Coroner
– Principal Club Theatre, Θεσσαλονίκη, 31.10.2026
Το
Σάββατο 31 Οκτωβρίου, οι Coroner
έπαιξαν στο PrincipalClubTheatre της Θεσσαλονίκης. Το σετ
κράτησε περίπου μιάμιση ώρα με μία ώρα και 40 λεπτά.
Ήταν
στιβαροί και άψογοι ως μουσικοί πάνω στη σκηνή και απέδωσαν τα τραγούδια τους
με επαγγελματισμό, ικανοποιώντας τον κόσμο. Άνοιξαν με το “Consequence” και συνέχισαν με τα
“Sacrificial Lamb”, “Divine Step (Conspectu Mortis)”, “Serpent Moves”, “Masked
Jackal”, “Symmetry”, “Golden Cashmere Sleeper, Part 1”, “Semtex Revolution”,
“Tunnel of Pain”, “Metamorphosis” και “Grin (Nails Hurt)”. Το
κανονικό πρόγραμμα έκλεισε με το “Renewal”.
Έπαιξαν
και παλιά τους τραγούδια, αλλά υπό το πρίσμα του πιο μοντέρνου ήχου που έχουν
δημιουργήσει στο τελευταίο τους άλμπουμ. Ο ήχος ήταν καθαρός και δυνατός.
Στο encore επέστρεψαν με τα “RebornThroughHate” και “DiebyMyHand”, κλείνοντας έτσι τη βραδιά.
Μόνο
ένα σχόλιο για το εισιτήριο: για τα δεδομένα της Ελλάδας, τα 35 € ήταν κάπως
αλμυρό.
Fifth Angel / Black Soul Horde / Dark Nightmare – Eightball
Club, Θεσσαλονίκη, 30.10.2026
Παρασκευήβράδυστο Eightball Club, μετρίασυγκροτήματαστησκηνή: Dark Nightmare, Black Soul Horde και, ως headliners, Fifth Angel.
Dark
Nightmare
Το
βράδυ άνοιξαν οι Dark Nightmare, με ένα σετ επτά κομματιών. Στοπρόγραμμάτουςακούστηκαντα “Tears from the Sky”, “Living a Lie”, “Hawks of War”,
“Beneath the Veils of Winter”, “Crown of Innocence”, “The Fields of Screaming
Souls” και “Dragonlakes”.
Black Soul Horde
Ακολούθησανοι Black Soul Horde, μεοκτώκομμάτια: “A Scream in the Snow”, “Beware the Deep”, “Beneath
the Mountains of Madness”, “Soulships”, “Stone Giants”, “Death’s Parade”, “God
of War” και “The Creatures of the Night”.
Fifth
Angel
Οι
Fifth Angel ανέβηκαν τελευταίοι, ως headliners της βραδιάς, με το πιο
εκτεταμένο πρόγραμμα. Έπαιξαντα “In the Fallout”, “Shout It Out”, “Call Out the
Warning”, “Fifth Angel”, “Wings of Destiny”, “The Night”, “Only the Strong
Survive”, “Cry Out the Fools”, “Fade to Flames”, “Seven Hours”, “Cathedral”,
“Stars Are Falling”, “Midnight Love”, “Time Will Tell” και “We Rule”. Στο encore επέστρεψαν με το
“Lights Out”, διασκευή στους UFO, και έκλεισαν έτσι τη βραδιά.
Αυτό
είναι το άλμπουμ που άνοιξε την πόρτα της επιτυχίας για τους πέντε Σουηδούς, το
δεύτερο της καριέρας τους, δύο χρόνια μετά το ντεμπούτο τους, Black Earth. Ο
Johan Liiva βρίσκεται ακόμη πίσω από το μικρόφωνο, τα αδέλφια Christopher και
Michael Amott αναλαμβάνουν τις κιθάρες, ο Martin Bengtsson το μπάσο και ο
Daniel Erlandsson (επίσης μέλος των Carcass) τα ντραμς, συνθέτοντας ένα
χαρακτηριστικό δείγμα μελωδικού Death Metal της σουηδικής σχολής.
