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Report: Anneke van Giersbergen, Dreambleed – Athens, Greece

Manos Spanos
Rainy Sunday in Athens…still,December entered with a big smile for those who were blessed to attend Anneke van Giersbergen’s show in Athens. After her two successful appearances in Thessaloniki ( 29/11) and Larisa (30/11) it was the turn of the “beautiful one” Athens to be enthralled by the ethereal voice , the exquisite beauty and the sweet smile of Anneke. Our greek alternative metallers Dreambleed, were delighted to open the show, warming up the crowd. Being a huge fan of Anneke for over 12 years, my heart was beating furiously the whole week,waiting for the big day to come! I arrived at the Kookoo live bar at 20:30 sharp. Lots of people were standing in the line , holding their tickets close with joy, waiting with excitement for the doors to open. The soundcheck was still in process until 9 pm ,but then, approximately 15 minutes later we entered the bar. All the fans were trying to find a good place as near the scene as they could. The show began at 21:40 according to schedule,with Dreambleed getting on stage. Their frontman, Manolis, proved to be full of energy through the whole show. In the beginning, he welcomed the crowd, made someDREAMBLEED (6)jokes and then grabbed the microphone and sang a setlist of 10 songs most of them deriving from their forthcoming album entitled “Beautiful Sickness”. The band’s appearance was dignified and noteworthy.With their modern alternative sound, including some electro-gothic elements, they managed in an excellent way to whip up the crowd’s interest. ”Punishing Ghosts” , “I will forget” , “Changing” ,”Alone with myself” and then Antonis Vlachos , vocalist of 3Fold Pain joined the band for “Dialogue with the stars”. He was a real “live-wire” with his brutal vocals and his mind-blowing stage presence. Later, Manolis took his his place in front of his piano ,the rest members of the band left the stage and he made a cover of Anathema’s “Parisienne Moonlight” with deep emotion. Three more songs followed ,until Dreambleed “waved goodbye” and then, finally 15 minutes later ,the crowd welcomes and embraces Anneke van Giersbergen and her band. At 10:45 the lights turned low and magic began! Micha Haring , Joost van Haaren , Ferry Duijsens and Gijs Coolen entered the stage and afterwards,the lovely face of Anneke appeared and welcomed all of us with a glow in her eyes! “You will never change” was the first song and “Drive” followed with Anneke playing electric guitar ,jumping around and the fans singing along the whole time. Anneke and her bandmates are, in fact, on tour for the promotion of the album “DRIVE” that was released on September 2013. As a result, most of theANNEKE (5)songs played derive from that particular album. I was filled with a feeling of happiness with the first notes of “Saturnine” reaching my ears. It travelled me back to the past and I know that her voice was, is and will always be soul-stirring, no matter how many years will pass.”My boy” , “1000 miles away from you” ,”You learn about it/She” .. All of them…one of a kind! You should be there and take a look at the eyes of people attending the show..some were glistering with tears of emotion. Others were glowing with joy and these are always the effects of watching Annekes’s shows. The masterpiece “Beautiful one” ,dedicated to Athens came next to touch even the hardest heart…After the request of a fan, “My electricity” was performed (instead of “Circles” )and I fell like faint! Sensation at the summit when “My mother said” was played. My mind got filled with images and emotions and I couldn’t stand but burst into tears,I confess!!!
04 min read

Report: Graveyard, 1000mods – Athens, Greece

Panagiotis Karagiannidis
I didn’t expect to see a Graveyard concert in Greece, not until they were old and with a big career behind them, since fresh bands who don’t get the recognition they deserve don’t normally visit our country during the start of their career. But times have changed concerning concerts in Greece and not only were I surprised when I found out this crazy band would be playing at Gagarin 205, I was more surprised to see the place almost packed upon entering before the first act of the night!
05 min read

Live Report: Black Sabbath – Copenhagen, Denmark

Panagiotis Karagiannidis
The Forum in Copenhagen is a venue that can hold 10,000 people and it's an arena that I've visited fairly frequently the past 15 years. I have never seen the Forum be SOLD OUT... But when the godfathers of metal, BLACK SABBATH visit Copenhagen, the place is sold out. I honestly thought that there would be people left outside in the freezing cold that evening.
04 min read

