Live Show: Wolfheart, Desert Near The End
Location: An Club, Athens
Date: April 14th, 2024
Live Correspondent: Kostas Boudoukos
Photos: Sofia Bali
For the second time in three days I headed to An Club at the center of Athens, this time for the sake of the Finnish Melodic Death Metallers WOLFHEART who, together with DESERT NEAR THE END, promised a demolishing night!
First on stage are Power / Thrash Metallers DESERT NEAR THE END at around 09:30. For about 45 minutes they gave it all although they had to deal with some practical difficulties like the limited space on the stage since WOLFHEART’s equipment was already set up, a guitar string that decided to go an a strike suddenly and generally some small problems with the sound. Nevertheless, they were not discouraged, the drummer filled in the gaps with improvisations and the set was completed in style as it should be. Besides, DESERT NEAR THE END are not new at this since they are experienced and their 5 complete albums give them the possibility to create excellent setlists. They even had a surprise for us as they closed their set with a new song, “In Ruins”, which they played for the first time.
Setlist
By 22:30 when WOLFHEART took over the stage, the venue was almost full, the ventilation was fortunately working at full capacity and we all had found our places. Some in front of the stage and others in the back, on the stairs. Long story short, I think that WOLFHEART’s performance was one of the best I have ever seen in my life. Am I overenthusiastic? Maybe but that is my humble opinion. Excellent playing by all four of them, Tuomas’ robust vocals were flawless, Lauri Silvonen’s general performance was like a dynamite and the drummer Juuso Raatikainen on loan from SWALLOW THE SUN felt at home (musically). However, the one who made the biggest impression on me was undoubtedly Vaggelis Karzis who has found the space and perfect conditions to create and shine. His imposing presence enhanced his already torrid playing, his incessant headbanging in perfect harmony with Lauri and the boundless passion he exuded created an interesting contrast with Tuomas’ icy, northern European style.
For about 1,5 hours, the (fortunately quite clean) air in An Club was permeated either by the excellent melodic intros of the songs or their stormy and dark death parts. In general, their dedicated fans were not left dissatisfied by the choice of songs as we heard all their hits like “The King”, “Knell”, “Ghosts of Karelia”, “The Hunt” while in the closing with “The Hammer” we saw a perfectly descent pit.
Setlist
- Skyforger
- Ghosts Of Karelia
- Abyss
- Knell
- Breakwater
- Boneyard
- I
- Routa, Pt. 2
- The King
- Strength And Valor
- Zero Gravity
- Aeon Of Gold
- The Hunt
- The Hammer
I know that WOLFHEART love Greece so it is certain that we will see them again soon. I hope under the same conditions (sound, environment, passion, organization) because that’s the only way to really enjoy a live show. There are so many and expensive concerts nowadays that people have become more demanding and organizers have to offer an appropriate quality of service.
Design and editing: Kostas Boudoukos
Related Links: WOLFHEART – Official Page
DESERT NEAR THE END – Σελίδα Facebook
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