This year (2024) Metal Hammer Greece magazine celebrates its 40 years of existence – 40 years of history, 40 years in stores, 40 wonderful years keeping us company, informing us about hard rock and heavy metal and breeding generations and generations of fans. The legendary magazine organized two concerts for this anniversary, one in Athens and one in Thesssaloniki, with special guests the mighty Gamma Ray. I worked in Metal Hammer Greece for eleven years, so the concert in Athens was for me also a very emotional occasion. Christina X described to you what happened in Thessaloniki, here we will see what happened in Athens!
by Dimitris Zacharopoulos
photos by Iro Kalligeri (@irokalligeriphotography)
At eight o’clock the doors of FLOYD opened and the hundreds of fans, who were waiting outside patiently, started coming in. The band, who would begin at this evening, was Desert Near The End. The Greek band hit the stage and offered us its epic power metal with thrash metal and doom metal influences. The response of the fans, who were packing FLOYD, was immediate and intense and gave the band the strength to continue. Desert Near The End played some of its best songs, without excluding songs from their new album, “Tides of Time”, out now via Theogonia Records. I will be honest – l liked the band much more than the previous time I had seen them at AN club! They were more confident, more compact and they performed more fluently. The night had a very nice introduction from Desert Near The End, who are establishing themselves as a force in the Greek metal scene.
Then came a moment I was waiting for a couple of months now, since I listened thoroughly to the band’s new album, “Utopia”, out now via No Remorse Records. One of the best power metal bands from Greece, Silent Winter have in their baggage an excellent album and landed on the stage of FLOYD full throttle! They commenced with an awesome song, “We Burn The Future”, showcasing their incredible talent and fine musicianship. When Mike Livas appeared before us, the audience screamed with enthusiasm! At this first song, the band faced some sound problems, but no technical shit could stop Silent Winter from their victorious attack! More songs from “Utopia” followed, like “Hellstorm” and “Hands Held High”, making the fans sing along and bang their heads. The band from Volos selected some older songs too, like “Shout” and “Empire of Sins”, pleasing their older fans too. Kiriakos Balanos was the master of the guitar, Mike Livas was shockingly good in both the lower and the higher notes, and the keyboards add depth and finesse to the band’s sound. In general, Silent Winter mesmerized the audience, giving one of their best live shows ever!
Only some minutes separated us from the headliners and as soon as the stage was set (one of the crew was Tim Kanoa, Kai Hansen’s son and leader of Induction!), the power metal heroes and their fans embarked on an amazing journey. Gamma Ray, one of the most charismatic and influential power metal bands of all time, the group that Kai Hansen founded after leaving Helloween, took center stage and unleashed their beloved power metal. Kai Hansen was the undisputed protagonist and as he commanded the heavy metal onslaught, all eyes (and ears) were on him! Gamma Ray selected to perform some of their classic songs, like “Man on A Mission”, “Land of the Free”, “Rebellion in Dreamland”, “Somewhere Out In Space”, “Last Before the Storm”, “One with the World”, “Heaven Can Wait” etc., but also newer songs like “Avalon”, “Dethrone Tyranny” and “Masters of Confusion”. The sound was killer, the energy flew abundant and we all had a great time – everyone was happy (that’s the purpose of music, isn’t it?)! Kai Hansen was in very good spirits, like everybody in the band, and of course, this positive feeling passed to the fans – we were all having a party! To this point I would like to add that Michael Ehrè was a monster on his drumkit, Dirk Schläcther was the solid, silent force of the rhythm section, Kasperi Heikinnen nicely supported Kai Hansen on the guitar and Frank Beck helped Kai on the vocals, although his voice didn’t match a lot with the band’s style. This glorious live show ended with a fantastic encore of “Heading for Tomorrow” and “Send Me A Sign” – some moments before, Kostas Chronopoulos and Hakos Pervanidis, who are in chief of Metal Hammer Greece, had hailed and thanked the people, who filled FLOYD and honored the magazine in its celebration, and gave an award to Kai Hansen, who humbly accepted it.
After this 40th anniversary concert, everyone was feeling elated. Metal Hammer couldn’t have celebrated its 40 years in a better way, with the bands, the fans and the Metal Hammer crew all together, having fun, singing and headbanging! We will never forget these moments! Thank you!
