Sunday morning in Tolmin, Slovenia was boiling hot. Waiting under the sun at 11:30 for the doors open, and I didn't know how much longer I would last before passing out. While waiting, I could listen to the sound check of MANOWAR. It felt like the subwoofers were playing table tennis with my heart. "Can someone stand this sound at the front row?" I was wondering. Yes, it seemed that Slovenia had enough power for MANOWAR!!! The doors opened at 12:45pm, three quarters later, and I rushed to the front, waiting for CROSSWIND to hit the stage.

CROSSWIND is the band, which has given a new meaning to self-financed releases. Both of their EP's hold a solid, massive sound, the sound that was earlier achieved only with a big budget. Here we are dealing with charismatic musicians that have passion for their music. For that reason, I was more than eager to see them perform in their first live appearance abroad ever.Giving us a little example of what we should expect through the sound check, there were lots of people who rushed in the front. Around 14:45 they entered with "Virtue & Malice". WOW! What a sound. By all odds, the sound was loud and clear. More people had gathered in the front. "Nephilim Rising" from their second EP "Opposing Forces" came after. For this live, Giannis supplied his vocal abilities to the band, who together with Kyriakos gave a stunning delivering. They played for 45', and among the songs from the 2 EPs there were also two new ones. "Vicious Dominion" and "Legion Lost". I am looking forward for their next CD! These two songs sounded wicked! They completed their show with "300" from "Beyond" EP. For a first performance, CROSSWIND's sound, and delivering was something beyond imagination.

CROSSWIND setlist:

1. "Virtue & Malice"
2. "Nephilim Rising"
3. "Eye of The Storm"
4. "Awakening"
5. "Vicious Dominion"
6. "Legion Lost"
7. "300"

For METALFORCE, I did not stay in the front. The sun was burning and I was more than happy to spend some time in the shadow with a couple of beers and good friends. I am not the METALFORCE fan, although I watched them and most importantly I listened to them. The sound could definitely be better.

Last time I saw VIRGIN STEELE performing, was 13 years ago in 'Open Air Festival' in Athens. Their latest release "Visions Of Eden" did not provoke me and the long time that had passed since the last time I attended one of their shows made me unable of expecting anything, good or bad. HOLY ZEUS!!! David DeFeis was in excellent form. All the vocal lines were outstanding and in fact he did not miss not even a note. He reminded me actually what a great front man he is. Words seem very poor in order to describe the performance of VIRGIN STEELE. Everything was at top notch, stage appearance, communication with the crowd, sound. A magnificent band! Most possibly the best performance of the festival.

VIRGIN STEELE setlist:

1. "Immortal I Stand (The Birth of Adam)"
2. "The Wine of Violence"
3. "Through Blood and Fire"
4. "Crown Of Glory"
5. "A Symphony of Steele"
6. "Noble Savage"
7. "Kingdom of the Fearless"
8. "The Burning Of Rome"

HOLYHELL! Exactly! After they had set a foot on stage the technical problems started. There were ups and downs with the sound, there were ups and downs with the vocals. They have taken part in the tribute CD for Ronnie James Dio, I haven't heard the studio version, but I did hear the live version of "Holy Diver". Pompous phrases that always end with something similar to …"rest in peace".. make me shiver. I have nothing against cover songs, I have nothing against the fact that a band can do a cover song and make it completely different from the original. Sure, no objections to that. The fact nevertheless, that a voice cannot support the specific song, makes me furious. That is that happened with HOLYHELL's version of "Holy Diver", and surely in such cases, Dio will not find peace!

Time for KAMELOT to hit the stage and they seemed tired. Roy Khan's vocals were out of tune, and even when he was trying to keep the melody his vocals were disappointing. It is one of those days that you get up on stage and everything is crap. The band was performing the day before as well, so this could explain the weary impression the band gave that evening, the poor stage appearance (if we put aside the two girls that help in the intro of the encore) and the mediocre vocals. On the other hand, isn't exactly that, professionals have to deal with?

KAMELOT setlist:

1. "Rule The World"
2. "Ghost Opera"
3. "The Great Pandemonium"
4. "Center of the Universe"
5. "The Haunting (Somewhere in Time)"
6. "When the Lights are Down"
7. "The Pendulous Fall"
8. "The Human Stain"
9. "Karma"
10. "Forever"
11. "March Of Mephisto"

Since the beginning of the festival I was wondering… How could VIRGIN STEELE play before HOLYHELL, KAMELOT and ARCH ENEMY? And finally… How come ARCH ENEMY were to play in a festival that was mainly for heavy Metal bands. That's called business… Ok, if we exclude the fact that Angela is ripping her guts off when she is singing, ARCH ENEMY, just the music, is definitely more a heavy than a death Metal band. They delivered a very good show, they have proven through the years that they are pure professionals.

Time for the main act of this evening. The crowd was calling them… and after a small intro, MANOWAR began the battle with "Hand Of Doom". The stage appearance of MANOWAR is known through the years and there is not much different to expect, same positions, same expressions. Erik Adams amazed us once again with his voice, and that was all he had to do. DeMaio was not that active, as he usually is, he seemed more focused. That does not mean that he did not give the epic speeches he does in every concert. Apart from the usual stuff about how amazing band MANOWAR is and how ultra amazing the MANOWAR fans are, he commented also on the topic of the tribute CD to Ronnie James Dio. After that, "Heaven And Hell" followed. I can say that it was the only "hit" song that MANOWAR played and it wasn't MANOWAR. The sound was perfect, the performance was typical MANOWAR, the vocals were ideal…. The setlist? The setlist was really disappointing. It was a "read and weep" paper. The oldest song they played was "Blackwind Fire And Steel" from "Fighting The World". Which till now brings us to the point that songs that are considered masterpieces in MANOWAR's career were not there. They did not play anything from "Kings Of Metal" album either. Then WHAT THE F**K did they play? "House Of Death"… Have Mercy!!!! "Blackwind, Fire And Steel" was the last song. The concert ended with fireworks without the accompanying "Crown And The Ring".

MANOWAR setlist:

1. "Hand Of Doom"
2. "Call To Arms"
3. "Swords In The Wind"
4. "Let The Gods Decide"
5. "Warriors Of The World United"
6. "Thunder In The Sky"
7. "God Or Man"
8. "House Of Death"
9. "Heaven And Hell"
10. "Brothers Of Metal"
11. "The Sons Of Odin"
12. "King Of Kings"
13. "Sleipnir"
14. "Die For Metal"
15. "Blackwind, Fire And Steel"

(photos by Maria)
CROSSWIND

VIRGIN STEELE

KAMELOT

ARCH ENEMY

MANOWAR