Helloween – Stratovarius – Avatar live report from Athens

While it was raining heavily in Athens and the traffic prevented me from being on time, a cool concert had already started in Fuzz Club. The queue was long but the fans were unlucky because the show was sold out and the desperate discussions with the security guys did not help either: “Dude a friend of mine came all the way from Agrinio to attend the concert. I know that there are no tickets but can you help us? “

The security guy replied negatively and the fan walked away very sad. Outside of the concert venue, lots of merchandise bootlegers gathered around the area to sell T-Shirts of Helloween and Stratovarius. Yes, the super team of the European power metal was in Athens for a concert that everyone that grew up musicaly in the 90s had been waiting for a long time. Helloween was the perfect example of re-branding when after the hiring of Andy Deris as a vocalist, they gained a loyal fanbase in Greece and not only. It is very interesting because Greece has been always a country that hesitate to the term of a new age with a new vocalist. Regardless of that, Andy became the new rock icon for Helloween and their fans in South Europe. Stratovarius were huge here during the 90s with headline shows, great album sales and a “Beatlemania” reaction from the metal fans upon hearing their name or their music. After the Timo Tollki’s departure due to health reasons arouns mid 00s, the band’s popularity faded but they are still known here for the classic musical heritage of the 90s.

When I entered the venue, the first support band Avatar was closing their set. Sorry guys for missing your performance but the “heavy metal” weather outside of my car was the reason for being late. The last two tracks that I was able to lishen, seemed interesting as their sound was influenced by Nevermore. Of course I have to give them credits because after the concert they were to the merchadise area and were giving flyers and smiles to all the people that showed up.

Stratovarius canceled a few concerts before Greece, because Timo Kotipelto was having problems with his health due to a sort of bacterial infection. The condition of Timo’s vocals was not in good condition tonight, he was having issues with the high octaves and seemed quite weak as well. I wish all the best for him but unforunately most of the fans were let down, especially all those that follow the band from the 90s. The lack of Timo’s “actual presence on stage” made the band show a low personality on stage and not create the best atmosphere for the audience. Of course the friendly audience greeted with joy the return of the drunmmer Jorg Michael after his battle with the cancer. Jorg seemed quite happy being back in action and his performance was really bombastic and energetic. Moreover, Matias Kupiainen, the new guitarist of the band seemed quite comfortable with the duties of the guitar hero as his playing was really technical and fast that reminded us why we love all the musicians that come from Scandinavia. The highlight of the band’s set that lasted almost an hour was the power balland “Forever” that they played in an acoustic version while all the fans were singing along the lyrics. It was quite fantastic feeling as all the club was raising their hands and united they replaced Timo’s voice, even Mr. Kotipelto felt amazed by the fan’s reaction. Unfortunately during their last song, the microphone of Timo stopped working and so he let the fans in the arena to take over the vocal duties…

After Stratovarius performance, all the fans were commenting on what could they expect from Helloween that came in Greece to present their new album 7 Sinners. The first single and promo video “Are You Metal ?” created panic in the rock clubs arenas as the new metal anthem to celebrate the  powerfull message of the lyrics: “Are you metal ? Heavy Metal”. Hell yeah.. it’s been along time since a group decided to put the old school term “heavy metal” in the lyrics without being afraid about the prize of the old fashioned or retro band. Andy and the boys stormed the stage and all the hell broke loose in the audience: screaming fans, flying items and an appetite for a metal night was surrounding the club. All the club was into ecstatic emotion and even the older ones could not resist to the epic tunes of Helloween. Fortunately the quality of the sound was much better than Stratovarius and all the band members were offering the coolest show for the coolest music fans. Andy Deris was jumping around in every corner of the stage to sing in front of the fans tracks that they love and admire. Helloween with the comfort of rock veterans, had a cool stage show and knew how to treat the fans and offer entertainment for anyone out there. Even when old catalogue tracks became part of the set, the audience accepted Andy’s vocals like he was the original singer of the band and did not feel uncomfortable at all. The playlist of the band was based on Keeper’s heritage and the classic tunes along with a few tunes from their new album but unfortunately they left out the tracks “If I could fly”, “Mr. Ego” or other singles that were succesfull in Greece. The duration of the set was amost 2 hours along with the encores and after the end of the show, everyone left the hall with a big smile in the face: A night to remember dude!