BULLET, SILVER RISK, 666 PACKS – THE CROW CLUB, ATHENS GREECE – 18/10/2019

Bullet doesn’t need any introductions. They have released six studio albums plus one live album and are well-known in the worldwide hard n’ heavy scene. They were in the Nuclear Blast roster, they are now in Steamhammer/SPV and nothing seems difficult enough to stop them. Apart from their inspiration and musicianship, they are incredibly good in their live performances – they sound tight, solid and mature. The Greek fans had the chance to enjoy Bullet on stage, since the band visited for the first time Athens, Greece, on October 18, 2019. It was a blast!

The live show took place in The Crow Club, a nice, little metal club/live stage – its capacity isn’t big, but it is a warm, cozy place, where the fans are close to the performing band. However, the club didn’t get full and not too many fans came to the show. That’s a pity, if you take into account that it was the first gig of Bullet in Greece, the first gig of a band, which is very successful abroad. Nevertheless, what matters is that all the fans, who came that night to The Crow Club were very passionate and demonstrative.

The first band to hit the stage was 666 Packs. The Greek band played for about 30 minutes and their show was excellent. Their Accept-like heavy metal songs were performed beautifully, both the fans and the musicians had a lot of fun and I am so curious to listen to their future studio recordings. 666 Packs was a wise choice as an opening band for Bullet.

After that strong and dynamic act, we welcomed Silver Risk on stage. This band has a long history in the Greek hard n’ heavy scene, as they started their career at the end of the eighties. Now, 25 years later, Silver Risk is back again and they proved that with a powerful, impressive show. Their songs sounds like a more hard rocking version of Iron Maiden, full of melodies and technical parts. The crowd liked very much their set, but all were anxious for Bullet.

The Swedes took their place on stage and everyone was yelling and shouting; the group, which has made a huge worldwide sensation with albums like “Bite the Bullet”, “Highway Pirates” and “Storm of Blades”, was standing in front us, playing loud, roaring, hot and dirty heavy metal. They owe so much to bands like AC/DC, Accept, Saxon and Iron Maiden, but there is also an obvious influence from the heavy metal sound of the seventies. Their sound was crystal, and helped Bullet to display their skills and impress all of us. It was a great pleasure to see and listen to the furious quintet play its killer songs, to witness these lads giving everything they had like heavy metal hippies, like rock n’ roll rebels, like vintage gods of the hard n’ heavy pantheon. Bullet’s show was a sonic attack with screaming vocals (Hell Hofer is an icon!), rough, bleeding guitar phrases and a heavy, crawling rhythm section. The songs were played perfectly, the passion was flowing like a river, the headless head-banging was the only possible reaction for us.

Bullet took a shot and hit the target. Next time all head-bangers should be there to … bite the bullet! There is no excuse!

Dimitris Zacharopoulos