{Intro by Harry}
Probably it was just a coincidence but, the same day with the International Woman's Day, the second March Metal Day festival took place in Athens, Greece. We arrived by the time the doors were open but due to some minor problems, we entered the Hellinikon Olympic Fencing Arena venue in the Olympic park, just in time to see the first band. We were going to see twelve bands; some well-known bands and some that are making their first steps in the music industry.

And the venue? Well, it was around a year ago, when TOOL played in Olympic Fencing Center. We hoped that the sound today would be much better than in that live, but alas! The sound was not good at all for almost every band. I am aware that there isn't a proper close venue for concerts here in Athens and that this is a huge problem, but this specific building is not the solution. Nevertheless, we applaud the willing of Neo Revma to organize a second Metal festival and put a stop to the 'monopoly' in festivals in Greece. As for everything else?

The merchandise was, in my opinion, poor, even though all the bands had their official merchandise in the March Metal Day kiosk, and I think that for this kind of festival they should have more kiosks. The activities they had in the venue (like tug-of-war, wall-climbing and electronic games) wasn't interesting for the majority of the people that attended the festival. It was fun for those who did participate, though. Regarding the efforts the organizers put on the festival, things could be better. The schedule was not the best one, since some bands weren't on stage on time and even though some winners of the meet 'n' greet competitions, didn't see their favorite artists due to limited time. The same luck had the Press Conferences with NEVERMORE and NIGHTWISH. For the end we would like to say a big thank you! to some people that really helped us and, even though they had lots of things to think about, made our work easier.

And a few words for the Greek metalheads. OK, I know that we don't have a machine that makes money. I know that sometimes the ticket prices are way too high. But bearing in mind the festival was in Athens (and not somewhere outside), that you can go by bus or tram, that it had twelve bands, six of them already well-known in the Metal scene, and the ticket price at 60 euros, it's a shame that only 2.500-3.000 metalheads were there last night. We are saying that bands don't come to Greece etc. but we have to support those kinds of concerts, and the underground scene of course, if we want more bands to come and play. How many times in your life are you going to see SODOM, ANNIHILATOR and NEVERMORE together?

{DE PROFUNDIS report by Harry}

DE PROFUNDIS was the band that opened the festival. The multi-national band, that has London as a base, tried to warm up the small in number crowd that was there from the beginning.

Even though, most of the metalheads in the venue (including me) didn't have the opportunity to listen to any of their songs in the past - since their album was self-released - they managed to earn a warm applause with their Doom-Progressive-Black-Atmospheric Metal. The sound for the Greek standards (and the fact that DE PROFUNDIS was the first band) was, I would say, good; other bands that played after them had much worse sound. They have potentials, so we'll have to wait to see what they are going to achieve in the future.

{OVERGARVEN report by Yiannis D.}

The second band of the March Metal Day festival was the Greek melodic Death Metal band OVERGARVEN. I had the chance to listen to their music long before the festival, when I came across their Just A Fake album. To tell you the truth, the band did not amaze me at all and actually they were not helped by the sound quality.

The guitars were buried and you couldn't hear the songs clear enough. Anyway, the band had a surprise for the crowd, since MACBETH's Morena joined them on stage to sing the song Bleeding World from their debut album, where she made a guest appearance.

The Italian female singer also helped them play a MACBETH song, but she is definitely not one of the best singers I have ever heard. The only thing that made me bang my head was a CARCASS cover they played, where they really transformed into another band! It is maybe because the singer's vocals were much better for this kind of music...

{HANNIBAL report by Yiannis Z.}

After OVERGARVEN and the special guest appearance of beautiful Morena from MACBETH, it was HANNIBAL's turn to get on stage.

About 800, or so, Metal fans where in the venue at that time to support HANNIBAL's efforts.Unfortunately, HANNIBAL didn't kick-in so well because of the sound problems in the first two songs; the lead singer Alexis (ex-SPITFIRE) had a problem with his guitar and we couldn't hear keyboards at all. But when these problems were finally solved the sound was a little bit better but not great though. After a number of songs from HANNIBAL's work and the album This Is You, another guest appearance took place.

