Release Athens (Sabaton, Blind Guardian, Epica etc.), 21/07/22

On yet another day of beautiful music, a bunch of wonderful bands showed up at Release Athens Festival and at Plateia Nerou on 21/07/22. Sabaton, Blind Guardian, Epica, Enemy of Reality and The Silent Rage took the stage and gave us an excellent, musical evening.

Release Athens Festival raises the bar!

In a summer that's been on fire concert-wise, Release has gone the extra mile and treated us to some seriously high-quality shows. This was already evident from the scheduled night with Slipknot, Sepultura, Jinjer and several other notable artists. On yet another evening of musical quality, five acts from the metal scene took to Plateia Nerou to get us going!

The 'locals' The Silent Rage and Enemy of Reality

Two bands from Greece, specifically from Athens, kicked off the day. First up, The Silent Rage, who have a full album under their belt. With a punchy style and speed, the band managed to fire up whoever brave souls showed up early, defying the heat. The Silent Rage stood out for their unique attitude. Full of power metal influences, they filled the first half hour of the day perfectly. Here we should point out that the sound didn't do them many favors, but even so, this is a band with a very charismatic frontman. I'd definitely like to see them try again at future festivals.

Enemy of Reality

Next up were the already-familiar-to-me, Enemy of Reality. With the heat still at forbidding levels, the band took the stage for the next half hour. Their style: symphonic metal. As every time I watch these guys, what always stays with me are the performances of Iliana Tsakiraki, who is one of the most impressive frontwomen in Greece. All of this, combined with the excellent guitar sound from Steelianou, gives the music of Enemy of Reality tremendous drive. Closing out their stage presence, Enemy chose the traditional song they've covered, titled 'Tin Patrida m' Echasa', which drew cheers from the crowd.

Onward with a trio on fire!

Epica: Symphonic Metal from the Netherlands!

With Epica taking the stage, the day's program continued. The Dutch, defying the heat and the fact that they were playing relatively early, were excellent. Tremendous stage presence and a sound that showed real quality. The band was in the zone! They managed to get the crowd going with songs like 'Cry For The Moon' and 'Sancta Terra’.

The latter especially was one of the highlights of the evening, mainly thanks to the reaction of the band's keyboardist, Coen Janssen. Grabbing his portable keyboard, he crowd surfed, with the audience genuinely erupting in cheers. Epica seemed to really enjoy the crowd's response. Something Mark Janssen also expressed, wondering out loud why the Greek crowd left such a bad impression on Bruce Dickinson!

Blind Guardian

The Germans are one of the most recognizable bands in the heavy metal scene. With the band now on a new path and with a new identity, they were the day's co-headliners. At the start there were a few sound glitches, which seemed to get fixed to some extent. With the album 'Somewhere Far Beyond' hitting its 30th anniversary, the setlist leaned mostly on tracks from it. The crowd showed great love and got fully involved with every song, with 'Bard's Song' being the peak moment. During the encore, Blind Guardian played 'Mirror Mirror' and 'Valhalla' sending the crowd into orbit!

With the band having so many years behind them, the Guardian showed they can generously deliver powerful emotions in every show. There's something legendary about them. Otherworldly. Who knows... One thing's for sure. With this performance, they kept the bar set high and left all of us looking forward to the next one.

Sabaton closed out an outstanding show

The crowd had waited a long time for the moment Sabaton would take the stage. On an already packed day, the band put on a tremendous musical performance. Flames and pyrotechnics accompanied them throughout, while they themselves seemed to be having a blast. The crowd, for its part, was going wild. Something that was ultimately noted by the band's own surprise reaction. Bassist  Par Sundstrom didn't miss the chance to address the crowd in Greek, too! The Swedes are impressive on stage, something evident in songs like 'Primo Victoria’, ‘Swedish Pagans' and 'Sparta’.

With the crowd in ecstasy, Sabaton announced the end of the night. A night I left impressed by everything I saw. A lot of hardcore metal fans talk about Sabaton in less than flattering terms. For my part, I'll say this is a band that, ever since their first appearance in Greece back in 2009, has honored our country and found a passionate crowd here. They're on a constant upward trajectory, and every time we 'meet' again, our feelings will be plain to see! Greek audiences love Sabaton and that love seems to be mutual. As for Release Athens, we hope it keeps giving us wonderful nights of music!

@ All the bands: Thank you!