And the winning streak continues with another night at Temple and yet another different but exceptional live. Three bands that follow somewhat different musical paths, but which magically created an amazing line up.
It all started with the Dark Progressive Metallers FADING ECHOES from Volos, who performed at Temple the fourth of six stops on their tour to promote their first album, “Shadow Of Another.” Specifically, they played in Ioannina, Thessaloniki, and Volos before wrapping up this mini tour in Patras and Volos again at the beginning of 2026. Although they opened the show, FADING ECHOES had enough time to present their album, playing 6 out of a total of 9 songs, while also giving us a preview of their next steps with 2 new songs. The strengths of FE are now well known to those who have seen them live. They create an emotionally charged atmosphere with alternations between melodic slow-tempo and more dynamic mid-tempo songs, while their compositions give space for the excellent musicians to do their part with guitarist Giorgos Theodoropoulos being my favorite. “Shadow Of Another” is an album that has been played quite a bit on stage, and this is evident, while it should also be taken into account that the members of FADING ECHOES are scattered throughout Greece, which makes it even more difficult for them.
Setlist
- The Stages of Grief Pt. II: Anger
- The Stages of Grief Pt. IV: Depression
- The Stages of Grief Pt. V: Acceptance
- The First Step Forward
- Caving In
- A Wish Unspoken
- Rumination
- The Final Act
After 50 minutes, FADING ECHOES left the stage to make way for Heavy/Power metallers WILDFIRE. We have been warned and they delivered in full! The crowd had filled Temple early on, and soon an endless party began. The energy these guys bring to the stage is incredible. With their singer Bill taking the lead and Tolis following, WILDFIRE rocked the stage. Their connection with the audience is unique, and the up-tempo nature of the songs from their first full-length album, “Rise”, helped create a frenzy. The highlight of the evening was “Navigators,” with Tolis playing the clarinet for a bit, as well as their cover of Michael Sembello’s classic “Maniac.” It’s a song that has been covered by dozens of artists, and we could see why as it got the audience excited. Another thing that stood out was Dimitris Varsamis with his awesome guitar solos. Finally, they closed their set with “Wildfire” from their EP.
Setlist
- Leap of Faith
- Rise
- Inside the Box
- Nights
- Navigators
- Breaking Point
- Mirror’s Edge
- Night with a Witch
- Maniac
- Wildfire
If anything characterized the evening as a whole, it was the musical variety offered by the three bands. So, after the melancholic Progressive Metal from FADING ECHOES and the uplifting heavy metal from WILDFIRE, it was time for the epic heavy/power metal from SIRIUS. With an EP (“Wings of Fire” in 2017) and a full-length album (“A Quest for Life” in 2024), SIRIUS managed to fit in most of their songs and three covers. I have already mentioned my opinion about bands that don’t hesitate to play covers in their live shows. On Saturday, both WILDFIRE and SIRIUS did so (FADING ECHOES would have done so too, but due to time constraints, they had to cut their regular tour set short). True to their Power and Heavy Metal roots, they covered IRON MAIDEN, MANOWAR, and GRAND MAGUS in an ideal way. What stood out about their stage presence was the imposing way they stood on stage, which was fitting for the epic nature of their performance. The majority of the audience remained in their seats until the end, honoring all the bands, and they rewarded us more than enough.
Setlist
- Intro (Kull The Conqueror)
- Unbound the Scream
- Edge of the World
- Thor The Powerhead (MANOWAR cover)
- Desdichado
- Wrathchild (IRON MAIDEN cover)
- Beyond the Sands of Time
- Lostlight / Land of Swords
- Fury Within / Among the Heavens
- Valhalla Rising (GRAND MAGUS cover)
On the same day, a few kilometers away, Blaze Bayley was playing to a packed Fuzz Live venue, while almost next door, at Piraeus Academy, TYPHUS and BIOCANCER gathered fans of extreme sound. This makes the success of the three bands, who worked very hard, even more significant. It is important to mention that Temple seems to have upgraded the sound quality in the venue helping the bands to stand out. Through their work and their performances, the three bands are slowly building a fan base that will fuel their future success.
P.S.: Later, we found out that this was the last performance of Bill Chrepas with WILDFIRE and he truly made the most of it proving he is an excellent professional and honored his time with the band. We would like to wish Bill the best with his next steps and we know that WILDFIRE will pick the best possible replacement and continue to rock our world!!
Live Correspondent – Photos: Kostas Boudoukos
