Katatonia's visit to Greece during their New Night Over Europe Tour was one of the most expected metal concerts of the last months. They shared the stage with Sirenia and two Greek bands: SorrowfulAngels and Daylight Misery. I got to the club a bit early, cause I wanted to catch my usual spot at Principal (as always). After we had been waiting for almost an hour, they finally let us in and the show started!
Daylight Misery came out first and stayed there for 30 minutes, followed by SorrowfulAngels who played for 40 minutes. Both of them are upcoming, Greek metal bands. I can't be objective about their performance, cause I had never listened to their music before and I was waiting for Katatonia to come out, so I didn't pay much attention to their songs. All I can say is that their music was nice and I'm glad that Greek metal scene is expanding little by little. Especially SorrowfulAngels were very energetic on stage and made me feel good with their attitude. They were a pleasant support act and they made me wanna hear more of them.
Then, it was time for Sirenia. I can say that this was one of the biggest disappointments I have ever experienced. I am sick and tired of these female fronted gothic bands that change their style from something unique and turn it into commercial indifferent garbage that you listen to and try to understand... "quot;which band is this, of the 2000 similar ones??": Morten made clear from the very start that he is the boss! He didn't introduce the new singer, Ailyn. He didn't even let her speak a word! Ailyn, on the other hand, was the most annoying singer I have ever seen. She was constantly raising her hands (showing us her dress??? I don't know) and asking us to clap our hands. She was just trying too hard, singing all lyrics, even Morten's (of course not to the microphone) and that was too tiring for me to see! Don't get me wrong... I don't have a problem with these things in general. It is just that all this lasted from the very first minute to the last. It was like a battle between Morten and Ailyn for attention. The set list was good, containing songs from all albums, even the first ones. The bad thing was that the old songs revealed Ailyn's lack of vocal range. And except all these... half of their music was a playback. They didn't even have a bassist on stage! Having a playback for the backing vocals and the synths is ok. But a playback for the bass is just unacceptable! The only good thing was Michael's cool performance.
And finally, at about 22:00, Katatonia came out! Their show started with mostly new songs. Night Is The New Day, is a wonderful album, in my opinion, but not that appropriate for a live show. So in the beginning, I was kinda disappointed and wondering why I had come to this live. But then, old, powerful songs took their place in the set list and the heat started to rise! Hearing Ghost Of The Sun live was enough for me to have a great time! And after that... July, Criminals, For My Demons, Dispossession and Leaders!!! It seems they were holding the really great stuff for the end. What I loved about Katatonia's performance is that they give you a feeling of calmness and peace even with their most powerful songs. Their show lasted for 90 minutes and they left us with the song Leaders, that the crowd had been asking for from the start of the concert.
In general, I can say that even though the evening didn't start that great and we were fighting with exhaustion once more, it ended with the most beautiful way, leaving us wanting more and awaiting for Katatonia's next visit to Thessaloniki.