Άμεσο
στον ήχο του και με τη γνωστή αισθητική του είδους, θα μπορούσε εύκολα να
χαρακτηριστεί Heavy Metal, αν δεν υπήρχαν τα ακραία φωνητικά. Τα χαρακτηριστικά
κιθαριστικά riffs των δύο Amott βρίσκονται στο επίκεντρο, χωρίς την
πολυπλοκότητα και την πολυμορφία που θα υιοθετούσε το σχήμα σε μεταγενέστερες
κυκλοφορίες. Εννοείται πως η παραγωγή «φυσάει», με τον Michael να αναλαμβάνει
και αυτό το κομμάτι της δουλειάς.
Όπως
συνέβη συνολικά με τη σουηδική σκηνή μετά το 1994, στην οποία δεσπόζουν ήδη
τέσσερα μεγάλα ονόματα, οι Hypocrisy, Entombed, At The Gates και In Flames,
έτσι και οι τότε ανερχόμενοι Arch Enemy κινούνται σε ένα ύφος που προσεγγίζει
περισσότερο το κλασικό, μοντέρνο Heavy Metal παρά το Thrash. Το ομώνυμο «Black
Earth», που περιλαμβάνεται εδώ και όχι στο προηγούμενο άλμπουμ, μαζί με τα
«Beast of Man», «Stigmata», «Sinister Mephisto», «Dark of the Sun», «Let the
Killing Begin» και «Bridge of Destiny», αποτελούν τα σημαντικότερα σημεία της
κυκλοφορίας.
Το
αποτέλεσμα είναι ένα από τα καλύτερα άλμπουμ του είδους του και, μαζί με το
επερχόμενο Burning Bridges, πιθανότατα μία από τις δύο κορυφαίες στιγμές της
πρώτης περιόδου των Arch Enemy.
English:
A Return to the Past.
This is the album that opened the door to success for
the five Swedes, their second full-length release, arriving two years after
their debut, Black Earth. Johan Liiva is still handling vocal duties, brothers
Christopher and Michael Amott take care of the guitars, Martin Bengtsson is on
bass, and Daniel Erlandsson (also a member of Carcass) sits behind the drum
kit, delivering a characteristic example of the Swedish melodic Death Metal
sound.
Direct in its approach and built around the familiar
aesthetics of the genre, this could easily be described as Heavy Metal if it
were not for the extreme vocals. The distinctive guitar riffs of the two Amott
brothers are at the forefront, without the complexity and stylistic diversity
that the band would embrace in later releases. Needless to say, the production
really packs a punch, with Michael once again taking care of this aspect of the
recording.
Much like the broader Swedish scene that emerged after
1994, already dominated by four major names – Hypocrisy, Entombed, At The Gates
and In Flames – the then-rising Arch Enemy lean towards a style closer to
classic, modern Heavy Metal than Thrash. The self-titled “Black Earth”, which
appears on this album rather than the previous one, along with “Beast of Man”,
“Stigmata”, “Sinister Mephisto”, “Dark of the Sun”, “Let the Killing Begin” and
“Bridge of Destiny”, stand out as the album's strongest moments.
The result is one of the finest albums of its kind
and, together with the forthcoming Burning Bridges, arguably one of the two
highlights of Arch Enemy's early period.
For a long time, most of us filed STORMWARRIOR under
“good clones”: HELLOWEEN mostly, RUNNING WILD too, and something close to the
most recent ENFORCER. The band did little to shake that image, and its own
statements and actions over the years pointed the same way. But everything has
an end, and “Heathen Warrior” feels like the bridge between the good old
STORMWARRIOR and a new, better one.
Don’t worry, this is still traditional heavy metal.