Report: The Ocean + Support Acts – Athens, Greece

Manos Spanos
The past months a large number of great bands visited Greece and enlisted our country to their tour destinations, even if the economical situation of our country is not the ideal. But what happens when three of the most important bands of our age plan to arrange two gigs in Greece? Well, the answer stands below, in this concert report. I am referring to The Ocean’s Pelagial World Tour of course. After the major success of ‘Pelagial’, The Ocean planned a great world tour in which they could perform the whole’ Pelagial’. Together as one, the band joined forces with two great bands and friends of their, Tides from Nebula and Abraham, both bands with extra-strong releases. The outcome; a destructive show! While the start time for the first band is approaching, many decided to visit Gagarin 205 for the show early, being able to hear the support acts too. The doors opened and approximately forty minutes later Abraham walked on stage. The band’s two lead singers opened the show, while the whole crew appeared a few seconds after. Their set was mostly created with tracks off the latest record, ‘The Serpent, The Prophet, The Whore’. As a result we had the chance to listen live favorite songs like ‘Start with a Heartbeat’, ‘The Chymical Fiance’ or ‘Carcasses’. Their vocalist, who played keyboards, too, is an absolute lunatic on stage (with every possible meaning of the word). With plenty of energy he was singing, headbanging and climbing on the speakers, having the time of his life. Along with the other members, I would say the band is solid and greatly bonded together, with their songs to sound spectacular live. When Abraham finished their set, it was time for Tides from Nebula to perform and shake the venue. The band is the ideal one to force your mind travel away and your body to relax. Their post-rock melodies provide some ear-orgasms. I didn’t attend their previous concert in Athens last year and I was curious to watch the instrumental band from Poland performing. With a lovely mood, the band started their set. We heard a lot of songs off ‘Eternal Movement’, their latest record. ‘Only With Presence’, ‘Up from Eden’ are only a few songs we had the chance to hear. The venue got loaded with ambient, post-rock melodies and everyone had a great time. Tides From Nebula are one of the most friendly to the audience bands I had the chance to hear and on stage they totally rock, moving up and down all the time and giving their 100% for the fans. The band thanked the fans many times but we should thank them back regarding the fact that they were explosive while performing.
05 min read

Report: Children Of Bodom + Support Acts – Athens, Greece

Manos Spanos
Another Saturday night for Greek metalheads to have a great time. This time one of the most unique modern metal bands of our time visited our country for the second time: Children Of Bodom from Finland for the "Halo Of Blood" tour. Along with the well-known groovy Deathsters Decapitated from Poland and Medeia from Finland. The place was jam packed with young and older metalheads waiting to see their favorite band playing live. The show started according to the schedule with Medeia. A really promising band, I didn't expect an opening act to be so energetic and warm up the crowd so well. If someone walked in when these guys (and girl) were playing he could have mistaken them for a co-headlining act. So warm was the welcome from the audience. Music wise, they sounded like a mixture of metalcore at its finest with Machine Head, some really well put female vocals by their keyboard player, a bit of blasting and great amounts of energy (had to say it again). Their frontman didn't forget to thank us all for being so loud and proud from the beginning without him even asking us to do so. I'd love to see them playing live again in Greece. They were really friendly after the show as well. After the great warm-up with Medeia, in came Decapitated, one of Polands best known Death metal bands alongside with Behemoth and Vader. They kicked in with "Pest" off the "Carnival Is Forever" record, making most of the crowd headbang like crazy and start the first moshpits. "Carnival Is Forever" was also represented by the next track "404", "View From A Hole" and "Homo Sum" that caused some bigger moshpits and stagedives here and there, showing that even though they changed towards a groovier direction, they still sound like a killer Death metal act live. The song "Flash-B(l)ack" came from the last record with fallen drummer Vitek behind the kit ("Organic Hallucinosis"), with his replacement doing a great job tormenting the drum skins. Their setlist ended with their classic "Spheres Of Madness" causing the biggest moshpit in their set. The band was really in the mood to kick serious asses and that's what they did. We just wish to see them again with a bigger setlist. Then we had the headliners of the evening, Children Of Bodom. This band has really attracted many young metalheads to this genre of music over the last few years. Many 15-plus-year-old kids have come to know metal music via Children Of Bodom while at the same time older people seem to really enjoy their style. So they came in like actual headliners ripping it out with "Silent Night Bodom Night" and the crowd was whipped into a frenzy, making the moshpits even bigger. The 2 first songs from "Hate Crew Deathroll" ("Needled 24/7", "Sixpounder") came up to keep us moshing and headbanging like crazy! We heard stuff from "Follow The Reaper" ("Hate Me!" and "Kissing The Shadows" with that epic guitar/keyboards solo duo in the end), "Hatebreeder" (the ultra-classic "Downfall" and "Towards Dead End"), "Something Wild" (only "Lake Bodom" even though its an amazingly addictive song), "Are You Dead Yet?" ("In Your Face" and "Are You Dead Yet?") "Hate Crew Deathroll" (the amazing title track as well as the headbanging anthem "Angels Don't Kill"), the title track off "Blooddrunk" and nothing off "Relentless Reckless Forever". Their new album "Halo Of Blood" was represented by the amazing title track, "Scream For Silence" and "Dead Man's Hand On You" which seemed well received by the audience as an absolute return to form. The band sounded so fresh, as if it was a phase of renewal for them releasing that album. The setlist as a tribute to the Greek tradition included (right before "Downfall" I think), a keyboard cover of the Alexis Zorbas theme, highly representative of the Greek musical culture. Alexi Laiho lead the way for COB as the natural frontman and one of the ultimate sex symbols in modern metal music (ladies, please contain your screams), not that the rest of the guys had less of a success, since every one of them is a shining star in his own right. Roope with his rhythm guitar work backing up his guitar partner, Janne Warmen with his incredible keyboard solos, Jaska Raitikannen/Henkka Seppala holding it all together as passionate musicians and brothers on stage (that's how they feel about each other). Only that time it was way more evident. Their setlist ended with "In Your Face" (one of their best choruses ever, Gagarin shook when we first heard the chorus) including the Medeia frontman backing up on the vocals. The band had a great time as well as the audience that gave in everything they had. And the event was well organized in order not to tire the metalheads more on their way home. Wish even more luck to the bands doing what they want to do and we hope seeing events like that in the future.
05 min read

