives some indication of the scope of the record as a whole, without necessarily spoiling the linear entirety for anyone who has yet to take it on — and if not, go right ahead, it’s streaming in full and has been for months now — but as they get introduced to new audiences via Napalm‘s broader distribution and promotional reach, “For the Innocent” certainly offers a welcome sampling of what Age of Aquarius is all about.

They’ve already announced a Spring tour to coincide with the April 3 arrival of the physical pressing, and they’ll make a stop at the pre-show for Desertfest Berlin as a part of that. I would only expect more to come as we move through the Summer and Fall. Villagers of Ioannina City are stepping up in a big way, and accordingly, it’s going to be a busy year.

Enjoy the video. Credits and tour dates follow:

Villagers of Ioannina City, “For the Innocent” official video

Pre-order “Age of Aquarius” here: https://smarturl.it/AgeOfAquarius-NPR

VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY on “For the Innocent”:
“We are really really happy to present to you our new video clip! Dedicated to all the dreamers, the deviants, the immigrants of life and the wanderers of mind! To all the innocent ones!”

Concept:
Villagers of Ioannina City, Stathis Mitsios

Director, Editor:
Stathis Mitsios

Video Shootings:
Stathis Mitsios, Zissis Tsoumpos, Eleftheria Kalpenidou, Yorgos Dellis, Spiros Andromaneskos , Dimitris Zarkadas

Photo Shooting:
Eleftheria Kalpenidou

Assistants:
Georgia Nikoletou, George Asteris, Mitsaki Racoon, Thomas Papathomas, Rosemary Kourouni, Despoina Gazi, Lefteris Mitsios, Magda Togkouri

Starring:
All the innocents

Recorded by Asteris Partalios at Magnanimous Studio, Thessaloniki, GR
Mixed by Keith Armstrong at Pietown Sound, Los Angeles, CA
Mastered by Justin Shturtz at Sterling Sound, Nashville TN

Listen on Spotify and all digital platforms here: https://orcd.co/vic_ageofaquarius

AGE OF AQUARIUS | SPRING TOUR 2020
02/4 – Bucharest (RO) – Quantic
03/4 – Cluj Napoca (RO) – FORM Space
05/4 – Krakow (PL) – Klub Za?cianek
07/4 – Warsaw (PL) – Klub Hydrozagadka
08/4 – Poznan (PL) – Klub u Bazyla
09/4 – Dresden (DE) – Beatpol
11/4 – Jena (DE) – Kulturbahnhof Jena
15/4 – Paris (FR) – GLAZART
16/4 – Aachen (DE) – Musikbunker Aachen
18/4 – Rotterdam (NL) – Podium Grounds
22/4 – London (UK) – The Dome, Tufnell Park
23/4 – Manchester (UK) – Night People & The Twisted Wheel Club
25/4 – Nantes (FR) – La Scène Michelet
29/4 – Hamburg (DE) – Knust Hamburg
30/4 – Berlin (DE) – Lido Berlin
01/5 – Wiesbaden (DE) – Schlachthof Wiesbaden
02/5 – Munich (DE) – Feierwerk
03/5 – Zurich (CH) – Rote Fabrik
05/5 – Zagreb (HR) – Klub Mo?vara
07/5 – Vienna (AT) – ARENA WIEN
09/5 – Novi Sad (RS) – Ritam Evrope
10/5 – SOFIA (BG) – “Mixtape 5”

VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY are:
Alex (guitar/vox)
Akis (bass)
Aris (drums)
Kostantis (clarinet, winds)
Kostas (bagpipe)

Villagers of Ionnina City, Age of Aquarius (2019)

Villagers of Ioannina City on Thee Facebooks

Villagers of Ioannina City on Instagram

Villagers of Ioannina City on Bandcamp

Napalm Records website

If you needed further evidence of the legitimacy the Greek heavy underground has long since deserved but finally actually begun to receive from the wider European sphere — and I’m not sure you were standing around waiting for said evidence, and really, what is truth anyway but a series of convenient constructed narratives intended to serve a momentary purpose? — I humbly submit Villagers of Ionnina City, who’ve inked a deal with Napalm Records after releasing their lush and conceptual masterwork Age of Aquarius, on Mantra Records this past Fall. Napalm will issue the album on vinyl April 3 — preorders are up, because why the hell not — and I suspect that for those who’ve already heard it, it’s a pretty easy sell.

I was already looking for Villagers of Ionnina City to make something of a splash in 2020 after they recently signed with Sound of Liberation for European booking, and the fact that they’ve now joined the ranks of Stoned Jesus, Greenleaf, Monkey3 and recent Grammy nominees Candlemass certainly isn’t going to hurt their cred as they venture forth into the New Year. Best of luck to them, and congrats all around.

More to come, I’m sure. The PR wire has the official word:

VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY Signs Worldwide Contract With Napalm Records

Physical Re-Release Of Latest Album, Age Of Aquarius, Out April 3, 2020

A psychedelic mantra for the new age!

