Whoa! That was definitely a surprise! I walk down the road towards An Club being slightly cautious since this kind of music is something I like listening to, but it is definitely not my favorite one. So I had thoughts like I'll probably get bored and stuff like that. You know what? The four bands that participated in this show took care of kicking my sorry ass big time with their passion, energy and honesty on stage! Whoever missed this show will definitely be banging his head against the wall right now.
The first band to get on stage was the only Greek band of that night, GREET THE DEAD. From what I learned from the singer they haven't released anything yet, but are currently working on their first release. The band has been formed out of the ashes of INTO THE GORE and now features members from bands like KVAZAR, SKLEROTIKZ and DIHASMENES ALITHIES, along with two of the original members. Their music is a mixture of the noisy Crust scene with many Post fragments that make the whole thing sound kind of rich. I guess that the space tripping Post breaks made the band differ from many things I have heard from the classic Crust scene. Their show was pretty good and I guess that they earned some fans that night.
It was time for the Swedish DEAD VOWS to hit the stage and the only thing I can say about these guys is that they came out of the blue to fill me with questions like Why didn't I know this band? and make me feel guilty for letting such a talent out of my sight. These guys are the perfect mix between Hardcore, Crust and Sludge! Imagine a bastard child of CONVERGE and RAGING SPEEDHORN! They played material from their latest release Bad Blood and some of the songs I can recall right now are We're All Judas and Step Throat. A very honest and energetic band that earned the crowd's attention! Of course I immediately got my ass to the merchandise to buy the album (on a cult tape version!) and make the band's bassist sign the cover! I guess that you'll have to wait for a while if you also want to check out an interview with these guys!
DOOMRIDERS. The name says it all. The US rockers, metallers or however you want to call them grabbed their weapons and everyone was waiting for the first notes to come out of Newton's guitar. You got it right, this is the well known Newton who has been fucking up your mind with bands like OLD MAN GLOOM and many others. What we heard kind of prepared us for what was going to follow. The opening riff of SABBATH's Into The Void came out of the speakers and then... total chaos! If you are looking for a Stoner band with a Hardcore attitude or a Hardcore band with a Stoner attitude, you just found your medicine. DOOMRIDERS tipped us with a nice setlist and a bluesy Hardcore performance that many people that attended the show will hardly forget. Thumbs up for the sound which was heavy as fuck!
And this is the time I had been waiting for all night long! The kings of Crust taking their positions on stage in front of my eyes! Tomas Lindberg was like a king on his throne! Even though the band was tired from the trip to Greece (and let's not forget that the band is travelling and playing live every day during this tour), the Swedish sickos were full of energy! You can't even imagine how full of life this band is on stage! Regarding the setlist, you can easily imagine that the band's latest album Live The Storm had the place it should have. They kicked off their set with Get It Off and everyone went insane! You just can't imagine what happened in there! Stagediving, moshpits... total anarchy! Hahahaha... The band was tight as fuck performing every song with passion. I guess that the only words that can describe them are raw power. I know that I can't stop praising the band, but whoever has seen them live knows what I'm talking about. They were fucking relentless! Tomas was constantly interacting with the crowd and the whole band was really friendly. The surprise was at the end of their show, when they performed a cover of ZEKE's classic Revolution Reprise. Half of the club was dancing and the other half was fighting. It was just a magical experience!
I guess that this show competes the TESTAMENT one for the best show that took place here in Athens for 2008. Tomas always knows how to make the crowd have a hell of a nice time. And to be fair, since this band is not only Tomas, I have to say a couple of things for the rest of the band. Marcus is one of the sweetest musicians you will ever meet, Uffe is... well, the man that has haunted my life with his rotten guitar sound, Bjorn is a really friendly and talented musician and Henke is like an earthquake with his heavy as hell bass lines. It was a night full of Rock & Roll with a Punk aesthetic and a Hardcore attitude that I will never forget thanks to all the bands that wrecked the stage! A huge thank you to GREET THE DEAD, DEAD VOWS, DOOMRIDERS and DISFEAR for this incredible show!
