On the evening of 6th January 2024, we knew one thing for sure at Temple Athens – it would be a night to rock n’ roll! To shake, scream and shout! Three bands would play there for us and we couldn’t wait till the beginning of this hard rock/heavy metal party – Wild Machine, Snakebite (Greek Alice Cooper tribute band) and Dr. Crüe (Greek Mötley Crüe tribute band) would hit the stage of Temple and all hell would break loose! Let’s see what finally happened!
The doors of the venue opened some minutes later than programmed, so the bands appeared on stage with a short delay. First band of the bill and the only band with its own material, Wild Machine took center stage and caused a frenzy in the audience. We are talking about a historic band of the Greek glam/sleaze/hair/poser metal scene, a gang of five musicians, who know how to play ‘80s metal and have the balls to do it in front of us anno 2024! Wild Machine’s looks kill, their sound is shockingly loud and dirty and they perform like superstars of arena/FM metal. I have a preference for Johnny Hot, the singer, but, hey, all these guys are like living monsters of the 80s! Monsters of rock! Wild Machine nailed it for about an hour, playing their material, but they also dared to cover bands, like Sweet and KISS!
They left the stage, having managed to warm the crowd, without any problem – to the contrary, the atmosphere was electrified, hot indeed. We were waiting for … Alice Cooper to get on the small stage of Temple and … he did! Snakebite appeared on stage furiously, and began playing Alice Cooper classics, showing no mercy! Yes, the guys from Snakebite showed that they know Alice Cooper and his catalogue, that they love Alice Cooper and his songs and that they know to play the Alice Cooper way! For almost an hour and a half we enjoyed many Alice Cooper hits and had a great time with all this hard rock/heavy metal hymns. Snakebite were amazing – Antony Papadopoulos sang with confidence and passion, the guitars were loud and clear and the rhythm section built a wall of sound. The Greek tribute band brought to life not only Alice Cooper’s tunes, but also his theatrics. That’s why we all felt that Snakebite is very close to Alice Cooper and his legend! It was an extraordinary show, from start to finish.
Dr. Crüe is the only tribute band that could play after Snakebite – Tasos Kardaras and Co. pay tribute to the mighty Mötley Crüe and as you may understand, the night culminated with their live show. It was a real celebration of ‘80s metal, with great refrains, razor sharp riffs and crying guitar solos, a true celebration of Mötley Crüe! Even now, days after this event, my ears ache from the crystal noise that this Greek band produced and my favorite Mötley Crüe songs echo in my brain! They played some of the best Mötley Crüe tunes with tons of passion and energy, being precise and relentless, bringing the fans to a state of euphoria. All along their set, you had the impression that the actual legendary band was there before us, performing on a secret gig! It was a travel back in time, to the golden era of 80s glam/sleaze/hair/poser metal! I liked also very much that Dr. Crüe had visuals for every song, apart from the fact that there was a big interaction between the band and the audience. I have seen many tribute bands and I have to say that Dr. Crüe is one of the best! That was a show of heavy metal extravaganza, no doubt about it!
Wild Machine, Snakebite and Dr. Crüe were superb, in a night of hard rock/heavy metal fun! The bands gave their everything and the attendees realized that, giving them a warm applause. We left the venue super-excited, singing Wild Machine, Alice Cooper and Mötley Crüe refrains!
Dimitris Zacharopoulos
photos by Iro Kalligeri
