[Yiannis D]: A chance to see the gods of technical Metal (may I say Thrash?) MEKONG DELTA was not something I would miss, so I headed down to Texas Necropolis Club, which recently changed name since many of you may know it as Underworld Club. I was a bit late, since the doors were supposed to open at 20:30, but when I arrived and met Harry, it was 20:45-21:00 but the doors were still closed. Anyway, despite the fact that the attendance was kind of ridiculous, POEM kicked of their show at about 21:20 with less than 70 people scattered in the club.

[Yiannis D]: The Greek act POEM is a fine example of modern Progressive Metal. I have seen the band playing live one more time and I can say that several circumstances were not such helpful to them. The audience was pretty cold and some technical problems were the main reasons POEM did not have the chance to perform the best way they could. Their music is a combination between PAIN OF SALVATION (and I can say that their singer's incredible voice reminded me a lot of Gildenlow), TOOL and SYSTEM OF A DOWN with many Middle Eastern melodies and some catchy Nu Metal breaks. Sounds too complicated, huh? Imagine these guys trying to play this kind of music with a shitty sound? If the awful sound was not enough, one of the bass strings broke and they had to stop for a while to get a new bass on stage, which was offered from VERDICT DENIED's bassist.

[Yiannis D]: After trying to give their best, POEM thanked us all, as well as the other two acts (VERDICT DENIED, MEKONG DELTA) that were next and left the stage for VERDICT DENIED, a Greek traditional Thrash Metal act that I personally adore! Their set was based on their debut album Condemned, which comes out through the Greek label Eat Metal Records. Songs like The Last Act, Twisted And Menacing My Stare and Battle Within, as well as a METALLICA medley with tunes from songs like Creeping Death, Master Of Puppets, Enter Sandman and more. The band seemed a bit tight on stage at first, but in a matter of seconds a few people from the crowd were singing along, and the band's frontman Billy Coumreau was in a great mood talking about his dream coming true (aka sharing the stage with MEKONG DELTA). The sound was incredibly shitty for one more time, giving a headache to the band. Also, Billy was trying to sing in front of a microphone that refused to work! Hehehe... The problem was quickly resolved for the sake of the audience!

[Harry]: After a short period of time, seeing MEKONG DELTA on stage was, for most of us, a dream that finally came true!

Words are too small to describe what we listened that night. For almost two hours, they gave lessons how tech Metal is supposed to be played. The problems with the sound remained, unfortunately something usual here in Greece, but that didn't hold the band back. They gave their best, even if the new singer Martin LeMar is only for four weeks with the band and asked a thousand times sorry for not knowing all the lyrics. But despite that, I think he passed the test from the fans.

They opened their set with Memories of Tomorrow and from then on I was with my moth open wide, but not just me. Yiannis D some other friends of mine and the lads from VERDICT DENIED had the same reaction. We were looking at each other and we couldn't believe what our ears were listening. Don't you wait for the set list. Some of the songs they performed were Innocent?, Hut Of Baba Yaga, Transgressor, The Healer. At around 1:30, MEKONG DELTA left the stage living us wandering if that was a dream or real. It's a shame that only 70-80 metalheads were in the venue to see two of the best Greek bands and the gods of technical Metal. But that's another story.

[Harry]: Even though the band staid there to sign autographs and took some pictures with the fans, unfortunately I had to go since Monday is a working day. The girls and boys that we were witnesses of that live performance will remember it for quite a long time. It doesn't matter that the sound was awful or the technical problems, all three bands gave 110% and the fans appreciated it. If we just attend to a gig here in Greece with proper sound...

(photos by Harry)

POEM

VERDICT DENIED

MEKONG DELTA