Live Show: Demoralize, Medusa’s Wrath, Social Scream
Place: Temple, Athens, Greece
Date: November 23rd, 2024
Live Correspondent: Kostas Boudoukos
Another night dedicated to Greek Metal scene took place at Temple on Saturday night with three excellent bands that have one thing in common. They exude a special madness when they are on stage and this madness is transmitted to the audience.
The live started with SOCIAL SCREAM of Spartan Vlasis Diamantakou with their classic Heavy Metal. SOCIAL SCREAM is a very typical case of a band whose founder has such a passion for music and such an “addiction” that he fights as hard as he can. It is very difficult for a band from a small city with no, or at least with a small, metal audience to have such a remarkable career on the scene since 2008 and with 5 full-length albums. With a new lineup in which the bassist stood out for the passion he brought to the stage, they took us on a beautiful journey through their discography. From the most recent “Luna Dark” by “Δεινόν Έστι” (2022) to the decade-old “Spartan Blood”, “Faith”, “Social Scream” and “DNA Eternal” by “Epiclesis” (2014). A very positive thing about the evening was that the crowd filled the venue from the beginning in order to honor all three bands. Everyone certainly enjoyed it, as was evident from the reactions and the applause at the end.
Setlist
- Faith
- Prison Of Freedom
- Social Scream
- Smell The Demon
- DNA Eternal
- Unblood
- Connect
- Truth Divider
- Luna Dark
- Spartan Blood
Next on stage were MEDUSA’S WRATH with their theatrical performance. Although the count only 5 years having released an EP, “Lifeless Void” and one full length album, Pavor Exitium Mors” earlier this year, they move on stage like veterans. There were some issues with the small stage of the venue but Petros did not hesitate to find a bold solution. He went down to the audience a couple of times with his guitars and at some point he moved around the arena on the shoulders of a crazy fan. Petros along with Giorgos (vocals) could not stop moving around and transmitting their energy to everybody in Temple. Their highlight was the song “Annabelle” with their theatrical performance that was accompanied by a living doll, Annabelle who moved around on stage. Another highlight was definitely the song “Heaven’s Gate” which proved to be the fan favorite and caused a lot of sing-alongs and headbanging. A few minutes before 23:00 MEDUSA’S WRATH closed their set, bowed to us and immediately joined us to enjoy the rest of the evening. After all they are metalheads above all!
Setlist
- Intro
- Pavor Exitium Mors
- Call Of Deliverance
- Heaven’s Gates
- Seeker Of Truth
- Intro Annabelle
- Annabelle
- A Day Of Peace
- Shade Of The Night
- Where The Sorrow Resides
- Medusa’s Wrath
- Street Warriors
- Time Erased
Shortly after 23:00, the headliners of the evening, DEMORALIZE, took over the stage with their Melodic Metal. I must admit that they were an unusual headlining act. Not because they didn’t deserve it but because in comparison to the other two bands they do not have enough songs to support an hour long setlist. This problem is going to be fixed soon with the release of their first full length album in 2025 and along with their EP, “The Dragon’s Call” from 2022 they will be fully armed! They performed all their songs from the EP and the single “The Beginning” (2023) which is the first song of their new singer, Michalis Karasoulis. They also surprised us with a completely new song called “Blackreach”, that will be included in their upcoming album. Michalis mentioned that it is a “work in progress” but what I heard was a well-rehearsed song that fitted Michalis’ voice perfectly, the same as “The New Beginning”. I can’t wat for the full length album since the first hints are very encouraging. This is the second time I ‘ve seen them performing live and I think their improvement was evident since they appeared to be even more coordinated on stage and definitely more relaxed regarding their communication with the audience. Surely the circumstances were better since the previous live was the context for Metal Days Greece. In an interview with Michalis and Aris Nikoleris (bassist and founder of the band), Aris has mentioned that it is difficult to find the right people to create a band but I am positive that with Michalis as their singer, they have found the right recipe and the voice that fits perfect to the music they want to play. Our next meeting with DEMOARLIZE will be at Temple (again) mid-January when they will support FADING ECHOES and OCEAN’S EDGE.
Setlist
- Intro
- Dragon’s Call
- Chainfire
- The Beginning
- Bloodlust Rising
- Blackreach
- The Prophet
- Dreamwalker
Many times we grumble about the support this lives receive from Greek metalheads. That live though was a nice exception since people came and supported all the bands. The atmosphere was cozy and warm, the band were full of energy as well as the fans and everybody had a blast! Hopefully this will be the norm and not the exception.
Live Correspondent: Kostas Boudoukos
Design & Editing: Kostas Boudoukos
Photographs: Kostas Boudoukos
External Links: DEMORALIZE – Επίσημη Σελίδα
MEDUSA’S WRATH – Σελίδα Bandcamp
SOCIAL SCREAM – Σελίδα Bandcamp
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