Before I start talking about my experience of the first appearance of ARCH ENEMY upon Greek soil let me make a confession. As soon as I set my foot on the Gararin205 club I felt like an old geezer (aka old fart)! I found myself surrounded by young metalheads that were during their puberty and probably this was their first live experience. Fortunately, thoughts like Am I getting old for this shit or what am I doing here stopped torturing me as soon as the first supporting act took over the stage.

Apparently, this was a last minute addition since EDEN DEMISE were not announced as one of the supporting acts. From the very first musical notes I discovered what would happen in front of me in the next 30 minutes; the Greek band performed the classic jumping up and down almost Hardcore music comprising low tuned guitars, great deal of attitude and absolutely no leads or solos. The young audience was really moved by them and definitely blew some steam of through intense headbanging and mosh-pitting. Although, EDEN DEMISE deserve some credit for warming up the audience they did not offer anything groundbreaking or special in terms of the music itself.

I have watched KINETIC in the past and the only think I can remember is that they always fail to get in touch with the audience. This effect applied for another time despite the presence of the latest female addition in their line up, that draw the attention of all the male metalheads, and the fresh songs coming from their latest album Corrosion. The band used the beauty and beast vocal pattern that was going hand-in-hand with their refreshed sound that featured a blend of Melodic Death Metal with Thrash addition in the style of KREATOR. All in all, they were good and their on-stage performance was pretty energetic but they totally failed in waking up the crowd that was already anxious to see Angela on stage.

This happened almost 45 minutes after KINETIC's performance; ARCH ENEMY entered the stage with Blood On Your Hands that comes from their latest and most successful album Rise Of The Tyrant. Michael Amott was welcomed by the relentless Greek audience that proved its deep respect by shouting and singing their lungs out during the whole gig. Angela Gossow did a hell of a job as a frontwoman although her vocals had some weak moments. She was really energetic (that made the photographers' work rather difficult) giving the Greek fans another reason to be even more excited.

Believe me, her looks (check the photos below) and her sincere on-stage attitude is an explosive combination that has an imminent effect on the audience. Actually, the whole band was in an excellent mood and performed in their best. In the highlights we have Ravenous, Nemesis, We Will Rise and some oldies like Diva Satanica and Bury Me An Angel. The very good sound quality and the motivated crowd made ARCH ENEMY's first appearance in Greece a successful one and will be definitely repeated in the near future.
PS (1) I thought that Angela would be taller....
PS (2) It would be nice to watch Michael Amott and CARCASS here in Greece don't you think?

ARCH ENEMY photos

KINETIC photos

EDEN DEMISE photos