Megadeth, Kvelertak Live @ Entertainment Stage, 20-06-2012, Athens, Greece.

Megadeth, Kvelertak Live @ Entertainment Stage, 20-06-2012, Athens, Greece. 

After a very hot and long day, the only thing on my mind was tonight’s concert. I had my doubts about the venue, because I haven’t been there for a gig before, but I knew that it was a little bigger from the previous venue so, it would definitely be a little more comfortable.

 Arriving at the venue was indeed very easy. It’s in the center of Athens with lots of places to park. Although there was another event nearby that day and I had to search around for a spot a little longer. Many friends and familiar faces were outside the gig, but I couldn’t wait to get inside and find a good spot. Kvelertak were already on stage and the place was packed. Those Norwegians have the reputation of a really good live band and the crowd seemed to enjoy their show a lot. I can’t say that they’re my style, but they sure have some energy and a party mood that doesn’t leave you uninterested. The sound in the back of the venue was muffled though so I moved to the upper part. Most of the venue is well air-conditioned and very well designed for anyone who wants to move around. The sound had it’s ups and downs though making it difficult to tell one song from another at times but the band didn’t care and went even wilder. The people were in a constant “headbang and crowd-surf”mood. The band gave it’s very best self for a little less than an hour and the crowd couldn’t wait for MegaDave to take the stage.

Everybody knows the history of Megadeth more or less. Everybody has compared them to Metallica at least once. But Megadeth are a league of their own, Dave Mustaine is one of the greatest composers in technical thrash metal and that’s all there is to it. Love him or hate him, the guy has released some of the most monumental records in thrash metal and he still is one of the most productive musicians. The band came on stage under the sounds of “Never Dead” and the crowd got wild. “Headcrusher” followed and “Hangar 18” right after that to transform the crowd into a moving mass. The sound was very bad at some points, the bass was way too loud and the drums seemed to be either loud or muffled. Dave switched into something a little slower, a medley of “Trust” and “In My Darkest Hour” which definitely turned out to be one of the best parts of the night. Dave was obviously very tired due to the problems with his health but the crowd didn’t seem to bother. The sound got a little better and “She-Wolf” made her appearance, followed by “Dawn Patrol” probably Dave (Mustaine’s) tribute to Dave (Ellefson), as well with some other gems of the past like “Poison Was The Cure”, “Sweating Bullets” and “A Tout Le Monde”.

 Chris Broderick is a phenomenal guitarist, he did a great job throughout the whole gig and that really sets new standards for the band. Two more MegaClassics followed, “Angry Again” which was written for the soundtrack to a Schwarzenegger film “Last Action Hero” and the killer “High Speed Dirt”. Then it was time to ease our tension for a while with three new songs from the 13 album, “Guns, Drugs & Money”, “Whose Life (Is It Anyways?)” and the records single “Public Enemy No. 1”. The songs aren’t bad, but they’re definitely a little weaker compared to earlier Megadeth stuff. “Symphony Of Destruction” (with the classic ME-GA-DETH O-O-O ME-GA-DETH, cheering from the crowd) and “Peace Sells” (with a special appearance from Vic Rattlehead) ended the show.

The encore was nothing less than the bands hymn, “Holy Wars... The Punishment Due” and a perfect fit to end the night. I wanted them to play a little longer but I can understand that this should have been very difficult. Well, despite the fact that Mustaine wasn’t very good in his health, despite the fact that the vocals at some point weren’t even there, despite the fact that I wanted to hear a few more song, I must say that for me that was the best Megadeth show that I’ve ever seen. Dave Mustaine is definitely have a better contact with the crowd now than in the past and the bands current lineup is great. The crowd seemed to enjoy the show 100% and I believe that MegaDave was really touched at a point from the crowds response. And I also noticed the lack of many idiots screaming “Metallicaaa” or “Four Horsemeeen” in the crowd, like we had in some previous Megadeth gigs.