Roland Grapow, that succeeded Kai Hansen in HELLOWEEN and stayed with the band for 12 years, came on stage and joined HANNIBAL. With him they performed a five-song set that included: HELLOWEEN's If I Could Fly, A Touch Of Evil followed by You've Got Another Thing Comin' by JUDAS PRIEST, IRON MAIDEN's Fear Of The Dark and MASTERPLAN's Lost 'n' Gone. Grapow said his goodbyes and HANNIBAL closed up with Du Hast (the famous RAMMSTEIN song) and the track Touch Me Now.

{THE IRON MAIDENS_ORION report by Yiannis Z.}

MMD Festival had a great idea to arrange a musical competition, so they put at the same time two different tribute bands on each stage, from one hand where THE IRON MAIDENS, the all female IRON MAIDEN tribute act from the USA and from the other hand ORION from Italy performing METALLICA's music.

My feelings on this matter got in the way I must say. It's not only my love for IRON MAIDEN's music, but the fact that women were playing on stage these amazing songs is an extra bonus for me. A tribute band is something that the real band is not, but on the other hand they can give to the fans something that the real bands cannot (anymore).

For example THE IRON MAIDENS opened with the Greek IRON MAIDEN favorite Alexander The Great (a song that the original IRON MAIDEN won't include in their setlists) and they played this difficult song really good.

ORION, on the other hand, retaliated with Blackened (the ...And Justice For All Thrash opener). The crowd kept on cheering Maidens! Maidens! and my girls gave a swift answer to the four Italian horsemen; Flight Of Icarus (with Death appearing on stage with a piece of mind brain in platter), The Trooper (with Aja, the singer, waving a Greek flag), The Number Of The Beast (with the Devil appearing on stage).
ORION had to give something to METALLICA's fans, too; they started with Battery, but on Master Of Puppets there was no sound from the guitar of singer_guitarist (Hetfield-like) Davide Rossato. After the melodic bridge they had to end this song. 15 minutes later the sound came back and they played For Whom The Bell Tolls and they left the stage with Seek & Destroy.

In this competition THE IRON MAIDENS closed their list with Run To The Hills and the two incredible Metal hymns, Phantom Of The Opera and Hallowed Be Thy Name. The crowd was cheering for them again but the MMD Festival declared ORION as the winners of this competition, a decision which wasn't accepted in a good way from the audience. THE MAIDENS' stage show is really good, their playing is in an amazing level, Linda McDonald (or Nikki McBrain) had to complete the hardest task, in my humble opinion, because of the unique drum style of Nicko. Let us hope that THE IRON MAIDENS will return to Greece again for a full IRON MAIDEN set.

{ANORIMOI report by Yiannis D.}
...and here I am, trying to understand whether ANORIMOI (Greek word for immature) were a good choice for a Metal festival or not. I met with the band's singer after their show and we had a nice and friendly chat about their appearance and I was saying to him that they may kick ass with their caustic lyrics and their hilarious (in a good way) tracks, but I didn't think that they were the most suitable band to play along acts like ANNIHILATOR or SODOM! He then explained me that even though their lyrics are far away from being serious, their music is something between Hard Rock and Metal. And he is damn right!

They kicked off with their hit song Kariola (Greek word for bitch) and the crowd went crazy! Both the guys and girls that knew them and those who didn't had a smile on their face while others were trying to sing along (I was one of them). The band played many of their hit songs and I believe that nobody was disappointed with their performance. They may not be the best Greek Metal band, but as they say themselves, they are definitely the kings of feta!!!

