Album list 2024

 Album list 2024

this one will be a short one, haha xD 

rotting christ - προ χριστου

rotting christ cannot do anything wrong in my opinion. yes, they have their distinctive style and they are recognisable immediately. but i love where they are going with their music lately and it has become so ritualistic and deep. this is a solid rotting christ album. maybe not as overwhelming like rituals, but still a fantastic listen. 

kawir - κυδοιμος

i love these guys so much!! for me they are, i have said this before, together with rotting christ and aherusia the unholy triarchy of greek black metal. this again sounds so so awesome and i’m happy how they have shaped their sound and still find their inspiration in greek mythology. 

project pitchfork - elysium

oh i was waiting for this so very much! ever since i saw them in leipzig a few years again i have been in a project pitchfork craze. it’s sometimes ebbing a bit and then it will come crashing in again, haha xD i love this one so much, too. i feel so fortunate to have seen them many years ago in cologne after already having been a fan for years. they are my favourite german band of all times. 

mortiis - crypt of the wizard (live)

ever since mortiis started to return back to his era 1, he has found a new love for this material and it shows. the shows for era 1 are fantastic, i was so lucky to see him once in athens with his era 1 set. and now he also released one of his shows from 2022 as a live album. really love this!!

darkthrone - it beckons us all

i didn’t get the physical copy since bowel of noise had sold them all and were waiting for new copies.. but at least I heard it on spotify and i like it very much!! also darkthrone have now found a distinct sound and for the last few albums they have kept to it. love how the norwegian landscape is formed in your head when you listen to it. 

apocalyptica - plays metallica vol.2

this is the second time i saw apocalyptica with their plays metallica set and it’s just simple perfection!! i cannot say it in any other way. i was waiting for this back to the roots stuff, ever since i had seen them in lindau those many years ago, probably 2001? i had lost interest in them with all the strange stuff they did, but this return to pure cello metal? yes. yes yes yes, sign me up!! 

live shows 2024

Emperor 

this was long awaited, this was a huge surprise and joy. of all the things that i expected, it was thousand times better. ihsahn's voice blew me away. it was a once in a lifetime experience with songs that i have been longing so much to hear live. 

Kawir 

it was so great to see them again!! their set was fantastic and there were so many of their best songs that i love amongst them. xaire bacche in the end was like the highlight of a pagan ritual and it was an experience like you seldom witness. 

Rammstein

i wanted to see them at least once in my life. finally the chance came and i cannot even say how awesome it was. i literally was left with my mouth open, it was something completely capturing. also their love for the fans was everywhere and this surprised me so much! danke, rammstein.

Rotting Christ

and one more time!! one more time! can never get enough of rotting christ. on newly renovated lycabettos hill. a huge party, moshpit, jumping, screaming, celebrating. this never gets old. can do this every year :D they are announced for this years rockwave. need. to. go. xD

Behemoth 

back to my personal black metal roots! they started it all in 2015 when i decided just out of the blue to go see them and i was blown away by this satanic, mystic, ritualistic black mass. this time at release athens, it was very different, but a joy to see them again, i owed them this much since they gave me a while genre to explore! 

Black Eyed Peas

free live concert during the opening ceremony of the robotics stem competition! how awesome was that! in kallimarmaro as well! this was fantastic. danced throughout their set and had the best of times! 

Heilung 

This band has captured me fully. The concert was an otherworldly experience that cannot be described with words. It was something that felt so real, part of a ritual for nature, for the earth, for our ancestors. the rhythm vibrating through the body, the drum sending one into trance. words cannot really describe it. 

Faun

this was soooo fun!! didn't think faun would be so much humour, so much dancing and singing and laughing, haha! awesome folk music, lovely voices and interesting instruments. so happy i decided to go see them!!

Song of the year 

Heilung - Anoana

Behemoth at Release

 The end of festival season is upon us once August comes around. Because in August Greece is on holiday! So the other release dates didn't interest me much. I was a bit sad because I had enjoyed Release Festival so much last year and so it was a huge joy when behemoth was announced. 

