Mortuary Drape & Nihilism concert report, 5/12/2025

[Insert a very crass joke about carpets and drapes here] 

As 2025 is slowly drawing to a close, it was only natural that I’d find myself writing about the last show of the year. Usually, when I’ve had a very full year, I like to ruminate on what I had seen up until that point, and see how the season finale stacks up to what preceded it. As I’ve only been to a total of three shows this year, it’s not hard to decide which one I liked best. Perhaps it’s recency bias, or it could just be me having turned into a massive fanboy over the course of November, but getting to see Mortuary Drape play All the Witches Dance in full with Nihilism as an opener was hands-down the best show of the year.

Unfortunately, the quality of the show itself was not reflected in the turnout for the Italian cult, as the venue was far from full. I can’t rightfully tell you whether it’s because of a lack of promotion, or because the average Greek metal fan lacks an appreciation for the more obscure and esoteric forms of metal, but the fact of the matter is that this show deserved better. I haven’t seen such a disappointing turnout at the Eightball since I caught Voivod back in November 2022, and that show was on a Tuesday. It’s a vicious cycle that Thessaloniki’s metal scene has put me in. For how excitable the people are, that excitement is primarily reserved for bigger names, and anything that isn’t as established in the public consciousness ends up neglected. In turn, this puts the city in a Catch-22 where it wants bands to show up, but primarily those that are too big to actually play in a city like Thessaloniki, and would rather play in Athens, and when we do get actually interesting bands and lineups coming through here, it just doesn’t show up with the energy it should, leading to even less bands wanting to drop by.

As for my second complaint, it’s one to do with the people who did show up, and it has to do with the energy they gave to the bands who played. Think of it as a PSA, but IF YOU GO TO THE BARRIER DON’T JUST STAND THERE. Seeing multiple people resting on the barrier like statues and vacantly staring at bands who were giving 110% instead of banging their heads drives me up the wall. This isn’t the first show I attended where I’ve seen this happen, but a) it was one where I myself went to the barrier, and b) I actually have an outlet to complain about what happened. I oftentimes say I’m too old to be jumping around, and although that rings true for the moshpits, I can always afford a slipped disc or two if the band I’m catching live is worth it, as was the case for this show.

As I’ve run out of things to complain about, I can finally move on to describing the bands’ performances, starting with Nihilism. These Thessaloniki stalwarts have been toiling away in the local live circuit for nearly a decade, opening up for bigger bands since at least 2018, when I saw them open for pre-schism Batushka. Their brand of dissonant black metal, although not terribly original, taking plenty of cues from the third wave (namely Deathspell Omega), it remains plenty exciting with all its twists and turns. They’re quite atypical by the standards of the Greek scene, and I can’t help but lament the fact that they haven’t seen much success outside of the country.

Funny how these dudes had more props than the Drape.

  

Nevertheless, they put on a good show, despite having been whittled down to a two-piece since I last saw them, with a setlist comprised of mostly new material at that. The majority of the setlist was taken up tracks called “Katara”, numbered from I-VII. Seeing as it doesn’t line up with either of their album titles, it’s safe to assume the band has been cooking up some new stuff, although when exactly we’ll get to hear it outside of live shows is an entirely different story.

On the whole, the duo was able to play loudly enough to give you the impression it was a full band (the bass and rhythm guitar backing tracks helped a little here as well), with drummer George Mitzikidis in particular dishing out some very concussive and disorienting beats that were on occasion hard to follow along. Guitarist and vocalist Chris Bonos followed suit on the six-stringer, assembling and disassembling the riffs he played in a myriad of different ways, especially on the few outliers to the setlist, such as “Cataclysme II” and “Cataclysme IV” off the band’s sophomore record. 

Bro was posted like this the whole show.

If there was one aspect of their show that left a little to be desired, it was the sound. Fun as it was to have such a riveting drumming performance at the forefront, it meant that the guitar work was nigh-impossible to hear during the faster parts, a real shame considering how elaborate it is. What further salts the wound on that matter is the fact that things were actually pretty easy to follow along to whenever the band was playing through some slower passages, where their sound managed to fill out the venue more like a miasma, rather than as a concussive wall of sound.

As for the ambience itself, they did provide some of the more memorable feelings of the night, owing to a combination of funky props (as pictured here), and the fact that they decided to put some incense on a glass ashtray, creating an olfactory experience different from what’s usually encountered in most metal shows (translation: showgoers reek sometimes). Unfortunately, the ashtray broke partway through the set because of the heat, and that aspect of performance was unceremoniously ended. It’s always a little funny seeing the technicians/roadies show up on stage mid-set to fix something, especially when it’s done in a manner as crass as just chucking the pieces of incense and broken glass in a half-empty pint of beer. Really grounds you when it comes to reminding you that you’re watching small bands who do this for the love of the game, warts and all.

