This year Death
Disco went big. Instead of having its annual Minifest at its own club’s stage
it chose to do it at a larger venue. So, this year it was held at Fuzz Live
Music Club. The lineup consisted of the Belgian post-punk band Whispering Sons, the Italian electro
darkwave duo The Frozen Autumn, the
English neoclassical darkwave unit In
The Nursery and as headliners the European electronic EBM outfit VNV Nation. A great lineup with a bit
of all trends of the Dark alternative scene with bands from across all the 40
years of the genre’s history!
First up on
stage where Whispering Sons. The
venue was still not full when they began but gradually the audience was building
up during their performance. The band had played the previous night a secret
gig on the stage of Death Disco in front of a lucky audience, preforming a one-and-a-half-hour
set. At the fest they played eleven songs, kicking off with
"Stalemate" from their debut album "Image". Their set and
stage appearance were brilliant. Their dark tunes have that ability to really
catch your attention. They delivered very passionately their intense post-punk
songs with singer Fenne Kuppens, who was dressed all in white, standing out
with her deep voice and her lively presence on stage. Apart from songs from the
album they played their great singles "White Noise" and "Performance",
ending in the best of ways with "Waste".
The electro
darkwave band The Frozen Autumn from
Turin Italy were next. The duo gave another twist to the fest with their more
electro sounds and rhythms. They are no strangers to the Greek crowd, and they
have a loyal fanbase here. Its members Diego Merletto and Froxeanne, switched positions
between them on stage, taking to the microphone or keyboards, according to the
songs. Some of their songs that stood out from their set were "Silence Is
Talking", one of my favorites "Is Everything Real?" and "I
Love You But I've Chosen Synthesizers".
In The Nursery, that followed,
fronted by twin bothers Klive and Nigel Humberstone presented a great set with
tracks taken from their long discography. Together with them on stage were
Dolores Marguerite C. on vocals and David Electrik on drums. They captivated
the audience with their neoclassical dark wave style that has many martial industrial
elements and an overall cinematic feel. Starting off with "Crepuscule",
from their 2011 album "Blind Sound" the band introduced us to their majestic
sound. The track "Mystery" from way back 1983 stood out with its
bassline, as did "Rainhall", "Sixth Sense" and
"Artisans of Civilization". One thing that makes them unique is the
use of big kettle drums and various other drum sets. Together with the use of
synths and bass they create a massive sound. They ended their set with the
magnificent epic martial track "L’Espirit".
By this time the
venue was full, since VNV Nation
were the major attraction. They began with "A Million", from their
latest album "Noire" with frontman Ronan Harris taking center stage
doing his poetic spoken word thing. They proceeded with "Retaliate",
"Armour", the slower song "Illusion", "Honor"
which started with Ronan screaming “I
hate war!”. In general, he was very communicative with the crowd, always
trying to lift spirits up and make everyone dance, a charismatic performer. With
"When Is The Future?" things had fired up and everyone was in dance
mood. Tracks like "Space & Time", "Control", "Resolution",
"Nova" and "Standing" followed. Finishing with "All
Our Sins" closing track from the album "Noire". At the end, as a
grand finale, Ronan brought all the band members of the other acts on stage
thanking the audience who cheered ecstatically.
Review : Nick Drivas
Photos : Marilia Fotopoulou
Categories:
LIVE REVIEWS
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