The band that everything started with in 2015!! The band that gave me new horizons! I had to go. The two other bands, testament and pestilence didn't interest me much. I arrived in time for Behemoth, the last band of the night and this year's release festival. 

I must say it was quite different from 9 years ago. From a mystical and ritualistic club gig we went to a huge festival show! It was still brilliant. Very diverse setlist and great crushing sound. Perfect vocals from Nergal. The cathartic o father o satan o sun in the end was just as mesmerising as last time. 

It was fantastic to see them again and on the big screens too. With Rotting Christ, Rammstein and behemoth my festival summer also came to an end. Next up in September, Apocalyptica!! 

Rotting Christ at Rockwave nights

 Ahhh Rotting Christ. This is my fifth time seeing them, this year for their 35 year anniversary. Also in the newly renovated lycabettus theater. Of course I had to go. My husbands nephew was going to come, too with a friend and we met while varathron was playing. 

I have seen them before and we heard them just fine so we decided to stay further away and came into the pit after they had finished. Also met Hyperion quickly! Great to see him again.

Please see the above pic on how awesome it looked like inside. Fantastic!! Rotting Christ decided to play unusual songs. Songs that haven't been heard for maybe centuries.

People were going absolutely nuts with flares being lit, with circle pits opening up here and there. I was in the midst of a lot of shoving, screaming, headbanging and singing. Absolutely breathtaking. It was a long night and my toe which I had hurt on my fall down the stairs was not amused but I powered through haha!! 

It was once again am experience that will stay in my memories. A great venue, a hungry and wild audience, Sakis having his 52nd birthday and us serenading, him being the great person he is. The above pic is of course during non serviam. I did miss some songs but that was to expected, they had announced it as such

 The whole experience was simply overwhelming once again. Thank you Rotting Christ for everything!! 

Under the pagan moon III

 This is the third installment of this festival which is, I believe, always headlined by and also created by Kawir. The first one was in 2017, the second in 2020 and now the third festival!! This time it was scheduled for two nights even with Kawir playing one evening all songs from the new album and the second night a old school set with guests. 

I couldn't go to the first night because I was working late until 11. Also for the second date I wasn't sure if I could go because of the week before Easter. But I brought my daughter to bed and then left haha 

I'm so so happy I went. Not only did I get the new CD and a shirt, but it was an experience I will hardly ever forget. It was like a pagan ritual just before Christian Easter and it made it such a strong message in a way. I missed all other bands and came for Kawir only. 

Four dancers came on and this was an idea what was to come. Awesome songs, so much headbanging, guest "priests" who gave the whole show that deeper concept. Horns, frankincense, wine, ancient instruments.. it was absolutely brilliant. Especially during hail Bacchus, which went on for ten minutes or longer, it was like a meditation and ritual. 

My favourites were Artemis, Dionysus and the death of Achilles. Just a bit before one the show came to its end and there were 12 people on stage, pretty crowded haha!! Kyttaro should have been full, that's the only negative thing I have to say. Other than that this night was perfect. 

Emperor

 What could I possibly say here.. a legend of black metal, stopping by Greece for the first time since 1997!! How absolutely breathtaking!! Needless to say I had my ticket from day one 😁 

I had seen ihsahn a few years back and I remember how much I was in awe to see this icon of black metal and right away falling in love with his stage personality and his singing/screaming style. Now of course it was the main course after the aperitif haha!! 

First up was Greek Lucifer's child featuring Giorgos of formerly rotting Christ. I managed to see a couple of songs. I would have liked this!! Sadly I couldn't come earlier but at least I got a taste. The changing time was quite short and Emperor came on. The place was going to erupt. 

I have to say that the crowd was simply amazing. The "Emperor" shouts were heard all the time, people were so into it and ihsahn commented on it a few times. Now I need to say again how ihsahns black metal screams are perfect. Absolutely perfect. Really enjoyed how he changes from screams to clear singing. 

