The Silent Rage
Fiat LVX , Allen’s Hand , Normah
Onoma Tou Rodou, Athens, Greece
19/12/09.
The doors opened 20:30. Thank God we weren’t waiting for long! At 20.45 Normah, an amateur female heavy metal band from Athens jumped on stage! They started their show with the intro of the song “Perished in flames” by The Silent Rage. They played four more covers from big bands quite well I must say. I liked most the “Handfull of Rain” from Savatage , “Stone The Crow” from Down and “Fade to Black” from Metallica. They ended their show with their first song they wrote, called “Normah”. I was impressed with the young drummer Marianiki. She could play her drums and sing and the same time. I believe that’s quite difficult so “Bravo” to the girl from me!
It’s time for the next band of the night to come on stage. Allen’s Hand, a progressive/alternative metal band from Athens. Their influences are from great bands of this kind, like Rush , Pain of Salvation , Tool , Muse etc. Unfortunately , the sound of the club was the worst it could be. Their songs had some special effects (fading in and out etc) but the sound was so bad that we could barely hear the singer’s voice. Stan (the vocalist) made some complains to the sound engineer but nothing was improved. So, through those conditions, I cannot say honestly that I liked them or not. Nevertheless, two of their songs cut my attention: “Death Note” and “Nostalgia”.
It’s almost 22:30 and Fiat LVX , a 6-member progressive rock metal band is onstage! They started with two awesome Dream Theater covers: “Overture 1928” and “Strange Déjà Vu”. They continued with their own songs, which some of them were too long and I think that affected the crowd in a negative way. I liked most their song “Twilight” and their last cover from Symphony X “Sea of Lies” . There were again some sound problems, to the guitars this time. Despite all that, Fiat Lvx’s performance was enjoyable, especially singer’s Anthos and guitarist’s Jason (from Outloud) .
So, here comes the last band for that night. The Silent Rage , a melodic power metal band from Athens. I was happy to see them live one more time! All of their songs have power and great melody. Kostas Tokas’s vocals and Nikos Siglidis’s brutal vocals sound in an incredible way to my ears.
They started their show with their song “Leading the Legion” and continued with the “Perished in flames” . I liked a lot the cover from Savatage “Gutter Ballet”. Honestly, I cannot say which song I liked the most. I loved them all. Some of them are : “Wings of Tragedy” , “The Silent Rage” and “Prince of Steel”. Then, they prepared a surprise song for the fans! They sang the Greek Jingle Bells wearing Santa Claus’s hats! It was hilarious and totally in the holiday mood! The crowd applauded long and loud and that’s how the live show ended.
Unfortunately, the sound problems ruined the performances and the complains of all the bands were numerous. I’m so tired to write that over and over again. The sound in Greek gigs is always bad. There are problems all the time and nothing goes according to plan. I left another live show again with mixed feelings. It was good, but…
Efi Burton.