Music Existence Because of Music, We Exist
This year, progressive technical thrash forerunners Aftermath are commemorating the 30th anniversary of their debut album, Eyes of Tomorrow. Frontman Kyriakos “Charlie” Tsiolis, who was born in Levidi, Greece but grew up in Chicago, Illinois, launched the band alongside fellow Steinmetz College Prep schoolmate Steve Sacco in 1985. Just two years after forming, the quartet quickly amassed a local (and even more unexpectedly, international) fanbase through a series of self-released, critically acclaimed demos within the decade. Interestingly, Eyes of Tomorrow was set to come out in 1990 with major distribution, but record label bankruptcy led to the band spending four years coming up with the funds to buy back the master recordings before releasing the album independently. Regardless, Aftermath has since expanded their full-length output into a thematically cohesive trilogy, solidified by 2019’s There Is Something Wrong and their latest, 2023’s No Time to Waste.
Last week, Charlie came onto Music Existence to discuss the significance and behind the scenes happenings around Eyes of Tomorrow, the endurance of Aftermath and dedication of their fanbase through the years, as well as what’s happening currently: a fourth Aftermath album, and a recently released single by Tsiolis’s other band, Stripping The Pistol, called “Black Reflections”.
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