My favourites were of course "I am the black wizards", "thus spake the nightspirit", "curse you all men!" and "inno a satana". How perfect was this night!! After the show you could see people in endorphin highs, buying merch and posters haha!! The keyboard player Jørgen came out after a while and I asked for a selfie with him 😊 with that I will close this blog post and with a huge message to everyone: if you get the chance to see the mighty Emperor, do not fricking miss it!!! 

Daedin

Album list 2023

well, what can i say.. i am sure i forgot so many things but checking my iTunes and other sources, these are probably the only new albums i listened to, haha! here we go then.. 

echoes of wizards chamber 

A compilation of Mortiis cover songs! first of all it is amazing this exists. secondly, it is really good! the packaging actually really did it for me. beautiful layout and illustrations/pictures. worth every penny for any mortiis fan

mermaids + just a girl single - florence and the machine

a compilation came out and these two new songs. since i finally saw her live this year, i was absolutely in a trance and needed more new music. as always absolutely ethereal and capturing.

phantomime - ghost EP

YESSS new ghost!! also saw them live again this year and oh dear, it was one of my absolute highlights. do i have to say anything here? i love them to bits and pieces. I got a ghost christmas sweater, i am in love, haha!

apocryphal spells - rotting christ 

also rotting christ I managed to see live this year!! and then this compilation of B-sides and unreleased tracks. so so so awesome. they always deliver, they always just burn the place down. they are for me the probably most loyal and unique and legendary black metal band ever. 

the seven seals of the apocalypse - ΧΞΣ 

this is sakis tolis, of course, with his solo material. it is just as good as the rotting christ stuff. absolutely smashing it with this one, too. i'm very happy that it seems he's not slowing down at all and on a roll here!

cruxshadows 

the cruxshadows released a few songs on their website with a free/open for donations system. go check it out. Rogue is one of my favorite people and i will support everything he releases 

twice born EP - ihsahn

hell yea. Ihsahn is again at it and it's his faster stuff, guttural singing, lovely. i do like his other songs, too, of course, but i love how this is again pure power here. 

Eisenwald - label compilation

you can get this for one euro. do not miss this!! extreme dark pleasures for your ears. love it. 

concerts 

nightwish - insomnium - in flames

okaaaay! this here is just absolutely great. insomnium and in flames for the first time for me. highlight: sakis tolis on stage with insomnium. hell yea. in flames for old times sake, haha. and then nightwish. i had seen them in 2004 and 2005 three times, i think. always with tarja. and since then I have never seen them live again. i missed anette completely but really wanted to see them with floor again. and then they announced this and floor was heavily pregnant and still managed to absolutely entrance the place and headbang her ass off. big hats off to her. it was emotional for me to see them again. so beautiful. 

candlemass - rotting christ - ghost

oh my goodness. a fantastic triple. i had never seen candlemass before and i really loved this since they are doom metal pioneers! fantastic set. then rotting christ! what a perfect bonus. the place went absolutely bonkers as always with them! fantastic pyro show. and then ghost. what can i say? i had seen them once before in 2016 i think in manchester with my sister. it was so so awesome. now they had an overwhelming stage setup, the sound was perfect. papa changed outfit, flirted with the crowd, an absolute joy. blasted ghost 666 dollars into the crowd. it was unforgettable.

florence and the machine 

i love her! her words, her kind spirit, her beautiful soul, dancing, singing, dancing, sharing love, receiving love, sharing her energy.. i can hardly put into words what an experience this was. thank you florence. 

she past away - absolute body control - sisters of mercy 

i only got a bit of she past away, but they sounded really interesting! absolute body control where awesome. i danced myself into a small frenzy there, haha! and then the sisters. now they are a bit complicated, i know it. andrew is eccentric and will play his set, no matter what the people want. i really enjoyed it, though! enough of the awesome hits that we all know and want to hear and a few songs that need some time to get into it. still the sisters are legends to me and i enjoyed it seeing them again.

books of the year

agalloch - pale folklore

the reprint features also a book and this did it for me, i needed to have it. awesome album and awesome accompanying book with interviews, information, pictures. perfect. 

