Another show for the timeless and resurrected Accept in Greece was equivalent to an amazing heavy metal party with the Germans grabbing the bull by its ba… errmm horns in front of an ecstatic crowd!
Null’O’ Zero kicked off at 8 o’clock sharp according to the time table that was followed on the dot from start to finish. Their modern metal might not have been ideal for this specific concert, but the crowd applauded them and gave the thumbs up for their effort, passion and sweat that watered Gagarin’s stage. I couldn’t say that the sound helped them a lot, but this is most of the times expected for a support act. We will be watching them since their debut album will be released soon.
Null’O’ Zero: Warfare, Enemy Within, Insane, Unleashed By Fire, No More Wait
Next on stage were Fortress Under Siege, a Greek band that’s been around for 20 years with Hannibal on vocals with their progressive metal which was still a bit far from what the German Tetons play. The sound was a bit better than before with the band unraveling its talent and dexterity on both new and older songs. Hannibal was as solid as always, and the other guys performed their material great on stage with the audience growing bigger and bigger.
Fortress Under Siege: Robin Hood (Prince Of Thieves), Eyes Of The Snake, Blind Faith, Phoenix Rising, Last Temptation, Don’t Let Go, Hate What We Like, Blue Valley Shadow
With AC/DC on the PA and the people screaming and getting restless the Germans returned for another round in Gagarin and the expressions of worship were intense once again. They opened their metal storm with “Stampede” from their latest “Blind Rage” and as it was expected avalanched everything in their path like a hurricane. The audience was singing along non-stop on every song, although their set was balanced between old and new stuff. But, this is the best way to judge how good “Blood Of The Nations”, “Stalingrad” and “Blind Rage” are and how good they get on with the older material, some of metal’s most popular songs, on the setlist. Also, this is the biggest badge of honor for Tornillo who proves himself to be the ideal frontman for the resurrected Accept. It’s great to see people going nuts on “Pandemic” and “Shadow Soldiers” the same way like on “Metal Heart”.
As for the band’s performance, if you’ve seen them before you know what we are dealing with. Limitless energy and power from a band that approaches every show like its biggest fan. There is not even one second going by without grimaces, posing, high-five with the fans in the first rows, while I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that they rehearse in front of a mirror, as their moves look like a choreography! On every moment of the show there is specific place for everyone to be in. if Hoffmann is playing a solo the other three stand close to the drums and bang. If Tornillo is singing, then Baltes and Hoffmann stick together, while Uwe Lullis gets up on the drum riser and so on…
For the closing of the show they left their classics “Metal Heart” and “Balls To The Wall” with “Teutonic Terror” in the middle, Tornillo coming out topless and the crowd spending its last traces of energy forming moshpits, headbanging and sweating a lot, since Gagarin was often giving the feeling of a sauna! And that was the only negative thing about a great, magical show with a 2-hour metal recital from Accept, two interesting Greek bands and a clockwork schedule. Auf wiedersehen!!!
Accept: Stampede, Stalingrad, Hellfire, London Leatherboys, Losers And Winners, Starlight, Midnight Mover, Dying Breed, Final Journey, Shadow Soldiers, Bulletproof, Restless And Wild, Demon’s Night, No Shelter, Princess Of The Dawn, Dark Side Of My Heart, Pandemic, Fast As A Shark, Metal Heart, Teutonic Terror, Balls To The Wall
Yiannis Dolas
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