Bolt Thrower @ Gagarin 205
Greek metalheads had been waiting to see BOLT THROWER live for a very long time. In fact even though they’re a 24year old band that was the first time they played live in Greece. On Monday the week before the show the promoters had sent word to all media that the Athens show was heading for a SOLD OUT fast and so when I got to Gagarin it was no surprise that there were no tickets left. As I found out the show was SOLD OUT two days before. On the contrary the show in Thessaloniki didn’t even make its expenses. \r\n
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\r\nI heard someone chat behind me during the show that the gig made a bunch of money as the venue could hold 1200 people and everyone paid 20 euro to get in so there 24.000 euro made that night. I wonder how ignorant can someone be to make this hypothesis. Ignorant of the other costs that burden a live gig, taxes, the fee of the band, the company that handles artist rights in Greece, rent for the venue, airplane tickets catering, backline, transportation Thessaloniki to Athens, hotel expenses, promotion, posters. It’s not the first time I hear a comment like that but I am sick and tired of it this is why I am making this comment.\r\n
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\r\nI got there around 19.00, doors were already open. A small crowd was standing outside. They didn’t purchase tickets on time and now they couldn’t’t get in. In the venue’s entrance there was an extra bar where there usually is the merchandise and a crowd surrounded on the opposite stand where the wardrobe usually is. Two reasons for having this crowd around the merch stand, first it is a common policy of BOLT THROWER to sell their merchandise only where they are appearing live and no place else and also as they sell their merch really cheap. There is no place else you can buy BOLT THROWER merchandise!
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\r\nInside the venue the fans had already crowded the venue. I found a spot on the staircase as I was sure that by the end of the night the place would be packed, hot, sweaty and suffocating!
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\r\nFirst to take the stage were INVERACITY. It is a band acknowledged both by fans and artists in their genre so it was of no surprise that they would perform great. I’ve heard somewhere that many artists of the international death metal scene wear INVERACITY tshirts and this is not just a piece of information you pass by. With a very well bonded, massive, robust and dark sound they performed songs from their previous two albums and two new songs which will definitely please the fans of the genre. The fans reacted really warmly to the band and a mosh pit slowly started to build up during their set.
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\r\nSetlist:\r\n\r\n
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\r\nBefore The Uncreation
\r\nSavagely Beaten
\r\nVisions Of Uncoming Apocalypse
\r\nBlood Of Impurity
\r\nBehind the Walls of Derangement
\r\nFestering
\r\nCompulsive Degradation
\r\nShe Died in My Arms
\r\nEleven
\r\nExtermination of Millions
\r\nShallow
\r\nExposing the Semihumans
\r\nRepulsed by Vaginal Reek\r\n
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\r\nAfter almost five minutes for the necessary backline change and sound check SUICIDAL ANGELS got on stage. Having just returned from their first headlining European tour, and after having spent all winter on tour with Kataklysm and Overkill, the stage was at their command. Many fans before the stage, many SUICIDAL tshirts, the pit got more speed and there came the crowd surf. Some stuck up fan threw an empty bottle at the bands bassist because on a humorous note he had been wearing a Lady GaGa tshirt. I wonder if the same tshirt had been worn by a non- Greek artist the joke would then be more obvious! Their set included songs from their latest album Sanctify The Darkness and a song from their first album Eternal Domination, specifically Vomit On The Cross. SUICIDAL ANGELS are a true LIVE band! They dig what they do, have devoted on it passionately but keeping in mind that they too are fans and so keep a genuine very modest profile. They are true fans of the music but managing to combine their true enthusiasm with professionalism and a truly head turning result.
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\r\nSet List:\r\n
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\r\nBloodthirsty
\r\nPestilence Of Saints
\r\nInquisition
\r\nBeyond The Laws Of The Church
\r\nVomit On The Cross
\r\n….Lies
\r\nMourning Of The Cursed
\r\nDark Abyss
\r\nNo More Than Illusion
\r\nApokathilosis
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\r\nReport: Ελένα Μιχαηλίδου\r\n
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\r\nThe Gagarin 205 club was now full and you could feel the heat rising minute after minute. Suddenly, lights out and the intro music theme woke everybody up!! People started screaming, shouting and the mosh pit was ready to explode.
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\r\n-Bolt Thrower- appeared on stage and the whole club started to shake from the battle screams of the fans. The guitars set the start and mr.Willets gave the sign to start the war with a simple sentence: The IVth Crusade!!!\r\n
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\r\nThe fans seemed that they started losing their heads.Massive headbanging, stagediving, crowd surfers and mosh pit maniacs gave more energy to the show and the band responded with great performance. You could even see people with broken legs doing crowd surfing, some others started a fight and started punching each other real hard and the whole situation with the perfect soundtrack turned the mosh pit into a battle field.
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\r\n-Bolt Thrower- started their setlist with a lot of power and high volumes and the sound was not so good at the start but minute after minute the sound was fixed to better quality.The band played many old songs such as: The IVth Crusade, Mercenary, For Victory, World Eater, No Guts No Glory, but also some songs from recent albums like : Pride, The Killchain and Anti-Tank. They played very nice with no mistakes and no accidents and they managed to complete a great show with two encores.
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\r\nEverybody left happy from the Gagarin club that night, except for those who couldn’t find a ticket due to the fact that all tickets were sold out. The only bad thing was the heat but i don’t think that most of the people cared at all. It is very rare to watch these days a great show like this with so low price.\r\n
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\r\nLive Report : Efkarpos \r\n
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\r\nPhotos: Jim Hatzimoisis\r\n
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