P.S. – Dave Mustaine posted the following message on his twitter account after the gig. “The Greek fans were amazing. Too bad the leaders here harmed these wonderful people by failing to protect who they serve.” All I can say is. #respect

Megadeth setlist:

1. Never Dead
2. Head Crusher
3. Hangar 18
4. Trust
5. In My Darkest Hour
6. She-Wolf
7. Dawn Patrol
8. Poison Was the Cure
9. Sweating Bullets
10. A Tout Le Monde
11. Angry Again
12. High Speed Dirt
13. Guns, Drugs & Money
14. Whose Life (Is It Anyways?)
15. Public Enemy No. 1
16. Symphony of Destruction
17. Peace Sells
Encore:
18. Holy Wars... The Punishment Due
19. Silent Scorn

Also on Burst.gr - http://burst.gr/live/reports/item/1298-live-report-megadeth-kvelertak-live--entertainment-stage-20-06-2012-athens-greece


Chris Broderick:
https://www.facebook.com/chris.broderick.777/posts/274327329340825
https://twitter.com/Chris_Broderick/status/218210285478100992

Exodus, Obituary, Heathen, Morgoth Live @ Fuzz Club, 09/06/2012, Athens, Greece

Exodus, Obituary, Heathen, Morgoth Live @ Fuzz Club, 09/06/2012, Athens, Greece



I wanted to go to a 100% extreme metal gig for a long time. And that time was finally here. 4 great bands from thrash to death metal, were more than enough to satisfy my hunger for tonight. Among the bands was also Heathen, another great band from the legendary Bay Area that I’ve been longing to see live for many years.

The first band on the bill was the recently reunited Morgoth, a band that has a lot of die-hard fans who went in the gig only for them. These Germans are definitely not your everyday death metal, their music has way too many elements to be categorized. Despite the fact that their guitarist was not present due to a sudden illness, the band played their songs perfectly and maybe a little more “groovy” than usual. The overall sound had it’s ups and downs but from the middle of the venue it was great. The band seemed very relaxed and professional and they were never losing contact with the crowd as well, especially their bass player who is Greek, and their singer. Their performance was great and I believe they gained many new fans that night.

Morgoth setlist:

Body Count
Exit To Temptation
Unreal Imagination
Opportunity Is Gone
Resistance
Suffer Life
Lies Of Distrust
Under The Surface
Sold Baptism
White Gallery
Burnt Identity
Pits Of Utumno
Isolated

Time for the mighty Heathen! The band has risen to fame among the thrash crowd, despite the fact that they only have 3 albums, and it was time to enjoy that fame. This was their first visit to Greece and they’ve announced that they were going to play a full set as well as record a live album!  I had the bad idea of heading in the front of the venue where the sound was a little muffled at times. Despite that, the band was very tight and with a lot of energy which they were passing on to the crowd. Lee Altus was nailing every song leaving everyone speechless; he’s a total master of the guitar. He was after all considered to be the best guitar player at the 80s Bay Area among all band members, fans and critics. The crowd wasn’t responding too much though, who knows why, maybe we had more deathsters that night or maybe many people haven’t heard of the band. Heathen have added too many melodic and prog elements to their music, a fact which is not accepted by many fans of the “old school thrash” I guess. The band was very tight and their performance was satisfying although I believe that it could have been a little better.


Heathen setlist:

Intro / Dying Season
Control By Chaos
Goblin's Blade
Open The Grave
Fade Away
Heathen’s Song
Arrows Of Agony
Hypnotized
Opiate Of The Masses
No Stone Unturned
Silent Nothingness
Mercy Is No Virtue
Death By Hanging

After a big break Obituary came on stage and there we had another absence. Their guitar player Ralph Santolla was not there, something that made their songs sound way more groovy and maybe a little hardcore at some parts. I’ve never seen them play live before but you could easily see that they were the main reason that many people got their asses to the gig at the first place. Numerous Obituary t-shirts and an instant response from the whole crowd when they started playing left no doubts about that. Despite their extreme style, the sound was very good and clean which is always a plus. The absence of guitar solos was more than obvious though. At least the Tardy bros, Trevor Peres and Terry Butler, all legendary death metal figures, left no one unsatisfied. Their massive sound, the hellish screams from John Tardy, the bass-attack from Terry Butler and their very excellent choice of songs made Obituary hands down the best band of the night.