{SODOM report by Yiannis Z.}

I've lost the track of time with THE IRON MAIDENS Press Conference, but I could understand that the crowd had grown bigger because the time had come for Thrash_Speed metal masters SODOM to hit the stage. The absolute brutal Angelripper's image and his skull-smashing vocals, along with the fast Metal sound of the guitarist Bernd Kost (ex-CROWS) and the Thrashing Metal drum style of Bobby Schottkowski (ex-CROWS) made me dive into the human wall of headbangin' bodies.

I do not remember the exact setlist but I know they played a wonderful selection of the old , filthy and unholy SODOM 'best of', with Blasphemer, Sodomy & Lust, Remember The Fallen, Agent Orange, The Saw Is the Law (my favorite), Blood On Your Lips, Outbreak Of Evil, Obsessed By Cruelty, they covered MOTORHEAD's trademark hymn Ace Of Spades and last but not least Bombenhagel. I was sinking into the sea of old-school 'raw' Thrash that Angelripper practices for 25 years. This VENOM-plus-MOTORHEAD-plus-TANK flammable cocktail gave the Greek crowd something worth remembering from MMD Festival, and I realized that my mind is younger than my body. TRISTANIA were next and there was a change to rest, before the ANNIHILATOR's attack.

{TRISTANIA report by Harry}

It was time for TRISTANIA to hit the stage. Some hours before the concert, I was talking to Mary (vocals) and she told me that she had a cold and I was anxious to see if she was going to make it. The band started strong but the crowd that was there for the other bands (like SODOM and ANNIHILATOR) unfortunately didn't seem to have the will to support them. Mary did really well in her second live performance with the band. But, in my opinion, some technical problems, one amp blew up as I found out, and the bad sound just like most of the bands had didn't help TRISTANIA to give the show they wanted.

Another thing that I didn't like was the pre-recorded keyboards during a live performance although I know that the type of difficulties to have a session musician on tour. The fact is that TRISTANIA did have a lot of pre-recording parts. The band played songs from all their albums, with only some minor changes in order to fit the tracks to Mary's voice. The rest of the band had a nice stage performance, with Anders and Kenneth headbanging almost in the whole show and everyone from the band seeming to enjoy it. Not their best show, but I think they deserved more attention from the crowd.

{ANNIHILATOR report by Yiannis D.}

I was trying to gather my broken pieces in order to watch a band that has raised me with its music since I was a little child. The Canadian Thrash metallers ANNIHILATOR were here to show the world some real Thrash Metal (even though SODOM did the same thing regarding the German Thrash Metal) and get some heads banging. I had the chance to meet with Jeff Waters and Dave Padden before the band's performance and I have to say one thing! Dave Padden is a fucking amazing guy, mates! One of the best musicians I have ever met! A low-profile quiet metalhead that holds his beast instinct for the stage.

Anyway, the band entered the stage with a big delay due to reasons that I personally don't know. The fact is that ANNIHILATOR showed some first-class Thrash Metal with songs like Alison Hell, Fun Palace, W.T.Y.D. and King Of The Kill that made everyone scream! Even though the sound was not so good -for one more time- the band did its best on stage and reminded us that Mr. Waters has still many stuff to offer to the Metal scene. It's worth mentioning that Bob Katsionis (keyboards in FIREWIND) was invited to play guitar during the Alison Hell track. What disappointed me is that the band played nothing from Schizo Deluxe and All For You, and the fact that Stonewall was absent from the set list.

{EDGUY report by Yiannis D.}

The German power metallers were another band that was late to the appointment with the Greek audience.Tobias Sammet and his gang seemed more than restless and they definitely pleased their fans with songs like Lavatory Love Machine, King Of Fools and many other of their catchy stuff that made the crowd sing along the lyrics of every single song.

Sammet was a real poser (in a good way) on stage playing with the audience all the time. The guys from EDGUY were in a really good mood and managed to create a really warm and heavy atmosphere. To many people, EDGUY was the best band of that night, although I vote for ANNIHILATOR.

