This concert featured probably the best billing for this year's winter season. I mean CANDLEMASS along with GRAND MAGUS and MEMORY GARDEN formed a definitely enticing package for a Saturday night. Add to the above the hosting venue that is by far the best one in Athens then you pretty much understand my saying. Well, the national elections held the next day forced the promoters to cancel CANDLEMASS' appearance at Thessaloniki and re-schedule the one in Athens.
One thing that is not usual in concerts held in Greece was the fact that the gig started on time according to schedule. So, as the METAL TEMPLE editors walked inside the club MEMORY GARDEN were already on-stage.

Personally, I was not that much impressed by Carnage Carnival since MEMORY GARDEN's progressive -in moments- Heavy_Doom Metal is not my type of thing. So, I had not high expectations from the Swedes and I was just waiting for the end of their setlist. But, when you are not expecting much from a band things can turn the other way easily. And this exactly happened with MEMORY GARDEN; having beside them a really good sound the fivesome did perform very well and warmed the indifferent audience. The tracks coming from Carnage Carnival were well received by the end of the setlist the band seemed to have a nice time on-stage 'dragging' with them some of the metalheads in the front rows. So, many kudos to them for the honest attitude and very good live performance.

Obviously, part of the audience had additional reasons to attend this gig to watch live once again GRAND MAGUS. Like in MEMORY GARDEN's case Iron Will was a milestone for GRAND MAGUS who made an 'opening' to wider audiences escaping a little bit the restricting boundaries of Stoner_Doom Metal. So, after the soundcheck break the three Swedes took over Gagarin205 club under the warm cheers and applause from the majority of the attendees. Like the Oar Strikes The Water was the first tune we got from them and even though I am very fond of the Iron Will album I was not that pumped up. I cannot put my finger on the reasons for this but I think that their stationary performance took away some of the music's dynamics. Maybe it was the band's setup on-stage that featured Fox and JB on the right and the left (from the audience's point of view), respectively, that just served the visual symmetry but also distracted the crowd. As the setlist was progressing the crowd was getting more on GRAND MAGUS and by the time JB preambled Wolf's Return the temperature rose a couple of degrees. Iron Will worked also towards that direction but the slow Doom_Stoner oriented Baptized In Fire threw a bucket of water to the growing flames. GRAND MAGUS put their hearts on the show and sweated their arses of (it was hot according to the Swedish standards) but it was not enough at least for my untrained ears and eyes. Kingslayer was the closing song and judging by the metalheads reaction was a clever choice.

Things moved quite smoothly and after 20 minutes the clock stroke 22:00 o'clock and it was time for CANDLEMASS to hit the stage. Marche Funebre brought the band on-stage while the Greek audience was already 'singing' the main melody proving that Greece loves CANDLEMASS. Without pauses we got Mirror Mirror, Samarithan and At The Gallows End spreading waves of enthusiasm to at about 700 metalheads. Although, the sound was very good Lowe's microphone was not working properly while Jan Lindh's drum set gave an awkward break just before Emperor Of The Void. Lowe took over and start telling jokes to the crowd but due to his Texan accent they were not that clear. After some minutes the sound returned better than before and CANDLEMASS carried on with the show. To some Lowe may look 'stranger' to the rest of the band but to my mind this is justifiable due to their different ancestry (US vs Europe). One thing that is worth asking the Lowe is Has he got a problem to learn the lyrics by heart? It is a little bit of turn off to seeing the frontman stationary trying to read over the lyrics book.

The band decided to make changes on the setlist and thus added more songs from the Lowe-era albums while Tears from Tales Of Creation was a more than a nice treat. There were a couple of hand-held cameras 'running around' the stage taking footage for a future dvd giving the audience another reason to scream, sing and show the love for the Swedish Doom machine. A Sorcerer's Pledge was the last song of the 'regular' setlist featuring in all of its grandeur the attendees singing by almost everyone in the club. The band -of course- returned giving us Demon Of The Deep and -just like in 'Graspop'- a cover on RAINBOW's Kill The King instead of adding another of their classic list. The shouts and cheers brought the band back on stage for the last time to perform Solitude and make us sing our lungs out!
I have said it before taking fully responsibility of sounding blasphemous; CANDLEMASS look way better on-stage with Lowe than with Messiah. Even though they play Doom they show up with smiles on their faces revealing the excellent atmosphere in the band's ranks. So, after almost two hours CANDLEMASS left everyone satisfied even though to some of them the band looked like it is repeating itself. I'd like to underline here that there were no complaints about the organization of this gig apart from the fact that they did not open the second door to assist our way out of the venue.

CANDLEMASS setlist:

01. Mirror Mirror
02. Samarithan
03. At The Gallow's End
04. If I Ever Die
05. Hammer Of Doom
06. Dark Are The Veils Of Death
07. Demons Gate
08. Emperor Of The Void
09. Man Of Shadows
10. Bleeding Baroness
11. Tears
12. Sorcerer's Pledge
Encore
13. Demon Of The Deep
14. Kill The King
Encore2
15. Solitude

(photos by the emperor of the void)

MEMORY GARDEN

GRAND MAGUS

CANDLEMASS