This year, our country’s favorite festival for the more traditional metal scene is coming of age as Up The Hammers has reached its eighteenth version! The revelry for our music fans had begun a day before with the warm up party and today, Friday, was the first of two days of the festival.
With a highly impressive line-up on both days this year the festival managed to sell out in the nick of time but even so it was a great reward for the organizers especially at a time when the country’s finances are not the best.
So, I got my things and before the doors open I got in line outside Gagarin with friends and acquaintances. As every year for many years now, the presence of a large number of foreign fans is impressive if nothing else, which confirms the festival’s consolidation among the strong players in Europe.
On time the doors opened and I quickly made my way up to the club’s balcony. A quick stroll through the merch stalls for the necessary investment and I took a seat with the Senate to enjoy the evening.
First appeared Coven Japan. The Japanese who recently released their first full-length album “Earthlings” on No Remorse Records were an excellent choice for an opening band. Their traditional heavy metal that borrows elements from several greats like Iron Maiden and Thin Lizzy had all the necessary ingredients to warm up the room. But they themselves were more than happy to be with us on this night, something that Taka (vocals) never forgot to mention between each song. The band managed to pass the energy to the audience and received a well-deserved applause.
But then it was on with a change of style and the Bavarians Crom on stage. Old school Crom since they have been around since 1997, although they presented their first full album in 2008, they were definitely more static on stage though and their style is also more imposing. Heavy metal with many epic parts and some black outbursts, mostly blastbeats, that doesn’t raise many smiles.
I personally like them more in their slower, epic moments while the acoustic passages have a distinctly Bathory aesthetic. Either way I for one enjoyed “Shields Of Gold” which is one of my favourite songs from the band.
The time had come for the first American band on stage, three more would follow, with Wade Black’s Astronomica. So, Wade makes his return to the music scene with a band that builds on the Crimson Glory album he sang on. Opening with “War Of The Worlds” and the good fella Wade seems to be holding his voice well. Astronomica had the lion’s share of the set as the band’s debut album had only been released yesterday.
From their debut the band performed two songs. I personally found the first one uninteresting and a little bit of achy while the second one was more sympathetic. I haven’t listened to the album yet so I can’t give an opinion on the rest of the material. For the end Wade also gave us two tracks from Transcendence where there was the corresponding chaos. I really wish him all the best for this new beginning.
But next up was the battle tank called Sacred Steel. Although relatively low in the billing I can say that it was the most explosive performance of the night. They may not have given us new material for several years, as “Heavy Metal Sacrifice” was released in 2016, but they gave us an excellent set.
In a crazy mood Gerrit couldn’t stop joking around with the audience with epic lines (we must be getting old and playing slower because we’re out of time but we have two more songs) while his voice remains razor sharp. Anthems like “Sacred Bloody Steel” and “Heavy metal To The End” forced me to submit my neck and underperform for the rest of the night.
We now cross the ocean and stay America for the rest of the night. We start with Sumerlands who in 2022 had given us one of the best albums of the year with “Dreamkiller”. The alter ego of Eternal Champion, since three of their members are in common, plays a beautiful blend of classic heavy with an intense atmosphere and a retro aesthetic.
Their set was split between their two excellent albums. So we enjoyed anthems like “Twilight Guides The Way”, “Dreamkiller” and “Force Of A Storm” while for the end they kept as a surprise Stone Dagger’s “The Siege Of Jerusalem” from their only demo of 2013! Well-established on stage and with Brendan Radigan performing the difficult vocal parts almost perfectly they left us with the best impressions and of course a thirst for more music!
Also a big name though was Visigoth from Salt Lake City who flattened everything that was left standing from the previous bands. What if it’s been six years since “Conquerors Oath”. Its compositions are still seeding and I can say that now they are starting to take their place among the classics.
An enjoyable set that opened of course with “Steel And Silver” and Jake Rogers beating his chest over and over again. This was followed by epics such as the age old, by their standards, “Dungeon Master”, “Outlive Them All” and “Hammerforged”. As if enough beatings weren’t enough, they decided to play Manilla Road’s “Necropolis” and almost brought the club down.
Such was the crowd’s enthusiasm where after popular demand they not only played two encore tracks but were “forced” to play “Steel And Silver” again since Manolis wouldn’t let them leave the stage. I hope we will soon have new material from the Americans as a headline performance is now a must.
But it’s time for veteran Jack Starr and his Burning Starr. I think it’s unfair that many people know Jack as the Virgin Steele guitarist of the first two albums when he has had an impressive recording presence for decades with excellent work in his repertoire.
Jack is backed by strong musicians with his oldest bandmate Ned Meloni on bass since 2004. Of course we all know Rhino from Manowar behind the drums but we shouldn’t do justice to his very good vocalist. Jack tried to balance the set but as expected the emphasis fell on the Virgin Steele period from which we heard five compositions. Among them were my favorites “Go Down Fighting” and “Don’t Say Goodbye”. We heard two compositions from the recent “Land Of The Dead”, a very strong album and the rest were from his entire discography.
Jack but may be a low-key man but he set his guitar on fire on stage, metaphorically speaking. A great player and an excellent composer delivered lessons in technique and the crowd’s reactions indicated that a large portion may have come primarily for the Steele compositions but there were more than a few who honored the other songs as well.
“Light In The Dark” brought the curtain down on the first day of the festival with the crowd leaving the club in sweat.
The schedule was adhered to in full I can say with only 30 minutes total delay, a feat for such a large number of bands. Perhaps it’s time the organizers looked at opting for a larger venue although I understand that this isn’t something that is so simple. Either way the first day left me with the best impressions!
Michael Ntalakos
