It has taken a band like Hammerfall, probably one of the most successful ones after the “fall” of traditional power metal in Europe, some eighteen years, the better part of one fifth of a century almost, to perform in Greece again… they were enthusiastically met as the “new” saviors of metal when they opened for Gamma Ray, back in 1997, in what would also be a “twilight” of sort for the latter for many years with mediocre and bad albums, until recently, but for Hammerfall that tour was just the start of an ascend to glory…
Soldiering on tirelessly for almost twenty years and producing some nine albums and a couple of “live” DVDs along the way, the Swedes were destined to visit our shores once more, this time as headliners. While I remember their 97 club performance fondly, a couple of later encounters on festival grounds ended up being good in one case and kind of “lukewarm” in another, but hey, I might have been unlucky and caught them on a slightly “off” date. With my most recent memories of the band being far from spectacular, I drove with a friend down to Fuzz club where since the “parking lots” seemed to be closed, (no HM parking lot today) we had to drive round and round until coming to a conclusion that a space in front of a bakery would be OK as it weren’t too far from the club.
We entered all the while Italians Elvenking were already on stage and having played at least a couple of tunes. They did suffer from some pretty poor sound, possibly because they were trying to mix 2 guitars and a fiddle, plus samples, plus a bass, drums and a singer and sounded quite “weak” and low… their faux Cruachan meets Skyclad wannabe sound that was more Europower than folk doesn’t really do it for me, but a good portion of younger kids at the front seemed to like em… with some eight albums or so to their name they definitely didn’t have a problem of song selection… even though some people made a couple of qualms about X or Y song missing from their set. I entered during, “Runereader”, which had been preceded by “The Manifesto” (intro-taped), “The Scythe” and “I am the Monster”. The band was trying to get the crowd worked up, while attempting to also fix the sound a bit… “Elvenlegions”, “Pagan Revolution”, “Grandier’s Funeral Pyre” passed with the sound making only marginal improvements and they only got closer to a desired sound towards the end with songs like “The Wanderer”, “Moonbeam Stone Circle”, “The Divided Heart”, “Neverending Nights”, which got some more people “dancing” and closed off with “The Loser”, while some people’s cries for “Oakenshield” went unanswered…
Making some phone calls and a visit to the loo and to the bar (not necessarily in that order) and talking with friends, I decided to first head to the photo pit for some photos – which I did – once Hammerfall were on and then to visit the mezzanine once more, I spotted a couple of friends and moved to the “wings” of the “balcony”. I was shocked by several factors in a positive way. Firstly how mature Hammerfall sounded. Also how good the sound was. It was gloriously, loud, but not “noisy” at all. Very clear, with the instruments clearly distinctive in the mix and Joacim Cans, even probably half a step lower, sounding really royal and steady as hell, in probably what was the best performance I’ve seen him muster in the 3-4-5 times I’ve seen the band perform… wow!
Their setlist – after some – what is it, some nine albums, was a little in favor of the latter albums, but tried to keep a decent balance at checking as many albums as they could. It might have missed some of their very nice ballads, or a power metal thunder like “Steel Meets Steel”, but it still managed to satisfy most of the “Templars of Athens”… as Joacim affectionately called the crowd, which was loud and energetic and moving as one large mass – the bottom floor with some 600 + people seemed like a raging sea, far too often.
While I was at the photo pit, the band begun with “Hector’s Hymn”, “Any Means Necessary” and “Renegade”… receiving a most warm welcome, I was pretty sure that they sounded quite good, but it wasn’t until I moved a few meters back that I realized how good they sounded. Props to their “team/crew” wow. I moved to the left wing of the balcony where I had spotted a couple of friendly faces and the sound was just as loud and clear there, with almost zero overload or distortion... just perfect. “Blood Bound” came rhythmically crushing… while “Heeding the Call” more anthemic, ignited the crowd once more. “Let the Hammer Fall” is not exactly my fav from the band’s sophomore, and I might have preferred “Legacy...” itself or “Warriors of Faith”, but one can’t have it all.
Oscar, switched to a “Hammer-shapped” guitar and proceeded to pretend he’s Thor, throughout the song which was entertaining, I must say… “Live Life Loud” wasn’t bad, receiving more of a response than I expected, but I suppose that was due to the general euphoria that the band had managed to create with their really great performance… a “400 Meter Medley” (do they mean 400 musical meters? I lost count) had Pontus coming to the fore and giving it his all on a solo that then proceeded to check the past of the band including “When the Dragon Lies Bleeding” among others, a quite glaring omission from the set… I was there during their first gig eighteen years ago, but for all newcomers – I wish they had aired it… “Threshold” and “Last Man Standing” maintained the band impetus, but I guess I might have wanted something “earlier” in their place… and I got my wish granted in the shape of the band’s cover of Warlord’s “Child of the Damned”, which obviously sent the crowd into hysteric reactions… their “eponymous” anthem “HammerFall” came on at the right time after an unexpected “Glory to the Brave” rendition that wasn’t really “planned”… and the lights went down, but only for a minute or two before the band returned for an encore, with “Templars of Steel” and “Bushido” being fine choices, but “Hearts on Fire” closing the show probably being the weakest and cheesiest song the band has ever written (some cheerleader metal – as I affectionately call it) not being the best choice, I could think off… a somewhat blundering close to an otherwise almost perfect night… I ‘d rather have had “The Dragon Lies Bleeding” or whatever else in its place…
Having said that, I must say that I went to the show without the highest expectations and I left, really entertained and reminded of my younger days, by a bunch of Swedes that have worked hard to be where they are, but they absolutely deserve the crown of “kings” of the newer wave of European Power Metal. Impressed, if nothing else.