After a set that was in equal parts percussive madness and mind-bending guitar work, we finally reach the main event, Mortuary Drape. Admittedly, there was an inexplicable delay where the intro track “My Soul” was played twice because the band didn’t get on stage the first time around. Following that though, the quintet got into position and launched into “Primordial”, an absolute ripper of a tune with a superbly catchy chorus, one that simply exudes 80s-ness. All the Witches Dance comes straight out of the primordial ooze that was the late first wave of black metal, before everything had split off into distinct (sub)genres, and it rules as a result, especially with its weird synth and bass interludes. 

For me, the set was one that inspired a near-religious devoutness, especially when the band was going through some of the more long-winded tracks like “Tregenda (Dance in Shroud)”, or when they transitioned from the moody “Chain” into the pounding “Medium Mortem”. It’s all executed with a degree of panache that few black metal bands go after these days, and it’s all done by way of grafting the more traditional strains of the genre’s heyday on a more extreme and occult torso. It’s music that sounds and feels legit about the evil it wants to inspire, and its relatively kitschy aesthetics somehow work in its favour. It’s hard not to be enraptured by vocalist Wildness Perversion spewing vitriol from a pulpit while the rest of the band is going crazy on stage. 

My GOAT went crazy with the sermons.

Although things hit a fever pitch with “Occult Abyss”, the album closer, the Drape wasted no time getting into the second half of their set with the same intensity they took on the first one. Featuring hits and deep cuts from their entire discography (although Buried in Time and Spiritual Independence were curiously absent from the setlist), with a distinct emphasis on my personal favourite of their works, Secret Sudaria. Starting off with a track that lives up to its name in “Restless Death” off their latest album, Black Mirror, the crowd also got up into gear as things went from “absorbing an album” mode into “time to have fun” mode (nevermind the fact that All the Witches Dance is a riot in its own right).

From there on out, things oscillated in terms of intensity, with things getting exceptionally moody when the band went all the way back to their debut EP, Into the Drape. It’s a charming release, and it possesses a far more primitive character than the rest of the band’s output, although the distinctly Italian flavour that defines tracks like “Mother” and the galloping “Creposcular Whisper” is further elevated by the fact that Wildness Perversion has improved as a vocalist over the band’s 40-year existence. Instead of sounding a little goofy, his vocals actually emanate the menace that was originally carried by the instrumentals, and I’d almost go so far as to say that hearing tracks off the EP played live is the definitive way to experience it. 

Besides that, we also got to experience a cut as insanely obscure as “Black Night”, from the oft forgotten Moon Path EP, but where I truly locked in was on the tracks off the aforementioned Secret Sudaria, whose tracks simply rule. They all have riffs for days, and the bass-heavy sound makes them a real treat for the ears, especially given the fact that the instrument gets plenty of time to shine on the punky “Madness”, and my personal favourite, “Abbot”. It’s not as sprawling as their debut, but it nevertheless retains its atmospheric qualities through sheer riff magic. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was also these particular songs that got the biggest reactions out of the attendees, although I can’t help but lament that said energy wasn’t there from the start.

In all, although I find myself disappointed with the crowd, which tried its hardest to prove that it does not deserve good things, both bands gave it their all, both in terms of the songs played and the atmosphere they managed to evoke. There’s few shows that are front-to-back perfect, and my enjoyment of Mortuary Drape’s studio output definitely skews things heavily, but if I were to take this show strictly as an experience between me and the artists, but I’ll be damned if I didn’t have a blast. Both bands killed it, putting on great performances despite the challenges that arose, and that’s admirable in its own right. It was a good way to end the year, and I left the venue satisfied with what I saw and heard. 

I love Italian men, I wanna kiss them on the cheek.

2026 already seems to be preparing us with some hard-hitting shows, seeing as bands like Conan, Tsjuder, and Hellripper have all announced shows in Thessaloniki across the first half of the year, and rumour has it Eternal Champion is gonna be coming over some time in March as well. If names such as these are floating around before the year’s even out, who knows what else is to come later down the line. 2025 definitely wasn’t a bad year, at least what little I got to experience, but it’s hard not to be a little excited about what’s to come in the future.Here’s hoping for a year full of great shows from both ends of the kvlt-mainstream spectrum.

Although this isn't my last post for the year, I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to read even one of these posts. This blog is a brand new undertaking for me, one that is an extension of what I've been doing these past few years, and to have anyone check these posts out means a lot to me. Metal music is my one big passion, and writing here specifically is a way for me to explore all its different facets, besides just writing reviews, even if those are still something I am incredibly fond of. Like anyone who probably checks this blog (for whatever reason), I do all this out of a profound appreciation for the culture, and without any ulterior motive. The blog is merely a way for me to do more for said culture, so any support is deeply appreciated.