WARNING! EXTREMELY FANATIC REPORT FOLLOWS!
It all started in 1998 when a bunch of guys from Thessaloniki started a band called HOMO IRATUS. That was just the beginning of a magical journey for the band since despite the fact they never managed to have a big name in the scene (thought they fully deserved it), they definitely managed to earn numerous fans with their high quality releases and live shows with bands like NAPALM DEATH, MALEVOLENT CREATION, OBITUARY, IMPALED NAZARENE, CANNIBAL CORPSE, HYPOCRISY, DESTRUCTION, NUCLEAR ASSAULT and many more. The band disbanded only to return with the 2009 reunion tour and smash our bones with their incredible and brutal as fuck sound!
I gathered some friends and we headed downtown to visit Sin City Club, which hosted the show. When we entered, the Athenian Thrash/Death Metal act DAMNED CREED was already on stage delivering the goods. Even though I am not a fan of the band and I was not really excited with their Dystopia EP, I have to admit that they are way better live! They are a pretty tight band with good riffing and a charismatic vocalist that knows how to handle the stage. They played some stuff from their EP and asked to play one extra song in the end if that wasn't a problem. I didn't see anyone complaining, only heads banging! The only bad thing is that the band didn't have the required enthusiasm from the crowd.
Next band to step on the stage was MAHAKALA. One more reunited band that I was impatient to see. The Greek kings of dirty Sludge & Roll made us get into the groove with their brutally groovy old songs, as well as their new, more Stoner dare I say material. Their old singer Smirnoff seemed to be missed by some metalheads in there, but the renovated Jim Bob (vocalist_bassist) gave his best to set the crowd on fire by totally screaming and making jokes. With a noisy and loud sound (exactly what their music needs), MAHAKALA seemed like a great jam between BLACK SABBATH, CROWBAR and DOWN. Thumbs up for the guys that seem to be full of energy after their reunion and I am already waiting to see their next step.
It was about time to see the undeniable masters of Grind. HOMO IRATUS showed their intentions right from the start. They didn't fucking stop screaming even for a second! The band is back and seems to be in a better shape than ever! They left back the more experimental phase of their last era and returned to their old sound, something that was more than obvious from the new songs they played. Need more? Dead Upon Conception and Tomahawk Cruise Messiah reminded us of how a good Grind live show really is. Their NASUM style groove-meets-brutality made everyone go crazy and the only thing you could see was endless moshpits, Hardcore dancing and headbanging. Highlight of the show was when the band called up three people from the crowd to help them jam a song. A young kid helped the drummer while John from the Black_Death Metal band DARK VISION and AGAINST THE SOCIETY's singer George shared the vocal duties to make half of the people tear the club apart while the other half put a huge smile on their faces...
The band was really one with the audience and that's what makes HOMO IRATUS rightfully earn the word true! The band is as fucking true as it gets! They made us sing with them in the tribal Ka Mate, a song which was inspired by a Maori poem. The most beautiful moment of the night, almost touching may I say, was when the band talked about our music. Someone asked a guy from the band why he listens to this music. His answer was that they take the noise from their expensive cars and the pollution from the factories and transform it into art. At the end of that night, they thanked us for being there and the band got what it deserved, a huger applause and a big thank you from the crowd! You were right guys; you and we keep this fucking scene alive! Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
