Back at Temple in Gazi for another Saturday night for a dark and emotional performance by 3 amazing bands. The Portuguese GODIVA made a stop in Athens for their mini tour “Damnation Over Greece” along with two Greek bands, SINISTROUS MIST and EON AURA. Surely, those who attended this particular live show must not have felt very “damned” though but blessed.
SINISTROUS MIST had the difficult task to open the show. It was their first time on stage and they gave us a solid taste of their debut album “A Voice Through Constellations” after playing five of the six songs from that album and what is immediately evident is that they have a very special sound which they call Majestic Black Metal. They had no problem warming up the audience that was slowly arriving at Temple. It is not an easy thing to get the attention of the metalheads who have just arrived at the venue. But we can say without a doubt that…mission accomplished.
Next in line were EONS AURA who may be new to the scene as a band but we are talking about experienced musicians on the stage, something that was evident from the begining. Kostas Katoikos on vocals was particularly imposing and seems more mature and confident than ever. Both artistically and visually, his appearance was excellent and was characterized by intense expressiveness but also comfortable communication with the audience. Something else that stood out was definitely the guitar solos of Mike Galiatsos (founding member of titans NIGHTFALL) while Hyperion on drums filled the room with magnificence. During the live show, they presented some of the songs from their first album, “Hybris-Nemesis-Death”, covers of classic NIGHTFALL songs, as well as a new song that will be in 2026. Overall, we can say that there was significant progress compared to their previous live in Kyttaro and it seems that as time goes by, they will only get better.
The evening was of course mainly dedicated to the great GODIVA, from whom, at least at first, their barefoot drummer, Gemma Sofia Salvatori, stood out. In fact, during the live, one of her cymbals was bent, but she continued playing furiously while the technicians changed it. Beyond that, however, GODIVA are characterized by absolute expressiveness and theatricality, both with their performances and with their stage presence, costumes, makeup, etc. Musically, they support a mix of Goth and Melodic Death Metal with epic elements since there was no shortage of pre-recorded choir parts. Accessible, friendly, expressive, dynamic… they had no difficulty winning over the crowd at Temple, whom they even thanked several times, and it is no coincidence that at the end there was also an encore, a sign that the crowd liked it and was in no hurry to leave. (more at the interview at metalwar.gr here!).
Something that many people do not know is that GODIVA may be a band with over 25 years of experience, but lately they have been on a constant upward trajectory with participation in major concerts and festivals, as well as new music in the works. Those who were at Temple that day must feel lucky to have had the opportunity to enjoy them, as well as the other two rising forces of the Greek Metal scene thanks to the organizer, Angels PR.
Live Correspondent: Eleni Konstantaki
Text editing: Kostas Boudoukos
