After lots of mishaps and seemingly endless obstacles, the legendary Witchfynde came, saw and finally conquered Greece! You see the show was initially scheduled for January but drummer Gra Scoresby had an accident (fortunately he is OK now) so the gig was postponed. Also, the first Greek opening band had to cancel its appearance due to health reasons and on a last minute note Jess Cox could not make it either. So everybody had their fingers crossed upon entering the club and luckily for all of us the show went on according to schedule and it was definitely a show to remember for many years! But let’s start from the start…
Strikelight was the opening act that had the task of warming up the crowd and a fine job they did! The Greek quartet unleashed an arsenal of Maiden-esque tunes that were sufficient enough to win over the fans who slowly yet steadily were filling up the club. With a new singer yet the same, unparalleled energy Strikelight not only delivered the goods but also left promises of even better performances in the future when the line-up would be even tighter.
10 minutes before the clock stroke midnight, the lights went out and the first notes of “The Devil’s Playground” rushed through the speakers of The Crow Club. Witchfynde was at long last on stage and that was a moment that we’ve been waiting for many years! Yes, the ruthless time has left its marks on the band (we are not getting any younger, are we?) but Witchfynde showed in the most emphatic manner that it is one of the finest bands of the legendary early NWOBHM era…and they have the scars to prove it! Montalo mesmerized everyone with his guitar, Scoresby played like a youngster behind his drum kit, Beltz was majestic and imposing on stage and the “newcomers” Hamilton & Abbott were absolutely amazing and flawless.
The unbelievable version of “Crystal Gazing” and the classic “Moon Magic” were up next with Beltz dedicating the latter to the great Ronnie James Dio.
Naturally, every time we were treated with a song from the debut “Give ‘em Hell” album, the fans were going wild. And that was exactly the case with “Leaving Nadir”, “Getting’ Heavy” and the title track. But I truly believe that the absolute highlight was the bombastic performance of “Stab In The Back” (from the underrated “Lords Of Sin”) where the crowd sang as loud as they could! Brilliant! Same thing happened during “I’d Rather Go Wild”, “Conspiracy”, “Cloak & Dagger”, and “Stagefright”.
All in all, Witchfynde proved once again why they are rightfully considered one of the most groundbreaking and important bands of the classic NWOBHM era.
Let’s hope that we will see them again very soon. Congratulations on the local promoter for doing an excellent job despite the aforementioned obstacles.
Sakis Nikas
