Beast in Black is one of the most promising newcomer bands in the power metal scene – if you can say that a band with three records already released is a newcomer! So, their first ever live show in Athens, Greece, was a very important event for all the Greek fans. Of course, we must not forget that Beast in Black’s frontman is Yannis Papadopoulos, who makes us proud with his amazing vocal talent. So, I counted the days until this show, which took place in Gagarin 205 live venue and was sold out – all the Greek powerheads would be there to enjoy Beast in Black. Before the headliners, Suicidal Angels would play and warm up the audience. Indeed, the Greek thrash metallers stormed the stage with their technical stuff, playing with passion and self-confidence. Suicidal Angels is an experienced act and performed nicely their thrash metal anthems, however, they didn’t match with the musical style of the headliners. I would prefer a Greek power metal band to open for Beast in Black, and I am sure that’s what most of the fans would prefer. Yet, we all liked the supporting act’s set, despite the fact that the lead guitar sound wasn’t so loud. After one hour, Suicidal Angels left the stage and in some minutes everything was ready for Beast in Black. Who got on stage and all hell broke loose!! The power metal stars started their show impressively, with a crystal clear, heavy sound and gallons of passion and grit!! They performed amazingly, combining their fantastic skills with true feeling and elegance. They were powerful and melodic, and they gave their fans power metal and a little bit of…disco, as Yannis Papadopoulos correctly said. It was a real party, everyone was jumping and dancing, both the group and the fans had a great time, real fun, with all the beautiful tracks from the three albums of the band’s discography. “Blade Runner”, ”Die by the Blade”, ”Moonlight Rendezvous”, ”Blind and Frozen”, ”One Night in Tokyo”, ”Unlimited Sin”, “Crazy, Mad, Insane”, “Sweet True Lies”, “Cry Out For a Hero”, all were top hits that sounded stunning during this power metal feast. Everything went on perfect, apart from one thing that I didn’t like, and that was the prerecorded vocals and keyboards … However, that happens in live shows nowadays, so today, two weeks after this live show, I have totally forgotten about it. What stays as an impression, as a memory, is the top class performance of a band, who played and kicked ass, who gave us almost two hours of fantastic, melodic metal music. Yannis Papadopoulos and his company helped us forget everything else and made us happy! A modern metal phenomenon stroke us in Athens that night! We are looking forward for the next Beast in Black album and their next concerts in Greece! Thank you, guys!
Dimitris Zacharopoulos
