New videos

I uploaded a few new videos from the shows reported previously,

Behemoth - Ov Fire and The Void


Behemoth - Demigod


Slauter Xstroyes - City of Sirtel


Slauter Xstroyes - Battle Axe


Litany - Plunder Thy Sons


more to come in due time

PAGAN ALTAR Live in Athens, May 17, 2008

I have an entire set of these guys filmed, along with both support groups, Litany and Sorrows Path. It's been sitting in my hard drive for almost two years and I decided it's time to put it where it belongs, to the public! So I'll be uploading various songs from this show on youtube and posting them here.

As you will notice, although the guitarwork and generally the instrumental part is spot on and phenomenal, the vocals are off. The singer claimed that he could not hear well from the monitors resulting in going off-key. Anyway, it's not that bad and the music rocks!

more to come!

BEHEMOTH Live in Athens March 10, 2010

So I was given two tickets to the Behemoth concert from a friend who could not attend. I admit that it was not my intention to go to the show, mainly because I knew the small venue was going to be more than packed and also because it was during a working day. Finally the ticket price of 25 euro seemed too much for these dubious times we live in. Anyway, since it would be a pity to waste the tickets though I decided to attend.

At this point let me say that I like Behemoth quite a bit. Their last few albums are nothing sort of outstanding, setting new heights for the death metal standards. I had never seen them live though, so I was quite excited that I ended up going.

Upon arrival at the venue (1 hour after doors opened), the second support act was just beginning. This was Greek death metal warriors Inveracity. The crowd seemed to be quite pleased as they were constantly getting cheered. I admit not being familiar with their music, and although they seemed to be very good at recreating it on stage, it’s not my cup of tea. So, I will not judge their, honest by all standards, appearance.

Now on to Behemoth. These guys are really excellent showmen. They had a fantastic sound quality, very imposing and impressive stage presence (although their every move was more choreographed than a Britney Spears videoclip… for fuck’s sake metal needs to be a little more liberated). They had a “shock and awe” triple vocal attack, a bombardier for a drummer and razor sharp lead guitars. Nergal was on top form with both his voice and his great guitarwork. The other guys were not far behind either. It was a literal tour de force in there. No complains whatsoever from the song execution part. Their international success is certainly based on the strong package they’ve created and are selling in album and live form. 10 for Behemoth the stage act…

BUT….

and here’s the flipside… I can understand that when the doors open at 20:30 and there’s two support acts, the main band will probably take the stage by 22-22:30 latest. In this case though, Inveracity completed their set at 22:00 and Behemoth took the stage an ENTIRE HOUR later! I’ve attended some big ass concerts with some huge names headlining and NO ONE EVER has needed over 30 minutes of soundcheck and preparation to take the stage. That is totally inexcusable and ridiculous on Behemoth’s part.

However, I kept thinking maybe they’ll play a nice full set to make up for the waiting… what do you know, their whole set took a mere hour and 5 minutes to complete. That’s including full minute (or more) breaks between songs, a drum solo and a few minutes hiding behind the amps stack before hitting the encore. Then suddenly, the lights turned out and our Polish divas rushed off the stage without having the courtesy to say a ‘good night’ or ‘thanks for your money’ or whatever… I mean, it’s one thing to act like a mean tough satanic overlord or whatever they’re supposed to be on stage, but you don’t fucking diss your fans that paid for you to become the fucking diva queens you are at the moment.

We were packed like sardines, were left waiting in pathetic circumstances for a fucking hour, then Mr Nergal didn’t even have the courtesy to play a 90 minute show (which is what I consider to be the ABSOLUTE MINIMUM for any self-respecting concert, especially if it is charged at full price). 0 for Behemoth the metal band.

Conclusion? BIG FAT FRAUD

Last time I felt so cheated after a show, was a few years back when I attended an Isis concert, who in the same way although gave us a great show, it was too bloody short for what we paid.

There you have it…

check out a live video I recorded

New live video from Up The Hammers 5

UP THE HAMMERS V, DAY 2

On Friday March 5 and Saturday March 6, 2010 the fifth UP THE HAMMERS festival took place. Every year I try to attend at least one of the two days and support the heavy metal underground. So this time, due to the bands playing and my work schedule, I ended up attending only on Saturday.

So here’s what I thought of it…

First of all I must say that this was probably the best incarnation of the Festival and overall one the best concerts I’ve ever attended, period. The reason being that each band raised hell and kicked huge amounts of ass.

Unfortunately, I missed the opening band, Raging Storm, so I will start with the next in line.

