Outloud

Outloud operates as a hard rock ensemble from Greece that has charted and favors an arena-ready approach, with New York-based vocalist Chandler Mogel handling frontman duties. Their sound stays firmly planted in the riff-and-hook guitar rock of the late 1970s and early 1980s, yielding tracks that tend to stick in the mind and echo the period when April Wine, Boston, Whitesnake, Skid Row, and the Scorpions commanded widespread airplay. Although the group formed in 2008, recording sessions have occurred only at intervals, producing a small number of albums highlighted by the widely praised debut We'll Rock You to Hell & Back Again! and the 2014 release Let's Get Serious.

Guitarist Tony Kash began studying with Firewind guitarist Bob Katsionis in 2007. By early 2008 their connection had grown into a songwriting alliance that prompted them to launch a band. Their initial outreach went to New York-based singer-for-hire Chandler Mogel, whom Katsionis had encountered while Firewind toured the United States. The lineup reached completion once Greek bassist Jason Mercury and Firewind drummer Mark Cross, who is British, joined the fold. Katsionis arranged for Mogel to travel to Greece, after which the five musicians started jamming and shaping material in pursuit of a signature style. In September 2008 the band booked time at Basement Studio in Athens to lay down their first album, We'll Rock You to Hell & Back Again!, which Tommy Hansen (Helloween, TNT, Pretty Maids) mixed and mastered. Frontiers Records released it in August 2009, prompting enthusiastic notices from hard rock and metal outlets that singled out its emphasis on melody-driven hooks, clean vocals, and polished production sheen. The record landed on several critics' year-end Top Ten lists. Mercury departed the bass position before the year closed and was succeeded by Sverd T. Soth (Bare Infinity). Katsionis directed the clip for the single "We Run," which placed third in Greek Metal Hammer's 2009 readers' poll for Best Video Clip and received steady MTV Greece airplay. Outloud then headlined a Greek tour and performed on national television. In 2010 the band signed with AOR Heaven, returned to the studio under Katsionis's production and engineering, and again relied on Hansen for mixing and mastering. The meticulous sessions culminated in 2011 with Love Catastrophe, which earned both critical and audience approval. The video single "Waiting for Your Love" entered regular rotation and quickly surpassed one hundred thousand YouTube views. While touring Greece the group supported Twisted Sister; "We Came to Rock" appeared on the July edition of Classic Rock magazine's AOR - Raised on Radio compilation, and the band graced the August cover of Greek Metal Hammer. Outloud finished the year with the internet-only single "The Last Days of December."

Amid extensive touring in 2012 the band released the More Catastrophe EP, which attracted attention throughout Europe. For 2014's Let's Get Serious, Kash exited and metal guitarist Jim Scordilis (credited as Jim Kyritsis) stepped in, while George Kollias joined on drums. Katsionis produced the album once more, with Hansen handling mixing and mastering, and reviews worldwide proved favorable, opening doors for shows beyond Greece. Outloud performed at summer metal festivals and crossed to the United States for additional dates. The tour extended beyond twelve months, after which the members took an extended break. New label Roar! Rock of Angels Records issued the stopgap best-of collection Destination: Overdrive - The Best Of Outloud, which included one previously unreleased track: a lighthearted yet memorable cover of the Pointer Sisters hit "I'm So Excited."

Outloud waited until 2017 to resume studio work. They completed the single "Virtual Heroes" in early 2018 and followed it with "I Am the One." The September album Virtual Hero Society received further positive notices and outsold all prior releases combined, thanks to its plentiful supply of melodic hard rock and AOR laced with Europop elements. The record marked the final appearances of Sverd, replaced on bass by Nick Mavrommatis, and Kollias, replaced by Thanos Pappas. Strong sales in Greece and select European territories led to a United States release in spring 2019.