Live Show: Ne Obliviscaris, Karma Violens
Place: Temple, Athens, Greece
Date: October 9th, 2024
Live Correspondent: Kostas Boudoukos

Ne Obliviscaris = Do not forget… I don’t know if the Australian Extreme Metallers had in mind to be unforgettable to their fans through their music when they decided to give this name to their band in 2003 but in the end they have probably achieved that. Especially through their musical variety which is not easily found in many bands of this genre. Besides, very few metal bands have the violin as their main instrument (by the incredible Tim Charles). This is probably the reason why Temple proved to be too small to accommodate their dedicated fans since I know that some of them could not get a ticket after all.

First, the Athenian Black Metallers KARMA VIOLENS, who are almost the same age as NE OBLIVISCARIS, took over the stage. For a little more than 30 minuted, they they tried their best to tear down the venue with their pure, raw, aggressive and leveling Black Metal. Their vast experience on stage was evident and they had no problem setting the Temple on fire with their highlight being the Wall of Death caused by vocalist Elias who came down from the stage and gathered all their crazed fans around him. The truth is that it is not very common for the support group to create such a chaos but we are talking about one of the top bands of the genre in Greece. Even if the sound was problematic since the drums overshadowed everything and the guitars and bass sounded a bit smudged. The only way possible to withstand this mess was the earplugs. 

Setlist

• Legacy
• Dark Morel
• Sons of Destruction
• Anima (I)
• Seprent God
• Great Old Ithaqua
• Mark On My Forehead
• On Fire And The Void (BEHEMOTH cover)
• Full Dose Of Hate
• Bloodbath
• Floating In Sadness

At around 20:40, KARMA VIOLENS said their goodbyes and after emptying the stage they took their place to enjoy what was to follow. If NE OBLIVISCARIS were a European band I am sure we would see them often in our country. But logistics had made It difficult for more than 20 years. But the time has come to correct this mistake and in the best way possible.

For two full and fulfilling hours we were lucky enough to enjoy every second of their two most iconic albums. First “Citadel” which is the one that made them world famous and then the recent “Exul” which, as Tim informed us (having also taken care of the communication with the audience), is their best seller. 6+6 unique compositions (bonus track was “And Plague Flowers and Kaleidoscope” from “Portal of I”) with influences from different genres of music. Surely, from metal with Black, Progressive and Death touches but also from completely foreign genres to metal like classical music or even Jazz.

The leading role is clearly played by Tim Charles with his violin and the combination of clean and growl vocals (from James Dorton of  BLACK CROWN INITIATE and not Xenoyr). It is not easy to pick the best moments so I will just mention my 2 favorite songs which were “Pyrrhic” from “Citadel” and “Graal” from “Exul”. The most touching moment though was definitely the sentimental execution of “Anhedonia” from Charles.

Setlist

• Painters of the Tempest (Part I): Wyrmholes
• Painters of the Tempest (Part II): Triptych Lux
• Painters of the Tempest (Part III): Reveries from the Stained Glass Womb
• Pyrrhic
• Devour Me, Colossus (Part I): Blackholes
• Devour Me, Colossus (Part II): Contrortions
• Equus
• Misericorde I – As the Flesh Falls
• Misericorde II – Aantomy of Quiescence
• Suspyre
• Graal
• Anhedonia
• And Plague Flowers The Kaleidoscope

It was obvious that things were going perfectly if you took a look at the faces of the attendees, including the band members. Huge smiles, a sea of heads going up and down, mosh pits on almost every song and gestures of gratitude from the band members. The most telling example was that looking around you could see people enjoying the music of NE OBLIVISCASRIS with their eyes closed. Such was the effect it had on people…After the two magical hours, half of us raided the band’s merch and the rest formed small groups trying to figure out what happened that night and why it took them so long to come.

As fas as the venue is concerned we had the usual problems. Bad sound at least for KARMA VIOLENS and polar temperatures.

P.S.: I keep the promise that they will be back sooner this time.

Live Correspondent: Kostas Boudoukos
Design, Editing & Text Correction: Alexandros Soultatos
Photos: Alexandros Soultatos
Videos: Alexandros Soultatos
External Links: NE OBLIVISCARIS – Official Page

KARMA VIOLENS – Facebook Page
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