the 69 eyes - biography (in finnish)

so the 69 eyes finally got a biography this year. they played a big role in my musical path towards dark, doom and black metal. i have seen them several times live and although i had at some time lost interest in them, i recently started to listen to them again since their newer albums are again a really cool dark rock mix with different influences and I really like it! the awesome thing about this book is that we get an overview of the rock scene back then in helsinki and that was fun to read! enjoyed this book a lot and can only recommend it.

swallow the sun - biography (in finnish)

finally!! members of the band used to be freetime drinking buddies basically every weekend in jyväskylä, haha. those were awesome times. i was a student and my ex was also a musician and knew the guys and they just had the first album out and he played it for me and i loved every second of it. so happy to see this book was finally written now and i got the edition with signatures. did not read it yet, cannot wait to do just that.

Wardruna at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus

 I have seen wardruna once before. Also then it was a magical experience, something out of this world and time. The rhythmic music has a trance like effect, some real connection to the earth and land.

Now they would play underneath the Acropolis. What a huge honour, what an achievement for any band to play in such a historical place, where memories of times past vibrate everywhere you step! Absolutely fantastic. I got my ticket early on because there was no way I'd miss it. The place was sold out and packed. 

The band came on and first played without break or speaking between songs. The atmosphere was overwhelming!! These songs fit so well into this place. It doesn't matter which language and where they are from. This is songs with meanings, older than our memories, with roots deep in some ancient and primal themes. You could simply close your eyes and get swept away. 

And then kvitravn spoke to us and his words were the most beautiful company to the songs. He explained what this means to them and what the simple act of singing means and that it is something that is about to die out and we need to keep it in our lives. The daily singing. How right he was!! And he dropped a few great anecdotes, too 😁 I found a whole new appreciation to his art. 

This was a remarkable night. My only third time in this ancient place (once with my pethera for songs of refugees from asia Minor and once with Jessie for the ballet Giselle) and it was a true highlight for me, something that will stay in my memories forever. Thank you wardruna for this unforgettable night!! 

Ghost / Rotting Christ / Candlemass

Oh man.. it's been a while!! I went to see Nightwish with insomnium and in flames and that was pretty awesome. Some other cool shows that I couldn't attend because this year I focused a lot on crazy ass long trail runs haha!! It definitely took away much of my free time but I loved it. Now this summer is killer. Too many good festivals in Athens! There are many bands I'd love to see, but I had to pick just the ones I MUST see. And one of them was ghost. 

saw them once in Manchester with my sister and it was a dream come true. It was magnificent!! Now they were announced in Athens with doom metal veterans candlemass! How freaking awesome. Had a ticket right away, haha!! 

So I arrived in time for 3/4 of the candlemass set. Very solid performance, enjoyed it immensely. When "die in solitude" was played, it was just an unforgettable moment. 

Rotting Christ were announced quite late. They dropped into the festival like a fiery bomb. I did not expect that!! I was freaking out with joy! Haven't seen them last year because they only played with Manowar, I think, and they don't interest me. So I skipped them last year. They came on and it was as always a party. And I mean a headbanging circle pit party!! A small circle pit opened up in front of me twice and it's been a while since I've been involved in something like that haha!! Oh man, it was pure joy. Screaming along, sending my neck to the hospital, pure bliss!! Non serviam as always was a highlight. Societas satanas had everyone freaking out. Perfection!! 

and then it was time for ghost. The stage was just fantastic. We all went to church tonight, haha!!  Papa was in a great mood, speaking a bit Greek, joking, giving us a magnificent show. Heavy guitars and bass, songs to headbang, dance and scream along to. Everything was there!! Loved of course year zero as a singalong, and had tears in my eyes during cirice. Another awesome highlight was square hammer and danse macabre. 

they also had glitter cannons and blasted Papa Dollars out into the night. A guy next to me caught one and gave it to me. That was so so nice 

all in all a night to remember. Three very entertaining bands, lots of moshing and dancing. Screaming my lungs out, too. Pure bliss!! Next one up is something completely different which will not be featured in this black metal blog.. Florence and the machine next Sunday!! Yay!! 

by the way, I also got tickets for wardruna in September and emperor next year. Fuck yes!! 🖤🤘

-Daedin

Dungeon synth - the rebirth of the legend

 I am so happy i got my hands on this one. I got this from levykauppa X, shipping was really cheap. this as a tip to all european buyers! 

