Live Report: Fading Echoes, Ocean’s Edge, Demoralize (Temple club, Athens, Greece – 17/01/2025)

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Live Show: Fading Echoes, Ocean’s Edge, Demoralize
Place: Temple club, Athens, Greece
Date: Friday, January 17th, 2025
Live Correspondent: Kostas Boudoukos

So, perfect score for me since the beginning of 2025. After MEDEN AGAN last Saturday, it was time for Progressive Metallers FADING ECHOES from Volos to present their first full length album “Shadow Of Another” in Athens. The truth is that I cannot be completely objective about this particular gig since I sort of forced myself  to the guys, who happen to be my compatriots, and helped out with some chores that they couldn’t do because of the distance. Still, the result made everyone happy at the end of the night. Both the musicians and the 150 or so metalheads (and non-metalheads) who attended the show.

The night begun with DEMORALIZE. It’s the third time I’ve seen them live in the last few months and every time they seem to get better and better. The main attraction of the band is undoubtedly their singer Michalis Karasoulis with his amazing voice (those of you who haven’t heard him live, you have another chance on February 22nd with his other band SUNLIGHT) and the very positive energy on stage. Energy that was multiplied by Gus (guitar) and the rest of the band. Even a technical problem with the drums just before “The Beginning” was not able to discourage them. With their first full length album expected in 2025, they performed the whole EP, “The Dragon’s Call”, my favorite “The Beginning” which is the first song they released with Karasoulis on vocals, and a completely new one, “Blackreach” (a work in progress as they noted) that will be included in the album. This song also points to the musical direction they want to take towards more Progressive paths so their album is highly anticipated.

Setlist

  1. Intro
  2. Dragon’s Call
  3. Chainfire
  4. The Beginning
  5. Bloodlust Rising
  6. Blackreach
  7. The Prophet
  8. Dreamwalker

After a short break, the stage belonged to Melodic Progressive Metallers OCEAN’S EDGE who returned to live performances after 10 months as the singer Manos Xanthakis mentioned. OCEAN’S EDGE have already released a full-length album entitled “The Voyager” in 2023 so they could fill easily a full setlist. However, they preferred to rock the boat and not only perform their own songs but also two covers. The hit “Pull Me Under” from DREAM THEATER and the equally popular “Crystalline Dream” from SHADOW GALLERY. Of course, the fact that they like lengthy compositions (“The Voyager” includes 6 songs of about 50 minutes in total plus 2 shorter instrumentals) might have played a role in this, since they had to prepare a set adapted to the time frame they had available. My feeling is that there were some issues with the sound as far as the vocals were concerned but anyway their performance matched the mood of the evening which was Progressive Metal centered and prepared us for what was about to follow.

Setlist

  1. Supernatural
  2. Fragile
  3. Pull Me Under (DREAM THEATER cover)
  4. Waterfall
  5. Sacrifice
  6. Crystalline Dream (SHADOW GALLERY cover)

With a small delay compared to the schedule, the venue was flooded by the melancholic keyboard notes of the excellent Vassilis Sarou (who the night before decided to cut a piece of cheese and ended up cutting his finger) for the introduction of the instrumental “Denial”. It was time for the first show of FADING ECHOES in Athens. And what a show!!!! I was lucky enough to see FADING ECHOES in Volos about 1,5 month ago and the difference was obvious. Not so much in their performance or the chemistry they have on stage as a band but in terms of the sound, the atmosphere. “Denial” is the first stage of grief in which whoever is experiencing a tragic event feels that psychological numbness without being able to articulate a word. The other four stages followed for a five song set that created an unusual setting for a metal concert as the emotion was pervasive in many of the attendees (especially those who had experienced a loss recently). As if that wasn’t enough, the band had decided to display the lyrics of the songs on the screen above the stage (in yet another innovation for a Metal concert) to make the experience complete. Dimitris Stratikis (vocals and bass) lived it with all his soul, Petros Printezis and Giorgos Theodoropoulos on guitars avoided (thankfully) the show that usually the guitarists give since the atmosphere was not up to it while Theocharis Theocharakis proved to be an excellent drummer and got a lot of praise from the audience. Apart from “Shadow Of Another”, FADING ECHOES also presented a new and untitled song and two favorite covers, DREAM THEATER’s “Forsaken” and SAVATAGE’s “All That I Bleed”, who are a main influence for the band. A little after midnight the show ended and FADING ECHOES received a warm applause from the crowd that, unlike many other times, had stayed until the end honoring all three bands.

Setlist

  1. The Stages of Grief, Pt.1 – Denial
  2. The Stages of Grief, Pt.2 – Anger
  3. The Stages of Grief, Pt.3 – Bargaining
  4. The Stages of Grief, Pt.4 – Depression
  5. The Stages of Grief, Pt.5 – Acceptance
  6. The First Step Forward
  7. At The Dead End
  8. Forsaken (DREAM THEATER cover)
  9. 10th
  10. All That I Bleed (SAVATAGE cover)
  11. Rumination
  12. The Final Act

I know first-hand the anxiety of the guys about how this first attempt to perform in Athens would go. We are talking about a band from a small city, without connections and acquaintances, but with their music and with the valuable help from DEMORALIZE and OCEAN’S EDGE they managed to gather about 150 people at Temple in a period when the program is full of live shows. Even the raid that took place at the merch stall towards the end of the concert shows that they 100% won the bet and got the confirmation that every artist seeks when presenting his work. Next stop for “Shadow Of Another” is Larissa on 25/1!

Live Correspondent: Kostas Boudoukos
Design & Editing: Kostas Boudoukos
Photographs: Kostas Boudoukos, Μariza Kapsabeli (Fading Echoes)
Video: Christos Paskalis
External Links: FADING ECHOES – Official Page
OCEAN’S EDGE – Facebook Page
DEMORALIZE – Official Page
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