Report: Orange Goblin, Stonebringer – Athens, Greece

Manos Spanos
It’s been numerous times that British heavy metallers (as they like to declare themselves) Orange Goblin have visited our country and this time they came short enough compared to their last year gig. Once again we had a tremendous professional behaviour towards the fans and I was very happy to see many new young fans entering the show. A sample that the youth of today find quality in the really essential bands and don’t get affected by the hype of the era or the needless effort of media to promote bands that don’t deserve it at all. This time we also had a very good support band that made its presence more than notable and the whole show finished just two hours after its beginning in half past nine, so everyone had easy access to transportation and left more than satisfied. Stonebringer is a Greek band that plays the American style of sludgy heavy rocking metal music and they are surely showing they are proud of it. Two guitarists that also share the vocals and bang their asses and heads, a bassist that follows them where needed and also can’t stand still even for a second and a crazy but also very capable drummer that hits everything hard and loud is what you’ll see in this band. I apologize to the guys for not knowing them so far, but I really declare myself a fan of them and I suggest everyone who encounters them in the future to take a good notice of them (and buy one of their very elegant t-shirts as well). Imagine a mixture of Pantera, Crowbar, Down, some Clutch (or even Orange Goblin) here and there and hints of Black Label Society. Music for beer, beards, filth and riffs until the end. Well done to the guys, who gave all they had and gained the sincere applause of the crowd. I wish them the best to come. Orange Goblin is a live guarantee every time you see them. The result is always the same (if not better) and the only thing that changes is the t-shirts the band members wear and the amount of beard they carry. When a gig starts with ‘’Scorpionica’’ which is most times the last track they play, you understand they came to conquer everyone from the first second. It was show number 147 for this year as they said, but they didn’t show any sign of tiredness or lack of fun. With tracks such as ‘’Acid Trial’’, ‘’Saruman’s Wish’’, ‘’Round Up The Horses’’ and ‘’The Fog’’,
04 min read