I was most interested in this, mostly for mortiis, of course. but did i think that i would explore so many names in there, find out about so many legendary albums and artists?? it was a real joy to delve into this book. 

The book was originally self released by Ruslan, the new edition has been released by cult never dies. what a great find! the whole book is a feast for the eyes and it features many pictures, beautiful illustrations and art. absolutely recommended!

I also want to point out how Ruslan conducts his interviews, with very relevant, interesting and thought provoking questions. you clearly see how much Ruslan loves this music style and felt the need to fill the gap that exists there with no documentation of this branch available. 

And you might ask here, this is not really black metal, why feature it here? true. but most pioneers of this music come from a black metal background and as many artists told us in their interviews, the feeling, the atmosphere and the emotions of both music art forms are very much related. 

for everyone interested in dungeon synth, this is a true must!!

Album list 2022

 this year was quite different. i did not listen to many new albums. but the ones i listened to, i got absolutely obsessed with. i surely missed many new albums but what can you do, that's ok. here we go then!

sakis tolis-  amongst the fires of hell

his first solo album! enjoyed this one a lot. it does remind very much of rotting christ. but that's ok! it's fantastic. and during the lockdown he could work much faster alone than with the whole band. so this is just so awesome to have now before anything new from rotting christ comes out. 

ghost - impera

oh, he is a genius. he is such a genius! his formula works, it works so so well. it is SO Ghost, and it is perfect. love it very much. some of the songs are crazily catchy. 

abbath - dread reaver

another album from this wacko, haha! and it's really good! had enjoyed his first and second solo album very much, and this one is just as good. still stoked i saw him live and even met him :) 

darkthrone - astral fortress

aahhh fenriz!! i can't but love this guy. love him so much! he is the most knowledgeable, most true, most integer and most super cool black metal dude. and right now all of his newest albums are SO much to my liking. absolutely my kind of black metal. freaking awesome. 

aherusia - bacchus

yessss!! oh man, i have been waiting for this one so much. and it does not disappoint at all. what a perfect disc! this is what aherusia is about and i love it so very much. i could listen to the whole aherusia back catalogue on repeat. not one song dull, not one song to skip. all of them perfect.

kalmankantaja - metsäuhri/waiennut

not one, but two albums! wow. i only managed to listen to them for a bit and then they were removed from bandcamp... at least there is spotify! kalmankantaja are the finns that need to be here!

diamanda galas - broken gargoyles

yea, this is not easy listening and it never is with diamanda! but that's why i love her, too. what a trippy album, with a lot of german spoken parts. very interesting. very disturbing, too.

EP

kawir - gigantomaxia 

this EP was released to help therthonax financially, who suffers from long covid. i really hope there will be a whole album in the works, because this is the kawir that we all love! awesome songs, need more of this!

mortiis - cobw exclusives

as always, mortiis. there are several things in the works and we get glimpses of the progress. this is awesome and i cannot express how happy i am that i am part of the club and get those updates. cannot wait for some work, hope this year something comes out. 

live shows 

mortiis/mayhem

oh good lord. what can i say. i had never seen mortiis with era 1. now it was time for it! this was fantastic. the addition of drummer tim made it a pretty ritualistic experience. fantastic stuff there. enjoyed it from start to end. it did not hurt that i had a backstage pass and could meet mortiis basically throughout the whole mayhem concert. so sorry mayhem, but i did not hear much, was busy exchanging news with håvard and tim :)

within temptation 

i was never really a big fan. but there are two songs i love so much, it's insane. mother earth and ice queen. so i decided to go with giota, because all the other bands during the summer festivals did not interest me much. so we went and it was breathtaking! wow. this woman is just phenomenal! fantastic show, both of my favourite songs came during the encore and i went wild, haha!

