Meden Agan, Floating Worlds, Revolver // AN Club, Athens, Greece // 11.05.2014

Sunday night and I am in for my second live show of May and for three more Athenian bands (the previous being Mahakala, DreamLongDead and Audiobleed). This night it was time for Revolver, Floating Worlds and the headliners of the event, Meden Agan, who would present us their new line-up and of course their new material.

I entered the club at about 8:30 ready to enjoy my first time with Revolver, since I hadn’t heard of them before. Unfortunately, the first thing that struck me was the empty space. I was aware that this live, being held on a Sunday and having three local bands and not a big name, would not attract many people. I had realistic expectations, but the roughly 10 people were certainly lesser than I thought. Overcoming this and 15 minutes later, Revolver took the stage and the quartet entertained us with its catchy, uplifting songs, even though the sound was terrible.In the following 40 minutes, the band played four songs from their upcoming album “We Are One“, heavy riffs, melodic passages, groovy drums and all. And to lift the spirits more, Revolver did a nice cover of “Holy Diver” with the “Master of Puppets” intro, and another cover of “Aces High” with brutal vocals for a change,

Next in line were Floating Worlds with their “soundtrack metal” as they call it. I was really surprised to find out that these guys were formed back in 1998 and after many twists and turns, they stand before us with two albums on their backs; “Only A Dream, Can Kill A Dream” and last year’s “Below The Sea Of Light“. Floating Worlds opened their set with “Only A Dream…”, the instrumental intro of their debut. Their heavy metal, infused with progressive and symphonic elements, was spot on for the night. They continued with more songs taken from both their albums, and with the improved sound (even though the keyboardist dealt with some problems with her mic) we could enjoy their powerful compositions. But our attention drew the singer, Jon Soti, with his amazing vocals. Man! His highs were great! The highlight of their set was definitely “Amyrah”, from “Below The Sea Of Light”, and of course their final act. Second Iron Maiden cover for the night was coming up, as Floating Worlds ended their set with a great rendition of “The Evil That Men Do”! Thumbs up guys!

And the time had come for Meden Agan to present to us their new members and material. The Meden Agan backdrop was in place, the attendants had increased in numbers a bit, and at 10:30 the band started powerfully with “Divine Wrath”, “Portal Of Fear” and “Lacrima Dei” from the upcoming album. There were two things I noticed right from the beginning. Along with the change of singer and drummer, Meden Agan also changed their look, leaving aside the suits and inheriting a more loose image and their compositions seemed to be heavier than the rest. As for the big changes, Panos Paplomatas returned to his former place behind the drums and of course Maya Kampaki effectively replaced Iliana Tsakiraki. And even though at the beginning she was clearly holding back, by the time we reached the middle of the set, she let loose and enjoyed herself. At that point guitarist and founder of the band, Diman, informed us that there would be only one song from the previous releases. And “All Seems Lost” it is! The few people that were right in front of the stage went literally crazy! Then a couple more new songs followed and a cover of Nightwish‘s “Ever Dream”. For the next song, “Devoid Of Sanity”, Maya invited Jon Soti of Floating Worlds on stage, offering us a really nice duet indeed. The set closed with two more new songs, “Everlasting Pain” and “Commemorate The Fallen”. And judging from the way Meden Agan started the live and the way they ended it and how much more relaxed they seemed, one thing is certain; they will be up and running in no time!

But once again, where were all those who complain about people not going to live shows? It is just sad to walk in an empty venue and it is so wrong for the bands. Give them a chance. Support them guys. It is rewarding not only for the bands, but for the fans too.

Report: Stella Papaspyropoulou
Photos: Andreas Denwar