{NEVERMORE report by Yiannis D.}

The time had come for the Seattle metallers to grab their instruments and deliver their own Heavy Metal recipe to the Greek crowd. Warrel Dane was obviously different from what his was in the past. He dyed his hair black!
At first, I was trying to realize who was this black haired guy that was on stage with NEVERMORE! Anyway, the band played songs from throughout their career and I believe that except from some personal requirements (Inside Four Walls and Born that I really wanted to see live) the band pleased its fans. I think that there was no head that wasn't banging during Enemies Of Reality! What needs improvement is that the band needs a second guitarist on stage, since Jeff's guitar sounds too empty without some extra help. The sound was also weak, since the guitar sounded really like there was extra bass (mostly due to the use of 7-string guitars).

In general, the band performed really well, although this is the second time that I see them live and I believe that their performance in Club 22 here in Greece was a bit better (probably because the band had in store the help of a guitarist like Steve Smyth). Thumbs down for the organizer that got on stage during This Godless Endeavor to tell them -probably- that their set has to end. I heard that Jeff Waters was behind the scenes and I suppose that the band had a surprise song in store, but we'll never know.

{NIGHTWISH report by Yiannis Z.}

It was fifteen minutes past midnight and everybody was really tired from almost 12 hours of straight Metal pounding on our ears. Full of Heavy/Thrash 'real' Metal performances from amazing bands, NIGHTWISH were about to hit the stage, having white shirts hanged from the microphone stands, as a modern artistic 'bullshit' intervention. After a 30-minute unbearable soundcheck it was natural that most of the people left. The ones that stayed were mostly die-hard NIGHTWISH screaming fans, which could damage your hearing from the high-pitched yells. The rest were extremely curious to watch NIGHTWISH with their new singer Annete Olson (ex-ALYSON VENUE) performing songs from the Tarja-era.

Finally, NIGHTWISH hit the stage with Bye Bye Beautiful (a song about the former singer Tarja Turunen and her 'diva' behavior against the rest of the band). The band seemed to have good time on stage but the sound wasn't so great. The keyboards stand of Tuomas Holopainen had a Jack Sparrow figure attached on it, something that justifies theNIGHTWISH play Disney Metal saying. Anyway, the band's setlist included four songs from the latest NIGHTWISH release Dark Passion Play. Except of Bye Bye Beautiful, we had Amaranth, The Islander and The Poet And The Pendulum. The oldest songs like Siren proved that Annete cannot stand in Tarja's shoes in any way. NIGHTWISH concluded their set list with Wish I Had An Angel.

{Outro by Yiannis Z.}

The 2nd MMD Festival came to an end. It was 13-14 hours full of Heavy Metal music of different tastes and variations. What will remain in our memories from this Metal Day? Unfortunately, the poor organization and poor sound hosted in unsuitable venues for Rock concerts (like Hellinikon Olympic Fencing Arena) is something every Greek metalhead is used to tolerate in this kind of festivals. The 'female' element was really strong onstage, with Morena (MACBETH), Mary (TRISTANIA), THE IRON MAIDENS, Annete (NIGHTWISH)and off-stage of course (you know who you are, ladies!).

We're going to remember the groundbreaking Thrash attack that SODOM unleashed on us, the amazing outstanding ANNIHILATOR's flawless old-school performance, the endless speeches of Tobias Sammet (EDGUY) to the crowd; looked like he is running for Greek Metal President; and Warell Dane's (NEVERMORE) almost crazy act to ignore the security guards and inviting the fans on-stage and his attempt to jump in to the crowd.
I have the impression that 3,000-4,000 people watched MMD Festival and left with mixed feelings and a big blank in their stomach because the food ran out. 2nd MMD Festival belongs to the past; lets keep it this way.

(photos by Yiannis Z.)

DE PROFUNDIS

OVERGARVEN

HANNIBAL

THE IRON MAIDENS

ORION

SODOM

TRISTANIA

ANNIHILATOR

EDGUY

NEVERMORE

NIGHTWISH