Planet of Zeus

Planet of Zeus
Planet of Zeus
	;
Background information
Origin	Athens, Greece
Genres	Heavy Rock, Stoner Rock
Years active	2000 - Present
Labels	Heavy Psych Sounds, Ihaveadrum, B-Otherside, Casket Music
Website	Planet of Zeus Official

Planet Of Zeus are a rock band from Athens, Greece. Founded in 2000, their music is a mixture of stoner rock and heavy metal with southern elements drawing inspiration from the likes of Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers, Mastodon, AC/DC, Queens of the Stone Age and Clutch. Their are known for their full of energy live performances, securing a loyal and hardcore underground following. To date the band have released five studio albums and have been a significant touring act in the European stoner rock scene.

History[]

Planet of Zeus would be founded in 2000, when founding members Babis and Yog decided that they could not express themselves within the bands they had played til then. Two years later the band was eventually established as a trio with J.V. on the bass. The band started giving high-energy live performances, playing with several greek bands in Athens and eventually all over Greece. In the summer of 2004 they decided that the time had come to stop fooling around and record their first demo CD called Loop 430. The second recording of the band took place almost one year after "Loop 430". Two of the band's songs were included in the first two Spinalonga Records compilations: In the Junkyard vol.1 and 2.

On July of 2006 Planet of Zeus finally started the recordings of their debut album which came to be Eleven the Hard Way. At the beginning of year 2007 a new member came on board. Yog grabbed the guitar and Serapheim G. took Yog's place behind the drums. Eleven The Hard Way would be released on 29 April 2008 via Casket Music.^[1] By the time of the album's release the band would establish themselves as a quartet.

Following numerous marquee shows in Greece (Including two gigs in 2010 as direct support for Brant Bjork)^[2], work would begin on a second studio album, recording at SCA Studio. Signing to B-Otherside, Macho Libre would see release on 6 May 2011 with a release party on 15 April,^[3] followed by the band's first tour.^[4] Backed by the single "Leftovers",^[5] Macho Libre would attain positive reception and gain buzz in the stoner scene.^[6]^[7]^[8]

In the Spring of 2012 Planet of Zeus would embark on their first tour of Europe to further support Macho Libre^[9] and then again the next year surrounding appearances at Desertfest London and Stoned Gathering. The band would also notably perform two shows supporting Clutch.^[10] By the end of 2013 work would begin on a third record, along with signing with Ihaveadrum Records.

Vigilante would see release on 22 April 2014 to critical acclaim from several publications.^[11]^[12]^[13]^[14] Following a string of shows in their native Greece, Planet of Zeus would embark on a two month tour of Europe to support Vigilante.^[15] The next year would see the band at several festivals such as Keep it Low and Desertfest Belgium along with a string of dates supporting Clutch on their Psychic Warfare World Tour.^[16]

Recording at Unreal Studio, Loyal To The Pack would see release on 13 May 2016^[17] to mostly positive reviews.^[18]^[19]^[20]^[21] Planet of Zeus would perform a string of short tours in 2016^[22] followed by a string of dates with Grand Magus and a marquee appearance at Desertfest Athens in 2017.^[23]

Following a co-headlining tour with Lionize in 2018 work would begin on a fifth studio album. Signing with Italian label Heavy Psych Sounds, Faith n Physics would see release on 27 September 2019 to positive reviews. The band would make appearances at Heavy Psych Sounds Fest and would intend to tour North America for the first time in 2020 with Fatso Jetson, but would be forced to cancel the tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Planet of Zeus would announce a vinyl re-issue of Macho Libre for it's tenth anniversary^[24] and a tour of Europe with Kvelertak, rescheduling several dates that had been canceled along with adding more dates.^[25]

Discography[]

Studio Albums[]

Eleven The Hard Way (2008, Casket Music)
Macho Libre (2011, B-Otherside)
Vigilante (2014, Ihaveadrum)
Loyal To The Pack (2016, Ihaveadrum)
Faith in Physics (2019, Heavy Psych Sounds)

Other Releases[]

Demo 2005 (Demo) (2005, Self-Released)
Live in Athens (Live Album) (2018, Ihaveadrum)

Members[]

Babis Papanikolaou - Guitar, Vocals
Stelios Provis - Guitar
Giannis Vrazos - Bass
Serapheim Giannakopoulos - Guitar, Drums

List of Known Tours[]

Macho Libre Tour (2011)^[26]
Dawn of The Dead Tour (2012)^[27]
Fall 2012 European Tour (2012)^[28]
Tonight We Hit The Road... (2013)^[29]
Spring 2014 Greece Tour (2014)^[30]
Fall 2014 European Tour (2014)^[31]
Psychic Warfare Fall European Tour (Select dates with Clutch) (2015)^[32]
Frost and Fire Tour (With Grand Magus) (2017)^[33]
Planet of Zeus + Lionize Tour (2018)^[34]
Splid Tour Europe (With Kvelertak; Partially Canceled) (2020)^[35]
2020 North American Tour (With Fatso Jetson, Druids; Canceled) (2020)^[36]
Splid Tour Europe (With Kvelertak) (2022)^[37]
2022 North American Tour (With Freedom Hawk, Druids, Void Vator; Canceled) (2022)^[38]^[39]

External Links[]

References[]

[1] Planet of Zeud Official via Wayback Machine

[2] Last.fm

[3] Last.fm

[4] Last.fm

[5] Planet of Zeus YouTube

[6] Downtuned Magazine

[7] Heavy Planet

[8] The Soda Shop

[9] Last.fm

[10] Last.fm

[11] Metal Kaoz

[12] Planet Mosh

[13] Metal Shock Finland

[14] Your Last Rites

[15] Last.fm

[16] Last.fm

[17] Metal Insider

[18] Louder Sound

[19] The Midlands Rocks

[20] Ave Noctum

[21] Maximum Volume Music

[22] Last.fm

[23] Last.fm

[24] Planet of Zeus Facebook

[25] Planet of Zeus Facebook

[26] Planet of Zeus Facebook

[27] Planet of Zeus Facebook

[28] Planet of Zeus Facebook

[29] Planet of Zeus Facebook

[30] Last.fm

[31] Last.fm

[32] Last.fm

[33] Last.fm

[34] Last.fm

[35] Planet of Zeus Facebook

[36] Planet of Zeus Facebook

[37] Planet of Zeus Facebook

[38] The Obelisk

[39] The Obelisk

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