Written by:	KwonVerge
Published:	July 10, 2008
Event:	Obituary (Website)
Location:	Gagarin 205, Athens, Greece
Organizer:	Didi Music

Obituary has to be one of the few Death Metal bands I adore and I had to see them live someday. Well on the 31st of May they were to appear on the stage of Gagarin club, for the second time if I'm not mistaken in their history on Hellenic ground. I went with a friend of mine to buy tickets after having bought some CDs and I didn't buy one, whereas she did. We went for more CDs etc, the Tickethouse was about to close around 16:00 and while passing by somewhere around 15:55 I went inside and bought my own ticket as well. It must have been the sweetest rotten voice in the world lurking in my head; I could hear it all over the place while walking. It must have been John Tardy's call; and I replied positively to it.

The doors were about to open at 19:30 and a special guest was to appear before Obituary and we were wondering which band would open for them. But really, it didn't matter that much because we all knew for whom we had come. I don't recall when the doors actually opened but we entered the club after 20:00 and we were waiting and waiting...and waiting. Sometime around 21:00 the lights went out, the music turned off and the almost filled first floor of the venue started shouting rhythmically "Obituary, Obituary, Obituary". Then, the band members came out (finally, no support, BUT WHO REALLY CARES?!), all but John Tardy who appeared a few seconds later and... "Find the Arise"! People from the back started running at the front of the venue and a huge moshpit was created. Oh well, it was just the beginning. The sound was perfect dare I say and the band was filled with energy. So was the audience. This very chemistry helped with creating the ideal atmosphere for utter decay and violence. The groove was there, one thing I love about Obituary is the unique groove the rhythm section tends to evoke and then the guitars fill in the empty space and you get lost in the scenery of destruction. Concerning the vocals I have nothing to say, they speak for themselves and they stink in the most beautiful decaying manner. Even when John was referring to the audience he never failed to express himself in the same way as in the songs!

We listened to some songs from their latest album, "Xecutioner's Return", a great album in my opinion. Henceforth, "Evil Ways", "Second Chance", "Contrast the Dead", "Face Your God" and "Drop Dead" made their appearance in the play-list and didn't disappoint the audience by any means, they left us bleeding! And of course they couldn't leave behind compositions from their glorious first era! "Chopped In half", "Threatening Skies", "Turned Inside Out", "Cause of Death" and "By The Light" were there to blow our heads and bodies. Of course their previous work, "Frozen In Time", couldn't be missing, after all it brought them back to the surface. "Insane" and "Slow Death" made their appearance keeping the energy at high levels. Almost through the whole duration of the live the moshpit was full and adrenaline was reigning supreme. The audience knew how to mosh and the band knew how to make them unfold their most aggressive side. When the band left for a while "Obituary, Obituary, Obituary" and "we want more" were filling the electrified atmosphere, then after some time Donald Tardy came out and offered us a strong drum solo for more than five minutes showing his skills. Later on he got accompanied by Ralph Santolla with a nice guitar solo. The night ended with "Slowly We Rot" leaving us after more than an hour and fifteen minutes (I don't recall exactly the time they were on stage, I was elsewhere during the show, lost in the endless groove), wounded but at the same time refreshed.

It was a night to remember, although I'd love to listen to "Lockdown" or "Download" from "Back From The Dead" and "Internal Bleeding" and/or "Immortal Visions" from the legendary "Slowly We Rot." But really, it doesn't matter, live shows like that should be cherished for what they offer and your mind must be set free from "if" and "why".