The final battle. A farewell to a place where, over the past ten years (with the exception of the two years of the Covid pandemic), we’ve experienced many unique moments that we’ll remember for a lifetime. We saw top-tier bands, whether for the first time or for the umpteenth time, as well as many up-and-coming or already established acts who had never before played in our country in front of thousands of people. But we also saw a festival that keeps growing and is now ready to move to a new place.
It was clear from early on that there would be a huge crowd. When I arrived at Plateia Nerou at the same time as on the other two days I’d been there (Megadeth, Pantera), that is, shortly after the gates opened, the line was three times as long, if not four times as long. As a result, it took us over half an hour to get in and we missed Epica’s first few songs. Although they still don’t really do much for me, from what I saw of them, they left the same impression as they did in 2022 at the same venue. A band that had no trouble whatsoever with the sun beating down on them and delivered a great, professional performance. Of course, the show was once again stolen by the amazing Simone Simons on vocals and Coen Janssen, as it’s hard to find a keyboardist in this genre as energetic as he is. The crowd gathered at the front participated actively and sang along to the lyrics, with the biggest frenzy, of course, happening during the classic “Cry For The Moon”.
And now for the main event for many of us. Those of us who had seen Savatage last year during their return to our country knew more or less what to expect. So, we once again witnessed a band that was flawless on stage. The setlist had a few minor changes, with my personal favorite “Tonight He Grins Again” as well as the all-time classic “Power Of The Night” being among them. The highlight was once again the performances of “Believe”, “Gutter Ballet” and “Edge Of Thorns”—one after the other—and the hundreds of voices from the crowd singing along. A very moving moment, of course, was “Believe”, with Jon Oliva kicking off the song via video and images of Criss Oliva accompanying it as it continued. It’s one of those moments where we say that if it doesn’t give you goosebumps, you’re probably not human. The only downside was the visuals, which were once again unacceptable. Last year we had poor AI in every track; this year, Savatage chose to use just the album cover art for most of them, but something went terribly wrong and, in most cases, we either saw unrelated images, or the image from the previous one, or simply a jumble of various graphics flashing randomly. It really would have been better if we’d just seen their logo and nothing else, since all of that took away from the magic of the music we were listening to. Beyond that, though, as I said before, their performance was flawless; the fans sang their hearts out, were deeply moved and even shed tears at what was unfolding before their eyes. I really hope we get to see them again soon and this time in an indoor venue, so we can better experience that kind of atmosphere.
Setlist: Morphine Child (Intro), Dead Winter Dead, Jesus Saves, This Is The Time (1990), Strange Wings, Sirens, Lights Out, Handful Of Rain, Miles Away, Tonight He Grins Again, Chance, Believe, Gutter Ballet, Edge Of Thorns, Power Of The Night, Hall Of The Mountain King
What followed was admittedly a very disappointing sight, as we saw a large exodus of people after Savatage. Honestly, I don’t know what you thought you were accomplishing with that, but it’s not like Sabaton lost any sleep over it. You’d already paid for the ticket for the whole night anyway. Moving on, the headliners stormed the stage and it was clear from the start just how much work they’d put into their entire performance and stage presence. In the center of the stage stood a massive tank, atop which was Hannes Van Dahl’s drum kit. To the right and left of it were two smaller tracked vehicles, on which the six-member choir was positioned; they accompanied the band from “Christmas Truce” through to the end. The video wall displayed different visuals depending on the song, while the screens to the right and left of the stage showed the band members through a filter that matched what was playing on the central screen. Fires and explosions completed the picture of a show that very few metal bands can pull off today. Yes, musically, once again, they left me cold. But the rest of the performance was so flawless that, personally, it didn’t bore me and I was curious to see what would happen next. In other words, it left me with exactly the same impressions as it did in 2022. The band was in high spirits; they never stopped smiling, the banter between them went back and forth and there was no shortage of interaction with the audience, who were eager for this performance and showed it by singing along to every lyric. Especially during “Primo Victoria”, “Swedish Pagans” (with the nonstop sing-along to the choral vocals), and “Coat Of Arms”, the crowd went even wilder. I’ll admit that I’m one of those people who don’t understand why so many people love Sabaton’s music. But hell, the Swedes seized that success, built on it and now have the ability to put on a spectacular show that can keep even those who don’t usually listen to them engaged throughout the concert. This isn’t easy; it takes a tremendous amount of work to pull it off.
Setlist: Ghost Division, Yamato, The Red Baron, The Last Stand, Great War, Stormtroopers, Christmas Truce, Soldier Of Heaven, Crossing The Rubicon, Night Witches, I Emperor, The Attack Of The Dead Men, Bismarck, Hordes Of Khan, Templars, Primo Victoria, Swedish Pagans, Coat Of Arms, To Hell And Back
So, Release brought the 2026 edition to a spectacular close, with Sabaton being the last band to perform at Plateia Nerou during this festival. We’ll cherish these memories, can’t wait to see what else they’ll have in store for us in 2027, hoping to still be here to look back when they celebrate their twentieth anniversary. As Savatage say: “And so we end this chapter and let the stage lights fade…”
George Terzakis
