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Report: Skyclad + Support Acts – Thessaloniki, Greece

Manos Spanos
The day was Monday and the start of the week wasn’t the usual one. There aren’t many live gigs that take place on a weekday and this gig was really a special one. Skyclad would appear on Thessaloniki after 16 years from their latest gig in Greece. Back then I was a diehard fan of death metal and wouldn’t care much for a heavy metal gig, although I did appreciate the music of Skyclad. And of course all of my friends laughed at me because it was a great gig and as they said: “It was more a party than a live concert”. I did regret it, even the band themselves was in awe of that night as they have stated. So the time was right and I was about to witness the energy of a Skyclad’s live appearance. I arrived at the venue half an hour before the support acts appeared on stage. So I drunk a couple of beers before Riffobia take their positions. The band was from Trikala and as I have informed they were playing thrash metal. Indeed they deliver and they did it excellent. The four-piece thrash act with great sound was a great opening for the night. For almost 45 minutes the speakers blew their thrash attack and it was awesome. The binding of their music was beautiful for a local band and I enjoyed every second of them. The crowd was not more than 100 people but the warm up for our necks was perfect. The sound once more was flawless; the crew of Eightball Club does great job referring to sound of their live gigs. Dark Nightmare was the next act to perform. They appeared with a keyboard intro and immediately their epic heavy metal filled the venue. Consisting of five members, the Grevena’s pride played for us their set for about an hour. I confess I am not a fan of their genre, though I must say that the band seemed that they worked really hard to get to this level. And especially the riffs that were fired from both of the guitarists were excellent. At last their stage performance was absolutely magnificent and they received the love of the crowd generously. The clock was setting several minutes after ten and I found myself in agony to watch the folk/heavy metal gods called Skyclad. The attendance got to the maximum right before they appeared on stage and it must have been around 300 people. For the day – as I said weekdays are difficult for a concert – this number is satisfactory, but for the price you had to pay to see such an historical band it seemed we were few. Without any more delay the first riffs of “Spinning Jenny” filled the room and the crowd went frenzy. Immediately with a small introductory of the song, “Earth Mother, The Sun And The Furious Host” sounded from the speakers and the beautiful fiddle melodies were like a sweet wine for our ears. The beginning of the show was a sign that this could be a long and beautiful night. A precognition that would come true after the two hours concert came to an end. The third song, “Skyclad”, as Kevin Ridley said revealed the band’s name; if there was anyone that didn’t know it already. The continuation was as powerful and energetic as the start of the show. Mr. Ridley made some presentations of the members and then they played a couple of songs from their latest albums. Two of them came from the non-Martin Walkyier era. And as much as I missed his presence in the band, I didn’t notice his absence at all through the whole duration of the concert. “Cardboard City” began a small journey of six songs to the earliest albums of the band and everyone was having a great time. The band was enjoying every moment of the show as well as the crowd did too. From “T
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

SCORPIONS Perform Three ‘Unplugged’ Shows In Greece; Video Available

Manos Spanos
On September 11, September 12 and September 14, German hard rock legends SCORPIONS played three concerts in Athens, Greece under the banner "MTV Unplugged - Scorpions Live In Athens" at the Lycabettus Theatre over the roofs of the ancient city. For the first time in the history of the "MTV Unplugged" series, a concert in Greece under the open sky took place. SCORPIONS performed their biggest hits, album classics as well as some exclusive new songs in the typical sound and arrangement of "MTV Unplugged". They were supported by national and international surprise guests. Fan-filmed video footage of the September 12 concert can be seen below. "MTV Unplugged - Scorpions Live In Athens" will be released at the end of 2013 on CD, DVD and Blu-ray disc.In addition, the performance will be premiered on MTV and VIVA in Germany.
02 min read

Report: Rockwave Festival, Day 3 – Athens, Greece

Manos Spanos
Early Monday noon at Terravibe Park for Rockwave festival. The third day of Rockwave festival started at Vibe Stage with a newcomer band called Black Hat Bones. Even though there were only a group of 20 people beneath them, that didn't affect the band's mood at all and the audience responded really well. Musicwise, Black Hat Bones play dirty Hard Rock inspired by Motorhead and some stoner elements here and there making them the ideal opener for such a hot summers' day. They didn't forget to thank the audience for attending early on. Next came one of the most promising Greek modern metal bands with one album in their back catalogue called Psycho Choke. Being really energetic and with a sound reminiscent of Slipknot and Machine Head they made the crowd headbang even harder and caused some small pits of 3-5 people. With a really good mood on their side, Psycho Choke did their best and put on a great show under the burning sun leaving promises for a new album till the end of 2013. We'll surely looking forward to it.
06 min read

Report: Slayer + Support Acts – Athens, Greece

Manos Spanos
It was 1st of July. A new festival that we truly hope and wish to be established and continue in the future was about to begin. By arriving at Plateia Nerou where the festival took place, I got amazed by the wonderful sea-side place having the historically Averof ship in the background just opposite from the live-stage. Definitely one of the most beautiful places for an open-air festival that I have been before! But let’s get to the chase! When we arrived Kvelertak were already on stage and we should have missed the first two tracks. If you read Metalpaths.com you definitely know our sympathy for the Norwegian. Second time in Greece, they had enough audience and gave their best to rock the fuck out under the hot sun. Erlend was plowing the stage up and down spitting his guts out in every song while he also didn’t afraid to do stage-diving! Playing songs from both their two albums they had overall a good appearance with only negatives the sun and the not that good sound. It’s time for Napalm Death to hit the stage and the British need no introductions. I was really expecting their appearance cause I haven’t seen them before (how the fuck did that happen?). However I couldn’t enjoy the show and unfortunately I can’t even describe it because I would injustice the Napalms. It started to blow and that had as a result a really bad sound which in comparison with some technical problems
08 min read