Last Saturday was about old feelings and great people. In the opposite part of the town, there was a gig that aimed to throw me back in time.
The gig was set up by the venerable Titus Constantinescu, one of the veterans of the Romanian metal scene, under the label “Metal Under Moonlight” being at its 74th edition, and it was the celebration of 21th years since Grimegod released their first full-length called “Dreamside of me”. To me, Grimegod equals a band that marked my adolescence and shaped my musical tastes. I was in high school when the audiotape with this album was running almost daily, and I was never bored with it. When Grimegod announced their show, I knew I had to be there for this historic moment. So, the celebration of this 21 years old album begun.
The warm-up act for the evening was Katara, a band from Arad made up of Kryhakk – Vocals, Althar – Guitar, Robi – Bass Guitar, and Mephistofel- Drums. I had never heard of them before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect; and it was worth waiting for. The band was formed in 2014 and the name could be translated as “curse” from the Greek language. They perform with incredible relish and vitality, barely pausing for breath between songs.
Grimegod took to the stage, opening with “Mourningrise” and “Lost Sunrise”. In a dark environment we were greeted by Tibor Kati into a general roar of approval from the crowd in attendance. The audience was singing every word of the songs with such passion that it was quite an experience to be a part of.
“Silent Suicide” and “Dreamside Scream” follow in quick succession. I’ve always enjoyed this song, ever since I first listened to it . I particularly like the bass in this track, and it doesn’t disappoint live. It was amazing to see the band playing this well considering all the time that have passed since this album was released.
The band moved to the song “Sentiment” with the crowd still singing every word. The band’s playing was flawless, and even with these sad songs you get the impression they were enjoying every moment as much as the audience.
Yellow Club was packed with people listening to these guys and the heavy bass and guitar riffs gave the dwellers the chance to start an all old school headbanging although the place was rather small.
The last song of the evening, “Godless Cry” was played together with former band members and it was a memorable moment.
Grimegod are still a great band in 2018 because of these kinds of moments, the ones no one sees coming. Tibor and the rest of the band’s stage presence showed how they can bring back an album to life in the best way possible. Grimegod embodied their music, art, vibe and image all simultaneously on stage, in a performance that will be remembered.
But the night was young and the party must go on. Together with four other friends, I traveled to another site to see another metal gig. This time was a fresh surprise because on stage was EvergreeD from Sibiu and they were already playing. The show was a part of a bigger gig with other three bands, one of them singing live for the first time. The other three bands were: Still Waters, Transilvania and Why Cat, Why?! Unfortunately we got too late to catch them on stage but I’m sure next time we will be more lucky.
EvergreeD was born in 1998 but they have rather infrequent appearances. So, again, it was a new live act from my perspective. Recently, they have competed in the final round of the Wacken Metal Battle Romania.
The band has a strong guitar section and a powerful vocalist, and track such as “Collapsed” sounded great. Although the drummer was missing for this show, the other two guitars were keeping the rhythm precisely. This is cold, hard death metal that only moves in one direction and it moves fast.
This night was the first time I’d seen EvergreeD, and while I had an awareness of them, and have listened to some of their music, tonight they genuinely won me over. I knew that they had a reputation for being a great live band, and tonight they have proven it. Let’s hope there’s not another amount of years in between shows!
Until next time, horns up!