Well this definitely wasn’t the first time for the Texans to play in Greece, but third time’s the charm they say and after playing lesser clubs the last two times, this one they were upgraded to Kyttaro, a much better venue and they were also coming back, very shortly after having released their eponymous, I think twelfth album, probably one of the best things they’ve done after their classic 1-2, albums and a bit of a surprise coming so late into their career, but a nice one nonetheless.
Unfortunately, despite having headed out early enough to reach Kytarro under normal traffic, I got delayed by congestion caused by some strikers parading through the central streets that caused a bit of traffic chaos, so I really managed to arrive just as Hailsteel were getting off the stage. A really youthful bunch of guys, who according to some of the people who I asked, did more than an OK job of trying to warm up the few people that had made it early into the venue.
Desert Near The End came on next and to my ears they sounded like a more frantic, somewhat darker Iced Earth, even down to certain members postures and attire, but possibly missing the point a bit on variation, or at least that didn’t come across strongly live, with most of their songs having a very similar structure and sound and the singer not able to rise above the mid-range, which is not something very easy at any rate, at the rate they were playing without running into the danger of sounding “weird”. Still they were definitely worth checking out and I would not mind at all checking them out again in the future.
Memorain who came on stage are a quite different band since I last saw them a few years ago with only one of the guitarists being a founding member. Obviously the band had musicians in its ranks from the US, but at that point, that lineup never really got to perform. The various other live formations have been on stage though and they even supported F&J when they were in Athens last time. Their newest talent is doing its job quite nicely, but I am not entirely sure why it didn’t quite work from me. Maybe their frontman is carrying across too much of an aggro vibe from his other bands, maybe the sound was a little too massive, but not defined, they looked entertaining on stage, thrashing around and trying (and almost managing) to engage most people that had come in but didn’t sound just as good, with their modernized groovy thrash metal, not really feeling that much in tune with the rest. But I can’t say they were “bad”.
By that point about 200 people had come in, still a number quite disheartening, all things considered, but at least those who were there, were really on intend. Coming out like a storm breaking out of the blue, the Arizonians plagued us by breaking into “Seventh Seal” from their latest album, “Flotsam And Jetsam”. The sound was oh so much better and clear, heavy, but not too bass or treble, just right, dry and loud. Eric despite having partied a bit too hard the nights before, seemed in good spirits and fine voice and the band did seem like they were really enjoying themselves. Mixing the old with the new, they threw a “monkey Wrench” somewhere in between “Dreams of Death”, “Hammerhead” and “Desecrator”…. oh holy-mutha-f@#kin batman! The place erupted. “Me” was a little of an odd but welcome choice and so was “Life is a Mess”, a song very reflective of the everyday BS that can happen to any of us. And then it was back to the good old times, for a song about the axe murdering Lizzy Borden (the woman) with “She Took an Axe”, hmm, nice clean cut (pun intended)! Further back to the debut, “Hard on You” dropped with its massive riff, forcing even the last person in the club not to thrash around into submission. They next did their own, very Maidenesque indeed “Iron Maiden”, an original from their latest album that did feel quite in place with everything else. Again going for a cut from the somewhat controversial “Drift”, they did choose to smoke us out with “Smoked Out”…
Indeed in Kytarro that night there was “No Place for Disgrace” and the shit hit the proverbial fan that is not hanging from the ceiling (well the air condition system then!)… ahh the band just momentarily disappeared – to wipe their sweat off and bring forth “Doomsday for the Deceiver” and “I Live You Die” as encore, just to make sure they had leveled the place completely. Flotzing it out… as one would expect.
Now, I had seen the band but not in one of their Athenian shows before and I thought they were good, but not mega, but this Thursday night really beat me into a pulp! Really friggin honest, no BS metal. Great stuff! These bands, who do follow their heart and don’t give into BS, deserve a lot more respect than some of the medium sized and some of the Big Four, they might have never been on that level, but their hearts are in the right place. Honored… hope to see them again sooner rather than later.
Desert Near The End came on next and to my ears they sounded like a more frantic, somewhat darker Iced Earth, even down to certain members postures and attire, but possibly missing the point a bit on variation, or at least that didn’t come across strongly live, with most of their songs having a very similar structure and sound and the singer not able to rise above the mid-range, which is not something very easy at any rate, at the rate they were playing without running into the danger of sounding “weird”. Still they were definitely worth checking out and I would not mind at all checking them out again in the future.
Memorain who came on stage are a quite different band since I last saw them a few years ago with only one of the guitarists being a founding member. Obviously the band had musicians in its ranks from the US, but at that point, that lineup never really got to perform. The various other live formations have been on stage though and they even supported F&J when they were in Athens last time. Their newest talent is doing its job quite nicely, but I am not entirely sure why it didn’t quite work from me. Maybe their frontman is carrying across too much of an aggro vibe from his other bands, maybe the sound was a little too massive, but not defined, they looked entertaining on stage, thrashing around and trying (and almost managing) to engage most people that had come in but didn’t sound just as good, with their modernized groovy thrash metal, not really feeling that much in tune with the rest. But I can’t say they were “bad”.
By that point about 200 people had come in, still a number quite disheartening, all things considered, but at least those who were there, were really on intend. Coming out like a storm breaking out of the blue, the Arizonians plagued us by breaking into “Seventh Seal” from their latest album, “Flotsam And Jetsam”. The sound was oh so much better and clear, heavy, but not too bass or treble, just right, dry and loud. Eric despite having partied a bit too hard the nights before, seemed in good spirits and fine voice and the band did seem like they were really enjoying themselves. Mixing the old with the new, they threw a “monkey Wrench” somewhere in between “Dreams of Death”, “Hammerhead” and “Desecrator”…. oh holy-mutha-f@#kin batman! The place erupted. “Me” was a little of an odd but welcome choice and so was “Life is a Mess”, a song very reflective of the everyday BS that can happen to any of us. And then it was back to the good old times, for a song about the axe murdering Lizzy Borden (the woman) with “She Took an Axe”, hmm, nice clean cut (pun intended)! Further back to the debut, “Hard on You” dropped with its massive riff, forcing even the last person in the club not to thrash around into submission. They next did their own, very Maidenesque indeed “Iron Maiden”, an original from their latest album that did feel quite in place with everything else. Again going for a cut from the somewhat controversial “Drift”, they did choose to smoke us out with “Smoked Out”…
Indeed in Kytarro that night there was “No Place for Disgrace” and the shit hit the proverbial fan that is not hanging from the ceiling (well the air condition system then!)… ahh the band just momentarily disappeared – to wipe their sweat off and bring forth “Doomsday for the Deceiver” and “I Live You Die” as encore, just to make sure they had leveled the place completely. Flotzing it out… as one would expect.
Now, I had seen the band but not in one of their Athenian shows before and I thought they were good, but not mega, but this Thursday night really beat me into a pulp! Really friggin honest, no BS metal. Great stuff! These bands, who do follow their heart and don’t give into BS, deserve a lot more respect than some of the medium sized and some of the Big Four, they might have never been on that level, but their hearts are in the right place. Honored… hope to see them again sooner rather than later.