In Solitude: When I entered the venue, these guys were playing their first track. Upon looking at them I almost burst laughing. Here were these teeny-boppers playing obscure metal, while their lead singer looked like an Alexi Laiho clone, totally posing with badly applied corpsepaint and D&G underpants showing off over his jeans… Needless to say they didn’t make a very good impression image-wise BUT I decided to stick around and watch their show. What I heard was honestly performed heavy metal in the vain of Portrait, Ram, etc, ie. Mercyful Fate revival. It’s a trend for sure, but they seem to pull it off pretty nicely, without even trying to foolishly imitate any King Diamond falsettos. 7

Dexter Ward: This is the new band of Manolis (ex-Battleroar) with Marco (also ex-Battleroar). Manolis is also the organizer of the Festival. I saw these guys a couple of days before this show, during the festival’s warm up party but on Saturday they put out a much better performance. They play classic U.S. metal with elements of rock n’ roll. Marco kicked ass on the vocals and the rest of the guys didn’t fall short either. It’s pretty energetic music and I can’t wait for their first full-length. 8

Atlantean Kodex: I didn’t know what to expect from these guys live. Their EP is pretty decent but didn’t drive me crazy either. However, they surprised me positively as they put on a really good show, great crowd interaction, fantastic renditions of their songs, filled with passion. They recreated their epic metal in a way fitted to such kind of music. Much better than on disc. 8.5

Overdrive: I must be honest and say that I had never heard of them before. When they came out on stage, I saw a bunch of old fat grandpas, looking like some forgotten washed-up late ’70s beer rock band. Apparently, most of the audience got a similar impression as the pit emptied fast. This gave me the chance to watch the show from up close. As the band kept playing I was pleasantly surprised with their simple, albeit catchy, NWOBHM, infused with some pomp rock elements, mainly due to the keyboards present. I was especially moved by the astonishing ballad All Souls Night and its heartbreaking solos. All that aside, they did have a Spinal Tap moment. They had a mascot, another old man dressed up in white wearing a hockey mask, who got up a stool and kept trying to get the audience going, when the singer pushed and he fell head down into the crowd. Everyone had a good laugh, including the band. By the end of the show, the old timers had won over the audience and they were cheered quite loudly. Special mention must be given to the Famous Grouse bottle that kept making rounds onstage and was almost emptied by the time they closed their show. 8

Enforcer: Words cannot describe the hell that broke loose during these guys’ performance. Their debut album, a mix of old school ’80s/Maiden influences but in a more speed/power presentation, was really good but I had absolutely no idea what a powerhouse they are live! Some bands fake the rockstar attitude, others acquire it along the way, others never, these young Swedes are born with it! A crushing show that got all the audience feeding off their palm, filled with rock excess that one would expect from a young LA band in the ’80s. They were pumped up like they had done a kg of coke each…! The icing on the cake was at the end when the singer stage-dove and crowd surfed until the very end of the venue! As I watched this band perform I kept thinking if that’s how Maiden played during the late ’70s when they were paying their dues in the club-circuit… I’m sure they were not far from this. 10

Slauter Xstroyes: Alright, what can I say here… words can do no justice. This is a band of mythic status among the underground metal scene. Disbanded for years, having released only the uber-cult classic Winter Kill in the late ’80s and a compilation of unreleased material in the ’90s, they reunited for a few shows in the last year. Everyone was extremely curious how these guys would recreate their extreme progressive obscure U.S. power metal. After all, the original vocalist is gone and it seemed like an impossible feat to replace him. Well, we became witnesses of not only the perfect reproduction of all their instrumental and vocal acrobatics but in fact of a performance that exceeded the 25 year old recorded material! Their new vocalist is a dead ringer for the original and easily pulled off the mad and powerful vocal lines of the songs. This was an absolutely devastating performance, certainly one to remember for many years to come. 10+

Doomsword: THIS.IS…..DOOMSWORD! THIS.IS…..WAR! This band is easily the best and most important flag-bearer of the Epic Metal genre in the ’00s. Certainly worthy successors to the almighty Manowar. And war is what we got. The not so great sound did not stop 300 madmen to march into battle at the sound of Deathmaster’s horn. The small venue suddenly turned into a great Nordic hall and the few hundred attendees turned into an army of ten thousand warriors screaming their battle cries and slaughtering the enemy. One hour and fifteen minutes was all it took to storm into Valhalla and conquer the crown from Odin himself. As a devoted warrior I will wait for their return to our shores to march into battle again. Our fate is written sword and shield, born to die on the battlefield! 9

Plus I managed to grab a Doomsword tee when Deathmaster threw a couple in the crowd

Overall twas a great night and jolly good fun. Here’s to next year!

UP THE HAMMERS V, WARM-UP SHOW

So, the time of year has come again for the UP THE HAMMERS underground metal festival. On Thursday March 4, 2010 the usual warm up party took place sporting a lineup of Greece's prominent heavy metal bands.

When I arrived the band Dream Weaver had taken the stage. Their dependable heavy/power metal has garnered for them some devoted fans who didn't fail to show up and support them. Next in line were Macedon Harriers. Now this was a band that many were expecting to see, given that they had disbanded after an obscure demo in the late '80s. However, they decided to reunite for this show and possibly some new music. Sadly, the terrible sound they had throughout their set didn't help matters and the audience quickly lost interest. I believe though they still have the ability to put out some new quality metal, so I'll be waiting for their next move.

Following them, Dexter Ward came out, they are a new band but with very familiar faces, ie Marco and Manolis, ex-members of Battleroar. The sound didn't help here either but they managed to rock the place with their high-energy metalized rock n' roll. A couple of vids from their set will be posted soon.

In the end, very promising and upcoming young band Strikelight stormed the stage. Their shows are always filled with passion and energy and this was no exception. With a brand new singer, I was curious to see them live and they did not disappoint. The new set of lungs is phenomenal, hitting high notes like there is no tomorrow. If they play their cards right, a bright future is ahead of them. Following their hellraising heavy metal anthems and a Sortilege cover it was time for the party to end.







Thanks for the fun night guys.