Report: Jucifer + Support Acts – Athens, Greece

Manos Spanos
Jucifer is a very special case of a band. Living in a tour bus and going around the world, playing on gigs 12 months a year is not something anybody can do. And luckily, thanks to CTS productions, we were able to see them for the first time in Greece this Saturday! I am going to throw a little spoiler in here for the rest of the report to say that the profit of the night were the two unbelievable Greek supporting bands. But let’s take it from the start. I was welcomed in the venue by the unbelievable sound of Korsikov’s guitars (no bass here, but it turns out that they did not need one to amaze us). I knew this band only from a nice stoner song (Liqweedator) that they had released in the infamous compilation “Miss fortune was a henhouse manager” by Spinaloga records, so I didn’t know what to expect from this band in terms of a live performance. Let’s just say that they are the best Greek band that I have seen live those two years that I’m attending concerts in Athens! Have you ever wondered how would it sound if Motorhead mixed with Weedeater? Or how would it sound if Buzzoven were playing on fire and had their sound channeled through a volcano? Well if you have, Korsikov are your guys! They nailed every sound the produced on stage, whether that was the opening psychedelic/stoner masterpiece named “ Intrabduction“ that I never wanted for it to end, or the more sludgy, groovy riffs that made my head go up and down, or their characteristic speedy parts, resembling High on Fire or Motorhead, that made my blood boil, or even their last crazy, pure crust, 50 seconds in duration song “ Baka Bagero“! Every member was full of energy, showing to the crowd that they do something they love, joking around and warming us up for what was about to follow. What is more, the drummer is a rabid dog and the lead guitarist/ singer sounds like he has swallowed Petrozza and Lemmy together. These guys were off the freaking grid, wherever they play again I’m bound to see them and so should you. Plus, any time now the will release some official material so be on the lookout! Then along came Earth of distrust, fresh from their latest release “Victimology”. I made an effort to estimate the influences of Korsikov before, but if I tried the same with them I’m quite sure my head would explode. The question about Earth of distrust is not “What do they play?”, it is “What don’t they play?”. An amalgamation of unrelenting doom/sludge riffs, with ambient elements and lots of crust passages (as it is proved from the Disrupt cover they played, “A life’s a life”!), bonding with perfect hardcore – and many times pure grind- vocals! If the Korsikov singer had swallowed Petrozza and Lemmy, this guy had swallowed a demon! There is no other way to explain the ferocity and rage emitting from his voice! I’m talking about face twisted and red, veins pumped, vocal chords in the verge of bleeding, the whole nine yards people! Excellent work from this band as well, they left me dazzled and trying to follow what they were doing, as each song was like a totally different story from the previous one (“How to handle a razor”, my oh my, what a song!). The singer kept stating that it was about time we all witnessed the mighty Jucifer, the opening bands and the fans as well and his wish did not take long to come true.
06 min read

Report: Year of the Goat + Support Acts – Athens, Greece

Manos Spanos
Night of the demons yesterday, and the occult rockers Year Of the Goat visited Greece for two concerts, one in Athens and one on Thessaloniki. Their very first destination was Athens and Second Skin, performing along with Aherusia, Mahakala and Speedblow. Speedblow and Mahakala would be the first bands to rock the stage with their doom magisterial acts and then provide the stage to Aherusia, the black metalheads who combined black metal along with elements of traditional Crete music. Afterwards, Year of the Goat would have their chance to drive the night through pagan paths… I arrived on Second Skin while Speedblow was about to open the concert. The crowd was desperately small but the band did their best to entertain those who decided to show up late in the show. Speedblow numbers three releases and their music style is described as a craft of heavy metal and doom metal music. Most of the parts are classic doom metal groovy riffs, although they mix them with heavy metal eruptions of fast riffs and guitar solos. The band with energetic mood performed songs of the past as well as all the songs off their new EP, titled ‘Resurrection’. Their sound was loud and clear and the stage got heavier with all those doomy melodies. Costas Papaspyrou is an excellent guitar player and I loved his energy and his guitar solos on stage. Nick on the vocals was awesome too. His deep, harsh vocals combined with all those sharp melodies were the best beginning we could have for this concert! After Speedblow the stage was warm enough (actually burning-warm), for Mahakala to start their set. Mahakala made quite an impact in the Greek music scene with their latest concept record, ‘Devil’s Music’. The band has been having a busy concert program as they were supporting a numerous of bands this year. But why did Mahakala get so many chances to support great bands? What is so special with this band? Well if you haven’t seen Mahakala live, you won’t get an answer to those questions.. Mahakala were explosive! The band is so much bounded together and they sound great. ‘Devil’s Music’ in my opinion sounds ten times better on stage. With a setlist including most of the songs off ‘Devil’s Music’, the band performed classic hits like ‘The King is Dead’, ‘Evil Man’, Pact with the Devil’ or ‘Promised Land’, with great energy and Jim saluted the audience with his spectacular performance. The crowd was still small in number and numb, but Mahakala tried their best to stir up everyone, leaving behind the best memories. Right after Mahakala, it was time for Aherusia to perform. Aherusia is a unique black metal band, because of their use of Cretan lyra, a traditional music instrument from Crete in their music. I was really curious to watch Aherusia and find out myself how those songs would be performed. With plenty of new songs like ‘Archipelagos’ off their new music record ‘As I Cross the Seas of My Soul’, the band thrilled everyone with their pompous melodies and strong, spiritual black metal. Although I’m not a fan of traditional instruments I must admit that the Cretan lyra completed the music in a creative way, something that I enjoyed very much! All the support bands completed their performances and the pagan rockers from Sweden were about to begin their rituals… With a great sound the band started their show, performing about one hour and five minutes. They performed classic songs like ‘This Will Be Mine’, ‘Thin Lines of Broken Hopes’, ‘ Spirits of Fire’ and many more off their latest full-length record ‘Angels’ Necropolis’ as well as ‘Of Darkness’ and ‘Vermillion Clouds’ off their first EP.
05 min read