The difference is that the guys have finally found a sound of their own. They
started that effort on the previous release, and here it comes together. IRON
MAIDEN and RUNNING WILD are still in the blood, while the HELLOWEEN side is
much quieter, “Ravenhearte” being the one clear exception. Still, nobody is
copying anybody here. The band takes what the 80’s legends gave it and runs it
through its own playing and its own point of view. If you’ve followed them as
long as I have (I’ve been listening since the demo tapes), you’ll know exactly
what I’m talking about.
If you’ve never heard the band, no problem. You get a
solid dose of European traditional metal and you don’t need any history to
enjoy it. What caught me off guard is the work on the lead guitars and solos.
You can hear the care in every detail, and it gives the songs real personality.
The production stays clear and gives every instrument its space, as it did
before.
This is STORMWARRIOR’s most mature album so far, and
one you should check out. My picks are “The Ride of Asgard”, “Bloode to
Bloode”, “Ravenhearte” and, my favourite by some distance, “Fyre & Ice”.
Greek heavy metal band The Silent Wedding have
released “N.I.B. Reimagined”, an atmospheric acoustic reinterpretation of the
iconic Black Sabbath song. The arrangement incorporates traditional
instruments, including kaval and bagpipes performed by Leonidas Thermos, giving
the original composition a darker, more introspective and ritualistic
character.
The band's connection with “N.I.B.” dates back to
2014, when the song first became part of their live setlist. Over the years,
their interpretation evolved, gradually developing its own identity on stage.
The new release also serves as a tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne and an
expression of appreciation for Black Sabbath's lasting influence on heavy
metal.
“N.I.B. Reimagined” was arranged by Jim Katsaros and
The Silent Wedding, recorded, mixed, mastered and produced by Jim Katsaros at
Underground Music Studios. The release also features percussion by Marios
Karanastasis, George Kritharis and Vassilis Panagiotopoulos, alongside backing
vocals by Johnny Thermos, Vassilis Panagiotopoulos and Jim Katsaros.
The single was officially released on October 30,
2026, and is available on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music and all major
digital streaming platforms.
American Progressive Heavy Metal project Shade Of
Memories has released a new video for “The Anvil”, a track taken from its debut
album, Glaciers of Tomorrow (2021). The album was recorded, mixed and mastered
at Delbox Audio Studios.
Founded in 2013 by Jay Pratt, Shade Of Memories is a
one-man project based in Seattle/Tacoma, Washington. Combining powerful metal
arrangements with cinematic storytelling and symbolic themes of perseverance
and transformation, the project has developed a distinctive, concept-driven
musical identity. Glaciers of Tomorrow introduced Pratt's approach to an
international audience, receiving attention from both fans and music media.
New name, same band. Death Wolf started out as Devils
Whorehouse, and under that banner they put out two EPs and two full-length
albums. Why they changed the name, I can’t say. Maybe someone with more
patience than me will go digging. Black metal fans might like to know the band
was founded by Morgan of Marduk, and that alone says something about where
these guys come from. The new name comes with a self-titled album on Regain
Records, so that’s enough of the background. Let’s get to the music.
What you get here is old-school, and I mean really old-school.
Put this on and you’re back in the first wave of extreme metal, with that dirty
N.W.O.B.H.M. sound that Venom and Atomkraft made famous, plus a bit of
Motörhead and some punk attitude thrown in. If you love Hellhammer and early
Celtic Frost, you’ll catch a few familiar echoes too, and the rough, unpolished
production fits the whole thing nicely.
It all sounds great on paper, but the album can’t keep
it up. The first few songs are good. Then the riffs start repeating, the song
structures blur together, and the same ideas keep coming back. Somewhere along
the way I realized I’d stopped listening, and the last tracks went by without
leaving a mark. A shorter tracklist, or more variety in tempo and mood, would
have helped a lot.
So who is this for? Mostly the die-hard fans of 80’s
extreme metal, the ones who need every release the genre has to offer. Everyone
else should hear it before buying.