Obituary setlist:

Redneck Stomp
On The Floor
Internal Bleeding
List Of Dead
Blood To Give
Chopped In Half
Turned Inside Out
Dying
Threatening Skies
By The Light
Find The Arise
Dethroned Emperor (Celtic Frost cover)
The End Complete
Slow Death
'Til Death
Evil Ways
Slowly We Rot

After having seen Exodus once in the past and not having the best of memories from that show, I expected something way better. Sadly it seemed like I was about to witness a repetition. After a totally exhausting day -and night since it was after midnight when they came out- the last thing I wanted to see was more of that bad sound. Well… guess what? It was like we had only drums and vocals at certain points and I won’t go into any further details. Most of the crowd could hardly hear the guitars and the only thing that made this a thrash show was the endless moshpit which seemed like it was never stopping. Gary Holt’s absence was more than obvious but at least Lee Altus was giving his best once more.  Most of the crowd seemed to enjoy the Exodus performance as time went by though. The sound on the other hand never got any better. Their choice of songs wasn’t the greatest but it still had a lot of classics for fans of their older stuff to enjoy. Near the end of the gig the whole venue was a total mess.  After a massive wall of death –probably the biggest ever in a Greek venue- we had a moshpit which spanned nearly to ? of the venue! That’s the true meaning of thrash metal.

Exodus setlist:

The Last Act Of Defiance
Iconoclasm
Piranha
Shroud Of Urine
Brain Dead
Metal Command
And Then There Were None
Pleasures Of The Flesh
A Lesson In Violence
Scar Spangled Banner
Blacklist
Impaler
Bonded By Blood
War Is My Shepherd
The Toxic Waltz
Strike Of The Beast

I won’t guarantee that everyone left with the best memories but it was definitely a very good show that we don’t get the chance to see very often. Sadly it ended very late and many people missed Exodus because they had to catch the last bus. Despite the lack of guitarists though the greatest “enemy” was the bad sound once more, which is sad because it’s somehow growing into a tradition in the certain venue. Overally it was a very good show and I’m more than glad I attended it.

Also on Burst.gr - http://burst.gr/live/reports/item/1231-live-report-exodus-obituary-heathen-morgoth-live-fuzz-club-09/06/2012-athens-greece

Sepultura, Suicidal Angels, Flames, Hammercult, Verdict Denied Live @ Fuzz Club, 02/06/12

Sepultura, Suicidal Angels, Flames, Hammercult, Verdict Denied Live @ Fuzz Club, 02/06/12

Despite all my efforts not to, finally I arrived a little late at the venue and sadly I missed Verdict Denied and a couple of songs from Hammercult. I’ve listened to this band in the past and it definitely has some potential. The poor sound wasn’t on their side though. I saw their set from the back of the venue although I don’t think that the situation would be any different in the middle of the venue or the front row. The band played very good although the crowd didn’t seem to respond much. At least the sound showed some improvement before the end of their set. Time for the reunited Flames!

Hammercult setlist:

Black Horseman

Let the Angels Burn

Above the Ruins

Riding Through Hell

Diabolic Overkill

We are Hammercult

Into the Death Gate

Hell's Unleashed

Hellbent

Stealer of Souls

I was really looking forward to see Flames for 2 reasons. First is because I’ve seen them with 2-3 other singers and they didn’t cope all that well and second, because Alex their original singer was my gymnast for 7-8 years and I hadn’t seen him in almost 10 years! I knew that he sang with Flames in the past, but I never thought that I’d see him perform with them again. I headed for the front line, which was very easy considering the lack of crowd and the fact that many people went in the back just before Flames started to play. Finally the band came on stage and they looked meant business. Alex was literally going up and down the stage and giving his best self like a day hadn’t gone by! The crowd didn’t seem to respond much though, which is a shame considering that Flames are the first Greek thrash metal band and one of the first Greek metal bands. They played all of their anthems perfectly although the sound wasn’t on their side, making the guitar and bass sound muffled at certain points. Alex said that they were back for good and they’re recording new stuff. We’re hoping for nothing but the best as always.