Report: Suma + Support Acts – Athens, Greece

Manos Spanos
It’s been a long time since I last attended a sludge gig in Greece. The exact music genre does not number a large number of fans here as it does in the north Europe or in the US. However, here we are, on 8th of November, and ‘Smoke the Fuzz’ organizes one of the most anticipated concerts of the year, with headliners the sludge legends from Sweden, Suma! Along with them, two Greek sludge bands support the show. The names are Sadhus and Gomgoma. A little research of their music will reveal why they were chosen and the talent which unfolds through them. I arrived at Six D.O.G.S just in time! With a quite impressive number of fans the show takes off and the first band which opens the show is Gomgoma. The band delivers some hardcore sludge music, with aggressive, breath-taking vocals and slow, dynamic guitar riffs. They do not include a bass player, only two guitars, drums and vocals. In fact, who needs a bass player when the guitars are as heavy as it is needed to complete the rhythm section themselves? I’ve never seen Gomgoma in a gig before and I must say they are absolutely impressive! The band’s sound was excellent even if the vocalist claims he could hear the second guitar loud and clear. From where I was standing, I could hear every detail of their sound. With groovy guitars and a vocalist on fire, the band performed much more than their officially released songs. Miltos was most of the times down with the crowd, headbanging and providing those extreme and submissive and ground-shaking vocals. The gig starts in a perfect way. I’m looking forward to hear some more from Gomgoma and of course another release from them. After Gomgoma, Sadhus are the next to walk on stage. I’ve known Sadhus from a compilation by Spinalonga Records and their songs ‘Foondamentalist’ and ‘Murderer’. The band is known for their slow, doom music along with high-pitched screaming vocals. In their sound, in their music they contain something cult, something spiritual. Sadhus have a large future in front of them. On stage, the band was alive, explosive and very creative. A movie was projected on the background. However some technical issues did not allowed this and crashed the movie after the first minutes. It was really a pity, because I love to hear sludge metal live along with horror movies. Sadhus didn’t care and continued delivering the music of the devil. Their vocalist is really unique and their songs sound even better on stage. The sound was loud and clear again, the guitar was trembling from all those heavy doom riffs and a mystical vibe has spread. When Sadhus ended their set, I was too exhausted from the heavy headbanging already. Suma, the headline act was about to begin and I was looking forward to see what the band will achieve in this concert. When the Swedish started their set, the crowd was numb in the beginning. By the time the music has started, and the drummer of the band, Erik, banged his drums set in groovy rhythms everyone in the room started to headbang along with the music. What can I describe about Suma’s performance? The only fault I did noticed was the low volume on vocals. I needed them to be a bit louder. Besides that, the band was awesome. Their atmospheric sludge metal is ideal for letting your mind travel far away from your body. ‘Let the Churches Burn’, ‘Hypno Assasin’, ‘Dominator’, all the classic songs were here, in front of me. Erik is a hell of a drummer. His hands were banging the drum set with deference, just like hitting a holy grail. Johan and Peter were great too and along with Rick (the guy arranging the samples for the music), they sounded so completed, so dominating.
04 min read