“Skies darken when they exhale…”
Unlike other times 9th edition of Horns Up Festival had a third day which was more into the extreme. So, apart from the heavy rockers Minorfase (Greece) we heard death metal from Hyperborea (Bulgaria), melodeath from Nenesis (Serbia) and AmongRuins (Greece) and black metal from Moribund Oblivion (Turkey) and Order Of The Ebon Hand (Greece).
The morning of the third day in Trikala was dedicated to a city tour as the weather was ideal for walking around and check the landmarks of this nice town like the Fort and the town clock, the mosque, some museums but also some relaxed walks next to the river until the necessary lunch break in one the many good choices all over the town.
“just wanna rock n roll…”
Despite the expected fatigue I decided to be early at the venue as the first band would hit the stage at 18:00. Minorfase is a quartet from Larissa/Volos and for fifty minutes they offered us well played heavy rock in a setlist that was based on the band’s two full lengths and their EP (Immigrant is a great song). These dudes have some great groove and it seems their style is a mix of the 90s grunge along with many 70s southern rock elements, but this mix is filtered through a modern stoner approach. Although it was early for beers they managed to satisfy everyone in the venue.
video Minorfase
Minorfase setlist:
What if / On a Roll / Runaway / What If / Odysseus / Moneymaker / Denial / Breed / Immigrant / Psycho
“you’re torn apart when fear comes…”
After the usual 15 minutes break Hyperborea got on stage at 19:05. It is a death metal band from Sofia, Bulgaria that I knew nothing about them but it is an experienced band since their first album was released back in 2004. Althoug they had many songs on the setlist that was on the stage it seems they got confused with the time and stopped playing way faster than expected! Most probably their singer was suffering from some throat issues as I noticed that he was enjoying some hot tea before and after the show but during the band’s performance his growls were to the point and the fans enjoyed their music. Most songs were from their latest album but I must admit I enjoyed some of the earlier stuff which were more ray and closer to Florida-like death metal.
Video Hyperborea:
Hyperborea setlist:
Supremacists / From Within / Unseen hand / Home of My Misery / Silent Stream / Nosferatu
“No more your game of ruling…”
Change of style once more since ten minutes before clock strikes 20:00 Nemesis got on stage and straight away they beat everyone in the venue. Nemesis is a band from Belgrade, Serbia that play melodic death metal, Arch Enemy is the obvious influence for these girls, a band that I guess they loved since they were young. Personally, I’m not really into this style but it doesn’t really matter, they had great interaction with the fans, fans that loved their stuff and this pushed the band to play even better and they deserved the applause they got.
Video Nemesis:
Nemesis setlist:
Uprising / Circle of Death / The War Is On / Burn / The Scales of Fate / Guilt and Grief / New Babylon
“mystic path to the underworld…”
New break, new backdrop with the logo of the upcoming band so five minutes before nine Order Of The Ebon Hand started their black metal journey. It is a historic band of the Greek black metal scene, they are around the last thirty years although it is truth that they have injustice theirselves with their sparse discography. But who really cares, each one of their album τους is unique and the same applies for their live shows that is always true and has something meaningful to offer us. During the fifty minute long set they played eight compositions and the kept us busy with a great performance, especially Orestis behind the mic, who was very theatrical and fully dedicated to the atmosphere of each song. At one point he even crowd surfed on the hands of the fans while he was singing the dark lyrics. I loved the old stuff but also “Charybdis”, a new song from the upcoming album and of course the great closure of their set with the epic “You Are The Gleaming King”. They were easily my favorite band this night.
Video Order Of The Ebon Hand:
Order Of The Ebon Hand setlist:
“Solyfying the ancient manuscripts…”
Remaining on the black metal mood the next band was Moribund Oblivion. This an experienced band from Turkey that was formed in the late 90s has released seven albums. Ιt seems they have spent hours rehearsing in the studio and this showed on stage with a great, fully professional performance, This was their first gig in Greece but it was obvious most of the Greek fans weren’t familiar with their songs. The temperature was pretty high for late march but these dudes were wearing some heavy coats but they didn’t really seem to be bothered, they were super energetic and the fans were enjoying what they got from the band. Their set had compositins from different periods of the band but for some reason the first and last song were the same one which was a strange choice (although for some reason this is a song they have include it in more than one album too)
Video Moribund Oblivion:
Moribund Oblivion setlist:
The Spawning of the Avanger / Yok / Grand Legacy / Time is an Illusion / Üzgünüm / Tut Elinden / Red Flag Fluttered / Cold the Night / The Spawning of the Avanger
“Ride with me / Pierce through the night…”
Οh my, at that point fatigue defeated me, I stood at one corner enjoying one last drink as the festival was coming to its end, there was only one band left out of 19 in total. It was normal to feel tired after three days in a row inside a cute small venue that doesn’t really offer many opportunities to rest for a while (unless you get out of the venue of course). So, at 23:30 AmongRuins were ready to play live for us. Although I have seen them live many times in the past, I was curious to see them performing some songs of their latest album this time. For 55 minutes they played well played melodeath with their frontman Sverd leading the way, great connection between Thanos and Alex on guitars and impressive drumming by Nick Friligos. As I was expecting their set was based in their latest album, “Land Of The Black Sun” is a great track by the way, everyone also loved the surprise when Astraea (from Melan Selas) did some vocals with them but of course they also included some shots from No Light album. And just like that, three days of music came to an end and we happily started walking towards our comfy bed wondering how some others continued drinking at Rising Bar, the meeting point each night for the after parties that followed the gigs.
Video AmongRuins:
Tear Me Apart / Shattered Times / Sear Sacrifice / Suffer For Credence / End of My Fall / Our Destructive Tide / Land of the Black Sun / No Light / The Last Day / Bury the Ghost / Wells of War
® live report/photos/video: Konstantinos Mindcrimek Vlachos
