The night began at 21.00 o’clock with an alternative/progressive rock band, called Trope, featuring Diana Studenberg on vocals and Moonhead on guitars, who is also the composer and the producer and mixer of the band. Wow! While the music was quite interesting, due to the lack of drums and other instruments, the compositions weren’t enjoyed at their maximum, as it was more like an acoustic experience. They had an amazing energy and the singer really sang with passion. The audience really enjoyed them and I think that they were a perfect choice to open the evening and warm up things for the rest of the night. I really would like to see them again in full band.
Oddland were the second band to play that night, a progressive metal band from Turku, Finland, performing for their first time in Greece, just as Trope. They had really interesting and catchy songs like “Eternal Erode”, and they seduced us to their progressive universe. My personal favorite moment of the night was, when they performed “Free Fall”, a really fantastic song with many changes, great riffs and very emotional. They prepared us properly for Soen and the audience really gave them a great applause.
And the big moment came … the Swedish supergroup Soen took over the stage at approximately 22.30 o’ clock. I will be honest with you – it was my first time seeing them on stage and I really didn’t know what to expect from them. I had heard all these big words that they were really amazing on stage, and I was very skeptical, until this night. Firstly, the show opened with a recitation of parts of the famous Dylan Thomas’ poem, which is actually one of my favorites and it was also used in the “Interstellar” movie – it says, “Do not go gentle into that good night, Rage, rage against the dying of the light”. As we were hearing it over and over again, the band started performing “Sincere”, and of course they played “Martyrs” and “Savia”, but their performance emphasized the new “Memorial” album – that was the tour all about, anyway. My personal favorite moment of the night was when they played “Lotus” … it was a moving interpretation with Joel Ekelöf as the protagonist. His performances are evocative, he has everything one needs to remember his singing. What can I say? The energy and emotion of each member was almost insane; Cody Lee Ford was playing the guitar with mania and Oleksii “Zlatoyar” Kobel (bass) headbanged all the way with his Rasta hair – all the members had an emotional and technical coordination that felt as cohesive and unified as a family and made this night truly unforgettable. Of course, we enjoyed the “Antagonist” and “Violence” encore, but we needed more songs like “The Words” and many more – we wanted MORE!
An unbelievable night – for sure, everyone who was there on the 17th of October 2024 will surely be present at Soen’s next performance in Greece. And I think that’s the point of it all.
by Iro Kalligeri
photos by Iro Kalligeri (@irokalligeriphotography)
