Paradise Lost & Fragment Soul @Fuzz Club Athens – 17 April 2022

Fuzzy Hound was at the Paradise Lost gig at Fuzz Club Athens on 17 April 2022. Fragment Soul 'opened' the night.

The Fuzz Club Athens welcomed on Sunday 17 April 2022 the Paradise Lost, at a much-anticipated concert. The show was opened by Fragment Soul.

The concert I'd been waiting for

It's been a happy 13 years (I think it was 2009…..) since the last time I saw live the legends of doom metal -and other related idioms-, the historic Paradise Lost. Add to that the relative absence from live venues this winter as well, and I found myself with an intense desire to be at a gig that would surely be overflowing with heavy riffs, tension and sweat….

This particular live show had first been announced back in November 2019 for December 2020, with nobody having the faintest idea what was about to follow….. "Because when man makes plans, the Gods laugh….". So after one cancellation and reschedule after another, the time finally came to see one of those live shows where you know that even if you might bleed for it….you're going to have a great time!

Greece: A concert destination

From what I read in the press and in interviews with the band members, it seems they themselves were itching to kick off this tour that's been through forty rounds of upheaval. Athens and Greece in general is a destination that raises their expectations sky-high for an unforgettable night, knowing full well the Greek audience's love for the band. Having toured Greece many times in the past, they've built up a special relationship of mutual respect and love with the Greek audience, and they always try to give them that little something extra.

Armed with appetite, we headed out on Sunday night to one of Athens' rowdiest concert venues, the Fuzz Club in the Tavros area. To our surprise, outside Fuzz a queue had formed stretching all the way to the end of the alley and turning onto Pireos street. Whereas in the old days we'd have cursed our luck, this time the sight of the queue of people sparked a little euphoria at the turnout for a much-anticipated live show and the return to pre-Covid conditions…..

In the end, the wait wasn't too long and was mostly down to the checking of vaccination and illness certificates before we could get in, while some folks who tried to get in with a rapid test…..got shown the door…..

Support from Corfu

Walking into the venue at around 20.30, the Fragment Soul from Corfu had already started filling the space with their progressive melodies. The 6-piece band is made up of 2 vocalists (the main singer and a female presence on backing vocals and occasionally on the main melody). Their style is an atmospheric progressive rock with clear references to bands like Anathema and Katatonia.

In the roughly 45 minutes they spent on stage, they treated us, with top-notch sound, to tracks from their debut record (Axiom of Choice) as well as some new songs, as they informed us. I'll dwell on their flawless stage presence. Browsing the band's social media, I saw they're lining up shows abroad too, opening for Moonspell in Bucharest. Wishing them all the best!

In the beginning was the word of Doom

Utterly professionally, right at 21.30, the scheduled starting time, and in a packed Fuzz Club, they made their appearance on stage, Paradise Lost! Amid a wave of adulation, the intro of the one and only Embers Fire got the crowd fired up and built expectations for a night full of promise! Unfortunately, as so often happens, there were some sound issues (the vocals of Holmes could barely be heard), and on stage things didn't seem to be sounding their best either, which forced the singer to head to the back of the stage to ask for the necessary fixes. Anyway, whatever technical issues there were got sorted out quickly, and before the first song was even over the sound had improved quite a bit.

What followed was a storm. With songs from their entire discography and all the musical idioms they've served over the years, they took us on a journey and had us reminiscing about unique moments from their musical career. 

Ο Nick Holmes was quite good-humoured and cracked jokes with the crowd several times. Whether about the Athens weather that reminded him of "home" -even though he'd brought along...his bermuda shorts- or about his once luxuriant mane that no longer flutters in the fan placed in front of him… The singer was quite chatty and had taken on the job of connecting with the crowd. Announcing the songs, sharing stories about the era when they were written, and asking the crowd to participate either by raising their hands or with the traditional sing along at points in the songs. 

As for me, I always get a kick out of the playing of the other guitarist, Aaron Aedy (since the lead parts are handled exclusively by Gregor Mackintosh), who looks like he's really enjoying himself and drags you along with his rhythm.

A Best of… playlist.

With some of their biggest hits, like One Second, As I Die, The Last Time, Say Just Words, framed by their newer releases, Paradise Lost didn't want to leave anyone unsatisfied. Promoting their latest work (the album Obsidian from 2020), they also gave us a satisfying Best of. The truth is, though, that along with the band, age-wise their audience is also growing older (myself included…). So it seemed to enjoy the band's older hits more, while the live shows lose some of their punch due to the lack of a younger crowd, whose energy tends to come out stronger…

Encore

The beautiful evening came to an end around 23.00, after three tracks preceded it for the encore. 2 from the band's latest album and the one many underrate, So Much Is LostUnderrated because of the band's detour into more electronic territory, though it had me hooked from the moment it first came out.

In conclusion: The Paradise Lost is a band you always enjoy watching live. Having written a few concert anthems over their more than thirty-year career, I think they deserve greater recognition for their entire body of work, and also for the fact that they still manage to put out interesting releases. I would expect to see them in bigger venues or festivals with a lot more people worshipping at their altar.

I'm sure, though, that this wasn't their last visit to our country……

Playlist

1. Embers Fire
2. Forsaken
3. Blood and Chaos
4. Faith Divides Us – Death Unites Us
5. Eternal
6. One Second
7. Serenity
8. The Enemy
9. As I Die
10. The Devil Embraced
11. The Last Time
12. An Eternity of Lies
13. Say Just Words
14. No Hope in Sight

Encore

15. Darker Thoughts
16. So Much Is Lost
17. Ghosts