Flames setlist:

Revenge

Red Terror

Deathra

Jesus Christ

Legions of Death

Never ending Suicide

Bombenhagel (Sodom cover)

Pollution Attack

Agnostic Front

Alcoholic and Beer

Rotten Life

Silo

Summon the Dead

Eastern Front

Slaughterhouse

Time for Suicidal Angels. From the moment the band hits the stage to the moment they left, you could clearly feel the energy flowing from both the band and the crowd. I must say that I have seen them several times in the past and I didn’t enjoy all of them. They always seemed like a band that had a certain “pattern” on stage and that’s the first idea that I got when I saw them again now. That changed instantly of course. Endless headbanging and one killer song after another didn’t even leave you time to breathe. Well, so much for my judgement. And just when you though that it couldn’t get any better, the singer left that stage and came down on the front row to make the crowd go even wilder. The sound was from mediocre to good but then again not good enough. At least the guitar and bass were way clearer than before. Their performance was beyond words and this was definitively the best time I’ve seen them on stage.

Suicidal Angels setlist:

Intro/Bloodbath

Bleeding Holocaust

Reborn In Violence

Face of God

Chaos

Torment/Payback

Final Dawn

Morbid Intention to Kill

Bleeding Cries

Pestilence of Saints

Moshing Crew

Apokathilosis/Outro

10 minutes to midnight and the Seps are up and ready to destroy. After the intro ended, the band started bashing us with 1-2 oldies, just to get the crowd started. They continued with some stuff from their latest album Kairos as well as the previous albums with Derrick as well as a Ministry cover. One thing I noticed almost instantly was that the quality of the sound was perfect. You could hear everything crystal clear, probably the best sound I’ve ever heard in FUZZ Club and in an extreme metal band nevertheless. Derrick kept talking with the crowd while delivering vocal as well as drum lessons.
Then Andreas introduced their 21 year old drummer, saying that he wasn’t even born when the “Arise” album came out. After that Eloy played a devastating drum solo that left everyone speechless. The guy is a machine! Andreas spoke with the crowd again for a while due to a small technical issue and then he started playing a little something from their debut… Necromancer! Followed by some more Sepultura oldies from Schizophrenia this time. It was time for their encore and 5 more classics followed up to end a great night.

I like Max Cavalera a lot. I’ve “connected” many Sepultura songs with his voice, like “Inner Self” for example. But I didn’t miss him for a single second. There were some guys yelling “Cavalera!” all the time, but I must say that Derrick did more than just a great job. He is a total monster on stage (literally!) always moving and full of energy and he sang perfectly every Sepultura song, old and new. Andreas and Paulo were playing like beasts and Eloy is just a too good too be true drummer. Definitely a great gig in any way possible, I headed home with nothing but good memories.

Sepultura setlist:

Intro/Beneath the Remains

Refuse/Resist

Kairos

Relentless

Dead Embryonic Cells

Convicted In Life

Dialog

Attitude

What I do!

Choke

Mask

Septic Schizo/Escape To The Void

Sepulnation

Subtraction

Just One Fix (Ministry cover)

Territory

Innerself

Arise

Rattamahata

Roots Bloody Roots


Also on Burst.gr - http://burst.gr/live/reports/item/1221-live-report-sepultura-suicidal-angels-flames-hammercult-verdict-denied-2/06/2012-fuzz-club

Having your review shared by musicians who have written a part of the soundtrack of your childhood is always an honor. Thank you Andreas Kisser, Derrick Green and Sepultura...

https://www.facebook.com/andreaskissercombr/posts/254208298016477


https://www.facebook.com/derricksepultura/posts/381843465206149


https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=316289831790496&id=104563475185


https://www.facebook.com/sepultura/posts/293051677457343

https://twitter.com/sepulturacombr/status/211476310021775361


http://sepultura.uol.com.br/en/?s=news&id=47#content