batushka

oh how awesome was that!! yes, there are two batushkas now. yes, i don't know about their paths now, and i don't care. all i know is that from the last time i saw them, this was a step up the ladder. the whole stage was just woah. the production, just blew me away! the choir was the best thing. it was like a true black mass and it was a ritualistic, cleansing, inspiring experience. 

project pitchfork 

yea, no metal. but when i was in leipzig, we found out two days prior, that project pitchfork are coming. i saw them only once before with my sis and now we went, even with my daughter! and what can i say.. it was just awesome. oh the memories, oh the songs! i loved every second of it. my little one tired after one hour, but i am just so grateful for what we got. 

aherusia

this was the release show for bacchus. i had only seen their theatre, never really live. so i could not wait for this one. i am so happy i made it! what a great show. two hours full of magic. i was swept away by the womens voices. i was swept away by the beat and the rage and everything! it has been years since i headbanged so much. was sore two days. was in first row, was offered wine, too. oh heavens! perfect experience. 

under the quarry metal festival 

this must be the third time we went? great free metal festival. absolutely recommended. loved bent by sorrow. very cool band. 

find of the year 

whole project pitchfork back catalogue 

yep.. the concert inspired me to listen to the whole back catalogue. i was listening to only project pitchfork for weeks on end. i cannot stop!! it's just.. i am so in love again. bought some merchandise, too and love it!!

Aherusia

 I know, this should have happened much earlier. But the last times aherusia played live I couldn't go. So until now I had been to their theatrical play and that was absolutely fantastic, too. But now it was time to see them live!! 

I arrived at 10pm when aherusia was supposed to come on. But the show was delayed quite a bit and I caught a bit of human genome and all of illusory. The latter was quite entertaining, too! Charismatic frontman.

At a bit after midnight aherusia finally hit the stage. The first played their new album, Bacchus and it proved to be a absolutely fantastic experience. I was in front, basically headbanging throughout all the show. I have seldom enjoyed it so much to be all the way in the front and have space to headbang any way I want. True bliss!! 

After that the band continued to play a potpourri of their older hits. Oh I went nuts, haha!! We also got wine passed along, got to enjoy the above ladies beautiful voice and some true killer songs. After more than two hours I felt wonderfully spent. My neck hurt for two days after, as well as my feet. My ears were still ringing one day after. Oh it was perfect 🤪

For me aherusia are part of the unholy trinity of Hellenic black metal with rotting Christ and kawir. There might be other important names, this is my personal choice. I'm so happy I finally got to see them live. 

Mayhem / Mortiis

 so.. we have been waiting for two years for this one. but covid pushed that one further away and away. Only the fact that it finally happened is simply fantastic. I had the Athens ticket from day one and I could not contain my excitement. I have seen Mortiis three times, but with era 2/3 and 0, but never with era 1.

now it was finally time to experience that one, too. arriving at fuzz club i right away met a photographer friend, the drummer of kawir who was my former boss, and later on panos, the headbanging wines owner!! but to that later. so mortiis came on and it was just fantastic. I loved every second of it. after two song segments tim van horn joined him on stage for live drumming. absolutely breath taking! some might remember him from previous tours, i had actually met him in london, too. 

so after the awesome show i decided to hang back a little, that's when i met panos and we talked wine and business and old metal days! and then he handed me his backstage pass, which he had received to talk wines with mortiis. and he said he doesn't need it anymore. oh good lord! so i grabbed it, with my eternal gratitude to panos, and headed backstage, during the first two songs from mayhem. 

after a small disorientation i found the correct spot and waited a little on the lounge couch. that's when håvard came around and spotted me. :) we sat down for an hour and just had the best talk!! tim and håvard tried the wine panos had given them. it was just so great because if we had met outside, we would not have been able to talk much because of mayhem well.. being mayhem!! xD so it was a true blessing and i am so grateful. 

of mayhem i saw the last two three songs, near the merch booth together with mortiis. also bought two shirts in the endorphin high, haha! not that i have enough already but ugh, the awesome designs!! so yea.. a perfect night. absolutely perfect. I cannot tell you how much it still makes me smile and reminisce.

Thank you Håvard, for being such a great guy!!