Rockwave Festival 2018 - Day 2 - Judas Priest, Saxon, Accept, Foray Between Ocean

Two days after attending the Little Steven And The Disciples Of Soul gig in Rome and one day after my return flight from Rome to Athens I was on my way to Terra Vibe for the second day of Rockwave Festival. What I was really interested in was the festival's 3rd day because I wanted to see Iron Maiden. The band I initially wanted to see on the second day was Foray Between Ocean, a Greek band, because their bass player (who used to be a member of Sorrowful Angels) was a Facebook friend of mine. The headliners on this day were Judas Priest and the last time they played in Athens was on the only date of the 2015 Rockwave Festival that I didn't go to. And the other bands were practically a who's who of 1980's heavy metal. Saxon and Accept. From the third day of the line up, I only wanted to see Iron Maiden. Taking into account the fact that tickets for both these dates were sold at a lower price, I finally made up my mind: I would go to both!
So I took an early bus to Terra Vibe on the 19th of July in order to catch the full Foray Between Ocean set. I secured a place at the very front of the stage under a scorching sun which turned out not to be a problem since they only played for about 30 minutes. And although I'm not a fan of this type of heavy metal, I enjoyed them so much that I even bought their album, copies of which the band threw at the audience at the end of the gig!

Next, I made my way to the other stage and to an area of Terra Vibe that I had already earmarked (and on other concerts is normally used for VIP ticket holders) where I could sit down between bands. And although I had arranged to go to Terra Vibe alone, it was there that I met several friends and colleagues (and even a fellow Springsteen fan from Cyprus) who had all chosen the same spot.
The first band I watched from that spot were Accept. And what caught my attention was one of their new songs "Koolaid", proof that they can write great stuff more than 30 years later.

Next up were Saxon. Now this is where I wondered how time flies. I remembered them as one of the bands of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal when they were in their twenties. It was great to see them after all these years and people really enjoyed their cover of "Ride Like The Wind".

The next band to play were Sabaton on the other stage. I must admit I didn't know them, but my friends went up there to see them while I stayed behind on my spot watching them using the powerful zoom of my camera. Although the most impressive thing about them seemed to be their stage effects (all these fires), I quite liked some of their songs as well.

Finally it was time for Judas Priest. I get dizzy whenever I try to calculate how old Rob Halford must be (who, by the way, I had met at Tower Records in Sunset Boulevard when I was in LA in 2000), but he's still got it! And he managed to bring back memories of the 80's in great style!

What most of us were waiting for however, came towards the end: "Breaking The Law". I could even imagine Beavis in the audience headbanging along to it.

Considering I had just come back from a five day trip to Rome I reserved my strength for day 3: Iron Maiden...

SETLISTS

Foray Between Ocean
01. Lost Sky
02. Smiling Faces Of Vanity
03. Depression Never Ends
04. My Orient
05. Piece Of Life

Accept

01. Die By The Sword
02. Restless And Wild
03. Pandemic
04. Koolaid
05. Princess Of The Dawn
06. Up To The Limit
07. Analog Man
08. Metal Heart
09. Teutonic Terror
10. Fast As A Shark
11. Balls To The Wall
12. I'm A Rebel
13. Burning

Saxon
01. Thunderbolt
02. Sacrifice
03. Motorcycle Man
04. Strong Arm Of The Law
05. Battering Ram
06. Power And The Glory
07. The Secret Of Flight
08. Ride Like The Wind
09. They Played Rock And Roll
10. Crusader
11. Princess Of The Night
12. Heavy Metal Thunder
13. Wheels Of Steel
14. Denim And Leather

Sabaton

01. Ghost Division
02. Winged Hussars
03. Blood Of Bannockburn
04. Swedish Pagans
05. Carolus Rex
06. The Last Stand
07. Into The Fire
08. Sparta
09. Resist And Bite
10. Night Witches
11. Primo Victoria
12. Coat Of Arms
13. Shiroyama
14. To Hell And Back

Judas Priest

01. Firepower
02. Grinder
03. Sinner
04. The Ripper
05. Lightning Strike
06. Bloodstone
07. Saints In Hell
08. Turbo Lover
09. Tyrant
10. Night Comes Down
11. Freewheel Burning
12. Rising From Ruins
13. You've Got Another Thing Comin'
14. Hell Bent For Leather
15. Painkiller
Encore:
16. Metal Gods
17. Breaking The Law
18. Living After Midnight