The fact that the concerts are timidly reappearing is something that of course cannot leave the average rock/metal fan unmoved when he lived without them for so long. Especially when we talk about the return of the mighty Nightfall. How this concert took place and how the next ones will take place, with all the restrictions, is something I would prefer not to comment on now because I will be irritated by the paranoia we live in and this particular article will be just a continuous whining and nothing else. So, let’s move forward.

Gagarin was quite empty when Project Renegade hit the stage. However, this did not discourage the band at all. For me, seeing them for the first time, I can say that I was very happy with their performance, although their style is not one of my favorites. Full of vitality, energy and drive, they did their best to stir up the still few people. Their modern metal with obvious influences from Lacuna Coil made several heads move to their rhythm, with strong bass lines that vibrated the venue and an amazing Marianna behind the microphone both in terms of vocal performance and in terms of constant movement on stage. In the short time they had, they played songs from both the full-length “Order Of The Minus” (2019) but also from the EP “Cerebra” (2017). A fan of this style should check them out immediately.

Setlist: Liber8, Products Of War, One Of The Crowd, The Strain, The New Joker

Συνέχεια με τους ιστορικούς On Thorns I Lay, οι οποίοι είχαν μια μεγάλη αλλαγή. Από τη Next in line, the historic On Thorns I Lay, who had a big change. The singer and co-founder Stefanos Kintzoglou was absent from the stage, who was there from their first days (when they were still called Paralysis) and was a constant member along the way with guitarist Christos Dragamestianos. Reading an interview after the concert, they said that he left due to personal and family reasons with his position being covered by Domination Inc. singer, Theodore. Whether he is a session or a permanent member, I guess time will tell. Although to tell the truth, his hyperactive stage presence did not match the doom/death style of the band, nor his vocals since they were not the death growls that their fans were used to. But he gave everything he had to make everyone have a good time, like the rest of the band. A very good idea was the addition of two violins on stage, something that built a special atmosphere in their ominous songs which came from their last two full-length albums, “Aegean Sorrow” (2018) and “Threnos” (2020). They rarely disappoint on stage, so I hope they can find a stability in their line-up because they have suffered a lot from many changes all these years.

Setlist: The Song Of Sirens, Cosmic Silence, Misos, Erynies, Olethros, Erevos

And on to the main course. The stage was set up and behind it was a pair of red eyes looking at us from the cover of “At Night We Prey”. One by one the members of Nightfall began to appear on stage and “Killing Moon” marked the beginning. The guitars were lower from where I was standing but they were fixed soon enough and the sound was crystal clear throughout their show. Michalis Galiatsos and Kostas Kyriakopoulos were a devastating riffing machine, creating an awesome guitar duo. Fotis Benardo was unstoppable behind his drum kit. Vasiliki Biza on bass I believe surprised everyone with her dynamic and energetic stage presence, showing how important it was to join the band. And Efthimis Karadimas with his microphone/butcher knife and his theatricality took us on a journey into the rich musical past (and present) of this great band..

An awesome show, worthy of the expectations of everyone who was that night at Gagarin, which was followed-up by a very nice light show as well as four spark machines in front of the musicians. A flawless performance by a band that was ready for everything and it was confirmed when they did not lose their cool for a single minute in a technical problem that Kostas had in two songs. The setlist was based mainly on the latest amazing album and Nightfall in a very nice move, brought on stage the sisters Eleni and Suzana Vougioukli, to contribute with their incredible voices as they did in “At Night We Prey”. The encore with the hit hits “Diva” and “Lesbian Show” found Gagarin singing every verse out loud, closing in the best way this long-awaited concert.

Setlist: Killing Moon, Ambassador Of Mass, As Your God Is Failing Once Again, Darkness Forever, The Sheer Misfit, Ishtar (Celebrate Your Beauty), Dark Red Sky, Death Star, Iris (And The Burning Aureole), Meteor Gods, Giants Of Anger, Witches, Martyrs Of The Cult Of The Dead (Agita), Diva, Lesbian Show

In conclusion, things went as we most expected. The brave ones (as Efthimis called us) filled the venue (where it was allowed as there was reduced capacity), shouted the lyrics, opened mosh-pits and seemed to enjoy that night. The support acts responded perfectly to the occasion and Nightfall gave a flawless show. Maybe they could play a little more, as an hour and a half seemed like nothing but that is just a detail. The important thing is that they came back stronger than ever and I hope to see them again soon in another stage.σύντομα σε κάποια άλλη σκηνή.

George Terzakis