One of the Greek bands we are truly proud of as a country is Planet of Zeus. Greece has a fantastic, lively, and healthy stoner/heavy rock scene, with bands such as Nightstalker, 1000mods and Acid Mammoth. Still, Planet of Zeus stand out as a major, unique chapter — a band we can confidently export abroad, a group so talented and distinctive that we could talk about them for hours on end. Now, as Planet of Zeus celebrate 25 years of a brilliant career, they organized a party at Athens’ Technopolis and invited all their friends to join the celebration! And of course, we couldn’t miss this festivity — on the contrary, Myth of Rock was at Technopolis that Saturday night to bring you the experience!
by Dimitris Zacharopoulos
photos by Iro Kalligeri (@irokalligeriphotography)
Indeed, we set off for Gazi early and arrived at the concert venue right when the doors opened. That way, we secured a good spot in front, to the side of the stage. Many others did the same, so by around 8 o’clock Technopolis was already quite full. Everything was ideal for the start…
… and the night began with Khirki! The Greek power trio took their place on stage under the audience’s warm applause and kicked off their set. Khirki are a highly noteworthy group in the local heavy rock scene, and their musical approach is truly intriguing. They don’t just play heavy rock — they infuse it with plenty of melodic metal elements, even more Greek folk elements, ending up with a prog character as well! Indeed, all of this was evident from the very first moments of their set.
With great energy and a positive mood, Khirki presented us with some excellent highlights of their work — they were unstoppable, had a great sound and more than warmed up the crowd. Even though I wasn’t very familiar with the two albums they have released so far, I had a fantastic time with Khirki and realized that this is a band with so much to offer. It was the perfect setup to get us in the mood, just a few minutes before Planet of Zeus stormed the stage!
And they didn’t take long to do it! Indeed, the celebrators stormed the stage with force and immediately dove into their stuff! The most beautiful, the most beloved anthems of these four musicians and their thousands of spellbound fans! Of course, it made perfect sense that we got to witness a best-of set, traveling back in time. This wasn’t just another live show — it was the ultimate Planet of Zeus event, a true dream come true for every fan of the band. Lasting for over two and a half hours, it left us fully satisfied. The atmosphere was not only full of passion and frenzy, but also charged with deep emotion from the very first to the very last second! On the technical side, Planet of Zeus delivered a masterclass in heavy rock madness, with incredible tightness, an astonishingly good sound worthy of the occasion, and even flames surrounding them on stage! That’s how we experienced the glorious closure of these 25 years — with everyone present: the protagonists themselves, playing with tears of joy; the fans, singing along nonstop; and the special guests (Argy from Nightstalker, Dani G. from 1000mods and Nate Bergman), who honored Planet of Zeus in the best way possible. The celebration flowed beautifully, and by the end, we were all sweaty and hoarse. Even now, the chant “Σεξ και Βία, στον Πλανήτη Δία! (Sex and Violence, on the planet Zeus!)” still echoes in my ears! Absolute top …
All that I’ve just described now come back to me as vivid, joyful memories. Everyone who was at Technopolis that night knows exactly what I’m talking about! It was a wild feast of heavy rock bravado! A delirium of heavy blues! Thank you, Planet of Zeus — here’s to the next 25 years!
