Mayhem @ 7Sins

\r\nThe 22nd of October was a pure black metal night for everyone present at “7 Sins” club.  Mayhem, the legends of the genre, visited Greece for the fourth time.  Along with them, performed two of our local representatives of the extreme metal scene.
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\r\nThe doors opened with an hourly delay.  At 21:30 and for the next thirty minutes, Crossover from Alexandroupoli performed their set.  They’ve been around since 1997, having released two full-length albums, a demo, one EP and a four-way split.  Their music is a mix of black and thrash metal, played with quite a rock ‘n’ roll attitude.  As a result, their fast black metal parts are followed by many heavy/thrash breaks.  Ifigeneia was in charge of the brutal vocals and did a really good job, whilst Zion –bassist and founding member of the group- sang in a more thrashy tone, also doing most of the talking-communicating with the audience.  It’s the third time I watch them on stage and surely the best.  The sound was acceptable and their performance was tight and energetic.  With songs like “Narcotic Love”, “Black ‘n’ Roll” and “Possessed”, they warmed up the crowd in the best way possible.  They covered the song ”The Sign Of Evil Existence” of the Greek metal leaders Rotting Christ, which was the highlight of their set and a crowd favorite!
\r\n  I know Enshadowed since the old days when they were named “Nocternity Enshadowed” and they always were a good value in old school black metal.  They were formed in 1998 and have released several splits and demos, two full-length albums and a live recording.  With corpse painting on their faces and the simple setting of one guitar, bass, drums and vocals, they bombarded as for the next thirty-five minutes with aggressive black metal.  An impressive drummer, nice melodic guitar parts and a solid frontman were some of their performance’s best elements.  There were some sound issues that improved along the way but I must observe that when opening for such a huge band in such a small stage, there are bound to be some problems.  Their set list consisted mostly of tunes from their split albums and their forthcoming third CD named “Magic Chaos Psychedelia”.  “Is Venit Ex Abyssous”, “Hell’s Reality - Recognize” and “Windfalls Of Master Fear” surely stood out as the highpoints of their show.  A really intense performance that prepared us for what was going to follow!\r\n

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\r\nAround 23:30 and after a short intro, Mayhem occupied the stage with a new line-up.  Guitarist Blasphemer was replaced by Morfeus (Limbonic Art) and Silmaeth.  Through a red glow and tones of smoke, the sound of “Pagan Fears” ripped the stifling air inside the club.  Attila appeared on stage dressed as a priest and with bloody corpse painting covering his face!  Without any pauses “Ancient Skin” kicked in, in ultra-high speed and Attila spitting out the lyrics.  “My Death” followed and proved to be a fan favorite, whilst “Cursed In Eternity” traveled us back to their first era.  The frontman from Hungary is nailing the songs that he recorded, while still doing a damned good job on Maniac’s parts.  Two songs from “Grand Declaration Of War” came up next.  “A Time To Die” and “View From Nihil” were performed with no break in between and with Hellhammer causing frenzy with his drumming skills.  Half way through their set, Mayhem played “Illuminate Eliminate” and “Anti” from their latest full-length release “Ordo Ad Chao”, with Attila at his best performance.  Seriously, sometimes it’s hard to believe that this guy comes from our world.  Theatrical and concentrated at what he’s doing, he can use his voice to produce any tone and pitch possible.  It’s time for the old-time classics!  “Freezing Moon” and the moshing is on, intermission with “Crystalized Pain In Deconstruction” and then “Deathcrush”, “Carnage”, “De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas” and even more moshing!  With “Pure Fucking Armageddon” and after one hour and ten minutes of sonic hell, Mayhem completed yet another visit to our country.  
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\r\nThe club was practically full, with the Greek audience honoring yet again these chaps from Norway.  The sound was noisy and chaotic at the fast parts and slightly improved at the slow ones.  Despite the terrible sound, the triggered drums could be discerned and the same goes for the vocals.  I guess that someone who wasn’t familiar with the songs and just popped in to watch one of the most historic black metal bands would have had a hard time keeping up with the music.  The people that attended the show were in a good mood and ready to have fun, overlooking the lousy sound.  The band too showed some zest, with Hellhammer impressing everyone with his professionalism.  Morfeus and Silmaeth focused on performing correctly the difficult guitar parts, while Necrobutcher offered us a good laugh by drinking a whole bottle of wine during the show!  As for Attila, what else can I say?  He is so imposing that you cannot take your eyes off him.
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\r\nOverall, it was a gutsy performance but strictly for fans.  Surely better than last time I saw them.  There’s something remarkable about Mayhem.  Despite the countless member changes throughout the twenty-six years of their existence, all of their recordings and concerts –no matter the line-up- have something in common.  Something above individuals and circumstances.  Closing my eyes, completely subdued to the orderly chaos of their music, I feel without doubt that what I am hearing is Pure Fucking Mayhem.
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\r\nSet Lists:
\r\nCrossover  (21:30 - 22:00)
\r\n1.    Intro (Over The Cross)
\r\n2.    World Crescendo
\r\n3.    Errors
\r\n4.    Narcotic Love
\r\n5.    Darkness Show In My Face
\r\n6.    666
\r\n7.    Pateras Vorras
\r\n8.    Black ‘n’ Roll
\r\n9.    The Sign Of Evil Existence
\r\n10.    God Possessed
\r\n11.    Outro (Over The Cross)
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\r\nEnshadowed  (22:20 – 22:55)
\r\n1.    The Stary Throne Of It
\r\n2.    Suicidal Lunacy
\r\n3.    Is Venit Ex Abyssous
\r\n4.    Hell’s Reality – Recognize
\r\n5.    Black Holes Death Planets
\r\n6.    Windfalls Of Master Fear
\r\n7.    Soul Saving + Dethroned
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\r\nMayhem  (23:35 – 00:45)
\r\n1.    Intro – Pagan Fears
\r\n2.    Ancient Skin
\r\n3.    My Death
\r\n4.    Cursed In Eternity
\r\n5.    A Time To Die
\r\n6.    View From Nihil
\r\n7.    Illuminate Eliminate
\r\n8.    Anti
\r\n9.    Freezing Moon
\r\n10.    Crystalized Pain In Deconstruction
\r\n11.    Deathcrush
\r\n12.    Carnage
\r\n13.    De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas
\r\n14.    Pure Fucking Armageddon
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\r\nLive Report:  Markos “SR”
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