### Local Domination: Athens, Greece

#### 11/06/10 || Khlysty

Much welcome, puny humans, to the City Of Gods. Most of you think of Athens in terms of glories past, when this city was a hotbed for the genesis of Democracy and philosophy. Well, things have changed considerably since then and Athens has become a metropolis of concrete, steel and asphalt, with a huge-ass traffic problem, smog especially during the summer, and, along with the whole of the country, serious fiscal and economic trouble.

It’s also a nice place to play metal. Since the late 70’s, Athens has produced quite a few bands delving into hard rock/heavy metal territories. Of course, back then, Greece was considered a wasteland, as far as concerts were concerned, so Athens lacked seriously on that front: when, e.g., Iron Maiden were touring countries of the Iron Curtain, the Greek audience had to deal with very few concerts, especially by bands way past their prime. Well, things have changed since then and we during the last 20 years we have enjoyed lots of great bands playing live here in Athens (from Metallica and Slayer, to Pelican, Converge and Keelhaul) and an interesting scene has developed.

Now, I’m gonna leave out the bands already known to and loved by GD aficionados (Rotting Christ, Septic Flesh, Nightfall, Sickening Horror, Nightstalker, etc) and I’m gonna introduce you to some bands that I think that represent the variety and multifaceted metal scene here in Athens. Even if I don’t exactly like them all, I think that they’re good representatives of a scene that’s really growning. NOTE: by clicking on the name of each band, one can view their MySpace/sites, okay?…

Sun Of Nothing These guys play a bizarre mixture of hardcore, death, black and doom, with liberal doses of post rock and drone thrown in for good measure. The vocals consist of a very effective OTT unintelligible screeching and the band displays a HUUUGE grasp of dynamics and intensity. Their music is definitely NOT your cup of tea, but given time and patience, you’ll probably come to admire and like them as much as I do.

Decemberance Even though I do not very much like their name, I really like what’s inside. Death/doom is the name of the game for these cats and they know the rules inside and out. Their sound is exquisitely heavy when need be and impressively detailed and textured when the song calls for it. Their first record, “Inside”, is a pretty cool one and their influences (My Dying Bride, Decomposed, Early Anathema, Evoken, Esoteric, Morbid Angel, Darkthrone, Pink Floyd, Aphrodite’s Child) almost guarantee for a listen of epic and epically doomed proportions.

Varathron Hailing from Ioannina, a big city in Northwestern Greece, Varathron represents a true force of black metal fury in the Greek metal scene. Being around and active since the late ‘80s (!), Varathron combines trad black metal with layered melodicism and interesting texturing, sometimes remind me of trad power metal or thrash. The fact that they’re still at it proves them to be a) extremely hard-headed –given the fact that the market isn’t exactly huge and b) quite good at what they do. I like them just fine and so should you.

Astarte Hey, we got ourselves some Riot Black Metal Grrrrlz here: Astarte is an all-ladies black metal band from Elefsis, a town near Athens, and they fucking RAWK! They’re not something new or groundbreaking, to be sure, but them ladies –plus the male session musicians they use from time to time- really know how to do the fast-furious-and-heavy, just as good as some of their metal counterparts. So, kudos to them.

Lord 13 Taking their name from one of the earliest recorded Monster Magnet songs, Lord 13 wallow deep into the fuzz-drenched psychedelic soundz of stoner. As their name hints, their sound is more like the one played by Monster Magnet than the one developed by other stoner bands of yore (i.e. Kyuss, Fu Manchu, et al). I’ve seen them live a few times and I can say that they do their thing in a pretty okay and pro way, so if this sound is your poison, Lord 13 is a band to keep yer eyes and ears on.

Of course, there are quite a few more bands in the Athens local metal scene. So, if any forumer has more ideas, it would be great to share the knowledge, yeah?

…Cool, then.