Evergrey are:
Tom S. Englund (Vocals&Guitar)
Henrik Danhage (Guitar)
Rikard Zander (Keyboards)
Jonas Ekdahl (Drums)
Jari Kainulainen (Bass)

Chaoswave are:
Raphael (Drums)
Guf (Guitars)
Michele (Bass)
Giorgia (Vocals)
Fabio (Vocals)

Under some other conditions, I would scream ‘oh, what an unbelievable gig my god!!’ .The original guest were four bands. ‘Evergrey’, ‘Chaoswave’, ‘Need’ and ‘The Silent Rage’. Our well –known Swedes, the upcoming Italians and the two Greek bands. Unfortunately, due to some misunderstandings in between the organization of the gig as we learned and read, has as a result for the two out of four bands to be cancelled. ‘Need’ and ‘The Silent Rage’ were the ones, in a situation, where every single one (especially those who have been in a band) would think, ‘I hope I wasn’t in their place’. I will continue the negatives a little bit, saying that this whole situation had another effect. This delay had the people waiting for a couple of hours without doing anything. Standing, waiting and a general inconvenience. To finish with, I will say something that existed in my mind while I was heading to the concert, and that still remained in my mind after the end. Evergrey don’t deserve to play music in such places. It is a pity that we have them coming for a gig, and they are so tired in the end even if we are talking about professional musicians. It is quite characteristic the phrase of the singer of the Swedes, T. Englund: ‘I don’t know about you people, but I am dying up here’, having a tone between being serious and funny. However, this showed in a way how stifling the atmosphere was inside the place.

As far as the concert is concerned, I will take things from the beginning. The organizers had planned a 30 minutes acoustic show only for Evergrey, which was going to be watched by almost 30 people and also some of the songs were going to be videotaped. Unbelievable performance by the band into a tranquil atmosphere. The acoustic playlist was: Torn – Soaked – As I Lie Here Bleeding – I’m sorry – Waking up blind. The five members of the band were with a positive energy from the start, and helped into breaking the ice and warming the climate. In the end I have to say I was persuaded that in the specific place, it would be perfect for a unique acoustic show in the future as a complete gig. Let’s hope for that in the future because there are many songs from the band’s discography that could be played acoustic. T. Englund confirmed in a stylish way the saying that he owns a very dark, deep and very melancholic voice which is surrounded by excellent musicians. The result was fantastic and I personally enjoyed every minute of the show that felt like they were playing in a family – kind of way.

After the end of the acoustic show, we headed outside the place, in order to wait for a couple of hours until the checks would be done, so that we were able to invade the place again for the regular part of the concert. Chaoswave were the support that started. Having their latest album ‘Dead Eye Dreaming’, been heard by me, I was quite curious to watch them in a live action. People showed that was a bit unaware of the existence of the Italian band, but as always having been great hosts we seemed to have helped the sympathetic Italians to be more convenient. Their new album had its honors with ‘10 years of denial’, ‘How to define a race’ and ‘Blind Eye Focus’ be the most remarkable moments. They entered the small stage at about 21.00 with ‘Fork Tongues and Foul Times’ and had some problems in the volume of vocals and general acoustic problems that had been improved in the continuation. These Italians play modern heavy metal with some prog elements, having both male and female vocals (for those who don’t know them). They have my great appreciation, cause as a support band they were perfect, warming up the people and having been really open with crowd, avoiding all the obstacles they gave their best and seemed to have enjoyed it. The only negative note maybe, could be the fact that they made some mistakes throughout their songs but as an upcoming band and being quite nervous in the beginning they can be justified even by the most demanding fan.

To go on with, around 22.00, lights closed and the masters Evergrey entered the small stage. I kept wondering myself, how these monsters of music was going to be fit in this small stage. However, after the first notes arrived in my ears, everything was erased from my mind and I let myself loose. Their first song was ‘Fear’ and what can you say about that? Chaos in the audience, plenty head – banging and the Swedes with an amazing energy and an arresting presence they sunk you into their dark. Evergrey proved most of all that they beyond being stars, they are people like we are without any taboo or arrogance. Very close to the audience, with no compunction at all, they even fulfilled personal dreams, like the one of the singer from the Greek band Need, who was invited by Evergrey on the stage in order to sing Blackened Dawn in an incredible version. The audience gave a great applause to them throughout the whole show.

From another point of view, not having seen the live for seven years the demands for songs was expectedly great. Nevertheless, Evergrey tried to play as many songs as they could (they had songs from their whole discography), even though the difficulties had them obviously got tired. Again here, as the Italians previously, we had sound problems in the beginning but as time passed, everything was unexpectedly (due to small place, small stage, suffocating atmosphere) improved and the Swedes definitely flattened us. The audience was once more impressive, especially in songs like ‘I’m Sorry’ and ‘Words Mean Nothing’, where they were singing the lyrics in state of nirvana. Unforgettable moments were the songs ‘Speaks To The Dead’, the amazing ‘Watching The Skies’ and the unique ‘When The Walls Go Down’, which together with the keyboards and the recorded parts were making you to shut your eyes and travel. One last important note for the show was that the five members seemed to work very well together and Jari Kainulainen (ex – Stratovarius) was very comfortable with his 6-string bass, refreshed and part of the rest team. Zander in keys was outstanding and Englund, Danhaze and Ekdahl were infallible.

Around twelve at the midnight, they ended the show letting us with ‘A touch of blessing’, which did touched us and made us feel blessed that we live in a period that we can enjoy this band live and at their best. Even if I wanted to listen more songs especially from their first albums, it was impossible although T.Englund stated in a humoristic way ‘lets stay here until the morning and play everything’. What else positive to say for these crazy Swedes? The fact that after being so exhausted from the conditions of the show, having consumed so much of their energy, they stayed at the end and signed everything for their fans (tickets, albums, papers, t-shirts etc). Always with a big smile at their faces, expressing in this manner their gratitude for our support all these years. These are the small things that show the majesty of a great band.

A last word for the entire show is that it’s about a concert that stays inside you forever because it caused you so many feelings in between. Honestly, every single one was absolutely happy from their skills and general performance, but I still believe that in the future we must recognize their value and offer them the same. So until the next time, we hope the organization to be much better in a bigger and more spacious place but above all we hope never to have other cancelations of upcoming young bands. I cannot imagine how more unbelievable and more full a gig that would be if all four guests were stayed in the original program. And I wish that we will always have surprises in the gigs, such as he had here with the exceptional version of ‘Blackened Dawn’. Surprises that makes a gig even more remarkable and true.

Playlist:

Fear – As I Lie Here Bleeding – Soaked – More Than Ever – She Speaks To The Dead – Watching The Skies – In Remembrance – Blinded – End Of your Days – The Masterplan – Still In The Water – Monday Morning Apocalypse – Words Mean Nothing – I’m Sorry.

Break / Encore:

When The Walls Go Down – Recreation Day – Blackened Dawn – Broken Wings – A Touch Of Blessing.

N.M.