HELLOWEEN and STRATOVARIUS have always been two of my favorite metal bands, especially during my 'early' days of refining my metal music tastes.Having seen the pumpkins approximately two years ago together with GAMMA RAY, of the great Kai Hansen, we should have been way too optimistic to expect them to top out that performance. Or so we thought. On the other hand the return of STRATOVARIUS on the road, together with the two continuous good album releases, was a good sign that the drama-heavy recent history of the band wasn't holding them back.
Arriving around 20:40 local time at the venue, the late arrival being a courtesy of the Greek slaver…eer jobs now days, meant that I missed the support band under the name AVATAR. I won't republish any hearsay but people weren't happy about them, in the extent of ultimate boredom. This was my first time to this venue and it was crammed with people right by the entrance! The whole "experience" gone worse right after I realized that I wasn't able to see the stage (I am considered to be a tall guy…) plus the abysmal floor that was so slippery that I felt I was in some kind of bikini oil wrestling! Seriously Greek venue dudes, wtf were you thinking putting marble-like floor in a place where people like to 'move' (to say the least) during the concert?
In any case, putting old-age whining aside, I managed to catch the start of STRATOVARIUS setlist starting with the prophetic of the current band's status "Hunting High And Low" only to realize that Kotipelto's voice had its toll after the recent illness at France. Giving the credits due however, he was really trying and everyone in the venue appreciated his effort by enjoying the songs, very lively in most cases!The short "very special guest" setlist consist of "hymns" of the band like "Speed Of Light" , "Twilight Symphony" and "Kiss Of Judas". Jorg Michael's effort was the key event in this slightly sort 're-introducing' appearance of the finish power metalers in Greece after almost 18 years. The guy was almost flawless in every song, which is really amazing given the fact that he had a fight with cancer few months ago and for that alone the whole venue was applauding him for like a minute! Out of the nine songs we weren't expecting any surprises; the setlist was expected to be a homage to the great name of the band in the metal community rather than a taste of the things to come. One other thing that stood out, apart the health related mishaps of the two aforementioned all timers and their comeback, were the "difficult" guitar parts that seemed a bit 'troubling' to the rather promising new guitarist of the band, Matias Kupiainen. I am pretty sure he needs more time with the band if you realize that he is only been with them for slightly more than a year . After around 50 minutes, a nice sing-a-along on the ballad hit "Forever" and zero song from their two latest albums,the band made a promise of revisiting us, hopefully sooner than they did last time.
STRATOVARIUS setlist
1. Hunting High and Low
2. Speed of Light
3. Stratosphere
4. Paradise
5. Phoenix
6. Bass Solo
7. Guitar Solo
8. The Kiss of Judas
9. Forever
10. Twilight Symphony
11. Black Diamond
Keeping the schedule almost religiously, something really rare for Greek promoters and venues, probably one of the best power metal bands ever, HELLOWEEN got on stage with their single from their latest album 7 Sinners with the 'cheesy' title "Are You Metal?". Cheesy or not it did the job right to pump the, already fanatic, crowd following by their hymn "Eagle Fly Free" that shook the place for good! Andi Deris did one hell of a job in passing the bands' great chemistry and current momentum! He was much more entertaining than his last appearance in Greece, reminding his crazy PINK CREAM 69 days, going all poser-y and stuff (something that a certain special soul would really appreciate if she wasn't fighting the beasts of the Greek educational system)!
His voice was in top shape and his execution of the amazing "Ride The Sky" was really good giving a wide smile to the undersigned (which I have to confess, because the mosh pit we've created during this song I didn't pay any attention to his voice and had to re-live it at Youtube!). The crazy mr.Grosskopf was a sight to behold during the whole concert with his facial expressions and teasing to the rest band members, the "big" Weikath was as "lost in space" as ever with his "tired" trademark playing style getting us back in the old Keeper days and the rest of the guys were on spot in every song with more kudos to, the rather impressive, Dani Löble. The setlist consisted of three songs from their latest album, two songs from The Time Of The Oath, one from Better Than Raw and the rest from their three Keepers album (with the last Keeper having only the self-titled in the Keeper medley).
Even though everyone loves these songs, ignoring almost completely the Deris-era (where are the songs from Master Of The Rings or The Dark Ride or Rabbits Don't Come Easy?) is a mistake, especially when you have two REALLY BORING solo moments (drums and guitar, show off the "new" guys and/or give some breathers to the old-timers?) and extended versions of "I Want Out" and "Future World" –with the first one being really tiring-. I am pretty sure we could get a couple more songs, right? Nevertheless the vibe in the venue was amazing and the moments that "Ride The Sky" and the "Keeper…" medley hit us, will be memorable to everyone. Honestly when I first saw the setlist and got my head around the fifteen minute medley I was wondering 'How are they going to combine three VERY VERY different songs and making it sound like one?'. The final result spoke for itself, fifteen minutes of pure madness! Bottom line, HELLOWEEN proved once again that they are about a class and half in front of almost any other power metal band active nowadays and they are not going anywhere! UP THE EFFIN PUMPKINS!
HELLOWEEN setlist
1. Are You Metal?
2. Eagle Fly Free
3. March of Time
4. Guitar Solo
5. Where the Sinners Go
6. World of Fantasy
7. Drum Solo
8. I'm Alive
9. Steel Tormentor
10. Forever And One
11. A Handful of Pain
12. The Keeper's Medley
13. I Want Out
14. Ride the Sky
15. Future World
16. Dr. Stein
