BLIND GUARDIAN (Live)

At The Fuzz Club, Athens, Greece, April 29, 2007

Blind Guardian has been one of the favorite bands of Greece’s Metalheadz since the Somewhere Far Beyond era. The band has built strong bonds with the Greek audience … a fact that is proven whenever Blind Guardian make a pass through the land of the gods. Indeed, they played 1 gig in Thessalonica and 2 in Athens that ended up being SOLD OUT!

The Athenian gigs were held in a club called Fuzz that definitely raised some complaints, especially due to the insufficient ventilation (it’s really hot in Greece) and the small stage where the band has to be stationary. Adding to the above, the volume was a little bit low for a Metal concert, although it was clear with minimal distortion.

The German band took over the stage after a 15-minute delay with the intro off Nightmare In The Middle Earth that lead to the fast-paced “Into The Storm.” The light show was really poor, having just the essentials, but this is a constant situation in Greece.

The band seemed to be in good shape despite the fact that this was the third show in a row that was accompanied with loads of traditional food and alcohol. Hansi Kürsch was very energetic and talkative, while his performance was top-notch, without signs of tiredness. The audience turned the heat up during the “older” songs with relentless headbanging and engaging into classic mosh-pit rituals.

Blind GuardianThe band performed 3 songs from their last rather “weak” album, A Twist In The Myth, that sounded heavier than the studio versions. The latest addition, Frederik Ehmke, in the company of elves proved to be a solid drummer and seemed to adapt easily in this “magic” atmosphere.

Among the highlights of the show were ”Valhala,” ”Lord Of The Rings,” and, of course, ”The Bard’s Song” — traditionally sung by the audience.

After almost 2 hours and some liters of sweat, Blind Guardian left the stage stoned by the satisfied audience’s response with the promise that they will definitely visit Greece again in the not so distant future.

The complete setlist was:

  1. War Of Wrath
  2. Into The Storm
  3. Welcome To Dying
  4. Nightfall
  5. I’m Alive
  6. Fly
  7. Valhalla
  8. Time Stands Still (At The Iron Hill)
  9. A Past And Future Secret
  10. This Will Never End
  11. Mordred’s Song
  12. Banish From Sanctuary
  13. Another Stranger Me
  14. Ashes To Ashes
  15. Lord Of The Rings
  16. Imaginations From The Other Side
  17. Punishment Divine
  18. The Bard’s Song-In The Forest
  19. Mirror Mirror

Author

  • Dr. Dimitris Kontogeorgakos

    Dimitris was a reviewer and interviewer here at Metal Express Radio. He has a diploma in Physics, a Masters in Medical Physics and a doctorate dimploma in Nuclear Medicine (this is the reason for his Dr. title). He was given his first Heavy Metal tape at the age of 12 which was a compilation entitled Scandinavian Metal Attack. The music immediately drew his attention and there he was listening to the first Iron Maiden album, trying to memorize the names of the band members. That was it! After some years, he stopped recording tapes and started buying vinyl records, spending every penny in the local record shop. The first live concert he attended was Rage co-headlining with Running Wild.

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