Second day of Horns Up Festival 2023 seemed less promising for those of us who were waiting to see Iron Void but then we’ve heard that the band could not get on board (flight cancellation) and travel to Greece on time. But Horns Up is always full of good surprises and the final day of the festival was equally great as the first one. So, we were happy to see J.P.G. EDOUARTH from Ioannina, LEATHERHEAD from Larissa with their late 80s speed metal tunes, RIFFOBIA playing thrash, the epic show of DARK NIGHTMARE from Grevena, the cult band SPIDER KICKERS, the legendary SARISSA from Thessaloniki and the black metal finale from the Serbians SVARTGREΝ.
Sunday morning and many people were still struggling to recover from last night’s hangover as many fans choose to keep drinking after the festival at Rising Rock Bar. Those who didn’t want to miss a morning walk could do some sightseeing in Trikala as the organizers had a special city tour on Sunday. The city is beautiful anyway but since I have checked every little corner the previous years this time my choice was the beautiful stone bridge at Pyli (20 minutes drive from Trikala), a great place where we drunk coffee, admired the huge arch of the bridge and then walked along the river. In the afternoon we were back in town of course because at 17:30 the festival kicked off again.
“metal kids from Epirus…”
The opening act of the second day was J.P.G. Edouarth and… wait a minute, what are these kids doing on stage next to Spider Kickers’ drummer? They are his sons, still students at elementary school that their father had the idea of forming this family project (creativity idea of the pandemic lockdowns) and it’s hard for me to describe the joy they brought to the festival, at least for those of us that we got there early and had the chance to see new blood getting into the Greek metal scene. In this project James plays bass while the nine year old Peter plays the guitar and the eleven year old George hits the drums. Their 30 minute long set had one original composition and many different covers, from punk tunes to Black Sabbath and Manowar but also a Spider Kickers song that I haven’t heard for almost thirty years since it was part of the cult demo tale Pastiness (1990). The sustained applause of everyone in the venue was from the bottom of our hearts.
video J.P.G Edouarth:
J.P.G. Edouarth setlist:
show me the way / dying inside(Saint vitus cover) / drinks conquer all / black machine (cirith uncol cover) / mystery secret war(spider kickers cover) / never say diel(black sabbath cover) / I believe in miracles (Ramones cover) / thor(manowar cover)
“tomahawk takes control…”
At 18:15 Leatherhead got on stage, a brand new metal band from Larissa that released their first single only a few months ago. They are into speed metal mostly, bringing back memories from late 80s US bands like Flotsam & Jetsam, Annihilator etc but namedropping doesn’t really maters since the most important is that they have lot of interesting ideas in their songs and I enjoyed the fact they played with passion their 30 minute long set. Ok, the high pitched vocals by Tolis Mekras may put some away but he was really dedicated to his role and seemed to enjoy to the maximum he and his mates were on stage and I noticed that before he even bring the axe that would take the enemy’s scalp. Best moments in their set were the two tracks from the single but we are waiting for a great full length now.
Leatherhead video:
Leatherhead setlist:
Equinox / Dressed to Kill / Tomahawk / Vampire’s Kiss / Into the Werewolf’s lair / When Death is Near / House on the Left
“do you hear the thunder roar…”
Ten minute break, another beer to quench the thirst and five minutes to seven Riffobia got on stage. They are a local thrash metal band, formed back in 2004 although the important thing is that they have some great songs, especially their recent third full length they has received very positive feedback. As with Leatherhead we saw Michalis Zounariakis behind the drums once more, playing with passion as everyone in the band while small mosh pits started in front of the stage. The band played songs from all their albums although as expected they focused more on the last one but time flows like water so after 45 minutes their set was over.
Riffobia video:
Riffobia setlist:
God of hate / herald of pain / consume – obey / death from above / endless agony / pestilence / ltat / welcome to hell / no turning back
“beyond the realms of sorrow…”
Ten minute break, another beer to quench the thirst and five minutes to seven Riffobia got on stage. They are a local thrash metal band, formed back in 2004 although the important thing is that they have some great songs, especially their recent third full length they has received very positive feedback. As with Leatherhead we saw Michalis Zounariakis behind the drums once more, playing with passion as everyone in the band while small mosh pits started in front of the stage. The band played songs from all their albums although as expected they focused more on the last one but time flows like water so after 45 minutes their set was over.
Dark Nightmare video:
Dark Nightmare setlist:
Tears from the sky / hold me the light / hawks of war / battlefield / crown of innocence / beneath / haunted life / the blood land / the fields / invaders / timerider / dragonlakes / defenders
“total resistance…”
Although Iron Void had to cancel last minute (it was a flight cancelation) made us feel sad Chris and other guys of Horns Up crew were even more sad. The truth is that we would support them anyway since it wasn’t their fault (neither the band’s) but they were trying to feel the gap and have seven bands the second day too. So, Spider Kickers came for the rescue and played with passion. They also had lots of humor which is always a nice thing to add. James was powerful behind the drums (while he was also singing) and although they played without their lead guitarist they gave a great show full of their love for 80s death/thrash tunes covering some composition from the latest album but also of course their glory past career.
Spider Kickers video:
Spider kickers set list
Mutilate and eat / ektroma / no blood / vanity in front / VIII division / only a fool rules / carnivores / are you dead
“hear our voices screaming…”
Although Iron Void had to cancel last minute (it was a flight cancelation) made us feel sad Chris and other guys of Horns Up crew were even more sad. The truth is that we would support them anyway since it wasn’t their fault (neither the band’s) but they were trying to feel the gap and have seven bands the second day too. So, Spider Kickers came for the rescue and played with passion. They also had lots of humor which is always a nice thing to add. James was powerful behind the drums (while he was also singing) and although they played without their lead guitarist they gave a great show full of their love for 80s death/thrash tunes covering some composition from the latest album but also of course their glory past career.
Sarissa video:
Sarissa setlist:
War for peace / Electric axes / Turn the power up / Thunder / Before the light / It’s your time to play / Another love / Never say no / Macedonian army
“a calm stream follows us…”
Ι was expecting most people to leave the venue after Sarissa since standing there for two days was kind of tiring and our body started to complain but hell no, almost everyone stayed and watched the last band of the night. Most of us didn’t know much about Svartgren so we got shocked of how great these Serbians are. They gave a superb show, without talking, just playing some great raw black metal, with some nice guitar riffing and singing in their own language which not only gives them some exotic vibes but also makes their presence more intense. That’s why even people that prefer other genre were standing there enjoying this great band from Belgrade. Their set was equally spilled on every release they have and they got good feedback from everyone as they were ideal for the closure of the festival…
Svartgren video:
Svartgren setlist:
Lapot / Smrti / Posvecenost / Svetlosti Tiha / Milijarde Zvezda / Kruna Svega / Hram
® report/photos/video: Konstantinos Mindcrimek Vlachos
