Everything in life comes full circle. And this practically means that something must be completed in the right way in order to move forward. MISTY ROUTE, following this principle, decided to close the cycle of their first album, “Without A Trace” by giving an excellent performance at An Club on Saturday, November 22. All of us were invited, as well as two experienced bands, Heavy Rockers HIDDEN IN THE BASEMENT from Larissa and the Athenian Post Metallers SEVENGILL.
First on stage were the atmospheric SEVENGILL at approximately 20:30 in front of a still-growing audience. Post Metal is a difficult genre that speaks straight to the heart and mind. Having supported giants of the genre such as AMENRA, SEVENGILL know how to create the right atmosphere characterized by slow and heavy melodies, full drums that literally resonate with the heartbeat (or is it the opposite?) and dynamic guitars. The compositions are long as is usual in this genre since the goal of Post Metal as I understand it is to suck you into a dystopian reality. The instrumental parts cover most of the duration of the songs (average 10 minutes) and the brutal vocals tear through the atmosphere, momentarily bringing the audience back from a hypnotic state. SEVENGILL may have seemed a bit out of place genre-wise, but I don’t think that bothered anyone.
Setlist
- Oathbreakers
- For the Sun
- Untitled
- The Last One
After about 40 minutes of mystery and devoutness, we need to take a break to breath and socialize, but that didn’t last long. From the first notes of “Blind Horde” it became immediately clear that an hour-long party would follow with HIDDEN IN THE BASEMENT as hosts. Incredible energy, excellent communication with the audience, a festive atmosphere that groove -stoner rock is capable of ceating and endless jumping up and down from the crowd. Fortunately, we were in a basement… HIDDEN IN THE BASEMENT, with almost 20 years of experience, had no difficulty in winning the attention of the audience. They even made us sit on the floor in order to jump right up when the rhythm of “Reckless” commanded it. Furthermore the band informed us that their new album is almost ready and will be brought by Santa Claus in a few days. Cant’t wait…
Setlist
- Blind Horde
- Till I Close my Eyes
- Crown of Shame
- Four Leaf Clover
- The Witch
- One Way Road
- F
- Dry Well
- Reckless
The event was dedicated though to MISTY ROUTE who celebrated an album that their fans loved and laid the foundations for what is to come. Having the honor of having listened to almost half of their new album, I can assure you that it will probably surpass its predecessor. Of course, we listened to the entire “Without A Trace” with highlights such as the hits “Ride Alone” and “Sweet Revenge” as well as my favorite “Lost in a fairytale” while we also got a good taste of what’s next with the new “Freedom” and “Last Night’s Dream” with which they even closed the live. The symbolism is clear since usually bands choose older songs for the ending. Musically, MISTY ROUTE moves somewhere between the 2 previous bands with a greater affinity of course with HIDDEN IN THE BASEMENT. Their atmospheric alternative metal is mixed with hard rock, atmospheric ballads, stoner touches (Kostantinos sorry) and the incredible bond of Lefteris – Giorgos – Konstantinos on stage.
Setlist
- Intro
- Faceless
- Ride Alone
- Compass
- Lost in a fairytale
- Till Dawn
- Odyssey
- For You
- The Stage
- To the last breath
- Freedom
- Sweet revenge
- Last Night’s Dream
So, the “Without a Trace” era ended in the best possible way with a live show that despite the difficulties (at least 3 other “competing” metal shows at the same time in Athens) gathered a lot of people and most importantly gathered people who found themselves at An Club with the mood to have a good time. The bands took energy from the audience and gave it back to us openheartedly.
P.S.: I really like seeing other musicians being there supporting their friends and colleagues! I saw members from STILL DUSK, DEUS CULPA, SPECTRVM, SEBIA and certainly others that I might have missed.
Live Correspondent – Photos – Videos: Kostas Boudoukos