We entered all the while Italians Elvenking were already on stage and having played at least a couple of tunes. They did suffer from some pretty poor sound, possibly because they were trying to mix 2 guitars and a fiddle, plus samples, plus a bass, drums and a singer and sounded quite “weak” and low… their faux Cruachan meets Skyclad wannabe sound that was more Europower than folk doesn’t really do it for me, but a good portion of younger kids at the front seemed to like em… with some eight albums or so to their name they definitely didn’t have a problem of song selection… even though some people made a couple of qualms about X or Y song missing from their set. I entered during, “Runereader”, which had been preceded by “The Manifesto” (intro-taped), “The Scythe” and “I am the Monster”. The band was trying to get the crowd worked up, while attempting to also fix the sound a bit… “Elvenlegions”, “Pagan Revolution”, “Grandier’s Funeral Pyre” passed with the sound making only marginal improvements and they only got closer to a desired sound towards the end with songs like “The Wanderer”, “Moonbeam Stone Circle”, “The Divided Heart”, “Neverending Nights”, which got some more people “dancing” and closed off with “The Loser”, while some people’s cries for “Oakenshield” went unanswered…
Making some phone calls and a visit to the loo and to the bar (not necessarily in that order) and talking with friends, I decided to first head to the photo pit for some photos – which I did – once Hammerfall were on and then to visit the mezzanine once more, I spotted a couple of friends and moved to the “wings” of the “balcony”. I was shocked by several factors in a positive way. Firstly how mature Hammerfall sounded. Also how good the sound was. It was gloriously, loud, but not “noisy” at all. Very clear, with the instruments clearly distinctive in the mix and Joacim Cans, even probably half a step lower, sounding really royal and steady as hell, in probably what was the best performance I’ve seen him muster in the 3-4-5 times I’ve seen the band perform… wow!
Their setlist – after some – what is it, some nine albums, was a little in favor of the latter albums, but tried to keep a decent balance at checking as many albums as they could. It might have missed some of their very nice ballads, or a power metal thunder like “Steel Meets Steel”, but it still managed to satisfy most of the “Templars of Athens”… as Joacim affectionately called the crowd, which was loud and energetic and moving as one large mass – the bottom floor with some 600 + people seemed like a raging sea, far too often.
While I was at the photo pit, the band begun with “Hector’s Hymn”, “Any Means Necessary” and “Renegade”… receiving a most warm welcome, I was pretty sure that they sounded quite good, but it wasn’t until I moved a few meters back that I realized how good they sounded. Props to their “team/crew” wow. I moved to the left wing of the balcony where I had spotted a couple of friendly faces and the sound was just as loud and clear there, with almost zero overload or distortion... just perfect. “Blood Bound” came rhythmically crushing… while “Heeding the Call” more anthemic, ignited the crowd once more. “Let the Hammer Fall” is not exactly my fav from the band’s sophomore, and I might have preferred “Legacy...” itself or “Warriors of Faith”, but one can’t have it all.
Oscar, switched to a “Hammer-shapped” guitar and proceeded to pretend he’s Thor, throughout the song which was entertaining, I must say… “Live Life Loud” wasn’t bad, receiving more of a response than I expected, but I suppose that was due to the general euphoria that the band had managed to create with their really great performance… a “400 Meter Medley” (do they mean 400 musical meters? I lost count) had Pontus coming to the fore and giving it his all on a solo that then proceeded to check the past of the band including “When the Dragon Lies Bleeding” among others, a quite glaring omission from the set… I was there during their first gig eighteen years ago, but for all newcomers – I wish they had aired it… “Threshold” and “Last Man Standing” maintained the band impetus, but I guess I might have wanted something “earlier” in their place… and I got my wish granted in the shape of the band’s cover of Warlord’s “Child of the Damned”, which obviously sent the crowd into hysteric reactions… their “eponymous” anthem “HammerFall” came on at the right time after an unexpected “Glory to the Brave” rendition that wasn’t really “planned”… and the lights went down, but only for a minute or two before the band returned for an encore, with “Templars of Steel” and “Bushido” being fine choices, but “Hearts on Fire” closing the show probably being the weakest and cheesiest song the band has ever written (some cheerleader metal – as I affectionately call it) not being the best choice, I could think off… a somewhat blundering close to an otherwise almost perfect night… I ‘d rather have had “The Dragon Lies Bleeding” or whatever else in its place…
Having said that, I must say that I went to the show without the highest expectations and I left, really entertained and reminded of my younger days, by a bunch of Swedes that have worked hard to be where they are, but they absolutely deserve the crown of “kings” of the newer wave of European Power Metal. Impressed, if nothing else.
