Live Show: Solitary Sabred, Darklon, Dragon Skull
Location: Piraeus Academy, Athens, Greece
Date: April 20th, 2024
Live Correspondent: Kostas Boudoukos
Photos: Kostas Boudoukos
On Saturday, April 20th, those of us who happened to be at Piraeus Academy were lucky enough to experience a very “Game Of Thrones” night with dragons, swords, epic battles and 3 bands leading the attack.
An attack that came in three waves, with Dragon Skull leading the charge. Despite being new to the game and with only one EP in their arsenal, they managed to make an impact both with their dynamic presence musically speaking and with their very good stage preparation with the draconian banners and the impressive chain microphone of the singer Aris Lambos. At least in my mind, I pictured it as the chain that holds a dragon captive in a cave of a towering mountain. In addition to the songs from the “Dragon Skull” EP we also heard some unreleased ones (“Skull Crusher” and “Dragon Riders”) that will be included in their first full length album as well as a MANILLA ROAD cover of “Necropolis”. My personal favorite moment was “Barbarians” and also “Dragon Skull” with which they closed their own part of the evening.
Setlist
- Nampat
- Death Dealer
- Skull Crusher
- Dragon Riders
- Tyrant’s Doom
- Barbarians
- Necropolis (MANILLA ROAD cover)
- Dragon Skull
Next in line for battle were DARKLON who released an excellent album, ‘The Redeemer’. One of my favorites for 2023, so it was probably the band I was most looking forward to. Certainly, the voice and presence of Nikos Mygas (frontman of the legendary OMEN) dominated the scene, but the others did not fall behind. As was anticipated, their last songs took up most of the set and from the reactions of the audience it was clear that everybody was happy about that. Of course, there were musical references to their first album, and also a cover of OMEN with “Battle Cry” to tie in with the war atmosphere prevailing in the audience. Highlights of the evening were the live-friendly “I Am Death” and “Rancor And Agony” which is the best song of their album. Hopefully we will see more of them in the near future!
Setlist
- Intro
- Iron Glory
- Lamasthu’s Claws
- Darklon
- I Am Death
- Way Back Home
- Rancor And Agony
- The Bloodstone
- The Redeemer
- Battle Cry (OMEN cover)
- Behead
I didn’t know much about SOLITARY SABRED to be honest and I didn’t have any specific expectations. How wrong I was after all!!! As they mentioned, they finally had the opportunity to present us a full set since until now they were playing in our country supporting other bands. And they took full advantage of it with tremendous energy and passion. They took us back in time and their first albums but they persisted in the excellent “Temple Of The Serpent” (2023). Their biggest advantage is undoubtedly the tremendous energy they bring out on stage mostly with the singer Petros Leptos (Asgardlord). with the flawless ups and downs of his voice but also with the immobile and passionate bassist George “Stainlesz”. Their entire performance was characterized by intense theatricality that peaked at the moment of the exorcism of George by Petros during “The Redeemer Of Metal” which fortunately for us did not succeed since a key ingredient was missing, the zivanies with which in Cyprus they treat everybody in the venue. This is how the set went with the communicative Petros addressing the audience almost after every song and playing with us as well as with the rest of the musicians on stage. It was like watching a metal epic musical. Just that…
Setlist
- Echoes From The Tomb
- Skeleton King
- Synaxxys Of Honor
- Disciples Of The Sword
- The Undead Cry For Vengeance
- Damnation
- Reaper Of Kur
- Assassins Of Carthage
- Psionic Transmorgrification
- Bound By The Lich
- Redeemer Of Metal
- The Scarlet Citadel
- Fyres Of Koth
- Sarah Lancaster
- Dissilussions
- Spectral Domain
- Burn Magic Black Magic
- Gates Of Namtar
All in all, it was a beautiful night during which you could see the audience excited with all the bands. And that’s what made the show so special and successful. Even the fans of one band didn’t snub the others not out of politeness, but because all three deserved it. In terms of procedures, the Piraeus Academy is perfect for concerts of this size with good sound. The only negative is the fact that there is not enough space outside the venue to hang out as the pavement at that point is non-existent and there is a risk of ending up hugging 049 bus. A night to remember for sure!!
Design and Editing: Kostas Boudoukos
Related Links: SOLITARY SABRED – Facebook Page
DARKLON – Facebook Page
DRAGON SKULL – Facebook Page
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