Doomed Confessionary: Kyriacos Frangoulis (Stonus)

Photos by Andriana Lagoudes

Described by Metal Hammer as “Mediterranean fuzzed-up heavy rock,” Stonus have been active since 2015, steadily building their presence across Europe through a raw, high-energy live show and a strong DIY ethic, establishing themselves as one of the most internationally active rock bands from Cyprus.

Their acclaimed debut album »Aphasia« was released in 2020, earning spots on multiple Album of the Year lists within the heavy and stoner rock scene and surpassing 100,000 streams on Spotify. This was followed by the »Seance« EP in 2021 and the live studio session LP »Live In Zen« in 2024.

Their new album »Space To Dive«, scheduled for release on March 20th, 2026 via Ripple Music, is a transcendent journey into the space within, an esoteric exploration aimed at redefining identity through intuition, sound, and self-discovery. Inspired by the torus field – the visual representation of sound, energy, and atomic vibration – the record explores the continuous flow between the inner self and the universe.

Stonus are Kyriacos Frangoulis (vocals), Nikolas Frangoulis (guitar), Pavlos Demetriou (guitar), Alaa Albaharna (bass, additional vocals) and Kotsios Demetriades (drums).

Can you please say a few words about your band?
Hello there, is a pleasure for us to be doing this interview with Doomed Nation! Stonus is a band created in 2015 from the Mediterranean island of Cyprus! Our sound is a blend of heavy rock, stoner, doom and psychedelic sounds with our latest release »Space To Dive« sharing those elements amongst with some more progressive and grunge touches. We have been much more active the last 5 years touring around Europe and getting the chance to appear in some big Festivals around Europe including SoundArt Festival, Fuzzfestival, Westill, and Riffolution festival amongst others. Our plan is to rock n roll whenever and wherever we can proving that the soul of rock n roll is heavy everywhere including Cyprus!

What was the biggest challenge for the band?
One of our biggest challenges is the fact that we have been spread around Europe for the last 5 years where 2 members are currently inhabiting in the UK, one in Athens and the other two in Cyprus thus making it hard for us to rehearse and jam as much as we would like to. Moreover, the fact that we all have full time jobs in various scientific areas make it even harder for us to invest fully in our band. However, we love what we are doing and for us is a way out from our daily routine and we try our best to someday make sure that this is what we will be doing full time! Lastly, the fact that we are from a small island from the Mediterannean is harder to reach access to Europe Mainland since we have to travel via airplanes to get from one point to another. Having said this such challenges make us even more determined to play rock n roll with our souls and prove that all challenges make us stronger and when you really love something you can make it work no matter what!

What can you be most proud of so far?
We are generally humble and we can’t say that we have reached a point where we are fully satisfied or have fulfilled what we are aiming for. However, we are happy and proud for the fact that we have been able to tour in more than 10 countries within Europe and have participated in major festivals. Moreover, we can’t hide the fact that having collaborated with major composers and mastering engineers such as Howie Weinberg (Nirvana, QOTSA, Metallica, Kyuss, Deftones) is a milestone in our path so far.

What was your biggest regret?
Well our biggest ‘regret’ is that when we were planning to tour for our first album »Aphasia« in 2020 unfortunately Covid-19 happened and all the plans we had including 4 big summer festivals were cancelled and that was a bad moment for us. However, we still believe that good music, correct attitude and creativity will lead us to the path which we desire!

What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
The best concert for me was when we played in London Underworld with the Greek legends Nightstalker! Personally this band is a huge inspiration for me since I was a fun of their music since 14 years old. Moreover, we played in the legendary venue in Camden Town where I was regularly going while living and studying in London for more than 5 years. Therefore, this moment was a moment which I will embrace forever since it was a truly emotional moment in my life! One more moment which I will definately remember was when we played in Manchester (Riffolution Festival) and it was my birthday and everyone in the crowd was singing for me… such an awesome crowd!

What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
The biggest surprise was on our first major EU tour in Germany when we were playing in Dresden and it was an amazing venue packed with people who were truly hungry for rock n roll. On that day the crowd was extremely intimidating – shouting, jumping, head-banging – and the energy flow was truly amazing surprising the whole band and showing that those underground gigs is where the true magic happens!

What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
I currently listen to Chevelle’s new album »Bright As Blasphemy«, Karnivool – »Verses«, All Them Witches, 1000mods – »Youth Of Dissent« and the whole Incubus discography!

What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
Be yourself, do what you love, practice and believe that you’ve got what it takes! Its a long road but you will make your dreams come true as long as you believe in yourself and be authentic.

What are your guilty pleasures?
I love cooking at home is something creative and it tastes good (if not burned haha).

Can you say something more about the current music scene in Cyprus?
In Cyprus the music scene is thriving especially in the metal music, where lot of new bands emerge and show great skills and determination in what they are doing. Since I am trying to attend in as many gigs as possible I make sure to follow the progress of many bands and I am very happy with what I am seeing both form the bands performing and the crowd attending to the gigs which is growing more and more in every gig!

Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
We will be touring in March in Germany for the first part of our tour in Hanau at Kult 61, Karlsruhe at Die Stadtmitte (with Psychlona), Dresden at Chemiefabrik (with Sheev), Hamburg at Gangeviertel (with Sheev), Berlin at Koma F (with Sheev) and Munster at Rare Guitar for an early show. More gigs will be announced soon for our second part of the tour in May. If you are around come to have some beers and party together!

What are your plans for the future as a band?
We will be releasing our sophomore album »Space To Dive«, on 30th of March through Ripple Music – an album which we are really proud! The rest includes touring around Europe playing with awesome bands and keep that rock rolling! In the future we would love to go for a South American Tour and generally get the chance to play wherever we can since we are here to play gigs write music and party!

How can people best support your band?
Well, if anyone is around the cities we are playing it would be awesome to come and watch us live since the experience of our music is captured much better when we are playing live and the energies blend the right way! If not we have a website and a Bandcamp page where all support is welcome! Our merchantise includes various T-shirt designs, vinyls of our records, CDs, hoodies and many more!

Do you have any message for your listeners?
We love you guys we want you to know that music is a bond which is truly sacred and we are happy that you vibe and enjoy our work! Keep on rocking, keep the people you love close and support live music as much as you can! Thank you so much!

Links:
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Bandcamp | Spotify | YouTube

Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well