Experimental psychedelic rock standouts VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY have officially signed a worldwide contract with Napalm Records.

Since their formation in 2007, VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY have drawn listeners into the heat – their sound slowly flowing melancholically yet booming with irrepressible energy and wildness. With a sonic synthesis of post and stoner rock influences and waving yet vibrant soundscapes topped by a large dose of Greek-folk elements, the quintet precisely hits the mark.

VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY released their atmospheric debut, Riza, in 2014 followed by the sophomore digital album, Age of Aquarius (2019), which was enthusiastically received by critics and audiences.

Napalm Records is thrilled to announce the physical re-release of Age of Aquarius on April 3, 2020.

VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY on the signing:

“We are very happy and thrilled to announce the beginning of our collaboration with Napalm Records! One of the leading rock/metal labels in the world. You can only be honored to be a part of such a great roster of artists and we are looking forward to our collaboration, which came at the right place and the right time to spread the message and the music of our new album “Age of Aquarius” all around the world.”
Age of Aquarius available on CD and Vinyl soon!

About Age of Aquarius:

The region of Epirus is famous for its landscape of mammoth mountains and holy rivers – and now experimental heavy rock. VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY are deeply influenced by Greek nature and cosmic phenomena and infuse their unique brand of heavy psychedelic rock with folk instruments such as bagpipes, flutes and didgeridoos. Their second album, Age of Aquarius – originally released in September 2019 – will now be reissued by Napalm Records. Epirus may become the unlikely epicenter of the heavy rock universe: A mantra for the new age!

The first physical edition of Age of Aquarius will be exclusively available on the band’s upcoming tour!

Providing more proof of the budding Greek rock scene is this year’s music documentary, “Greek Rock Revolution”. VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY and six other bands discuss their music and the eternal inspiration for the Greek musical movement – an unstable social situation boosting artistic expression.

More to be announced …

VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY are:
Alex (guitar/vox)
Akis (bass)
Aris (drums)
Kostantis (clarinet, winds)
Kostas (bagpipe)

https://www.facebook.com/villagersofioanninacity/
https://www.instagram.com/villagersofioanninacity
https://vicband.bandcamp.com/
www.napalmrecords.com

Villagers of Ionnina City, Age of Aquarius (2019)

Progressive, heavy and psychedelic in a fluid balance that also incorporates elements out of Greek folk, the new album from four-piece Villagers of Ionnina City, dubbed and themed around a mythical Age of Aquarius, is really good. Like, really, really good. Greek bands have been killing it in general the last few years — 1000mods of course, but also acts like Planet of Zeus, Naxatras certainly, Puta Volcano, Bus, Sadhus and many others others are stepping from behind the veil of their influences to make statements of their own, and that’s exactly what Villagers of Ionnina City seem to be doing on their second long-player. The album came out in a rush in late September, but I admit I’m still getting to know it as I’ve only had it for a couple days, but it’s got an apparent depth of approach and a conceptual and linear form of songwriting that’s engrossing in a way that bodes well for how it will unfold over longer-term listening.

I’ll be digging in, I guess is what I’m saying.

They’ve just hooked up with Sound of Liberation — one might recall they played Up in Smoke in 2018, which is an affiliated fest — so expect copious European tour dates to come soon. They would seem to be one of many bands from their home country ready to break out. I say go. Go go go. The more the merrier. Greece has a scene at this point that stands up to Germany, Sweden, or even the UK, and it’s as diverse as it is populated. The more people who find out about it the better.

From Sound of Liberation on thee social medias:

VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY JOIN THE SOUND OF LIBERATION FAMILY

Meet Villagers of Ioannina City ! One of the leading Greek heavy rock bands, with a strong footing in the wealthy folk musical tradition of Epirus, furnished with consistent alt-metal and post rock sonic landscapes.

The inspired mixture of classic rock grooves dwelling between Black Sabbath, Tool and Pearl Jam with the traditional instruments and scales from the Greek rich musical past, created a blend meant to strike an impression both locally and internationally.

Their new album, “Age Of Aquarius”, is exactly what the title implies. A whole new era of creation and experimentation, keeping on board the traditional scent that lies in their roots and at the same time, a modern soundwave of heaviness and atmosphere.

In the meantime feel free to join them on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/villagersofioanninacity

Listen to “Age of Aquarius” on Spotify and all digital platforms here: https://orcd.co/vic_ageofaquarius

https://www.facebook.com/villagersofioanninacity/
https://www.instagram.com/villagersofioanninacity
https://vicband.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/mantrarec/
https://www.instagram.com/mantrarecords.gr/
https://www.mantrarecords.gr/
https://www.facebook.com/Soundofliberation/
https://www.instagram.com/soundofliberation/
https://www.soundofliberation.com/

Villagers of Ionnina City, Age of Aquarius (2019)